A wonderful morning walk

I've been trying to be more mindful and observant on my walks in the morning.  Not that I'm not inclined already to notice bird calls, plants in flower, neighborhood gardens, or whatever.

But it's nice to turn off the podcasts that I like to listen to, as well, and simply be present.

Sunflowers at Biltmore Estate

Meadow and clouds

Evergreens and clouds

This morning's walk, along the French Broad River, in the Biltmore Estate brought many moments of observation, from the clouds to the sunflowers and meadows.  It's an excellent out and back from Antler Hill Village around the lagoon to return ~ about an hour plus 10 minutes.

Thanks to the wealth of George Vanderbilt, and the stewardship (and business acumen) of his descendents, these viewsheds and riverfront access has been preserved and made accessible via trails for those of us who are passholders, a privileged group, too, to be sure, as well as the daily visitors.

It was a joy, under whatever circumstances, to walk in this wonderful landscape this morning.

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French Broad views

There's a lovely trail up along the Deer Park Trail at the Biltmore Estate.  It starts at the lagoon and goes up to the Walled Garden and the "house."

We had a lovely hike there this morning, so I remembered these views from earlier in fall, on a similar hike.

There were a couple of red-headed woodpeckers working snags nearby.  Their solid red heads and white patches clearly distinguished them; they're not birds that I've seen recently, although distinctive; red-bellied woodpeckers are much more common.

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