A large Tom struts his magic in the early morning.
Spring's greens begin to heal where fires had destroyed.
In early Spring the Cades Cove valley is as colorful and multi-hued, maybe more so, than in Fall.
The buds of spring begin to emerge.
A doe makes her way across the meadow.
The day is advancing and it is time for this doe to leave the meadows for the cool and protection of the nearby forest.
A sow bear watches from her forest haven as her two cubs play nearby.
Two cubs, just over a year old, shake hands before beginning an hour of wrestling and play.
Young bear cubs can be romantic dancers!
This coyote stalks her prey, food she needs for herself and her hungry young pups.
One of the largest black bears in Cades Cove, at least this Spring, makes her way along the back of meadow, largely out of sight, with her cubs trailing just behind.
Spring trees wave and dance above a modest stream where I rest after a long day in the nearby meadows.
Three bear cubs hide high up in the trees while mom forages nearby.
Spooked by a dog's bark, this mother sprints to her cubs.
Amazingly agile, this bear has crossed the meadows and climbed to her cubs in just seconds.
The Foothills Parkway offers numerous overlooks to witness sunrise break above the Smoky Mountain ridgelines.
Abrams Waterfall tumbles across the rocks at its base.
Abrams Waterfall is spectacular this spring, swollen by recent rains.
Abrams Waterfall is a powerful if not tall waterfall, surrounded by spring trees and modest cliffs. The hike to this Falls is always a great wildflower hike in spring, as it parallels Abrams stream for most of its way.
One of the most beautiful homesteads in the Cove, the Dan Lawson cabin was built in 1856 from hand hewn logs on land he purchased from Peter Cable, a relative of John P Cable who later built the grist and saw mill. Structures on the property include a granary and a smokehouse. The cabin's chimney is made of brick, and the bricks were made from materials on the property.
As if to provide punctuation, two modest trees seem to step out from the long spring wood's edge.
Normally crowded, the Loop Road is quiet this early spring morning.
The soothing young greens along the Loop create an unusually luruxuious lush feel this cool morning.
Unpaved Hyatt Lane can be a dusty but peaceful traverse across the Cove.
Laurel bloom below the Foothills Parkway as a gentle dawn breaks across the Smokies.
Hyatt Lane bisects the Cove, affording great views in and through large meadows and pastures, thickets and mature forest.
An oak's branches frame the Northeastern ridges above Cades Cove.
Beautiful in all seasons, this tranquil cabin sits at the back of a quiet clearing, a bit removed from the bustle of the Loop Road.
An easy spring day in the Cove, as new growth emerges along every twig and the pastures green.
A dense clump of Mayapples, hiding their small white flowers underneath, is one of the Park's many great ephemerals, anointed with a few blue clusters of forget me not.