Dori DeCamillis

This month Annabelle belly danced with her fellow students of Aziza of Birmingham at the Birmingham International Street Fair . Check out her performance video below.  Just before dancing she had expressed an interest in dancing professionally, and after the dance she was approached by the owner of Chez Lulu (one of the best restaurants in Birmingham) and asked to perform. She now has a running gig at Chez Lulu.

I spent the past weekend being an artist in residence at the Alabama Folk School at Camp McDowell near Jasper, AL. The above shot is from one of my hikes on the property, into a deep and mossy canyon. Camp McDowell is situated in the Bankhead National Forest, one of my favorite hiking destinations, and, honestly, one of the most beautiful forests in the world. As an artist in residence, my job was to paint all day. This was my station, and looked out a large window over the forest. Heaven! An afternoon hike in the forest led to this amazing overhang. Clear Creek in the morning. An evening concert by some of the music instructors. This weekend the focus was on acoustic guitar. The outdoor shop where one of the instructors taught blacksmithing. I'm on the board of the folk school, and we had an annual meeting after the weekend workshops ended. It's the only board meeting where members sit in rocking chairs on a porch and coon hou...

I'm finally posting our fishing and hiking vacation picks from the weekend of September 7th and 8th. Above is Bald River Falls, near where we camped on the Tellico River in Tennesee's Cherokee National Forest.  A view from the Cherohala Skyway, a 40 mile highway leading over the mountains from Tellico Plains, TN to Robbinsville, NC. The views are spectacular, and motorcycle enthusiasts love the many curves. Scott fished all day, every day on the Tellico River. I hiked all day, every day in the woods. I took a million photos of tree trunks. I have started a tree trunk blog. More info later. My favorite woods I've ever hiked in is the Joyce Kilmer Wilderness. It's never been logged and has 400 year old trees. It's like a fairytale forest.  Another view from the Skyway. I took a 3 mile hike around Indian Boundary Lake. Our motel (nicknamed The Deliverance Hotel) sat right along the Tellico River....

Impatiens Photography weakness aside, this is a small sampling of what's blooming in our yard now.  Tithlonia Mexican Petunia Dahlia Canna Sedum