Because they are some of the very oldest of their kind on Earth, the Southern Appalachians have had more practice being mountains than just about all of the others. One of the decisions they made a very long time ago was that they would excel in the production of flowering species; and, indeed, they have. More than 1500 such beings live just in the Great Smoky Mountains alone. In May in the upper elevations (5000-6500′), one of the most striking of floral displays is the delicate smooth shadbush, or serviceberry, or sarvis, if you happen to be a senior-aged mountain person, tree (Amelanchier laevis). Often the display reaches the tops of the high ridges about the same time the green-up arrives. In this case, this past Friday.

A focal length of 56mm, just beyond normal-land, gave me the angle of view I wanted, to include the valley between Lickstone Ridge and Bunches Bald (behind me) and parts of the Soco Creek watershed beyond. An aperture of f/18 provided depth-of-field, and a shutter speed of 1/6th second at ISO 100 allowed me to freeze the motion of the slight breeze and to achieve an overall medium exposure.

As a propriety matter, the land within this Image is owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and while the Tsalagi certainly wish to develop their lands to the comfort of all of their citizens, one can’t help but note the naturally unsullied nature of the scene, which is another tribal wish, that the land of their ancestors remain as pristine and unblemished as possible. When it comes to public lands, perhaps we should take a cue from the Tsalagi.