Whenever I see flowers, I remember my father, Jim Mabry’s, love for them and his close association with Mike Blankenship. As many Fountain Citians know, Mike graduated from Central High School in my class of 1973. He knows all about flowers and is my resident expert. Badger just takes pretty pictures and looks forward to springtime and especially these golden flowers that grow in abundance in the Southern Appalachians.

Thankfully, many daffodils in the Asheville area survived Hurricane Helene and they again surround the small lake and gazebo near my home in the Land of the Sky. My photo and article, The Little Things, in KnoxTNToday last fall celebrated the small steps of recovery from the storm and featured the gazebo scene as an indication of the healing from the storm. I suppose the accompanying photo is a heartfelt sequel to manifesting hope in our region.

Mike would know the variety of daffodil present in the photo. Badger is going out on a limb to presume (until corrected) that the pictured daffodil is perhaps the heartiest of the estimated 13 varieties. Mike would know this too.

Daffodils mark the escape from winter and the beginning of spring. Coupled with the lake, gazebo and nature’s attendant colors, this scene is a Badger photo favorite. For so many reasons, perhaps this image will one of your favorites, too.

Thomas Mabry – Honey Badger Images

Many of the HoneyBadgerImages are on display at instagram.com/honeybadgerimages.