Spring is a special time in the Smokies. Today I found a hiking club to walk with on the Alum Cave trail. Their pace is similar to my own, so I have plenty of time to keep a watchful eye for a subject to capture on film. Ferns line the trail for most of the hike. Right along the trail I found this bouquet. As Arthur Stupka, a park naturalist in the Smokies for 25 years said, "Vegetation to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is what granite domes and waterfalls are to Yosemite, geysers are to Yellowstone, and sculptured pinnacles are to Bryce Canyon National Park."