April in Cades Cove...

...is ruled by the God of Small Things.

Bishop's Cap  Can you see them?

Bloodroot  So called because the Cherokee used the red juice in the rhizome to dye baskets, cloth, and body paint.  Ingestion of the juice is ill advised as it can be lethal!!!

These odd little flowers (?) grew on stalks from a mat of purplish green leaves.  They weren't in my wild flower book, so I dubbed them:  Dr. Seuss Flowers!!

Dutchman's Britches  Do you see the pantaloons?!!! I had longed to see these 'in person' ever since I saw a picture of them in a wildflower book my granny gave me sooooo many years ago.  The excitement poor Bentie had to endure was pretty intense!!!

These were seen on a couple of our hikes and are clearly Fairy Cabanas, being put up by the residents of a most beautiful Fairy Glade in the White Oak Sink.  (They are to me, anyway!)

Fern Fronds

Sharp-Lobed Hepatica  A dull, liver related name, I fear, for a very beautiful little flower.

Rue Anemone above and Spring Beauty below.  I can't begin to show how beautifully the ground was covered in all these beautiful little flowers.

Squirrel Corn whose leaves when I first spied them without the blooms had me thinking I was looking at a Bleeding Heart....but NO!!!  They are in the same family, along with Dutchman's Britches.

Shining Club Moss  Not a very good pic, but it was quite shiny!

Spring Beauty.  Loved the name, the look and the fact that the blossoms only open when the sun shines just so.

Squirrel Corn  Because squirrels supposedly eat the tubers.  They didn't eat these!

Cut-Leaved Toothwort  One of the cresses, per Mountain Folks, whose leaves apparently taste like arugula and whose rhizome is peppery like a radish.  Is so named because the tooth-like appearance of the root made docs think it could cure toothaches!

Sweet White Trillium  B insists that he risked life and limb in order for me to take this pic.  Such a Drama King!!!

Northern White Violet  Maybe????

Woolly Blue Violet

Beaked Violet

Halberd-Leaved Violet

Trout-Lily  Before we started I told Brent that I really wanted to see this flower, but doubted I ever would!!!  But, what do you know?  Yes, they all hang their heads.  Their name comes from their leaves...that are speckled like a trout.  Beautiful and amazing, no?????

Ascribed variously to Mark Twain, Sir William James, George Roemisch....."Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it."  Not sure Bloodroot is so forgiving!

Just a small bit of the beauty that is the Middle Prong.

A beautiful 4 days with 29 miles of hikes.  Wonderful company.  A beautiful place.  A lucky life.  I dedicate these pics to B, Dan and Don, and Granny.  Who have all indulged me in so many ways...but especially in my love for small things.  Blessings to you all.  -  c