One of the things daughter Kate wanted to do was go on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It’s about 15 minutes from our house, so it was an easy request to grant. That’s probably why we left it until last, making me a bit nervous. We waited for grandson David to get home from work. Late afternoon was a wonderful time to be up there. The sun hit at an interesting angle, and most of the tourists had left for the day. One of my favorite places is Looking Glass Rock. The outcropping shines reflectively as the sun shines on it when it is wet or iced.

A zoomed image shows the rock.

I spotted fancy wild flowers, colored a bit like tiger lilies. The blooms looked as if they had been turned inside out.

 

The internet provided a closeup photo and the name – Turk’s Cap Lily.

 

 

Earlier in the day, Nathaniel knew where to find a ruler when the subject was the width of a hand span. Kate’s hand on the ruler might be a bit smaller than mine. I envied Nate’s from the time he was 12 years old. Reaching octaves on the piano would have been so much easier if I’d had an extra half inch. Now his hand spans a whopping 9.5 inches. Can you imagine what it would be like, instead of stretching, to contract your hand to fit an octave???