One of the locations of which I have grown quite fond for the days when it is a little too warm in Asheville is a place along the Blue Ridge Parkway called Craggy Gardens. It is about 15 miles Northeast of town and is often 15 degrees cooler at about 5,500 feet of elevation. This view is from one of the peaks in the area and you can see the Parkway itself snaking Northeast toward Virginia.
I was always told that anything that appears in the wild and is red is probably poisonous. I am guessing these mushrooms are. While on the same hike in Craggy Gardens when I found these, we saw a little toad sitting on top of a larger mushroom. I remembered that when I was little in Indiana, wild mushrooms were called toadstools. Now I know why.
Probably a day or so later, Abner and I went back to the Arboretum and found this Swallowtail either eagerly devouring something or laying eggs. Whichever it was, we certainly didn't prevent him/her from staying on task. It amazes me that these butterflies just sit there when you get this close with a camera.
And these are Turban Lilies that were abundant on a hike we took at Graveyard Fields about a week and a half ago. They range from pale orange to vivid red but always bloom facing downward with petals that curl up. Very pretty.