PHOTO ESSAY LEFT: Secret Falls is in McDowell County, North Carolina. From the photographer: " When I eventually got down the steep hillside, I was greeted with this sight. It seemed like a prehistoric and forgotten place, wild with moss and fresh spring green shoots of life everywhere. Reishi mushrooms grow on old Hemlock trees. " PHOTO BY DAWNFIRE PHOTOGRAPHY CLOCKWISE NEXT PAGE: An adult male red-bellied woodpecker perches atop a lichencovered white oak branch in the early morning sun. The bird's range covers the entirety of the Blue Ridge Mountains. These mid-sized woodpeckers seem to prefer peanuts over most any seed. PHOTO BY MIKE KOENIG Toad trillium bursts onto the spring scene on the Stonecliffe Trail of the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia. PHOTO BY ED REHBEIN Baby bear cub and titmouse were photographed about three miles from Great Smoky Mountains National Park not far from Townsend, Tennessee. From the photographer: " While I was photographing this sleeping cub, a titmouse suddenly landed and began plucking fur from the baby bruin's back. The titmouse flew off, deposited the fur in her spring nest and then returned and gathered more hair. This happened four or five times. The cub continued sleeping and never once opened his eyes. Nature is simply amazing! " PHOTO BY BILL LEA An early spring white erect trillium finds a foothold next to a small creek, known as Whiteoak Flats Branch, in the heart of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. From the photographer: " Nothing symbolizes spring in the Smokies like wildflowers and running water. " PHOTO BY BILL LEA 40 BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COMhttp://www.BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM