Kayaking at Sunset at Lake Hickory

Part of the Catawba River Chain of Lakes, Lake Hickory in North Carolina covers nearly 4,223 acres with 105 miles of shoreline. From boating and jet skiing to kayaking and fishing, Lake Hickory provides a natural playground for a number of water sports.

Here are kayakers waiting for the sunset on Lake Hickory.

Kayaking at Sunset

Lion Photo to Pencil Art

One of my fellow members of the Catawba Valley Camera Club, Hickory – Judy Young is also a pencil sketch artist. She used my lion photo from Gir National Park, Gujarat, India to create a pencil art piece. Wonderful rendition by Judy!

Lion Photo to Pencil Art

Flowers – Colorful Hydrangea

Blooming in spring and summer, the Hydrangea is considered a shrub. But despite their ability to be rather large showstoppers in your yard, how to grow hydrangeas isn’t a question even the novice gardener will need to ask – these beauties all but grow themselves. Reaching up to 15 feet in height, the hydrangea grows quickly and often fills in a space in just one summer. Captured these flowers in Hickory, North Carolina.

Hydrangea
Colors of the Hydrangea

Flowers – Cannas

Cannas are spectacular summer bulbs. Paddle-shape leaves wrap in ruffles around stems, tapering to refined buds. The buds open into eye-catching flowers of red, orange, yellow, and pink from late spring or early summer to first frost. Cannas are commonly referred to as “bulbs,” although they are not true bulbs. They multiply beneath the soil from a rhizome, an underground stem. The red cannas are from Hickory whereas the golden ones are from Santa Monica, California.

Red Canna
Golden Canna
Canna