This is my son, Malachi, with one of his baby goats in our barn. Our small farm in Candler has a herd of pygmy goats, a couple of sheep, a mini-donkey and two dogs.—Allison Morgan, Candler, Haywood EMC
This is on my family’s farm in Iron Station one morning when the sun was shining through the mist and trees. —Amy Hallman, Iron Station, Rutherford EMC
A view of Grandfather Mountain from my grandmother’s Stonebridge cabin in Todd. —Bailey Martin, Huntersville, Blue Ridge Electric
Early in the morning while waiting to see the sunrise, I saw this surfer passing next to me, about to start his day doing something that he loves. —Charlotte Sanchez, Spring Lake
This is an old structure at dawn next to a beautiful, old oak tree in Franklinton. I passed by it every day taking my daughter to school at Tar River Elementary. About a month after I took this picture, we had a wind storm that blew the tree over and destroyed the building. —Cindy Lunsford, Wake Forest, Wake EMC
When my husband and I spent a day in Beaufort last October, first on the list to visit was the Old Burying Ground. We enjoyed the stories connected to the graves, some of which date back to the 1700s. —Donna Maness, Star, Randolph EMC
A beautiful place “into the wild” along the Blue Ridge Parkway. —Ewa Asim, Wake Forest, Wake EMC
When spring got its early start this year, I saw this fern in the woods by my house. —Frank Ellison, Clemmons
This is daughter, Naomi, and a friendly reptile when we were out in the Burke County country near Oak Hill. —Greg Kramer, Morganton, Rutherford EMC
This is our daughter, Annabelle, showing off her first catch with her new bug catching kit. She got this kit for her fourth birthday in the spring of 2012, just in time for the arrival of the caterpillars. Jason & —Diana Michaud, Fayetteville, South River EMC
On a beautiful spring day, sunny with Carolina blue skies, my cherry tree had reached full bloom. Jennifer T. Yandle, —Indian Trail, Union Power Cooperative
My 2-year-old granddaughter eschewed finding Easter eggs last spring and would only pick and blow dandelions. As she put it, she wanted to find “candy lions.” —Joel Miller, Hickory, Blue Ridge Electric
We live on a small lake outside of Fayetteville. In September, my son made a fishing pole out of a twig and some string. Our cat eagerly awaited the possibility of a catch. It was one of those lazy, late summer days when the world holds out the possibility of how simple life can be. —Lauren Kennedy, Fayetteville, Lumbee River EMC
My three kids — Tyler, Katelyn and Megan — strolling along at sunset on Tom Short Road near Polo Ridge Elementary School. —Lisa O’Donnell, Charlotte
When work was cancelled because of an early January snowstorm in 2011, we went for a drive in the neighborhood. That’s when I snapped this shot of a barn, still adorned with its Christmas wreath, on Waco Road in Kings Mountain. —Mark Howell, Kings Mountain, Rutherford EMC
It was a beautiful October day when my family enjoyed a picnic by the lake on our visit to the Biltmore Estate. —Matt Walker, Mint Hill, Union Electric Cooperative
A first-time visit to Wilmington Beach on a cool day last spring. —Melissa Hildebrand, Wake Forest, Wake EMC
Sammy the squirrel was abandoned from a nest at three weeks old. We raised her, then released her into the wild nearly two and half years ago. She comes around for food and attention, sits on my shoulder to eat pecans, avocado, pistachios. And she hides nuts. She also enjoys orange Gatorade. Sammy has raised at least five litters that we know of. Although she lives in the wild, she is a part of our family. —Randy Flynn, Columbus, Rutherford EMC
I have proof that North Carolina does get snow every once in a while. This is my backyard. —Rhonda Porter, Apex
Our house on Lake Theodore in Iron Station. —Ted & Kim Dodgin, Iron Station, Rutherford EMC
I love cicadas and their summer song, loud but still comforting. It sings of long summer days and mild nights. I found this little guy, still wet, fresh out of his cocoon. Once dry, he sang for an hour before flying away. —Virginia Farnham, Broadway, South River EMC
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