2021 Photo of the Year

1/1/2021. "December 28, 2020: Sunrise, 7:20, front porch of Cutlers, Greensboro, North Carolina."

1/8/2021. "You asked for snowy pictures, we have them! With puppies! Our last significant snow was just weeks after we got our pup, Dexter, in December 2018."

1/15/2021. "This photo was taken of the sunset on Salem Lake. My hands nearly froze off holding the glass ball but it was worth it to get this magical shot."

1/22/2021. "Pine Siskin taking off in the backyard."

1/29/2021. "Double Shoals on the New River between Fries and Fries Junction on the New River Trail, where I was getting my exercise during Friday’s snow. Black and white suited the scene."

2/5/2021. "In recognition of Black History Month and honoring the A&T Four's February 1960 sit-ins at the lunch counter at F.W. Woolworth, Greensboro, North Carolina. Those courageous sit-ins launched a national sit-in movement. My friend and renowned artist Phillip Marsh at his 2019 mural on the wall of Windsor Recreation Center, Greensboro."

2/12/2021. "Sunset from the top of Beech Mountain, N.C."

2/19/2021. "Photo from the ice storm on February 18th, 2021. This photo was taken in my front yard in Advance, N.C."

2/26/2021, Carol Newsome, Rural Hall. "This fox strolled behind my house and was illuminated by the late afternoon setting sun."

3/5/2021. "Japanese flowering apricot (Prunus mume) blooming now at the Arboretum and Gardens at Tanglewood Park. On a sunny spring day, I even caught some pollinators in action."

3/12/2021. "Spring is only a hop away!"

3/19/2021. "Saw this along a beautiful walk in Tanglewood Park. I loved the contrast of the red with the background and how it made the flower pop."

3/26/2021. "Evening traveler passing through, enjoying the setting sun across the ridge."

4/2/2021. "This is a view of Fontana Lake and Clingman’s Dome in the distance taken from the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad yesterday, 3/21/21. I was told that they lower the water level in the winter to allow for the melting of snow."

4/9/2021. "Taken on a morning run shortly after sunrise at the Reynolda Gardens."

4/16/2021. "I found a small dragonfly taking a morning snooze on a bluebell before the heat of the day."

4/23/2021. "Unnamed falls off of Exit 7."

4/30/2021. "This was taken off the side of the road on Highway 70 in Whitsett."

5/7/2021. "Watching a Canada goose come in for a landing on a lake near us—a moment to appreciate the beauty of nature—in Davie County, N.C."

5/14/2021. "A bee having a drink of water after visiting my garden."

5/21/2021. "A beautiful morning at Salem Lake."

5/28/2021. "Sunset on the Northern part of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Northern V.A."

6/4/2021. "A Ladybug encouraging a Black-Eyed Susan in the wildflower patch outside my window."

6/11/2021. "Male Red-Winged Blackbird taking flight, Bethabara park wetlands."

6/18/2021. "This is a green tree frog hanging out on my patio in Jamestown, N.C., waiting for all the bugs to come out at dusk. They like to snooze inside my patio umbrella during the day."

6/25/2021. "Snowy Egret at the Bog Garden."

7/2/2021. "Daylily droplets on yellow blossom."

7/9/2021. "Moonflower almost ready to unfurl."

7/16/2021. "I took this photo at a garden in the Fayetteville area. I love Hummingbirds and they're my favorite subject to photograph."

7/23/2021. "Pollinator enjoying the echinacea on a warm sunny afternoon."

7/30/2021. "Royalty visiting the garden in Rural Hall, N.C."

8/6/2021. "Very friendly deer in Clemmons."

8/13/2021. "The late Sam Moss, being shy, he will get a star on the W-S walk of fame today."

8/20/2021 "This was taken in the fountain at Reynolda Gardens."

8/27/2021. "Egrets having fun by the lake."

9/3/2021. "A lady told me that my dog named Jazz (which has one brown eye and one blue eye) has one eye on Earth and one eye in Heaven."

9/10/2021. "Thomas, an older female goat named by my daughter during her Thomas the Tank Engine phase, has always been a commanding presence on our farm in Sandy Ridge, N.C."

9/17/2021. "'Mailbox and Yellow Chair', photo was taken on my street in Boone. At a certain time of year, the morning sunrays are spectacular. On this morning, I placed the yellow chair at my mailbox. There was a time when we eagerly waited at our mailbox for exciting news."

9/24/2021. "I'm a rural mail carrier and this was taken out on my route. This creature said Hey! I'm ready for my close-up. I'm so fortunate with my job that I can see and enjoy such animals each day."

10/1/2021."This photo was taken on the EVTA trail in Elkin, N.C.. When I go on my morning runs with my kids, my daughter loves to leap across the bridge!"

10/8/2021. "This was taken from an overlook on the blue ridge parkway looking east towards Winston Salem. The path leading down to the solitary tree made the entire scene peaceful."

10/15/2021. "Our family has always hiked at Pilot Mountain, but it was only recently that we happened to be there at sunset. Our kids were entranced by watching the sun go down majestically over the Blue Ridge. We are surrounded by such beauty here in the Piedmont!"

10/22/2021. "It is fall in the Cataloochee Valley and it is time for the fall 'rut'. Each afternoon the Elk 'cows' move into the valley to graze and the males follow. This afternoon the alpha male was busy escorting his main rival out of the area and this young male moved in to look over the herd."

10/29/2021. "Fishing buddies, an American Pelican, a few Cormorants, and a ring billed gull probably arguing about territory. At High Rock Lake Dam just east of Salisbury."

11/5/2021. "Chilly November morning, watching the Yadkin River flow and allowing my racing thoughts and fervent prayers to flow away with it."

11/12/2021. "Autumn is arriving. It was 29°F during the night, and when I woke up the first frost covered everything in a shimmer. I took many photos, but there is something magical about a blossom at the end of its glory, encrusted in the crystals of cold."

11/19/2021. "Early morning paddle at Tuckertown Reservoir."

11/26/2021. "Full moon rising over I40 near Mocksville. I wish I was able to get it cresting, I've never seen it so big. I pulled over as soon as I got a chance to get to."

12/3/2021. "Our daughter releasing a Monarch she watched develop from caterpillar to butterfly."

12/10/2021. "One of the new foals grazing in Massie Gap as the sun sets in Grayson Highland State Park. The foal is named Cameo and her mom Locket was close by. These feral ponies live in the park year round surviving on what ever grasses they find. I took the photo this year in November as I was leaving after a great day of hiking and photographing the ponies."

12/17/2021. "Bird’s nest with blue eggs." 

12/24/2021. "A foggy, Friday morning on my farm in Ararat, Virginia which is just north of Mount Airy, North Carolina. Our old farm truck is decorated for Christmas with the mountains in the background."

12/31/2021. "Drone photo of pilot mountain at sunset."