What a Mess

From Northeast Georgia to Maine, the latest winter storm is bringing ice and snow all over the Eastern states.  It started here on our mountain with misty freezing rain that quickly left a solid sheet of ice everywhere.  The rain and sleet will turn to snow later today.  Great.  Snow on top of layers of ice.  And temperatures below freezing.  Yet, we are ever so thankful.  Thankful that we have a well-stocked pantry and freezer.  Thankful we have steel spikes for boots so we can walk up the driveway and along the street.  (Although there will be a minimum of that.)  Thankful we have a London Broil simmering in the slow cooker.  And especially thankful we live in a community with such wonderful services.

So while I sit by the fire, I am thinking of some of the reasons we are living in the best place I can imagine.

Every Tuesday evening during summers, the town closes off the main street for dancing in the streets.  Local bands play and folks of all ages come to dance.  Volunteers are available to help those who have difficulty with the square dancing calls.  The sidewalks are lined with lawn chairs and onlookers.  A local gelato parlor and several stores remain open and everyone has a great time.  While tourists are certainly welcome, the dances are for the local folk.  Not so many tourists on a Tuesday.

Young and old alike come to dance in the street.

And many of them DO "dance like nobody's watching."

 Our local community is located about nine miles up the mountain from the town of Brevard.  It has so many diverse activities that there is a club for everything you can imagine.  And if there isn't already a club and you can find enough interest you can start one sanctioned by the community.

Every fall the Gardening Club sponsors The Great Divide.  Local gardeners who are dividing their perennials bring the newly potted plants to share with others in the community.  Local artists and craftsmen/women bring their work for sale at bargain prices.  We also have several art shows each year.  And the dining rooms at the clubhouse are filled with art for sale by local artists.  There are so many talented artists, potters, and crafters in our community.

 A small section of the Great Divide

Extensive trails wind all through the hills in our community.  They range in difficulty from a walk in the woods to extremely difficult trails.  We have clubs that do regular maintenance on the trails and every so often they cut a new trail.  The new trail is opened with great fanfare and hundreds of residents come to hike the new trail.  And what awaits us at the end?  Why champagne of course.  And all sorts of delicious hors d'oeurvres.

 They may be plastic but they are better than Solo cups.

 We live in the forest and occasionally see a bear wander by.  Deer are quite common as they have a trail to our little creek out back.  Skunks make regular appearances under the bird feeders as do the usual raccoons, chipmunks and tree rodents (squirrels).  We've cornered an o'possum in our garage as well as a couple of black snakes.  We often see wild turkey hens walking along with their poults.  And we've had flying squirrels on our deck, drinking the hummingbird nectar.  There is a three-legged coyote that we've seen occasionally and sometimes a fox with her little ones.  We've even seen a bobcat wander down our driveway and into our woods.  We don't see as many rabbits as we used to, perhaps because of the increase in coyotes.  And sadly, on our walks we do see bunny fur and coyote crime scene evidence of a kill.

 Our bobcat that wandered by.

I was standing safely in the garage.

 Our county is known as The Land of the Waterfalls, and we have some gorgeous falls right here within our community.  Connestee Falls (for which our community is named) is a lovely twin waterfall.  The view in the following photograph is available only from our community.  It's quite a hike down but well worth the trouble with lovely views of Batson Creek and wonderful flora along the way.  And a big payoff at the end.

 Looking up at the majestic waterfall.

The landing we are standing upon is opposite the falls we can see.

We're standing at Lower Batson Creek Falls, the one visible from the public side of the twin falls.

We have four lakes in our community for fishing, swimming, boating (no motors), stand-up boarding and all sorts of water sports.  There are paths around several of them and it is so pleasant to simply sit and look out at the water.

Lucy is totally amazed by Canada geese.

These two geese made a lot of noise which intriqued Lucy

I suspect they had a nest nearby and didn't like her being so near.

So we won't be doing anything today to enjoy our community outside our own home.  My monthly book club and most other activities were cancelled yesterday in view of the coming storm.  Ice is forming on the trees and the streets are impassable for traffic.  It will be a while before it gets better.  But we are thankful we are safe and warm.  And that we live in such a wonderful community.

We have a plaque that reflects our feelings perfectly:

LIFE'S BETTER IN THE MOUNTAINS

Let us all think of those in the path of this storm.  And hope they are safe.

 

We Love Lucy

We had an unwelcome surprise this morning.  About half an hour after my husband set out on his weekly trip to Fresh Market in nearby Hendersonville, a totally unexpected snowfall began in earnest.  Huge snowflakes filled the sky.  In no time at all the already frozen ground was covered.  And it kept snowing.  After a white-knuckle drive back from Hendersonville my husband arrived at the gate of our community.  The guard advised him to park there and wait for security to drive him up to the house.  The roads were already that slick and several cars had already slid into ditches.

Then like a miracle the sun came out and the temperature rose above freezing.  The snow melted away almost as quickly as it had come.  By 2:00 I was able to drive my husband down to the gate to pick up his car.  We saw several cars still sitting on the sides of the road and in ditches.  Fortunately, none had plunged over the edge into the valleys below.  At least not on our street.

Lucy heard the security vehicle stop at our driveway so she ran to the window.  She couldn't believe my husband got out of the vehicle with two grocery bags and a bouquet of lovely flowers.  I went out to help with the groceries but made Lucy stay inside.  The driveway was slick and I certainly didn't want her to trip either of us in her excitement.

We don't use the front door unless we happen to be out in the yard, but that is where the packages are delivered if we're not here.  Lucy seems to know when there is a package at the front door.  Perhaps she glances toward the door every time we come back.  At any rate, she must investigate if there is one there.  Most of the larger deliveries are from Chewy and contain dog food and assorted dog stuff.

Lucy stands in front of the box waiting for someone to bring it inside.

I've mentioned before that two of our local affiliates (CBS and NBC) are stationed in nearby South Carolina.  And with the SC primaries coming up next, the airwaves are full of political ads.  Thank goodness we don't watch much network television.  But it would be nice to see the local news without having to keep the "mute" button at the ready.

Today's quote is from Claude McKay, early 20th century author and poet:
"Idealism is like a castle in the air if it is not based on a solid foundation of social and political realism."

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERYONE

CELEBRATE VALENTINE'S DAY IF YOUR WISH

BOYCOTT IT IF YOU'D RATHER DO THAT

DO A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR OTHERS

 

Water Over the Falls

Last week I mentioned the tremendous amount of rain we had in a very short time.  That, along with warmer temperatures and melting snow led to swollen rivers and flooding all over the county and in several neighboring counties as well.

Much as I wanted to drive out to see the waterfalls, I wisely heeded the advice of officials and stayed home.  Fortunately our local newspaper published a photograph that shows just how much water filled the rivers and overflowed the falls.

The first photograph was taken by me in 2008.  The popular waterfall is Looking Glass Falls located in our county.  The name "Looking Glass" comes from its proximity to Looking Glass Rock, a granite monolith rising in the mountains nearby.  The sides of the sheer rock faces reflect sunlight like a mirror when water or ice forms on its sides; thus the name Looking Glass Rock.

Looking Glass Falls is the most easily accessible waterfall in western NC. One need only to park in a space near the falls and walk on the sidewalk to view the waterfall.  There are steps going down to the base of the falls.  With its sixty-foot plunge, Looking Glass is one of our most majestic waterfalls and is located in Pisgah National Forest.

The normal fall from this plunge-type waterfall
Notice how placid the water is at the base of the falls.

 The following photograph was taken on February 2nd or 3rd after the heavy rains and melted snow.  Notice the railing in the lower left of the photograph.  The landing at the base of the falls is underwater.  Only the top railing is visible.

Photograph from the local newspaper
Notice the turbulence in the water at the base of the falls

One wonders just how much more water is falling over the waterfall and in the river below.  On summer days people wade in the area at the base.  The water that was there when this photograph was taken would surely have made it impossible to stand against the powerful current.

Quite a wonder to behold.

Regional Differences

Things were a bit different for our family when we first moved to Wisconsin.  Our children learned very quickly that manners were less important there.  Loud laughter filled the classroom when my son promptly stood and said, "yes ma'am?" when the teacher called his name.  Children were on a first name basis with parents of their friends.  The water fountain was called a "bubbler."  And so many little things, unimportant to adults but crucial to a middle school child.  But being adaptable kids, my children soon learned the ways of the region.  But they still had to say "please" and "thank you," "yes ma'am" and "yes sir."  I insisted on that.

My husband and I learned new things as well.  That hardly any restaurant served grits for breakfast. That people ate more brats than hot dogs.  That every bar and most restaurants had a fish fry every Friday.  That a popular Milwaukee appetizer at parties was called a "cannibal."  Made with raw freshly ground steak mixed with raw egg, it was served with onions, capers and seasonings and served on rye bread.  BTW:  there were at least three major e. coli outbreaks linked to eating cannibals while we lived there.  And no, I never once wanted to try one although they were often served at parties we attended.  That the break rooms at work were often filled with hard rolls and butter.

And in February the office was abuzz with everyone talking about punch key [sic] day.  Folks looked rather amazed when I asked what on earth punch key day was.

It seems that the word that sounds like punch key or pontch-ki is actually the Polish word "paczki."  I always thought of myself as well-read but somehow I had never encountered that word.  But you won't live in Milwaukee during February without learning all about pacskis.  They are heavy, luscious, deep-fried pastries,  usually filled with a jam and/or custard filling.  Glazed with icing or powdered sugar they often are decorated with orange zest.  Paczkis look like filled doughnuts but are made with a much richer dough.  They are a special treat on Shrove Tuesday, the Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday.

They originated in Poland in the Middle Ages and became a popular way for Christians to use up their remaining sugar, lard, and fruit, all of which were forbidden during the Lenten season.  Unlike many metropolitan areas, Milwaukee still has large numbers of small local bakeries, especially on the South Side.  The bakeries opened no later than six on Shrove Tuesday (some as early as 4:30) to allow workers to purchase paczkis to take to work.  So people in the office would pick up a dozen of them (plural is pronounced "poonch-ki"), filled with their favorite jellies and bring them to work.  The tables were laden with these delicacies on Paczki Day, otherwise known as Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday.

Photograph taken from Wikipedia
(This bakery spelled paczki incorrectly)

Fat Tuesday is appropriate for the folks who overindulge in paczkis.  The average filled paczki has about seven hundred calories and 50 grams of fat.  The most popular filling is prune.  Fortunately I never cared much for them so they were easy to resist.  But I have seen people eat three of them at a time.  I have no idea how that would sit like a heavy burden in one's stomach.  I fear no amount of coffee would keep me awake after eating even one paczki.

I must admit, it was such fun to learn the regional differences between the South and the Mid-West.  And Milwaukee was such an ethnically diverse city, one could find almost anything from any country.  It was a great place to live although I would not like the winters there as much as I did when I was younger.

[Non football fans, you don't need permission, but you might want to leave this post now if you wish:]

You will be pleased to know that despite the results of the Super Bowl yesterday, the sun did indeed rise over North Carolina this morning.  I was delighted with the game.  The sassy upstart was sacked six times, went 18 for 41, threw an interception, did not make a touchdown, and made two critical fumbles each of which led to a Bronco touchdown.  I was hoping he might learn a bit of humility after playing so poorly, but he once again showed his lack of maturity by walking out of the post-game press conference.  A reported asked about his disappointment with the outcome.  The quarterback, face almost obscured by a hoodie got up and replied, "I'm done" and rudely left the podium.

If you celebrate Mardi Gras, have a wonderful Tuesday.  And if you don't celebrate Mardi Gras, have a wonderful Tuesday anyway.

We Love Lucy

We've definitely had a strange first week of February.  We started with deep snow on the ground.  And then the rain came down.  And came down.  And came down.  The triad of milder temperatures, lots of snow to melt and heavy rain resulted in flash flooding all over western NC and especially our county.  Many roads were closed because of the high water.  Fields along the river basin were flooded with water so high the fences were not visible.

The following photograph is from our local newspaper and shows a flooded campground along the Davidson River in Pisgah National Forest.  The distant area in the middle of the photograph shows the normal size of the river.  The steps do not normally lead down to the river; they lead to the picnic area.  The tables are either underwater or have been washed away.  Curious as I was and as much as I wanted to go see the swollen rivers and waterfalls, I knew it was better to keep off the roads.  Most forest trails were closed for safety of visitors and for protection from further damage.

My husband drove Lucy downtown to the groomer and otherwise we stayed here on the mountain.  As I've mentioned before, Lucy hates the rain.  She doesn't seem to get the message that the longer she takes to potty, the longer we have to stay out in the rain.  She was still damp when she got to the groomer.

On rainy days she spends a lot of time among her pillows.  Who knew she would love them so much?

 You're not going to make me go out in the rain again, are you?

Sunday is the High Holy Day of football.  The Carolina Panthers are playing and you might think I would definitely want my State's team to win.  But you would be wrong.  I hope Peyton Manning leads the Denver Broncos to the biggest win in Super Bowl history.  Perhaps that might take a bit of sass from the NC quarterback.  He is indeed a great player, but a bit of respect for other great players might be nice.  He is without a doubt this year's MVP and I love his habit of giving the touchdown ball to a kid in the stands.  But that does not wipe out the bad taste in my mouth after watching his outrageous post-touchdown celebrations, often designed to try to humiliate his opponents.  So much for gracious winner.

[Note to the aforementioned quarterback:  Contrary to what you seem to believe, you are not criticized or disliked because you don't fit the model of the stereotypical white-guy quarterback.  I don't like you because you are a jerk.  It has nothing to do with the "white guy quarterback" thing.  You don't have to be white to be a jerk.

You said, "I'm an African American quarterback that may scare a lot of people because they haven't seen nothing that they can compare me to."  Well, sorry Cam.  We've seen the likes of Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson of the Seahawks, Terrelle Pryor with Raiders, Josh Freeman with the Buccaneers and others.  They manage to be African American quarterbacks without the flash and glamour you seem to need.  So contrary to your own words, you are not the Prince of Football.  Not by a long shot.]

All right.  Rant over.  Kudos to this quarterback for his excellent playing skills.  And more kudos for his off the field involvement with underprivileged kids and his foundation.  There are some things I greatly admire about him.  But I'd like to see Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos teach him a little humility.

It is fitting that as a lover (and one of the millions of team owners) of the Green Bay Packers I have selected today's quote from the great Vince Lombardi:

The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand,
And the determination that whether we win or lose,
We have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.


Whether you like the football, the commercials, the halftime performances, the companionship of friends, or simply the snacks, enjoy Sunday's game.

HAVE A MOST WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERYONE!

NEXT MONTH BRINGS THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING.

 

A Little Break from the Campaign Rhetoric

Folks closely watched the Webcam  as Masai giraffe Autumn headed into the last weeks of a very long pregnancy.  (Average gestation period for giraffes is fifteen months.)  Yesterday morning they were not disappointed as Autumn successfully delivered her little baby.  The little one immediately got on its legs and found its mother's milk.  And everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The birth occurred at the Greenville, SC zoo and gave folks a brief respite from the non-stop coverage of politics.  The healthy baby was especially welcome considering that Autumn's last calf was stillborn.

Mother Autumn and father Walter touch noses as the little baby balances on wobbly legs.
Look at the growth chart on the wall.
The "tiny" baby is six feet tall.

(Courtesy photo from the Greenville Zoo)

We live in the mountains only 30 miles from Greenville so it's an easy day trip for us.  The drive is especially beautiful as it runs down the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment with its dramatic drops in elevation and some gigantic rock formations.  The road is winding with lots of switchbacks so we don't drive it in winter.  We take the long route on the Interstate.

The following photograph is one I took at the Greenville Zoo in 2013.  It's a photograph of Kiko, Autumn's firstborn.  He was a year old at the time and now resides in the Toronto Zoo.

I stood there a long time waiting for Kiko to stand up but he was soaking up the sun.

Didn't even look our way.
Paid as much attention to the camera as Lucy does.

A contest is already underway for naming the little calf.  The zoo has not announced whether it is male or female so contestants are asked to select one name for each sex.

You can watch the Webcam of the three giraffes in the barn and paddock here

For those of you who might be interested, Pisgah Pete predicted an early spring.  After stopping to munch on nuts for a while he also predicted that the Carolina Panthers would win the Super Bowl.  As for me?  I don't trust squirrels of any kind.

Today we are getting another little respite from campaign "news."  It's pouring rain so there are breaking weather reports with the ubiquitous videos of news reporters standing by flooded roads.  More than 2 and a half inches have fallen overnight and it's still raining.  What with the still lingering snow, the heavy downfall has flooded streams and roads.  I'm making a big pot of minestrone soup and we'll hunker in for a while.  Oh, we do have to go out one more time today.  Lucy is at the groomer so we'll run down to pick her up and THEN we'll hunker down.  But it will be for a shorter time than when we got the major snow.

No Groundhog for Us

Here in Brevard we do it differently.  Tomorrow, while eyes across the nation turn to view their resident groundhogs, Transylvania County citizens will turn their eyes to Pisgah Pete, our county mascot.  Pisgah Pete is one of our famous* white squirrels.

Since squirrels are fast little devils animals, Pete will not be released from the cage that transports him from his home to the town square.  Thus, he will have no opportunity to see his shadow.  But not to worry.  The town officials have figured out a way for Pete to forecast the weather.  Two signs will be placed, one on the left side and one on the right side of his cage.  One sign will read "yes" and the other sign will read "no."  A designated official will then ask Pete, "Will there be six more weeks of winter?"  Eventually Pete will go toward one side of the cage or the other and that movement will constitute the answer.

Because Pete is so reliable, citizens have been asked to submit "yes or no" questions and a select few will be asked of Pete.  Who knows?  Pete might even tell us who will be the next President.  But I'm going to vote anyway.

Pisgah Pete at last year's gathering

(photo from the local newspaper)

There is no way Pete could see his shadow today.  We still have lingering snow on the ground and much warmer temperatures.  That combination makes for a very foggy day.  And we're expecting rain tomorrow so I don't think he will see a shadow even if that were his preferred prognostication method.

*Famous white squirrels
Florida, 1949.  A carnival truck carrying animals overturns in the town of Madison.  A nearby resident rubs his eyes in disbelief when he glimpses two white squirrels in his pecan grove.  He is impressed by them and thinks they must be albino so he captures them.  He is surprised to find that their eyes are black.  They are not albino at all.  The man gives the squirrels away to a friend.

Here comes the Brevard connection.  The friend had relatives in Brevard and decided the cute little white squirrels would make a nice gift for his niece.  So he brought the squirrels to NC and gave them to his niece.  The niece named the squirrels "SnowBall" and "Frisky."  She loved the squirrels and was disappointed they did not mate.  She kept them for a couple of years and then married and moved away from home.  She did not take the squirrels with her.

Eventually one of the squirrels escaped from the enclosure and ran into the woods.  Fearing the loneliness of the remaining squirrel, her uncle gave the squirrel its freedom.  Released from captivity Frisky and Snowball met up with the native gray squirrels and, as squirrels are wont to do, created many little baby squirrels.  A surprising number of the newly birthed white squirrels began appearing all over the town.  The white squirrels so endeared themselves to the citizens of Brevard that the City Council passed a protection ordinance in 1986.  The ordinance established the city limits of Brevard as a white squirrel sanctuary and made it illegal hunt, kill, trap or otherwise capture any white squirrel within the city.

The squirrels have prospered and at last count, (yes there is an annual count of white squirrels) the white squirrels made up 45% of the squirrel population within the city.  The squirrels have expanded their territory and we occasionally find them here, more than 10 miles up the mountain from Brevard.  In fact, we have seen them in our woods.  They tend not to stay around our house, but some adoring neighbors actually feed squirrels so we will likely see more of them.  We don't even need any ordinance to protect them.  Our community protects all wildlife of any kind.

I snapped this shot of a white squirrel right in our own back yard.

Don't be deceived by its looks.  It's still a tree rat just like its gray kin.

So go ahead and watch your own groundhog or videos of famous Punxsutawney Phil.  Around here folks will be watching Pisgah Pete, the Brevard white squirrel make his prediction.  Any of them will take you away from the Iowa caucus results for a brief instant.

Truth is, spring will come no matter what any animal predicts.  And that makes me happy.