Raining in the Mountains

Transylvania County averages more rain per year than any other county in NC.  In fact, parts of our county are designed as temperate rain forests.  We average nearly 80 inches of rain annually, even more in parts of the county.  We do have years of drought, but this year our rainfall is a bit above average.  For the past week we have had rain showers almost every afternoon.  They are scattered showers and come in bursts, leaving high humidity behind.  The rivers are up and the forests are lush with green.

"The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain."

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

We have  a sunflower that blooms all year long.  Even in the rain.  It is a medallion made for us by one of our WI neighbors.  She is a periodontist and stained glass work is one of her hobbies.  She finds it relaxing and it helps maintain manual dexterity she needs for her occupation.  We find it beautiful and welcome especially on rainy days.

 The perpetually blooming flower

Wherever you are, I hope you are getting just the right amount of rain.  As the poet said, "let it rain."

Blooming in the Woods

Our woods are full of Mountain Laurel.  Some years they are fuller and more beautiful than other years, but they are always welcome.  Mountain Laurel, kalmia latifolia, grows wild all along the eastern states.  It is the state flower for Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

Mountain Laurel in our front yard

The bear looks out at the laurel

 This one is visible from our guest bedroom window

Our community has restrictions on cutting down Mountain Laurel.  The wood has become very valuable as more and more companies build custom railings and fences from the branches.

This photo is from the Internet, but plenty of homes in our community have laurel railing

The Mountain Laurel is in the same family as the blueberry.  But it bears no fruit.  The flowers are enough for me.

We Love Lucy

We love to spend time in our  front yard.  Because it is well buffered from the street with plants and boulders, Lucy can be off lead and explore the smells.  Our Ellie loved to pose for photographs, but Lucy does not like to sit still in the yard.  So she always looks a bit disgusted as if we have interfered with her fun.

The plant on the left is a cultivated type of laurel.
Shorter but fuller than the native laurel

 Sitting on this bench is no fun at all.

 Nope.  They are not going to make me smile.

It is fitting that our quote for the week comes from Maya Angelou who left this earthly life a few days ago.  I haven't the words to eloquently express how much this fine woman meant to so many people.  I will leave that to others.  Fortunately, Maya Angelou will continue to live on in her writings.  I'm glad that future generations will understand a bit more about the segregated south and Jim Crow by reading her remarkable words.  They will know that "still we rise" and they will be motivated and inspired by this courageous woman.

Read some of Maya Angelou's books or poetry this weekend.  You will find them fascinating.  You can read and listen to one of my favorites;  her "On the Pulse of Morning" which she composed and read at Clinton's inauguration in 1992.   (here) 
[NOTE:  Click on the cassette player below the photograph if you simply want to listen and not download.]

HAVE A SAFE AND WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERYONE!

Sweet Arnold

It will never be the most attractive plant in the yard.  It is not the brightest yellow nor the sweetest smelling.  In fact, if Arnold Promise showed its flowers in April or May we wouldn't give it much of a glance.  But what Arnold Promise does is to give us yellow blossoms with a lovely smell that really brightens up our January or February days.

Arnold Promise is a witch hazel hybrid, Hamamelis x intermedia so it is not a true native plant.  But it thrives in our mountains and gives us so much pleasure with the promise of spring.  (Wonder if that's why it's called Promise?)

The blossoms are not as prolific as Forsythia but right now it's the only thing blooming

 Our Arnold Promise is about six years old and about eight feet tall.  It is not a pretty shrub when it is little and unless a gardener tells you about it, you would not think to buy one.  They have bare twigs in the nursery since they will have already blossomed before the nurseries open for the spring.  Like an ugly duckling, it grows more attractive as it matures.

 Sweet witch hazel fills the air

 Arnold Promise is a slow grower and nurseries usually prefer plants easier to propagate.  So poor Arnold is not often seen and when he is seen, he tends to be overlooked amidst the more colorful plants.

 A true plant for the senses

Witch hazel has been used for centuries in many cultures.  The extract from boiling the bark and roots makes an ointment that is soothing for rashes and burns.  Barber shops used witch hazel as an astringent after shaves and hair cuts.  And the branches of witch hazel are the best ones for dousing (or divining) water.

But never mind the uses for witch hazel.  The thing that Arnold Promise delivers to us year after year is the wonderful sweet smell and bright yellow color of spring in the dead of winter.  And for that we are indeed grateful.

Come Rain or Come Shine or Both

 

 

Generally speaking, I love the rain.  I love to sit on the screen porch and watch the rain.  I love to sit in the library and watch the rain.  I loved the rain when I was a kid, especially the summer rain at my grandpa's farm.  Sitting in the barn listening to rain on the tin roof.  The only time in my life when I didn't like rain was when I did home care visits in the inner city.  Trying to juggle equipment, arriving at the door dripping wet...no, rain is not a friend to home care nurses.

 

We have had so much rain lately that I really can't say I still enjoy it.  But yesterday around sunset brought a beautiful rainy sight.

 

(You will need to click on photographs to see the rain)

 

 The setting sun was shining through the rain in the yard.

 

 

 

 A change in camera settings almost obscures the rain.

 

 

 

Large drops falling straight down 

 

 

 

 We certainly didn't need more rain, but it was beautiful.

Longfellow said it best,
"The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain."

And So It Pours

 

 

 

Our part of NC did not see any effect from Andrea, but another front has decided to linger and pelt us with more rain that we need.  I wouldn't mind so much, but the last of our strawberries are lying in fields too wet to harvest.  Bummer!

 

It rained on and off all weekend and this morning is damp and foggy.  The sun came out for a few minutes yesterday and I ran out to take a picture of some Mountain Laurel.  We have it all over our woods and it is spectacular this year.  Alas, I took only two pictures and the sun disappeared and the rain started again.  Fortunately we have a screened porch and we can look out into the woods to see the laurel even in the rain.

 

This tall, skinny Mountain Laurel is in the front yard.

 

 

 

Here's a closer look at the bird sitting beneath the laurel.

We continue to have flash flood warnings with occasional rockslides and fallen trees.  We have a 60% chance of more rain today, then the odds drop to 30% for the rest of the week.

On a positive note; everything is lush and green and we definitely don't have to water anything, not even the herbs on the deck.

End of April Showers

Seems I've written a lot about the weather recently.  Perhaps that is because April's weather has been very strange...rain, hail, ice, temperatures well above normal and well below normal.  We know that April showers bring May flowers but we really did not expect such a deluge on the last weekend in rainy April.

Fortunately my husband has finished spreading the new pine straw and fertilizing the plants.  So we did just what Henry Wadsworth Longfellow suggested, "The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain."

And rain it did; more than four inches Saturday and Sunday.  Looking out the garage toward the driveway.

Lots of rain

On this side as well

Wet yard bird

Wet hummingbird feeders (and birds as well)

Did you think for one minute the rain would ruin our grilled dinner?

Not a chance.

This morning has dawned sunny and bright.  The pollen count is down and the rivers are full, overflowing in some areas.  We need a week of sunshine please.

Hail Done Broke Loose

One of my favorite movies is "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?"  And one of my favorite lines in the movie is that of the maid Tillie who says, "All Hell done broke loose."  Well, the hail broke loose around here last week.  Like most of the country our weather has waxed and waned above normal and much below normal.  I do not recall making the switch from air conditioning to heat so many times in one short week.

On Thursday, after a few hours of rain, the hail started.  Small pebbles of hail bouncing all over the yard like popcorn in a popper.  And just as suddenly, the hail stopped and the sun came out!  Amazing how quickly it turned.

Icy hail in the sunshine

Fun if you weren't out

The deck was covered with little pebbles

The hail melted and disappeared in no time at all and we enjoyed sunshine the rest of the day.

Not everyone across the country has been so lucky.  Our thoughts go out to those in the Midwest who are dealing with the severe flooding.

Fridays Are Golden

What a difference a week makes!  Last Friday found us with a mid-day temperature of 33 and ice on the trees.  Then things warmed up and all week we have had temperatures ten to fifteen degrees ABOVE our normal.  Severe thunderstorms and high winds moved through our area last night.  Today is sunny and very warm.  We didn't turn on the air conditioning for several days, but the pollen is so bad we reluctantly turned it on.  We figured it is cheaper to pay for a bit more electricity than to keep buying allergy pills, tissues, and eye drops.  Hopefully last night's rain reduced the counts enough for us to open the windows and enjoy the mountain breezes.

The girls have really enjoyed the sunshine and being outdoors more, "helping" spread pine straw and picking up sticks.

Ellie always checks in with St. Francis and the little bird he holds.

Lucy "drifted" outside the boundaries and was summoned with a recall.  She seemed rather indignant about it.

Jeepers, Mom, I wasn't going to run off anywhere.

Ah, dear Lucy.  I know that, but you simply have to abide by the boundaries.

Lucy is a very restless sleeper.  She twists and turns and flops around constantly in her crate at night.

She apparently has great dreams because her legs will move and her tail will wag in her sleep.

Here's how she looks every morning before she is groomed.  Rather sad, isn't it?

(You may need to click to appreciate the bad hair day)

Time is really flying by.  Already one hundred days of 2013 have past.  Amazing.  We will be stuck in our community tomorrow as the "Assault on the Carolinas" bicycle race takes place.  There are several races of different lengths up and down the mountains, around the curves, and through the valleys.  Every single one of them includes a portion (large or small) of US 276, the road that leads us anywhere we need to go.  There are 40K, 60K, and even 100K races.  [No, you cannot join the race.  Registration capped long ago with 1,000 participants.]  Thankfully, our community is not a bad place to hang out on a Saturday.

Today's quotes come from Carol Burnett.  She has a new book, written to honor her daughter Carrie.  Carrie successfully overcame teen-aged drug addiction and went on to live a happy productive life.  That life was cut short when Carried died of cancer in 2002.

"You have to go through the falling down in order to learn to walk.  It helps to know that you can survive it.  That's an education in itself."

"I've always grown from my problems and challenges; from the things that don't work out, that's when I've really learned."

HAVE A JOYOUS AND WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERYONE!!!

April Flowers

Cool weather has delayed spring around here.  And the ice last week made us fear damage to our plants, ready to blossom.  Fortunately, there was minimal damage.  A weekend filled with warm sunshine has popped everything out.

No damage on this beauty

But some did not do so well.

This white one was mostly spared

We love this one

And the bright yellow

Tiny blooms on the sage

And slightly damaged hellebores

Early bird songs with active courting antics are a sure sign.  We're waiting for the spring migration.  Oh, life is indeed good.

Again Arnold Delivers as Promised

Fragrant yellow blossoms in the dead of winter.  That is what Arnold Promise witch hazel brings to our yard.  The yellow blossoms give hope for the arrival of spring.  The fragrance fills the air.  And both of them bring us joy.

The wonderful smell of witch hazel is often a treat to winter hikers in the NC mountains since it grows wild here.  But Arnold Promise is a bit different.  Developed at Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum, it was established in 1928.  A hybrid witch hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia) Arnold Promise can grow up to 20 feet tall.

Extract from boiling the bark, tender shoots, and roots of witch hazel make soothing ointments for rashes, cuts, abrasions and even hemorrhoids.  Its astringent and soothing properties make it excellent for barber shops.  (Remember the smell when you walked past the barbershops of old?  That was likely witch hazel.)

But mostly, our Arnold Promise just makes us feel good.  

February delight for the senses

We can see it through the library window and smell it all over the front yard.

Arnold Promise can be a bit difficult to find.  It blooms in January-March, earlier than most nurseries ramp up for the spring season.  When the blossoms fall off and before the leaves appear, it's something of an ugly duckling among the other blossoming spring trees.  But it has lovely leaves, turning to a beautiful bright orange in the fall.

Try Arnold Promise if you live in USDA zones 5-9.  It will deliver much joy to your winter.  I promise.

Not Native

By "not native," I am not referring to people.  Although there is quite a bit of talk around here about the people who have lived here for generations, the rest of us considered "outsiders."  I have even seen license plates that say, "Native."  I saw one in a parking lot and when the woman got out I was tempted to say, "Gee, you don't look Cherokee at all."  But I didn't.  And that's a whole different story.

The words "not native" refer to one of my favorite little trees.  Almost all of our plants and shrubs are native to the area.  (My precious camellia being one exception.)  But one tree that gives us great joy is not only not native to western North Carolina, it isn't native to the United States.

It is the Coral Bark Maple, Acer palmatum 'Sango-kaku'.  This lovely little tree has great foliage in spring, summer and fall, but its most striking feature is the bark.  Always a shade of coral, the color deepens dramatically in cold weather.  Absent any leaves, it's remarkable deep coral stands out in winter.

I took these photographs yesterday during a brief respite from the downpours we had.  The sky was gray and dreary and yet this little maple glowed even without any help from the sun.

The tree grows rather slowly with maximum height of 25 feet.

It adds such gorgeous color to the winter yard.

One of my favorite little trees.

Most of the plants in our yard are holly, rhododendron, mountain laurel, witch hazel and other native shrubs and trees.  We are not purists who believe it's a shame to plant non-native varieties.  We have mostly native varieties for the simple reason that they are best adapted to our environment and less likely to require replacement.  But the Coral Bark Maple does quite well in its location and we do enjoy it in all seasons of the year.

(Sad note:  My silly camellia decided to bud out early and all the buds got frozen and dropped to the ground.  Ah well, there's always next year.  Maybe.)

Bear on a Truck

We knew we needed a bear.  The real ones occasionally wander by, but we wanted one that would stay with us.  There are tons of bear options here in the mountains.  There are several chainsaw carvers, resin bears, concrete bears and wooden bears.  We didn't know what kind of bear we wanted but were sure we would know it when we saw it.  A new neighbor a couple of blocks away had several beautiful bears.  We asked where they got them.  They gave us the name of the carver.

Last spring we visited the carver near Cashiers.  We stopped and looked at the artist's work and chatted with him about what we wanted.  He assured us that he could make one for us.  In August the carver called to say the bear was carved and drying at his home.  Then he would treat the wood and stain it.

Two weeks ago the carver called to tell us the bear was ready.  He delivered it to our house on a huge truck.

The bear on a truck

We did not get the bear from nearby Uncle Buck (here).  We wanted a brown black bear and wanted a bit more detail in the carving.  So where did our bear come from?

The Bear's Den, of course.

The bear is sitting on a stump.  Both the bear and the stump were carved from a single, very large log.  The heavy piece was moved from the truck to our yard.  And we love him.

I think he likes our yard.

We are pleased with our new bear, visible from several rooms in the house.  He was never intended to look real, but we didn't want a "Disney" bear either.  Isn't it great to commission something and get exactly what you wanted?  We definitely have an eclectic art collection in our yards.  But beauty is still in the eye of the beholder and we think all of our tacky stuff is beautiful.

He Watches the Earth and Animals

He was born in the twelfth century in Italy.  The son of a wealthy merchant in Assisi, he had a vision in his early 20s.  At that time he abandoned his money and all his worldly things and lived his life in poverty and service to others.  Born Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone, he later became known as Francis of Assisi.  He respected all plant and animal life, valued the worth of every person and was declared a Saint only a few years after his death.  His achievements are far too numerous to list here, but his life was an inspiring one which everyone should research and learn from.  St. Francis of Assisi is considered the patron saint of animals.

We left our (very heavy) statue of St. Francis behind when we moved back to North Carolina.  And for six years we have looked at various statutes but didn't find one that quite suited us.  Far too many were so cluttered with Disneyesque animals that one expected Snow White rather than St. Francis.

For several years we had only our Carruth Studio St. Francis mounted amongst the leaves of a vine circling one of our trees.

On a recent visit to the Biltmore Estate we happened to browse one of the gift shops.  There, among other statues and fountains we found "our" St. Francis.  The statue's simplicity was the main attraction.  So we bought him and brought him home.

Holding a single bird in his hands, he personifies our perceptions about this saint.

And so he stands in our yard reminding us to live more simply and love all animals.

What on earth are these two up to?

I suppose it's only fair that they sniff around the vines of our other St. Francis.

Tomorrow is our Election Day.  I usually prefer to vote on the day itself but this year I voted early.  There was a vote I needed to make and I didn't dare risk not making it to the polls.

Fridays are Golden

This has been a hot and steamy week.  Our temperatures have averaged thirteen degrees above our normals.  High humidity has made it even worse.  Needless to say, our Golden Girls do not do well in the heat so we haven't taken them on any trails this week.

Our Lucy has always had a "delicate" GI system.  Several times a year she will pick up "stuff" during her walks and will have urgency and diarrhea.  For quite a while the episodes would last several days.  Thanks to a recommendation from another doggie blogger (sorry I can't remember who), we now have a perfect system that resolves the symptoms much more quickly.  When Lucy has a loose stool, we omit her next meal.  Then we give her canned pumpkin for several meals rather than her usual food.  We also give her a probiotic every day.  Now the episodes resolve in less than twenty-four hours and we don't have the middle-of-the-night urgency to go outside.

Since the weather has been so hot and Lucy has not felt well, we have not gone further than our neighborhood walks and hanging around the yard.

Ellie sits as soon as I put the camera to my face.

You can see that Lucy is still not quite herself.

She starts to climb up on a rock but decides not to complete the climb.

This little rock is just the right size for Ellie.  She looks out in the waning sunlight.

 The girls are quite anxious to get back inside.  You see...it's almost dinner time.  I'm glad to say that Lucy is back to her active little self again.

The quote for the week comes from French author and Nobel Prize winner Andre Gide as he wrote about respect:  (which seems more and more lost in our society)

"There are admirable potentials in every human being.  Believe in your strength and your truth.  Learn to repeat endlessly to yourself, 'It all depends on me.'"

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERYONE!!!