In Only One Week

I cannot recall the color ever bursting forth as quickly as it did this year.  Last week the Blue Ridge Parkway viewing areas gave us the beginning of color in the mountains.  When we went back up this week most of the yellows were gone from the higher elevations and the reds dominated the color.

The color in the higher elevations is still lovely with mostly reds and a bit of yellow.

 A treat for the eyes no matter the season.

Looking Glass Rock, so named because the water on the rock face freezes in winter and the sun makes the mountain shine like a mirror.

At slightly lower elevations, there is more color including the yellows and oranges.

At a drop of a thousand feet the color is more pronounced.  At John Rock the color is gorgeous.

Davidson River delights the trout fishermen and women.  They dot the river all along its way.

We will be making trips up to the Parkway until it closes for the winter.  When our children were younger we used to take them to the Cold Mountain Overlook where the gates keep automobile traffic from entering.  During winter it is such a treat to walk the Parkway in the snow.  Perhaps we will take the dogs up there this year.

Not on a Clothesline Art Show

The annual "Clothesline Art Show" in our community is held every Autumn.  It began as an exhibit for water colors, sketches and other drawings.  These works of art were attached to clotheslines and people would walk past them to look and to buy.

There are so many artists living here that the show expanded to include artisans of any medium.  So the clothesline is no longer used and the artists display their works on tables or easels.  But it seems everyone liked the name so the event is still called "Clothesline Art Show."

Last Saturday artists living within our community set up their works.

All of these are oil paintings.

These watercolors were spread out on easels.

This artist specializes in painting or drawing animals.

Hand knits are always good sellers.  A gourd artist is in the back.

My neighbors exhibited and sold some of her pottery.

Still more art to enjoy.

It was a great way to spend the morning.  They even had a food vendor with sandwiches, hot dogs and beverages.  We enoyed looking at all the art work even if we didn't find anthing to purchase.  Saturday was a weather perfect day and being out there was great.

Fridays are Golden

We don't give our dogs as many treats as most dog owners do.  Since they don't often get them, they really are special.  There are three things they consider treats which they get consistently.  Whenever anyone gets ice from the fridge, the girls are right there each expecting an ice cube.  I make green salads almost every day.  The girls just love carrots, so I give them a few slices of carrot.  And each evening they each get a treat when they get into their crates for the night.

They are anxiously watching and waiting for their carrot pennies.  And yes, it might have been a little cruel of me to take the time for a picture rather than pay attention to cutting the carrots.  But can you blame me for wanting to capture those beautiful faces?

My husband and I tend to keep tiny treats in our pockets.  Every so often, we will call the dogs.  They come rather quickly and sit down to await the treat.  We do this at different times and in different situations.  The girls always come quickly when called...not because they are so obedient, but because we might have a treat for them.

My husband has called the girls and they sit next to his chair.  (We tend to take off our shoes a lot and you can see my husband's shoes next to the girls.)  They expect a treat but sometimes the treat is petting them.  Since they are never sure whether a treat will be given, they come quickly just in case.  And they don't seem to be disappointed if the treat is just getting some petting and hugs.

How is the color in the NC mountains?  It has burst forth rapidly.  Rain and high winds around here have muted the color a bit, but it is still gorgeous.  The color at our elevation (3,000 ft) is not yet at peak.  The color above 4,000 ft is very near peak, and the color at 2,000ft and below is just beginning.  So if you are in the mountains, you can easily drive to a different elevation and you will find beautiful color.

I shot this photograph from our deck this morning.

Then I walked to the mailbox and aimed down our street.

As we look at the Autumn spendor we also enjoy some of our "winter" vegetables.  Squashes, pumpkins, and other vegetables taste so wonderful in this chilly season.  The quote this week comes from Bertie Forbes, who started Forbes Magazine.

Believe in yourself, your neighbors, your work, your ultimate attainment of more complete happiness.  It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring who reaps a harvest in Autumn.

So work on believing all through the year.  But believing by itself will not bring a harvest.  You must also take action and plant your seeds in order to reap the harvest.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERYONE!!!

Obese Bird

We are having rain and strong winds around here.  That is not a good thing for autumn color.  Hopefully it will stop soon and sunshine will brighten up the mountains again.

Remember the very homely Cardinal?  (here)  The bird continued to follow the parents long after he was able to feed himself.  We often saw him at the feeder alone, stuffing his beak.  If either parent came by, he would hop to them and beg for more food.  I am sorry to report that he has joined the legions of the obese.  He is not fluffing up his feathers like a sick bird.  He is alert, has no problem swallowing, no problem flying, and shows no sign of illness.

Maybe not quite so homely, but really really large.

 He still has a rather goofy look that makes him easy to identify.

 This shot of the feeder compares the large cardinal to the chickadee.  Note how the feeder is leaning under the cardinal's weight.  I assure you he has no idea the chickadee is there.  If he did, he would chase it away immediately.

The cardinal is often the first bird to the feeders when we put them out in the morning.  And he and his parents are almost always the last ones to grab a bite before we bring them in.

Unusual Sightings Around Here

I was cleaning up some of my photographs, deleting some and transferring others to a back-up hard drive.  I realized that we have been treated to some rather unusual animals and birds right here at the house.  You may have seen some of these before.

A white version of the gray squirrel (not albino) is seen fairly often in downtown Brevard.  They breed with the gray squirrels and now make up about a third of the squirrels in the downtown area.  It is very rare to see them more than nine miles away from town, but we had a visit from one.  (I still maintain they are beadie-eyed little monsters.)

Transylvania County's Famous White Squirrel

We finally prevented the pesky flying squirrels from getting into the vent.  This one decided to try the umbrella on the deck.

Flying Squirrel climbing up the umbrella on the deck.

The Black-throated Blue Warbler is occasionally found at higher elevations in the NC mountains.  They are a rare sight in our county.

Black-throated Blue Warbler  Note the "pocket hankerchief" on his wing.

The Worm-eating Warbler is not a common sight around here and certainly not often observed on a deck.

 The Black-and-white Warbler is a summer guest in our mountains.  But they usually stay out of sight in damp woodlands.  This one was creeping up and down the screen outside the kitchen window.  At first I thought the bird was caught in the screen, so I grabbed a glove intending to help him get loose.  When I opened the door, the bird flew away with ease.

 Purple Finches are common around our house in spring.  This bird is a leucistic female.  She is much lighter in color than a typical Purple Finch.  We were pleased to see her being fed by a lovely male Purple Finch so it appears she may be attractive despite her strange coloring.

Very early one morning my husband called me from the garage.  A bobcat was walking down our driveway!  I grabbed the camera as he moved from our driveway to the woods beside the house.  What a thrilling sight.  We had seen evidence of bobcats in the area, but we had never seen the lovely feline until this one morning.  We have not seen one since although they are still around.

We see evidence of visitors in our woods all the time.  Many mornings we can still smell the skunks who drifted by.  We have seen the place where a black bear had dug out a yellow jacket nest at the foot of a tree stump.  We have a three-legged coyote that we see fairly often.  We've had a 'possum in our garage.  We see raccoons almost daily.  And the deer have a trail in our backyard giving them easy access to our plants.

Living here is such a treat!

Fridays are Golden

I see no reason to vacuum dog hairs from every room in the house.  So the Golden Girls are not permitted in the guest suite or the master suite.  They sleep very comfortably in their own beds.  In fact, they have a room of their own.

The girls know and respect the boundaries.  Here they are looking inside at me, clearly wanting me to come out of there.  Often they will lie on the floor just outside the open bedroom door.

 One boundary Lucy does not respect is the imaginary division in the dog beds.  (Remember the imaginary line you established with your sibling in the backseat of the car?  "Mom, she put her hand on MY side!")  She decides to take her half of the bed in the very center, leaving Ellie pushed under the chair.

 Why do the dogs prefer this particular bed when there are so many others around?  Simple answer to that.  This chair is my husband's and when he is sitting in it his left hand is down patting a dog or two.

 Really, Ellie are you comfortable?

 Well, Mom.  Not so much.

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.  Don't be trapped by dogma---which is living with the results of other people's thinking.  Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown your own inner voice.  And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.  They somehow already know what you truly want to become.  Everything else is secondary."

Steve Jobs

1955-2011

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERYONE!

Celebrating the Forest

In the late 1880s, George Vanderbilt purchased unbelievably expansive tracts of land in western North Carolina.  Some of the land was denuded by excessive clearing of the trees and poor maintenance of farm land.  When Vanderbilt began construction of his mansion (here), he hired Frederick Law Olmsted  to design the landscaping and Gifford Pinchot as forest manager.  Pinchot and later Carl Schenck developed plans for restoring and maintaining the surrounding forests.  They founded the first school of forestry in what is now part of Pisgah National Forest.  Today the Cradle of Forestry (here) provides a closer look at the forestry school begun by Schenck.  Easy trails wind around the various buildings where volunteers perform duties in the same manner as the people did in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  Women make corn husk dolls, spin, weave, cook, wash clothes, etc., while the  men whittle, make wood carvings, black-smithing, and work in the garden.

There are many activities held at the Cradle of Forestry and one of our personal favorites is the Forest Festival Day during which students at several universities compete in old lumberjack activities.  The competition this year was held Saturday, October 1 with five schools competing.

Women weave, demonstrate hearth cooking, spin and perform other domestic duties in the Ranger's Dwelling.

(You may want to click and enlarge the photographs.)

The Ranger's Dwelling

It was a beautiful day with bright sunshine and a nice breeze.  My husband and I laughed as we drove through the entrance and saw so many people with caps, gloves, and heavy coats.  "Must be tourists," my husband quipped.  We stopped laughing shortly after we got out of the car.  We surely should have known better.  After all, the Cradle of Forestry is at a higher elevation than our house and is always cooler.  Large trees keep the trails shaded.  And we really under-estimated the strength of the constant wind.  My husband was wearing a long-sleeved tee shirt.  I was wearing a tee shirt and a very light-weight denim jacket.  I think each of us was hoping that the other would suggest that we venture to the gift shop and buy a couple of  heavy sweatshirts.  But I wasn't about to be the one labeled "wuss" for the rest of the day.  And apparently my husband wasn't going to do that either.  I gave a thought to suggesting we get a souvenir at the gift shop (and mine would be something in fleece) but that really would have been a bit obvious.  So we traipsed along the trail our noses and fingers turning blue.  We went through a tunnel under the highway and now we know exactly what a wind tunnel feels like!

 Some of the spectators, dressed more appropriately for the weather than we were.

 In the log-rolling event, the students must move a large log from one end of the field to the other, turning the log around at the center and rolling it through two markers.

 I took a lot of pictures of the blacksmith.  Why?  Because the heat from his fire felt wonderful.  I had to move away, though.  The only way I could get a photograph was to ask someone to move for a minute.  And the guy clearly wanted his place back so I had to move on.

I bought a cup of coffee despite having already consumed my quota for the day.  I didn't drink any of it, but held on to the warm cup until it got cold.  My hands said "thank you very much."

For once, the mascot for Haywood Community College welcomed the warmth of his costume.  He is waving to a little girl about three.  She smiled, but when the mascot took a step towards her she jumped into her mother's arms.

It was a grand day despite the fact that we were not prepared for the chilly weather.  You would have thought that the frost at our house that morning might have given us a clue.  Oh well, live and learn.