On the First Day of Autumn...

....it rained like crazy. Thanks be to God as it has been dry for far too long, or at least as far as I am concerned. 

Good news on two fronts: 

1. Everything is getting a great soaking as it has been raining for two hours straight.  

2. It means a cold front is behind all of this rain!!! Not a moment too soon my friends as it has been hot as, in the words of my late mother, blue blazes!

There are many things people appreciate about living in the mountains such as the beautiful trees, both green and in autumn, that blanket the slopes. Fog in the mountains for another. One of my favorite things is the sound of thunder booming and echoing in it's wake. There is just something about it feeling so solid which brings me happiness. 

 None of which I could have imagined when this happened in May of 2023. Re-reading that post, it would have been hard to believe the adventures that awaited us. And to think we bought a house!!

A house and grounds that are full of beauty and wonder daily Discovering all that was in the gardens when we arrived and now flowers and vegetables, little mammals, birds, it's all been so thrilling. As I type, several sets of friends are discovering new places around the world, but this couple is still discovering what it is like to live in another state and environment so different than what we knew. Although we have plenty of squirrels where we come from,

I had never before seen a White Breasted Nuthatch in my life, let alone on our feeder.

In time all of these differences may not thrill me like they do now, but 3 1/2 years in, my enthusiasm is unabated!

Nasturtiams--just look at them!!

Zinnias, still blooming in spite of their coat of powdery mildew. Does this mean that there is still value in us old folks despite our changed appearance? I would say yes indeed.

Talk about a very hungry caterpillar!  In the link there is a great interview with Eric Carle should you be interested. Parents around the world have read that book to their children for decades, including this parent.

Our caterpillar above is not nearly as colorful as the one in the book, but just think of the possibility it presents!

Okra, one of those plants that is really a flower botanically, however, most eaten as a vegetable, which is how we do things around here. For decades I did not recognize its' value, however I most certainly have learned the error of my ways. Plus, look at the simplicity of this delicate flower and try to imagine how it turns into an okra pod. Astonishing! And again I say astonishing.

Oh, let's talk about cutting back plants again. A practice I cannot recommend often enough. These prolific blooms are the result of a severe trimming of my petunias about a month ago. I know how hard it is to cut off perfectly good flowers and foliage, but trust me on this, it pays big future dividends. 

Winding up the plant portion of this post, very early on in my photography obsession, I photographed a bee on a rose at the gardens on the campus of Rollins College in Winter Park where Bill and David earned their economic degrees. Volunteering at the Albin Polasek museum just down the street, I would often stop at Rollins on my way home from there. I was SO proud of that photo. I mean seriously I thought it was remarkable as did Bruce who has always been my biggest cheerleader;  but you knew that already didn't you? Using my first digital camera, one that fit in my pocket, I could not get enough of taking photographs. Oh wait, that is still happening isn't it? 

Back then, however, I was one of the few people that carried a camera everywhere I went, photographing anything that interested me because it was free!! In 2026, bee flowers are a dime a dozen because EVERYONE has a camera in their pocket.  Yet, here I am still photographing bees and am thrilled each and every time one turns out well.

Bruce is upstairs preparing to visit Grayson at the middle school. After a bit of an uneven summer, things are clicking again. No longer on the soccer team, he joined the JV football team which means we like to support him in his efforts by attending his games. Honestly, sitting in the HOT sun is never my preference and let me tell you it was hot. So hot, that the game was moved to an hour later. 

Your favorite blogger convinced her better half to sit on the visitors side until such time that the sun went down. Our view of the Murphy crowd.

Sitting amongst the visitors, I was very impressed with their turnout because they were from Burnsville, a town three HOURS away!! The game began at 7 PM, so while it was great for being cooler, by the time the game finished at 9pm, well you can do the math.

I am trying to understand if these are the modern version of what we called "hot pants"? 

You know how we like to sit near the cheerleaders allowing us to applaud their efforts.

Football is a way of life here and Murphy has had their share of successes over the years.

This game was no exception because Murphy continued putting up points whereas the other team that had a great start ended up being smothered by the Bulldogs. Grayson went in late in the game, which was great seeing as how he is a new member of the team. 

Not only did Murphy win, but there were beautiful sunset clouds as a bonus.

A few days earlier Hank came over for dinner and although I had no cake because it was somewhat impromptu, we did wish him a happy 85th birthday! 

One of the facts that I am recording in my notebook, aside from the daily temperature and bird calls ,has been the times of the sunrise/sunset.  Never before in my life have I paid much attention to that sort of thing, but now I am, and I have been wondering how close those two times would be on the Autumn Equinox.  Here's the answer:  Sunrise: 7:24AM, Sunset: 7:32 PM. I will let you know when and if they become even closer together. Citizen science folks. 😉

On Friday we took a little trip to Dahlonega, a town in Georgia about sixty miles away although it takes more than an hour to get there due to the winding roads. Actually, picking the straightest route, it took a little longer but was more palatable, and it turned out to be very scenic!! Along the way we stopped at Amicalola Falls State Park. Talk about dreams, I had to take this photo of Bruce because he once dreamed of walking the AT. 

We had a choice of walking to see the falls or driving above the falls. We chose the latter. 

Presented with another choice, we declined. And what would that be you ask? Walk down 432 steps to the bottom of the falls only to have to retrace your steps. No thanks!! 

Actually two brave souls told us as they were recovering from their climb back up, that about 212 steps down is a great view. Maybe next time? 

We had lunch in the town and did a small amount of roaming and I mean small. We did the general store where Bruce shook hands with Uncle Sam.

He popped upstairs to see the handmade guitars,

because our son Bill has recently been so involved with designing guitars. There was far more to see, however we had promised to meet up with Jessie and Michelle so back to Murphy we went, driving through Ellijay and Blue Ridge on our return journey. No leaves changing yet, but it won't be long now. Along that route there are many apple farms with roadside stores, as well as an amazing pumpkin patch that we did not have time to visit so hopefully that sort of trip will be in our future plans. 

Lastly, I am still seeing hummingbirds and I lost my credit card for the first time in my life. 

As one would expect, I will be glad to get my new card, and sad to not see any hummingbirds for months and months!

This view will be our barometer as the days shorten and the green turns to gold. And yes, we are grateful for the encouragement from our family and the beauty that surrounds us as we learn the ways of living with seasons.

your friend,

Gail

Out &. About

 Rarely do I think of it anymore but I was once known as Out & About Photography, a name that described what I did although as it turns out, there are plenty more who thought of that name long before I did. I always tell my friends, remember Ecclesiastes, "there is nothing new under the sun", and during my brief time on earth I have seen that played out over and over again. Haven't you? Lots of technology is just a faster version of something that already existed in a slightly different form. Enough already!! 

Actually, with that in mind, people have been singing and praying forever, worshipping in slightly different ways. Ann has introduced a prayer/meditation type of worship in our church called Taize after the town where it was practiced at the end of WWII and continues to this day. Should it interest you more, here is the history in a nutshell. 

Held once a month at the newly restored Harshaw Chapel, last month it was sweltering because the air conditioning had failed, however, with diligence from Mr. Trustee, this month it was nice and cool inside,

in spite of it still being hot as the dickens outside. Coming back from my walk around noon, (my first mistake), I arrived home drenched in sweat. Seemingly,  it is never going to cool off! Just checked my weather app and it is 7 degrees warmer than normal and it is not going away anytime soon. Boo hiss1

Boo brings to mind that we bought candy yesterday for Trunk or Treat and if you didn't know the price of candy had skyrocketed before, now you do. 

I wrote about that light fixture that broke but had no image to explain it better. I wrote about it here, a post that had few readers.  One would think that I would have some sort of idea about when to post blog posts on Facebook, so that the most people who want to could read it, but one would think wrong. After nearly 20 years for crying out loud!  That said, I have never been very good at self promotion so perhaps that accounts for my lack of social media savvy?

Let's go outdoors to see a few things of interest, shall we? Oh wait, the kitchen is calling!

I mashed the last of my potatoes on Sunday evening and Bruce declared them the best he'd ever eaten, which while that might be a stretch, they were definitely good. I cannot wait to do it again!! And with the garden in mind, the strawberries are forming. This tiny one was consumed by me, rather than the birds!

It too was very tasty. Now to be faster than the birds!

I have told you this before, but it bears repeating, be skeptical of your phone's identification when you don't already know what something is. 

The "id" claims it is a birthwort when I know better. It is a flowering green bean! I picked another pocketful the other day and we ate them and finally I have enough okra pods to prepare them. So looking forward to that! 

The new radishes are growing but the outcome remains to be seen.  If there are fruit, it will be a miracle. 

Extra! Extra!! A sneak peek at the sunflower as it opens. Unlike the others I've shown you of late, this one is all mine, planted as a seed a while ago. (a flimsy way of saying I cannot remember)

Oh how we are going to miss the hummingbirds when they migrate.

Last Friday was September 11 and we did two meaningful things. The first more so than the second, however the second thing was important for a different reason. The town was holding a 25th anniversary memorial and the folks came out. Mayor Radford spoke first, welcoming the crowd and explaining that there would be a bell ringing at 8:46, the moment the first tower was hit.  Yeah to Laura for making that stage happen because it is a huge addition to our little town. 

Also the bench where we were seated. 

It is such a wonderful gathering place for all manner of events. We arrived early and because of our second event we left before it was over,  but not before listening to this gentleman who described his experience as a firefighter at ground zero on that fateful day.

It was very moving, as was the ABC special we watched a few days ago. He thanked everyone for coming out and remembering that day as it is fading from many folks memory. Imagine how many children have been born since that day? 

I am sure it is the same with you dear readers, lots of activity in bunches. We had agreed to forgo pickleball to go on a hike with our friends from church who enjoy that sort of thing. The payoff for me was waterfalls. As is often the case, it was sold as not too difficult aside from the beginning when it was quite steep. We fell for it.

Not so fast!!! While there are some flat areas, more often than not it required either going up or going down! Nancy and I discussed which direction did we think was harder and this fake hiker thought both ways are hard, whereas Nancy went with the going down. What do you think? As to the waterfalls, I was underwhelmed, in part because the light was so harsh it made getting a good photograph next to impossible. Larry, on the other hand did great with selfies of the group.

Look at all those smiles! Larry was also kind enough to take the photo below showing us going over a log bridge, definitely not mentioned when we were deciding whether to go or not!

Here's another image of the bridge with Nancy and Vera, and Dr. Dan in the foreground.

He is the doctor that was SO helpful to me this summer. I don't know what we would have done without him. He personally called the gastroenterologist and the cardiologist to get me in quick. He's most definitely a gem.

We were hiking the waterfall trail in Deep Creek in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Bryson City, a little more than an hour drive for us.    The photographs provided in the link are much better than mine because the lighting is ideal and they were taken when a great deal of water was running. We have had a drought this year so the water flow was considerably less.

The good thing about it was that I could do it. While I like being with friends in nature, I am still not a hiker by any stretch of the imagination.  There did seem to be plenty of water in the river that runs through it. 

Lots of tiny wildflowers were blooming in shades of purple, white, pink, yellow and a bluish color. Mostly they were tiny and perfect like this one.

As always, driving through the Valley outside Andrews fills me with joy.

If you are considering doing something wild and crazy like we have done, I say go for it!! 

your friend,

Gail

A Spike Ball Hill

 Oh my goodness friends!! Sunflowers along the highway!!

Because Bruce is so tied up with all these church projects lately, we are not going many places just to roam around. Last Friday I suggested that we do so, but as it turned out, he had a meeting late morning so we could not go very far away.  Nearby Andrews would work to take a walk in the woods, partly along the Valley River, the same one that runs adjacent to the river walk here in town. 

You begin the walk with this view which I am very much looking forward to seeing again soon when the leaves are changing!

As I have had to report, ad nauseam I might add, it was another hot day, so the upcoming shade was welcome. It is only about a mile walk but pretty with bonus points for said shade. As is always the case, I am looking, looking in every direction and what should I see down a small knoll but a cairn along the river. Mr. Peck is posting our find to his facebook page.

The smaller river rocks were so lovely and smooth.

A view of the river.

Isn't it a wonder how people can stack those stones just so? Life is so full of wonderful things if only we take the time to notice them so says the optimist in the room!! 

On our way to Andrews I had a passing glance at the roadside spectacle; on the way back I was locked in on where were they?? Closer to Murphy than I thought, finally they came into view up ahead. 

Woo hoo! Writing this I am transported back in time, more than twenty years ago, when Bruce and I first went to England on a mission to see the town from whence his ancestors came before heading to America in the 1600's in order to escape religious persecution. Our destination was a tiny hamlet if you will, Hingham, located in East Anglia. Plenty to be said about that experience, but I will confine it to just this---rapeseed fields were in bloom as we made our way in a taxi, the driver of whom told us what the fields of PURE Yellow were. Oh my goodness, what a sight! Should you be interested, there are plenty of images online! 

I see a tinge of color change on the tops of a few trees. Do you? Actually I have been documenting the trees along the riverwalk as the month progresses. Here is yesterday's look.

In the foreground there are plenty of wildflowers which were everywhere.

Before long the hummingbirds will make their long trip to Mexico and Central America for the winter so I celebrate every sighting at our feeder and on the zinnias. And, with any luck every now and again I see one out and about like I did yesterday.

Much to my surprise I also saw an Osprey for only the second time since we have been here. 

Back on Campbell Street, we love our big trees that provide us with not only beauty, but shade as well. As with most things you take the good with the bad and in our case the chestnut tree is great until the nuts encased in what I am calling spike balls, begin falling, falling, and falling. To date, Bruce and I have picked up, one by one, 11 buckets full making this little hill of misery. The spikes on the outside are very, very painful when they puncture your skin and sadly, it does not take much for that to happen.

One afternoon I was barefoot to water my garden and the new plants on the other side of the yard. I thought I was far enough from where they drop; alas that was not the case and I have a tiny splinter of one in my left foot. To tell you the truth, I actually think the tree is in the Ledford's yard along the little wall but the canopy is on ours. Looking at the photo it may not look like much but if I had to guess there are several hundred there. Along with their magnolia pods friends. 

Finally, a giant rainstorm on Saturday afternoon which was actually quite violent, as if making up for lost time as there has been almost no rain for weeks. I was so surprised to find three stalks of my floundering zinnia plants on the ground.

The powdery mildew has taken it's toll on the leaves and if you have no idea what I am talking about here's what I mean.

I decided that while I still had flowers I would bring them in the house to enjoy.

Aren't they just so cheerful?? Then again, when you realize you have been housing a worm for days it give's one pause. Yikes! And this was from a small vase on my kitchen windowsill!!

Not far from where I prepared a favorite dish that I do not make nearly often enough because it is a bit labor intensive. Then too, with my small amount of kitchen counter space, it takes a lot of chopping and ingredients. That said, it is so worth it.

The book behind the pan, which is what I made it in, is filled with favorite recipes that I find useful rather than digital form that I have to keep refreshing. While Bruce was at the gym, I prepared the salad and was looking forward to consuming it with him a little later. Well, indeed it was later, very much later. And do you want to know why?? 

But of course you do!!

In our unique pantry there is a pull cord for the light. While I was getting the peanut butter out of the pantry for the noodle salad dressing, pulling the cord in the usual way, something not so usual happened. The light came out of the ceiling and was dangling. Mentioning it to Bruce when he returned was my first mistake. And why would that be so? Because he is always responsive and got right to it, imagining it would not take very long, but then it did, in part because it is old wiring that one has to make sure works with new fixtures and so and so. Eventually, we did eat the salad that night, and then again, and again, because it makes so much!! And you know what? We did not mind in the least as it is so tasty!

The garden is looking good! Look at this okra flower!!!

And the dahlias, oh how I love you!

And to think this joy comes from a $2 pack of seeds! 

Clouds!! We have had very few of late so seeing this was also a joy.

Aside from playing pickleball we had a quiet Labor Day. Actually I have had some quiet days and have filled them with reading, something I have been not doing enough of. To be a writer, one needs to first be a reader and I have been neglecting that side of things. Currently I am reading, How to Read a Book which I was doing yesterday afternoon until I got to a place where the main character was making a very poor decision and I felt so bad about it I had to put it aside. So, yes I think it is good. The review I linked to above is not anyone I know, but I do see the review was from later 2024 and our little library is labeling it as new fiction. New to me anyway!

This time of year there are spiderwebs galore, but usually I don't see the spiders. This time I did.

I neglected to mention they are, thankfully, outdoors!!

One very great thing about living in a small town is that you have the opportunity to know the shop owners. Not saying you can't in a big town but here it is more likely. And the great thing about Murphy is we have some pretty darn creative souls owning the downtown businesses. Gray Matters always has the best windows, but this time they took it outside. 

Look what was parked outside their door!!

Jeeps are popular here but I've yet to see one that is tickled pink! 

Our garden journey together is not over yet because I planted new brocoli plants and hope they do well. In addition to that I planted both arugula and radish seeds, both of which have sprouted,  and I believe I mentioned the garlic in this last  post.  As you can see, I do not want this excitement to end! 

It's a good thing I saw this butterfly when I did because there have been so few this summer.

My goodness there is a bug too! 

Recently I came across this: "The amount of beautiful things in your life depends on your ability to notice them." 

Sounds about right to me!!

your friend,

Gail