October Baby!

Friends, we have made it to October and I for one could not be more thrilled. Yes, it ushers in cold weather that my darling husband is not so fond of, however the Mrs. in the family says bring it on!! I can always put more clothes on but I cannot take more off!! I could hardly wait to buy pumpkins and put up the new wreath.

Plus, as it turns. out, geraniums love October. We celebrated Bruce's 50th birthday by flying to England to see from whence the Pecks came. Hingham, East Anglia should you be wondering. I believe I mentioned it recently, highlighting the beautiful rapeseed fields we saw, yet something else I have always remembered were the vibrant and prolific geraniums we saw, at least that is what we call them. A beautiful British flower book Matt gave me for Christmas enlightened me on the proper name and that is pelargoniums. How about that??? I learned too that there are around 280 species of pelargoniums, just so you know.

But I digress...

My point was to marvel at how well my geraniums, which is what I will probably continue to call them, are doing! Never in my life have I had such an abundance of blooms. I am thrilled. As well, I am aware they do not fit the fall color scheme, but I am perfectly fine with that! The new wreath is an autumn themed, as in the colors, of the one I made for the 4th of July.

Bruce was kind enough to help me jam the fabric squares into the straw wreath I purchased at the thrift store for a dollar. Speaking of fabric, I am once again making a seriously mismatched scrappy quilt. 

Made with 2" x 3.5" pieces, there will be well over a thousand separate pieces when it is done but we do love a scrappy quilt, so why not? I have been going upstairs to sew for a few hours at a time, although one night I paired up pieces on a tray while we watched television, bringing them upstairs the following day.

For some folks it will be way too busy but it is Bruce's favorite and I like it as well.

I may be able to sew a little, but this young woman loves to paint and is showing it off on any number of downtown buildings. We were delighted to meet the artist when our friend Brittany, in the dress, called out to us for a chat.

She was still working on it when we saw her. Apparently everything starts out white as you see the upper flowers. Just like me wanting to put out an Autumn wreath, the businesses go all out to make things beautiful for the locals and tourists alike. The biggest event of the year is tomorrow and heavy rain is predicted for the day; let us hope the weather folks are wrong because more than 100 craftspeople display at the Folk School Festival, in it's 50th year. The school itself is celebrating their centennial. 

We did have some rain last week and then the sun came out. You and I both know that when that happens, a rainbow is sure to appear, which is why I went out front and looked to the sky, seeing nothing. Not long afterwards, D'Anna calls, saying, there is a rainbow! They were driving back from Atlanta and were heading through Murphy when it happened. I immediately ran back outside, a camera in hand, and oh my I was so glad that I did.

I don't know what I will do when Tom finally decides to build on his lot because it works so well for me as a photography spot! Glorious is my way of describing the rainbow. 

Here is a good view of how the trees still mostly look like. Fat and green with the tiniest bit of yellow. I took a walk to monitor the color, or lack thereof.

What is notable, aside from green, green, and more green, is the presence of kudzu big time. We saw a show that said it thrives in the sun, but I am here to report it is not too unhappy in the shade! 

This is a road adjacent to the river walk of which there are really multiple parts with different material underfoot along with different flora and fauna. On this day, I was on the part that you can take all the way to Lowes. There are some very rocky parts rather than the paved part on the other side of the river; the part that runs through the park.

You are looking at a chunk from the mountain along with a leaf that has turned early. Before too much longe,r that mountain chunk might well be buried in leaves! We did drive to Lowes last week and holy cow! Mixed messages were to be seen.

I have no idea how long it has been up, nor do I know how long the Halloween stuff has been up. Check out the price of this big boy!

What I do know is it, along with the rest of Halloween, is not taking the primo spot in the store, superseded by Christmas.  

On my walk I came across some intensely colored Morning Glories.

And a bluebird, the likes of which I have not seen for months.

My morning bird count is rising as more birds come through, or return to stay the winter, which is what I expect this Carolina Chickadee to do.

We had some very chilly mornings last week, as in the 40's!! We also have a bunch of spider webs on those chilly, foggy mornings.

Bruce took the photo below of me when we were at the top of Amicolola Falls.

No need for a sign to remind me not to cross the fence because I had no intention of doing so!

After lunch today I picked more green beans as they keep producing. They have been doing so well, as has the Italian parsley, which is so pretty and delicate.

And, in spite of the mildew the zinnias continue their blooming ways. It seems to me that the color has become even more intense as the heat has diminished slightly.

My local library came through and I have now read Whistler. 

Sometimes it is hard to sit still long enough to read novels when you have this sort of thing happening in your backyard.

That is one hecka big groundhog!! 

We have had some fun with friends outside of pickleball. Linda is a fountain of knowledge about all things Murphy. For fourteen years she owned a much beloved local bookstore in both downtown Murphy and Andrews. 

Picking her brain for stories is a pleasure we enjoy any time she is available.

Our pickleball friend Evelyn had a party on Saturday afternoon. Oh my!! What a setting, what a house!! 

We have been to lots of folks homes here and not a one of them looks like the other, something that is very refreshing after living in Orlando where many homes are quite similar. Set down a long gravel road, once you drove a mile or so into the mountain, it opened up to reveal the beautiful river. Those of us interested in that sort of thing, took the house tour with Evelyn where she described how they turned a shack into a showplace doing much of the work themselves.

Not every project turned out as they planned because the above was meant to be a green house but turns out it is too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter, but one thing for sure, it is sure cute.

I ran into Eleanor at Lowes a year or so ago and she told me she liked to work on her house. Little did I know then that what she has done is nothing short of remarkable both with the outside and inside!

Back on Campbell Street, this very well may be the last hummingbird photo I take for the season as I have not seen one in three days.

Does he look fat, like he is ready to go on a really, really long journey? From what I have read, I will leave the feeder up for two more weeks to catch any stragglers on their way South.

Colin came to visit us on Wednesday!! He worked with Bruce on many projects and soon became friends as well. He's from the UK but has been an American citizen for decades now. While we played pickleball, he drove to Bryson City, a place he'd not visited in thirty years. From there he headed back towards us. and we met in Andrews to go to Hoppy Trout, a restaurant and music venue that has been getting rave reviews from our friends.

Heading back to Murphy, he had the house tour as you can imagine. I force it on everyone because the house is so cool and that has nothing to do with us. It's got good bones!! Plus, Colin is a carpenter and I knew he would love seeing Bruce's shop and all the woodwork. We continued our fun in town where we saw folks we knew everywhere we stopped. Colin is a ready conversationalist so it was fun. If I had to guess, the man with the phone is photographing his elderly parents and a brother. It appeared to be three sons. I did my best not to stare.

So I am leaving you with this photo that shows the state of the leaves. It should be fun to monitor, right?

I lied. 

Late Tuesday morning I was walking, not far from the above. What you see depends largely on the time of day and on this day, late in the morning, I'd not seen a whole lot except I just knew I would.

And then I did.

I cannot tell you how long it has been since I have seen a Monarch butterfly in the wild. Oh what a happy day. If that were not enough, soon thereafte,r I heard the familiar sound of a Pileated Woodpecker. Looking up, while trying not to look directly into the sun, woo hoo, I found it!

Perhaps this does not excite you but it sure does me. Now I know just where to look come springtime!! Baby woodpeckers are pretty cute and they usually come in threes. 

Enjoy the cooler weather dear readers!

your friend,

Gail 

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