Bonus Post

This will be short and sweet but going through my library, I noticed so many lovely flowers that I neglected to share. With that in mind, here we go.

Seriously orange and daisies? What is not to like?

Along the river walk a few weeks ago; sadly most of them are now gone. 

Not far from there is a shop in downtown that leaves all of this out, all of the time! I am crazy for that almost black petunia. Isn't it something?

I mentioned that I was going to revisit that beautiful roadside garden and I am one to keep my promises. It was really spectacular,

and so large it would not all fit in one photo.

Nor would it fit in two, so here is number three.

The truth is that there are flowers in front of the fence and then even more beyond what you see in the top. Now you can understand more clearly why I simply had to have Bruce pull over! I will admit it was a wee bit tricky as you can see how close to the road everything is, not to mention there's a bit of a drop-off, but a crazy person does what a crazy person does, mostly without thinking too much about it!

Taking photographs at the folk school is far easier. Safer too!

A few lucky folks can grow Gladiolas in Florida, but not many. This pink!

It is a bit of a conundrum photographing flowers. On the one hand, when it is sunny the light comes through them. On the other hand, it oftentimes washes out the color and is just plain harsh. But you get what you can while you can and mostly be grateful.

I wonder what this looks like when it is fully open?

Look how adorable these are! As if confetti were sprinkled in the garden.

And what have we here?

Miniature apples is what we have here. Or maybe not full grown? I'm no expert, so don't quote me.

I am pretty sure that this story has been told before, however, humor me if that is the case. Our first attempt to buy the local newspaper, the Cherokee Scout, named thus because Murphy is in Cherokee County, the door to the paper box would not open. 

Bruce called them and was told to come by in the morning and they would give him a newspaper, and so they did. I saw the above while I was waiting in the car for Bruce. Two cats, red flowers, how could you go wrong? 

I believe it was last fall that I was looking at real estate in Murphy and came across a townhome located in what was once the golf course area. Actually, pretty much on the property, and therein lied the problem, the golf course has been closed for ages. So, instead of pulling the trigger, I was hesitant due to the closure and wondering how it effected the property. It was super reasonable and now I am kicking myself after Bruce and I went out there last week and saw for ourselves what a find we missed out on!  Along the way, there was a pullover moment when I saw this.

Wait just a minute....this is me on the far end looking back to where I had Bruce pull over to check this out!

It was a beautiful display of what I may have just learned is called the "Disco Belle" variety of hibiscus? Honestly the blooms are nearly the size of dinner plates!

And how, pray tell, am I coming up with this "Disco Belle" idea? It has been quite a number of years ago that a dear woman, Joelle,  contacted me on Facebook who, lo and behold, is related to me by marriage, something I never knew before! I was probably about 65 or so at the time.  After my Mom's parents divorce, I learned that my grandfather married another woman and Joelle is her granddaughter who, btw, knew our grandfather far better than I did as we lived in Florida and he lived in Missouri. She spent many happy summer days visiting her grandmother and my/her grandfather because they lived much closer . Get this, our birthdays are but days apart!! Anyway, she lives in North Carolina on the other side of the state and it was she who informed me of their name. Life is so full of surprises isn't it? 

Sadly, we drove down the road in the direction the Subaru is parked and I noticed something unusual on my side of the car. Not much escapes my notice as you probably already know. It was a big area with clay soil and loads of plastic containers that Bruce is calling 55 gallon drums. The horrible part is that they were being used as dog houses with more than a dozen dogs chained to said containers. Who knows what was going on but it did not look good to us! We are still kind of cringing thinking of it. Perhaps one day they will be listed in the Scout under the arrested column. I've told you that, right? People who are arrested are listed in the newspaper!! Mostly it is, unfortunately, methamphetamine busts or domestic violence. Which leads me to this thought....Bruce and I have been watching a fellow on YouTube who posts videos of Appalachian towns and their people and the struggles they face. I had a long conversation with Jonathan while I was on the river walk this afternoon and when I was discussing Murphy he looked up the population and was a little surprised at how it has lost population over the years. We then discussed the factory closings in this part of the country and how they have both affected population, as well as led to an increased use of drugs. With no worry about getting to work in the morning, it changes everything. I surely don't know the answer to those problems, but it makes me sad to think of it. 

If you are new to this space, and I think there are a few, it is not that I don't see beautiful flowers in Orlando. It is the not knowing or expecting that is so enthralling me. Here's one taken super close to our place in Orlando along the nearby canal.

Gorgeous flower, right? But I knew it was coming. I kept my eye out for it, knowing just about when it was going to bloom.  What is so great for this old lady, and don't correct me because that is what I am, is I don't know what is coming next in this adventure. A few days ago I got one of those Facebook memories that they assumed I might enjoy remembering. NOT! A photo I took of a bagel that Bruce brought to me in the hospital, toasted super dark, just the way I like it. Obviously, I never saw that coming, so you might conclude that I am being overly dramatic in my zeal for these glorious days we are experiencing, but when you come close to death life becomes way more precious. Maybe being dramatic is not so bad; I sure am enjoying having no clue as to what good things are coming next!!

your friend,

Gail

What Reader Doesn't Like Nature?

I can answer that one in a heartbeat. No reader of mine doesn't like nature, otherwise they would have moved on long ago! Or am I just imagining things?

There is just so much to tell you about that I am slightly overwhelmed, thus I am dedicating this post to flowers, deer, butterflies and what would a Gail Peck post be without birds?! Plus a few other things thrown in for good measure.  Let's get started then.

One afternoon recently, while Bruce was in the gym, I planned to walk on the, you guessed it, river walk. At the very moment I was gathering my gear, Nancy called and as it was crazy hot that day, I went over to the pavillion next to the courts to sit in the shade and chat. Well chat we did, for so long that I decided to begin my walk. After crossing over the bridge I was greeted by a beautiful display of pink (Barbie anyone?) phlox, as well as another pink flower that I am unsure of. What I was sure of though was that there was a gorgeous Swallowtail flitting about so, putting my phone on speaker and setting it on the curb, I continued talking as I shot photographs. Here is one of said photographs.

As you can see it was bright and sunny and although I took a bunch, I kind of like this one with the sun shining through the wing. Not only was there that beautiful black one but a little further down the path, the yellow version was flitting everywhere, mostly hovering over the dirt which is something I also saw when we visited the Hiwassee Dam, a field trip which I've yet to mention.

On that day there were two who kept hovering above the rocks. Go figure.

Pro tip....take loads of nature photos as the action unfolds in order to get the best shot. Not very often, well make that once, and I cannot even remember where it was, but I was talking to some folks about taking photos and my advice was thus, start shooting the moment you see something unfolding even if you are far away as you never know when your subject decides to fly or run away! But you knew that already, didn't you?

The bird feeders are providing endless entertainment as they are hung just outside the living area window. Oh yes, the hummingbirds like my nectar just fine.

Do you care to guess how many hummingbird photos I have attempted? Double or triple that guess!! Tufted Titmouse,

as well as Carolina Chickadees are the most common visitors, that is if you don't count the Goldfinch family. They will not be making an appearance today, however very soon as I might just have finally gotten some shots that I am happy with.

I do miss my raptors which are so prevalent where we live, so I was surprised and delighted when a hawk finally landed high in a nearby tree. 

Staying close to home, I have mentioned that I am slightly obsessed with finding mushrooms haven't I? Well count me thrilled to have found some Chanterelles that I cleaned, not this one but you get the idea, and dry sautéed them to freeze for later use. All that rain we were experiencing has all but disappeared, thus the mushroom count is slightly down. Hard for me to imagine, but I am now missing the rain, in part because it has been replaced with some very, very warm, well let's be honest, hot temperatures!

Still near home, the other day we were returning when lo and behold, near the turnoff, what to our wondering eyes should appear? 

You have to act fast in this situation and not shooting through a windshield yields much better results! Some days the deer just stare at you, especially when Bruce begins chatting with them in a soothing voice.

If you are viewing this on a phone enlarge the above photo in order to appreciate the antlers. How amazing are antlers? Pretty darn amazing; that's my opinion anyway.

We made another trip to the folk school gardens, where there are still delights to be found.

Not quite as many flowers, but still enough to please anyone who appreciates the hard work of the gardeners.

I freely admit being enthralled with the structures in both the herb and flower/vegetable gardens. I imagine you kind of are too.

Should you have been wondering when I was going to get to birds, wonder no more as I have two interesting things to share. One is that I have no clue if these are young Purple Martins or Barn Swallows but there were a bunch of them flying around.

You might note that the day was gray, however the skies produced no precipitation and it was cooler so there was that. At any rate, as Bruce was dragging me away from the above spectacle, he abruptly stopped as did I following in his footsteps. (no pun intended) On the ground in front of him was what we believed was a hatchling and after further investigation, we discovered it was a Blue Gray Gnatcatcher. 

Which brings me to something I wanted to discuss and that is how darn awesome the sound id feature is on Merlin.  Using the sound feature, it identified the bird we were hearing, thus it led us to the conclusion that this was a Blue Gray Gnatcatcher which is a mouthful indeed. In order to keep this moving I won't show you the flying attempts, but we believe it was unhurt and just learning to fly. Don't delay, download Merlin today! You will love it.

Our next stop that day was the fantastic Crane Creek Winery in Young Harris, GA where some of the grapes were ripening,

and gorgeous flowers were blooming.

Red Echinacea are new to me but darn, I am in love.

I cannot wait to show the winery photos, however, that is a post for another day.  As most anyone who has followed this blog for any length of time knows, I am never without a real camera no matter how inconvenient.  God bless Bruce who has stopped along streets, roads, and highways countless times when I see something that interests me. Not to mention turned around! Who wouldn't be interested upon seeing this amazing floral display along the road?

This is but a tiny fraction of this person's labor of love. Seriously, it was downright amazing and I will have to go back to my library and dig out more photos of this incredible display. Just the other day I am like honey, "can you back up?" Sure darling, he replies. Yup, he is wonderful like that.

Around the corner was a huge Hydrangea bush which for some folks is a common sight, however, for a Floridian, not so much. I am pretty sure that is a Pink Magnolia tree just beginning to bloom above it.

All of what we have seen is beautiful and requires love and attention which can all be destroyed in short order by the Japanese Beetle that Bonnie pointed out as so devastating.  I am pretty sure that is what caused this. Apparently they eat the leaves and leave the rest.

As we parked for church one Sunday the sound of a nearby Cardinal caused me to scan our surroundings. Well that was easy! Right above our head was a male Cardinal that appears to already be molting.

I wonder if that means something? There has been a four part series in the newspaper with what the author calls "mountain signs" regarding the natural world that has been very interesting. Speaking of the newspaper, yesterday we picked up the North Georgia paper and there was such a heartwarming story on the front page it begs to be repeated. A parade. yes a parade, was held in nearby Blairsville for a 24 year old resident who suffered a devastating brain aneurysm on January 8 and was not expected to live. Large crowds greeted her return to continue her rehabilitation closer to home. She was not expected to ever walk or talk again, both of which she can now do. There may not be a lot of shopping options in small towns but by golly, there is seemingly a good deal of caring. 

My goodness the weeks are flying by. We are nearing the end of our seventh week, each and every one of them has been filled with joy.  But being surrounded by nature will do that for a person, or in this case couple.

From the very simple to the more elaborate, we find something to appreciate by all that we see. I keep pinching myself and wondering how we got so lucky? 

Here's hoping you enjoyed our nature walk today and as always, I remain,

your friend,

Gail

Tomato Fest and More

As a veteran of farmer's market vending, I know that it can be quite the struggle to grow a market. A town with a small population makes that task all the more difficult, however, they are doing their best here in Murphy to get the town folks to visit the market. The most recent event was dubbed, Tomato Fest  with a Bloody Mary contest, games and activities for children, live entertainment, as well as chef demonstrations. Sounds good, right?  While we had a wonderful time, there was definitely room for improvement when it came to attendance. Nevertheless, I will show you what I saw beginning with this crazy fancy BM from a restaurant in nearby Hayesville.

Pretty elaborate is one way to put it. There were tastings, however, only the judges were permitted the added alcohol. Which reminds me of something I learned only recently and that is that Murphy was a dry county until very recently. According to this blog post I found, it wasn't until 2016 that full liquor sales were approved. It never occurred to me, but then again, it didn't occur to me that at noon the national anthem, along with a prayer and the singing of another patriotic song, would be playing on the local radio. One person I've talked to claimed that the town is in no hurry to change and likes things the way that they are and who am I to argue with that notion?  After two weeks with no local news, we are finally learning what is happening around us by reading the Cherokee Scout. Have I already mentioned this? Forgive me if that is the case. At any rate, it is a gold mine of news stories, obituaries and letters to the editor. An example of the letters to the editor this week were two expressing thanks to their fellow citizens for helping them through recent deaths of family members. How sweet is that? Another amazing article appeared this week outlining how the city commissioners are going to vote next month as to whether pool tables should be allowed in restaurants. Apparently there are memories of bad brawls at the local pool halls in the past. I will keep you posted! 

Okay, back to theTomato Fest....check out this little cutie who, according to this chef who is a neighbor,

as soon as she heard about the festival, ordering the costume was a must.

So fun! As to the attention she caused, it looked like she was loving every minute of it. 

There were two demonstrations, one of which was for stuffed cherry tomatoes with a filling of goat cheese among other ingredients, but the one that stuck with me was the one that she is demonstrating in the photo above the tomato girl. She showed off a really neat way to cut peppers which I have now tried at home as well as how to core a tomato efficiently which I have also tried at home.

Both worked quite nicely. Although I have been cooking for most all of my life, I really have never been taught how to cook. When you think about that, how many other things in life could we actually pull off for decades with no real training? Probably not very many! One of the items I brought from home was the neat blender Alissa gave me for Christmas which worked quite nicely in batches.

By golly it was delicious!

Back to the market, here is another set up for the contest. All of this is held in the old depot where many things are since the trains quit coming to town. 

All of the floral arrangements pictured above are grown locally. Here is the outside of the market where you might notice the caboose in the photo.

I guess the caboose isn't all that visible, so here's another look with the man of the house pictured.

Astute readers will also notice the banner tied to said caboose advertising the model railroad club which we had read about in the "Scout." As we were the only folks visiting, we had plenty of time to chat with the two remaining members of the club.

Sadly their third member just passed away. Bruce told the gentleman that I was a blogger and would be sure to include in my narrative that they are searching for new members! Note the Henn Theatre in nearby Andrews.

May I presume that you remember there is a second location here in Murphy? How presumptuous of  me! 

It's really cute as can be and has taken countless hours of work. Here comes the train!

Not only have countless hours been spent on putting it all together, countless dollars have as well, which is one reason they need more members to help pay to keep the lights on.

The above would be the square in downtown Murphy which is presumably going to become a roundabout in the near future. Again I am being presumptuous, but I wrote this post after our first week here and reported that not everyone is thrilled with the idea. :)

Back outside here is Ann or maybe Anne, we are not really on those terms just yet such that I can ask the spelling. Nevertheless, we have been visiting her booth for the last few weeks picking up baked goods at alarmingly inexpensive prices. She claims she is good and would rather not come home with anything, thus the low prices. Last week we had a lesson on the Cornish pasties and the miners in Cornwall. What part of England she is from remains a mystery for now.

She has an unusual method of covering her various bins with shower caps. Furthermore she uses any old container to send you home with your scrumptious treats, including cottage cheese containers, as well as berry containers. I am all for recycling, but those berry containers with the holes are not my favorite as they do tend to speed up the staling process. Is staling a word? Let me see. Aha...seems to be.

About two blocks from the market is our sweet church which looks like this. Super photogenic!

In my last post, I told you we were going to play bingo and so we did. It takes about ten minutes to get to church btw, as there are only a handful of cars on the streets. Anyway was it ever fun!!

Mr. Peck won the first round and doggonit, he won another round later on. We were asked to bring wrapped little items, which we really didn't know what that meant, but we soon found out. Bruce's first prize? A can of tuna fish!! When my numbers came up though, it was two knitted caps!

We began the evening singing the doxology led by Priest Maggie, (in the pink) who is a real dynamo.

Another dynamo was the young man who called the numbers, a great grandson of one of the parishioners. Relishing every minute of it, this eight year old boy loved his time in the spotlight.

Here's a funny story we only learned about yesterday at church: when Bruce won for the second time he picked up the gift that looked similar to his tuna can because he figured we could make two sandwiches. Instead, Maggie suggested he take something else. By then I had gotten up to help with the clean-up from the meal we had shared, so I may have this wrong, but essentially the lady pictured in the foreground went home with a similarly wrapped gift which she assumed was tuna fish. Nope, cat food! So plenty of silly fun. What is troubling though is the same thing that ails the train club, not enough young people. With so many people not attending church anymore, these beautiful places of worship have very uncertain futures or so it seems to me. 

Speaking of dying out, I have now visited all three in-town cemeteries, this being the smallest of the three.

The one by the river walk is large and called the Sunset Cemetery because it is high upon a hill with sweeping views of the mountains. We drove through there to better understand what I was seeing from the path below.

On Church street behind our church, not to mention the Cherokee Scout offices, is a large cemetery begun by the Methodists with graves dating to the 1840's. It is also the site of the Harshaw Chapel completed in 1869.

There is a lot of history associated with this cemetery, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. What I will say about it is that there are some very interesting graves including this one.

Such a sweet sentiment. So many people are choosing cremation these days so, like most anything around today, who knows what the future holds for cemeteries? 

I hate going off topic, but it does remind me to mention how cash is king around these parts. Just saying.

A simple headstone for the young girl and some big time markers for the adults.

This has been kind of fun, right, learning how the other half lives? I cannot tell you the number of people who have said they were so happy to have found this place. But, then again, the ones who weren't so happy aren't here to tell me that are they? For us we are thrilled with no traffic and this very simple life. The shopping opportunities, not so much!

your friend,

Gail