Shows you what I know about Autumn in the mountains of Western North Carolina!
All the leaves are NOT brown in spite of it being a snappy title! I am here to show you a few examples of my foolishness. Oh wait, have I ever shown a few photos in the past? Of course I have not...it is not in my DNA!
We have seen color driving to do so, and also right on our drive on Talc Mine Road on our way to the cottage. So, perhaps that is a good place to begin our little leaf journey, which the locals tell me is way past prime, but for this Floridian, it remains a little slice of heaven. Try as I might, the only online evidence of a talc mine here in Murphy is this photograph about a cave in. Actually, here is a link that while I am not able to open because I don't have a NYT subscription, others might be able to read this article from 1963 about a mine cave-in here in Murphy. Whether or not it is the same one, I do not know. At any rate, a lot of the area and development around where we are living was once mined and the road is named for the former use. If there are more buildings of the abandoned talc mine I do not know of them. Or at least I can't see them anyway!
So while I said the leaves were brown, rust is really a more accurate description for many of them. Have you read about a year with a large acorn drop? Apparently it is called
a mast year so while it has a name, scientists can't seem to agree on what it really means. This year would be one of those, or so we have heard. Plenty of acorns here.
Before we go further afield, let's explore very close to home, shall we?
Continuing our series on changes in the landscape, it was fortuitous that I took this shot when we first arrived.
Trailer, trees, what are we supposed to notice Gail, you might be thinking. Here goes...
Practically overnight it began changing and boy howdy, look at this from our carport a few days ago.
I took the photo in part because there was the tiniest bit of blue in the sky after days and days of grey weather. Want to see more? But of course you do!
As you well know, being the faithful reader that you are, that I love this sort of thing. Actually I love it all, even the grey and chilly days with rain. Again, ask me in a month or so, how I feel about it then. Imagine what all this looks like with snow????
I did some walking along the road looking for plant material to fill a vase. Think brown and sort of like what you might buy dried. Anyway, it was wonderful going first one direction,
and then the other.
Look how many colors there are! I know they were even brighter but I, for one, am not getting greedy and enjoying every color that I see. The above is at the end of Warren Drive and is a home for vacation rental.
No goldfinch this time of yea,r but there are a multitude of Carolina Chickadees who seem to be loving the new feeder and seeds.
Holy cow have we been seeing deer.
Just before nightfall, and as an aside is it getting dark so early, but anyway, I walked onto the porch and observed SEVEN deer from my perch!! Early yesterday morning, just after daybreak, I wanted to document the fog and lo and behold what did I see? You tell me.
This place is wonderful for someone who craves variety, unlike in Florida where it is mostly the same day in and day out. That said, the magnificence of our Florida sunrises and sunsets are not to be dismissed! It is just the hot and muggy stuff in between that becomes tiresome. :)
When I left you in my last post , we were heading to lunch with Curt and Nancy and not only did we have a delightful time chatting and catching up on their trip, the scenery behind the restaurant was pretty great too. But first we had to get there using the four-lane, or so the locals call it. And yes, we do have a McDonalds here although we have never been.
Look at those colors!!! Look at these...
It is positively fantastic! Susan, another pb friend, the one who kindly gave me her unneeded supply of Eliquis, told us to explore a road called Bell Hill. She lives here, we do not, so but of course we will listen to her suggestion. Oh my goodness, do I love it!
Plenty of curves, color and hills which is the vantage point this was taken from.
Florida woman goes mad with joy at leaf colors!
Further on Bruce pulled into the Bell Hill church parking lot and the view from that vantage point was terrific.
It felt as if we had died and gone to heaven having the opportunity to witness such beauty.
If you want to see Gail hyped up, take her somewhere gorgeous! Thankfully, the drive home was mostly uneventful, a very good thing though because my heart was so full I thought it might burst. I did enjoy watching the below scene unfold.
Now you have seen the four lane.
In real time, meaning this morning as I type, our car battery is dead and we are waiting on AAA to come charge it. Unfortunately, the back hatch latch pops open pretty easily, especially when the keys are in Bruce's pocket, which is where they were last evening. Heading out the carport door to check if I had enough clothes on for 38 degree weather, I saw it was open, knowing full well that it was a bad sign. I think I hear them now, so hopefully it won't be too long before we are get-to-go. The sun is shining, but for how long is anyone's guess so I want to take advantage of it for my walk. The sun shone on and off in the last week, but to say there has been an abundance is an exaggeration for sure.
It was not entirely absent from it's perch in the sky though, shedding light on this scene of leaves raining down.
The big story here has been the ongoing fire near Andrews; the last we heard the burned acreage was nearing 5,000. Mentioning the grey skies and rain was meant to be a good thing because although it was not heavy by any means, apparently it was enough to put a slight damper on the fire. We drove to Andrews to see what we could see. The dreary sky is a combination of overcast skies, fog, and smoke, although happily the smoke smell was very much diminished.
Junaluska Road and the surrounding area, in particular Lord's Way, were said to be adjacent to the fire so we made our way to said road and oh my goodness was it beautiful.
Chilly indeed, or can you read the car display? 54 baby!
What do you think about me doing a whole series of sideview mirror shots of me?
My head was bobbing from side to side as my dear husband drove us to see what we could see.
Of course I had to have him stop the car for me to pop out because there is no way that I can pass up the chance to photograph something like this! Fortunately he never says no, having the patience of a saint.
As it turns out, we never did encounter smoke or fire, leaving us puzzled but grateful because surely it must be a good sign.
What in the world was I thinking when I proclaimed that "all the leaves are brown"?
In my head I know that it can't last much longer but in my heart I sure hope that it will. In the meantime, seeing this scene from the woods adjacent to the cottage fills my soul with joy and gratitude that up to now we have our health. Our happiness, that goes without saying!
Lastly, in other news, it seems as if I may begin selling photography again in a cute downtown shop. I promise to keep you posted.
In the meantime I remain,
your friend,
No comments:
Post a Comment