Did I Ever Speak Too Soon!

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,

Gail

 

All the Leaves are Brown

While not true, it is a catchy title isn't it? Of course one has to be of a certain age to get it but most of you are, or so I imagine. A deep rust is what is most prevalent and it is good. Very good. I am taking pictures like mad as I encounter new stands of trees in different light. On my Monday afternoon walk, done while Bruce was doing his thing, the light was lovely, as were the trees along the river.

The day began cold, but warmed up nicely, so much so that no jacket was necessary and in fact, I was wearing a tank top by the time I made it into town to wait for my ride. While we were home, Bruce and I did loads of activities apart, but now that we are back to one car again, we spend lots of time together which suits us just fine.

My last post ended with a photograph of me wearing my Uggs in a sea of leaves. This post, once again will include my shoes, but they look entirely different due to my relentless curiosity.

And yes that would be mud and lots of it. Thank gosh it was not even more as I managed to pull my feet out before I sunk in any deeper! You see, the river is very, very low and when I came to this part I thought to myself, and now I can't even remember what the heck I was trying to photograph, but anyway, walking closer to the river seemed like a fine idea at the time. 

Does that look like quicksand to you? It sure felt like what I imagine quicksand to feel like!

While trying not to panic, I must say it may have been a first time experience for me as I tried to figure out how to get up higher on the bank. Amusing right now to recount, but at the time, it was a wee bit scary. But what the heck, our time here is all about new experiences and this one was a doozy. I suspect the people I encountered on the rest of the walk either did not notice an elderly woman with mud caked shoes and socks, or if they did, wondered what in the world did she do? 😀

So let's back up some days shall we? Our first stop on Saturday morning was to the donut shop before we went to Ingles/WalMart to stock up on groceries. Look at those Murphy Bulldogs!

And that is old news as the latest Scout came out yesterday reporting that in the playoff game they scored 57 points on their way to the next round. The fans must be going crazy.

That day it was quite chilly, giving Bruce the opportunity to try out the wonderful gas fire pit John and Laura surprised us with upon our return.

Chilly might not be the most accurate word because frost on the ground, or in this case, on the table and chairs John had drying in the yard, usually means a little more to most folks. For someone who is becoming more and more heat intolerant as the years pass, I welcome the cold.

So there are two things notable about the above photograph with the most obvious being the frost-covered table and chairs. The second notable sight is that of a house below the slope. When we first arrived in the middle of June, summer leaves were in full effect and the view from the top of the driveway looked like this.

Here we are, four plus months later, and now it looks like this.

As you may recall, I referenced how the world looks different now in my last post and wow, just wow, comparing the two photographs is astonishing to this Florida gal. Anyway, when I heard barking dogs on that June day, when John said it was coming from the neighbors house I asked, "where is there a neighbor?" As I recall, he looked somewhat amused by my question because to him it was so obvious. Now I get it as well!

Saturday, following the Florida State game, which was far more difficult to watch than I was hoping it would be, and yes we did manage to win, but it was not pretty. Anyway, we were invited to a bonfire and a bowl of stew at our neighbor's and it was a damn impressive bonfire.

While a gas fire is convenient, there is nothing quite like a real fire on a cold night! Again, can you believe our luck? 

Back to the furniture in the yard, it was John's last delivery for the year. As you may recall he builds high quality lawn furniture, sells it at festivals and art shows, and donates the profits to local charities. He scheduled everything around his knee replacement surgery which happened on Tuesday. If you can imagine, earlier this morning, I saw him walking without a walker on their sidewalk! He claims it feels better than his old knee, and who am I to disagree? 

I emptied my little camera card this morning and found this wonderful photo of Keith and Patty who hosted us for a little happy hour on the eve of our departure. Keith was our helper on our first get-away, emptying a humidifier Bruce has in his tool closet at home. Not just that, but he trimmed our beast of a tree as well. They are mighty good folks. He has been relieved of his duties, not because he wanted to be, but Bruce bought a larger unit with a hose that will empty into the garden. I am enlisting the help of Bill and others to keep the baby car going. The odometer finally rolled over the 30,000 mark after nearly 10 years.

Speaking of home, this was our landing spot before things made their way into the car. Bruce did an amazing job of fitting it all into the Subaru which was packed to the gills.  

In one of those boxes went some of my utensils that I cannot live without.

Perhaps a slight exaggeration because I most certainly did live without them, and might I say I even thrived, however, because I could bring them, I did. 

Let's go back to the river walk for a second and I will show you how things look with bare trees. By now the mud was drying on my shoes and socks because of the bright sunshine.

Let's look at another pair of shots of the same subject, the one below taken not too long before we left.

Whoa Nelly!

Same place, about a month apart. I am sure that it is just the sentiments of a first-timer here in the mountains, but by golly, the changes sure make life interesting! 

Ask me how I feel in a month? 

The deer are plentiful and we never tire of looking for them.

Their natural camouflage is so amazing to me. Think about it for a second and you two will be amazed.

There is one piece of bad news around these parts and it is a growing wildfire which has put this into effect.

For some reason the one going in Henderson County is getting all of the press, however, the one nearby is much larger.  The first morning we were here, I thought I smelled smoke and the view of the mountains, much anticipated, was somewhat diminished. Apparently it has been burning for two weeks and it keeps growing. So that bit about my muddy shoes, well, I walked into town instead of turning around to go back to where the car was parked and I spent the time waiting for Bruce in the Murphy Visitor Center. The woman working there lives in Andrews where the smoke is heaviest and she showed me photographs on her phone of the view from her place showing the smoke and fire. Yesterday morning at pickleball we learned from folks who also live near it that the acreage burned was up to more than 3,000 with no end in sight unless the predicted Friday rain happens. Undoubtedly, there will be many prayers for that to occur. 

We are meeting Curt and Nancy for lunch today, so I need to get cleaned up and make myself presentable. It's still a little early yet, but we plan on going in search of more color before our meet up time at noon. They will be returning to Arkansas for the winter, so it will be good to catch up in person before they do.

The view from my kitchen window with the rusty leaves just visible. 

I cooked dinner for our neighbors following John's surgery and discovered that a few more serving dishes would be welcome in this kitchen. We went to a few thrift stores yesterday following pickleball and I found the cutest doodad that is now on the windowsill. Because I already had taken this, be prepared for more windowsill shots as I find goodies. And yes, I brought the plant in water from home in a plastic bag. Presumably I will welcome the bright green soon enough. 😊

your friend,

Gail
 

p.s. What the heck, more leaves. And I called them brown!