“For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.”
Psalm 62:1-2 ESV
An August sunrise back at home this week offered quite an amazing display of fiery color. We miss the cooler mountain temps, but it is always good to return to “home sweet home”. I feel certain that routine becomes a longing for those who for some reason can no longer go about their daily life as normal. I’ve been there! Simple and normal are blessings, even when adopting a “new normal” becomes necessary. My running for example has changed to mostly brisk walking, and I’m slowly getting ok with that!
This is probably my personal favorite capture of a hummer this summer (and I like the rhyme) and I see a sulphur butterfly joined us as well. I thought I was finished with waiting on hummingbirds and posting pics, but this girl made me change my mind!
A hidden perch up the mountain about a quarter mile from the Swag House offers a stunning view if you are willing to walk a narrow gang plank, and if others haven’t discovered and claimed the spot ahead of you.
We made our way onto the little porch in the trees as it seemed the place for two was unoccupied and waiting. Mt. Mitchell, the highest point in the eastern US, can be seen in the distance as we look across the map/locator on the stand by the front rail! The peak is about 19 miles northeast of Asheville, NC. Amazingly, like our picnic near here that we shared last week, we had this area all to ourselves!
School days have already arrived at Richardson Academy? My how time flies. Whatever happened to school being dismissed in May and not resuming until the day after Labor Day?? And back then we all wore shoes to school. It was an excuse to finally get new shoes! Wyatt typically does not go with the flow and he stays true to that here with his hands free sign.
I don’t know how long this old sign has been around, but I thought I would step behind it so we could take another short walk in the park.
This trail was well used and not too rugged at this spot, but it did get steep in a number of places. Slope is difficult to show in a photograph, at least by an amateur such as myself!
Dodder is an invasive parasite that looks like an orange or yellow thread that wraps around its host. We have it in NE Alabama and I have shown it in past years, but I have not seen it blooming at home. We had dodder emerge and invade our sunflowers several years ago and it took a couple of years to rid the garden of this unwelcome vine. And here it is, in the Appalachian Mountains at about 5,500 feet doing quite well!
Purplestem angelica grows widely throughout most of the Appalachian Mountains, but not in the southern reaches into Alabama and Georgia. The manner in which the flower heads form, grow, and escape from being wrapped in a leaf-like cocoon like an egg hatching was really fascinating to me. That is probably not a technical description with proper botanical terminology…but that is the way I saw it!
The plant bursting forth reminds me of what happens when we celebrate with fireworks and light a sparkler. Bees and butterflies loved it and it was everywhere in certain areas along the trail, especially as I climbed a little higher and along the edges where the sun was able to penetrate the canopy. Purplestem angelica held a special place in cultural practices of some Native American tribes. The “angelica” name comes from the idea of “angelic” healing properties historically associated with the plant!
Another view of a beautiful Christmas tree farm. North Carolina is the second leading producer of live Christmas trees in the US. Almost all of the tree farms in NC grow Fraser Fir trees. It is considered by many as “the Cadillac of Christmas trees”! The Fraser Fir is native to the higher elevations of the southern Appalachian Mountains, the only fir endemic to the region.
I was listening to the Eagles doing their version of Desperado as I pulled up in the parking lot near the beginning of the wildlife trail where I planned to walk 3 or 4 miles. The song lyrics have a line that goes something like “you better come to your senses”! I looked at the outside temperature as recorded on my truck display (which is actually pretty accurate) and decided I needed to come to my senses and get my workout indoors or very late in the day!
There’s a storm across the valley, clouds are rolling in…as John Denver sang in “Back Home Again”. We witnessed several summer storms tracking across the valley while away on vacation and it was captivating to watch them form and move over the landscape. The storms at times disappeared as quickly as they formed. Watching from above gave a whole new perspective. Even a storm has its own beauty…
…like this one which came with a rainbow that moved along with the storm. This was truly a sight to behold!
I haven’t encountered anyone else who used berries to temporarily (hopefully it washed out) dye their hair purple since I mentioned it a couple of weeks ago. But, our Poke Weed, from where we get “Polk Salad”, now has ripe dark purple berries and purple stems. I’m thinking this would work well on my formerly brown, now somewhat grey hair. All parts of the plant are toxic, but young leaves, boiled several times, have been used in a traditional dish called “polk salad” or “poke sallet”, including by my grandmother. It is not a good idea! Historically however, the berries were used by early settlers and Native Americans to color cloth, paper, and ink! Ah, so why not hair!!! We will allow some of you to try it first and report back.
This Eastern Red Squirrel really liked Pam and ran along the wooden railings of our balcony every time she was sitting outside, surprising her at times, and scaring her at times, as if he might jump in her lap. We weren’t sure if he was simply curling his front feet or if he was tightly protecting some goodies he had found!
An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail posed perfectly for me as it was having a happy time on Joe Pye weed. It is often difficult to catch the butterfly still with wings out flat for a complete look from the top side. We don’t have Joe Pye growing here at our place, but it is native to the region and is found nearby on Lookout Mountain. We should plant it since the pollinators are crazy over it! Pam plans a Swag Garden post this week, so Joe Pye weed may show up again…we shall see!
After summer storms pass there is sometimes a temperature inversion and the clouds settle below in the valleys. Such a calm and peaceful late afternoon scene. And by the way, the tall pinkish flowers are Joe Pye weed. On such an evening we could enjoy sitting on this balcony until dark, but dinner was calling!
Special twilight times only last a brief few minutes, but that can be an extraordinary few minutes. And, we were able to take all this in without missing a meal!
Have a blessed week!
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8 ESV
Linking with:
Between Naps on the Porch, Katherines Corner, Follow The Yellow Brick Home,
Life and Linda
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