The Man With The Green Thumb

Even after losing his balance and falling in the creek...
and breaking 9 ribs...

he had started the garden...

we added to it...

weeded it...

watered it...

and nursed it along, with his advice and help...while he couldn't.

Anyway, I went to Tom's house this afternoon because he said the beans were ready to pick.

And they were. And so were the black-eyed peas and the squash and the cukes, and oh, there's a cantalope that didn't make it into the picture. He's always had the greenest thumb I ever saw.
He's amazing. To look at him today you would never know what he'd been through.

He's driving, fixing his own meals, going to the post office. Word has it he's planning a trip to Florida. I'll bet he works a little fishing in while he's there.

He's tough, buddy!

Hoot Owl Mine

Howard wanted to try out his new four-wheeler. I'm always up for that so Monday we took off for the Hoot Owl Mine in Mitchell County. We've been there before but it's always a fun ride. First stop was a small abandoned feldspar mine not too far down the trail.

There is some really pretty scenery just about everywhere you look.

Viewed from the opposite ridge, these holes in

the mountainside give the mine it's name.

You can just drive right on in and all the way down to the bottom where there is a "lake". I don't know how deep it is but would guess not very.

It's a little unsettling when you're in there because you can just imagine a big chunk of rock falling off and bonking you on your punkin' head.

This "pond" is a result of mining activities and is always there, even in extreme drought conditions. I tossed a rock in and shot the resulting wave action reflected on the rock above. It looked like a spider web.

This is another view of the pond from a different angle. The water seems sort of chalky, I guess from the feldspar. Someone once told me that one of the uses of feldspar was to obtain the glossy finish on magazine covers.

Here we are headed out. Howard is visible back up the trail. This shot also shows the sheer size of the mine.

This is a view of the pond from the trail going out.

I made this panarama from six pictures I stitched together. This is about a 300 degree view from a high meadow that is situated at about 4000 feet elevation.

Altogether a good day riding but then I can't remember a bad day four-wheeling!

A Week Away

I thought this might be a good time to wrap up a week spent in St. Augustine that was supposed to be more than just Bekah, Tyler and myself. Kenita was unable to go because of back problems which will be addressed soon, and because Bekah has classes this was the only opportunity she would have to go South this Summer. The pelican above followed us for over half a mile at 28 mph on one of the days we spent fishing on th ICW. He seemed to want to stay with us as we traveled up the waterway. Below is a picture of a manatee which was one of a "herd" of them we came upon that day. They weren't giving us a lot of skin to take pictures of but we did see one that had been hit by a propeller. The cut was real pink in color.

After taking the boat out we took it to the local car wash to clean it and happened across this little family of ducks. Mama Duck was hissing at me as I took the picture. She was moving her brood away from the mean old human but I was just trying to get a decent picture.

A few pictures of the place in St. Auggie...

We thought seriouly about taking the boat out in the bay for the Fourth of July fireworks show but decided against it since I've never navigated in the dark. We drove in as close as we could and rode bikes into town. Although we regretted not going in the boat, it was probably the best thing because getting out of town was a lot easier on bikes than it would have been in the boat.

When we first got downtown there was a military band in the plaza and they were fantastic.

There were a lot of boats in the bay, too.

Since we got there so early, we rode the bikes around town for a while. This picture and the next two were taken beneath the Tiffany windows of the Flagler College dining hall. I just looked up as we were leaving and this shot presented itself.

Odd man out...

Ah...young love!

Odd man out redeux...

Casa Monica at dusk.

Morons at dusk.

And...some of the show...

I have to say, it was the best fireworks show I've ever seen, especially the last three minutes. The finale was awesome. Just a constant, solar plexus pounding show.

Fishin', sorta

Our fishing drought was finally ended today by the capture of not one but two wily denizens of the deep. Our heroic struggles against these two awesome specimens was not to be sneezed at. Bek fought her Sheephead for all of 3 or 4 minutes while I battled against my "toadfish?" for well over 4 1/2 minutes, finally boating the beast.

Getaway

Another last minute Sunday ride into the mountains of North Carolina. It was 95 degrees when I left Marion at 3:30 to head up into the "cool" mountains. Straight up Coxes Creek Road toward Spruce Pine and then a quick dodge onto the Blue Ridge Parkway at the top of the mountain and then North toward Linville. There is an instant cooling effect after you get on the Parkway from the canopy of tree limbs.

My first stop was the Orchard at Altapass. Apples played a significant role in pioneer culture, and, don't kid yourself, it took a pioneer spirit to settle this country. Scratching out enough flat, rock-free land to cultivate a garden was a major challenge. I've always marvelled at the sight of rock piles situated at the bottom of a one-time "field" that an early settler cleared to grow enough "truck" to feed his family.

This overlook also afforded a view across the North Cove valley to the mountains that rise up to the ridge overlooking the Linville Gorge and the Kistler Memorial Highway which follows this ridge for several miles down to Lake James. It's several miles across but you can see where fires burned earlier in the Spring.

This faraway view of fiery destruction is in stark contrast to the cool scenes one experiences travelling up the Parkway, even in the midst of a drought.

Below is native azalea which can be seen in many different colors.

I'm not sure what this flower is...

Below is mountain laurel which at lower elevations is bloomed out but up here is at full bloom in early June.

Christmas trees are big business up here in this country.

The Hemlock Wooly Adelgid is destroying our hemlocks. This hemlock on the Linville River should be full and lush and green. Instead, the foliage is sparse and thin, the normal shade provided to the river environs gone. What the long-term effects this will have on trout streams is unknown but it probably won't be good.

Below is a healthy hemlock bough on which can be seen new growth and a healthy color.

This bough is infected. It's obviously less lush and the infestation can be seen thickly embedded on the leaves. These bugs suck the very life out of the tree. it's said that if you or your children have not seen a hemlock forest that you had better go now because in a few years they will be gone.

Grandfather Mountain, 5:30Marion, 6:15

Makes me want to go back up there!