Blue Ridge blog

Being just as Koi as I wanna be....

I've been on many walkabouts lately...enjoying the woods with reckless abandon. Two very dear friends have recently sent me poems they thought I might like. I did. I've never had anyone send me poems before. Probably because I don't appear as the type that would enjoy poetry. I do. Another special friend drove all the way to the high school week to drop off a cd with a compilation of her favorite songs for me to listen to. Music is poetry. This has been a week of re-connecting...with nature and friends. I am humbled by having both. So in case you have time. Here are the two poems that were sent to me:

Wazuuup Valle Crucis?

Have you ever had and idea and asked yourself, " Duh, why didn't I think of that sooner?"

I had such a moment this morning as I thought about my friend 'Summer Daye' who has been my buddy for years. She writes the Valle Crucis News  which is published in the Watauga Democrat newspaper and posted on the Mast General Store website. If it happens in the Valle, then 'Summer' knows about it and tells us. Why I didn't post a link to it on my blog a long time ago beats me? Her column is the first one I read in the paper cause it speaks of the people I see each day. Anyway, so now her almost weekly column is accessible to you by clicking upon the link at the top of my blog. Thanks 'Summer' for the time you volunteer to keep us informed.

The barn above is a late evening shot taken of the barn directly behind the parking lot of the Mast General Store in Valle Crucis. I took the shot from the Cooper's Field.

And finally, does anyone out there know how to add a link to a sidebar in Typepad without having to set up a Typelist first? I tried to add Valle Crucis News as just a link in but each time I tried, I'd get Valle Crucis News then underneath Valle Crucis news (as the link). It looked stupid. So, I made a typelist named ***** , then linked Valle Crucis news. It looks only slightly less stupid. I don't have time to figure it out so if someone can easily walk me through, I will sing your praises.

***Update***
And now I'm gonna sing the praises of Jim Brodhead as he pointed out a perfectly simple solution to my problem. I added the Valle Crucis news to my Boone Area Blogs/News typelist. Thanks Jim. I think it looks so much better.

Thanks, but you shouldn't have....

Harley left this little find of hers on our porch this morning. Because I don't mind spreading the wealth, I'd thought I'd share it with you. I'm certainly not an expert on skulls. If I had to guess I would venture that it is either a domestic cat , a bobcat  or a raccoon skull.  Anybody out there know? And yes, Mister Man is accounted for...

A sliver of light

I went to pick up my mail from the Mast General Store before it closed around 5 pm yesterday and saw that the horses at Dutch Trails were illuminated by a sliver of sunshine. I drove my Jeep into the Cooper's field and ran across a marshy area (my sneakers are still wet this morning) to capture this early spring photo.

Harley and the Meth Dog...

Eventually children grow old enough to choose their own friends. And, inevitably, parents will frown upon their choice of friends. Perhaps a new friend barks too much. Maybe it it messy and sometimes pisses on the tires of your car. Occasionally it might chase the younger sibling, Mr. Man. Whatever the scenario, you, as the responsible parent, suck in a deep breath and know that hopefully the child will get to know the snot-nosed heathen for what it is and learn to run hide when the friend comes a-calling.
I have recently found myself in such a situation. Harley has a new friend named Koko and Koko is a crack addict. In fact, Koko not only free-bases cocaine, but she also pimps meth. I know because of the way Koko behaves. She has no breaks. Koko runs full speed overtop everything. I feel sorry for Koko, but she is beyond my help and I pray that Harley doesn't fall too deeply under her influence. It is not looking good folks. I've seen Koko take down 5 garbage pails in one swoop. She doesn't eat the trash (she is a crackdog after-all) but she single-handedly strews the mess piece by piece throughout our yard. And Harley is mesmerized by Koko's brashness. Someimes they go doggie bar-hopping together. I've found them down the road, snooping in other people's trash. It is downright embarrassing to admit this....

For the time being, we have taken drastic measures with Harley to make sure that she doesn't become a harlot looking for her next hit of meth. We've grounded her. We've tied her upon a lead and have locked her in the garage when we must leave. I think Harley is going through withdrawals. In the middle of the night for no reason at all, she starts barking and throws herself upon the door. Oh wait, that isn't Harley, that is Koko, the crack addict dog trying to bust into our house and see if Harley can sneak out to play....

Scene on Broadstone Road...

I've passed this barn on the far end of Broadstone hundreds of times and never once did I notice the donkey penned up beside it. Was I not paying attention, or do we have a new braying resident in the neighborhood?

Dirty Harley

That's not chocolate frosting on Harley's tongue!
My gal and I trudged through snow to Carlene's to see if the forsythia had bloomed around her outhouse. Not yet. On the way I kept hearing ice and snow fall on the ground which spooked me into thinking every crunch was a bear or bob cat about to eat me. Although I was paranoid, Harley never once gave the noisy forest a bit of her attention. However, on the way home, she heard the pitter patter of pine vol feet under the earth and quickly gave chase. I was nonplussed at watching Harley on the hunt, digging furiously in the dirt to rid the world of the dreaded varmints. I'm not sure what Harley would do if we ever came across a bear in the woods. Would she come between me and the bear and try to save my life? Or would she lick it into submission? I just don't know. But one this is for sure...if I was ever in danger because of pine vols, Harley would have my back.

It is snowing...

In case you haven't heard...today it is snowing in the mountains of northwest North Carolina. I'm always amazed at the little twist of irony that Mother Nature slings our way sometimes. It is th first day of spring and we get several inches of snow. I stopped on the way to Appalachian Ski Mountain to take this pastoral scene.

Forest Forsythia

I was being a good mom driving my youngest daughter's friend, who lives way down in The Globe , home when I came across a blaze of yellow on the side of the road. I stopped my Jeep, grabbed my camera and I heard Youngest daughter suck in a bit of air and wearily say to her friend, " My mom's gonna stop and take a few photos." 

I was thrown back 30 or so years in time to the days when my siblings and I would grimace and poke each other in the backseat of the car whenever we saw a 'garage sale' sign for fear my mother would see notice it and stop to 'just take a look.' If my dad was driving the car, he became our partner in crime and would speed up the vehicle or help distract mom with the clever 'Look Honey' diversionary tactic while pointing in the opposite direction. It worked almost every time.

My children need to be shown a few tricks.....

Meet Carlene Townsend....

And so the world is large, yet outrageously small. This morning when I opened my email, I saw one from my friend, Joanna W. She shared with me this story:

Dear Marie,

AppalCART used to pickup Carlene Townsend!   She lived in her log cabin which was
off the beaten path of Clarks Creek.  During the winters however,
she'd move down to a small (tiny) trailer located on HWY 105.
Yes, she was proud of her flowers.  Carlene was a retired nurse,
never married, and liked to tell some tall tales. 

Joanna

And Joanna had two more things to share with me. This:

and this:

I immediately called Joanna and we talked about Carlene for awhile. These photos were taken in 1984 by Joanna who used to pick Carlene up to take her to the Watauga's Project on Aging. She shared that Carlene's personality was jovial and tender, and that she liked to be picked up first and driven around so she could see the sites en route to everyone elses' homes. Joanna said that Carlene was indeed a proud mountain women with intense pride in her plants and flowers.

Thank you Joanna for introducing me to Carlene. I will return to Carlene's garden often....