Blue Ridge blog

Redbud

 

 

I'm not sure what my attraction to this place is, but every single time I pass the homestead on my way to and from the post office (aka the Mast General Store) I look and nearly stop. It could be an overwhelming urge to see if my ample arse might fit within the tire swing and give it a go...or it may be the well-crafted ladder to nowhere which piques my interest. More likely it's the memory of the red bud tree in a blush of bloom which ignites a passionate fury within my frozen Appalachian soul. I've no remembering clue if the tree with the tire swing is a red bud or if it's one near the barn in the bottom photo. Regardless, like the swing clings to the tree, my heart is Saran wrapped around the hope of the pink-y promise of emerging buds. 

 

Spring visits the banks of Dutch Creek

How could you miss this clump of forsythia blooming along the banks of Dutch Creek just past the Mast Store Annex? I perched, quite awkwardly on a fallen log and stretch out my body to make this photo, but for you, it was worth it.

 

Fleeting..

I was searching for dogwoods and instead, found a rainbow. Looks like the pot of gold is smack dab in the middle of Valle Crucis Park. No surprise here. As I crossed the Watauga River bridge today, I noticed a woman in the middle of the road. I wondered for a moment what she was doing.
Did she need help?
I looked in the direction she was staring.
Whoa! Rainbow!
I braked, backed up my Jeep, pressed my hazard button, grabbed my camera and tumbled down the side of the mountain to capture this image. Oh yeah, I also bellied 'neath the electric fence. The rainbow was fading so I only managed a couple of shots before it became history. With muddied jeans and soggy shoes I crawled up the grassy slope and dearly hoped the photo would show how fun the moment was.

On the homefront:
My youngest daughter returned home this evening. We visited on the deck for about an hour before her 'home friends," caught wind of her arrival. Her cell phone went wild and it wasn't 30 minutes later before she asked if she could leave for the evening.
Oh how the glorious, colorful rainbows are fleeting...

**I changed photos on this post. I like this shot better.**

An Attention Getter

Payday has arrived for those of us who have weathered the many bitter winter months.
Though the forecast calls for snow next week, I'm going to put my fingers in my ears and sing "La-la-la-la-la," and pretend I don't know any better.
I saw this backlit cherry tree backlit along Hwy. 105 as I drove into work this morning. I gleefully stopped my Jeep and snapped a photo.

Get out of bed, already!

I saw my first creasy green yesterday morning as I searched for spring through the mud and slog of March. I found spiked green points of onions poking through the dirt as well as the familiar dentate leaves of a dandelion. The greens were just barely awake, like a teenager who hits the snooze button on the alarm clock begging for a just a few more days of sleep. The mustards and docks will follow suit as soon as their internal rhythm pushes them to rise forth and shine.
As for me, I am the early riser. The onset of my diurnal urges happened 2 weeks ago and I am impatient for nature to get a move on and catch-up.

On the home front:
I've been enjoying the company of my daughters, home from college for their spring breaks, all chatty and happy. When they leave to catch-up with friends, my husband and I have been tackling a multitude of home maintenance chores. This weekend we ventured into the workshop and made pine deck boxes to store cushions and what nots.  We did have expensive Rubbermaid outdoor storage containers, but the windy Boone winters blew them to pieces and carried them off to a far away ravine. My new deck boxes are painted and ready to serve. But they look coffins. So, I'm gonna fancy them up a little bit and put my own little ardornment in the form of tondos on the fronts. I was inspired by this exhibit.