This is what our road looked like yesterday when we started out on our walk.  So pretty!!!

 

HAPPY FALL!!!

 

The Gingko trees at the Methodist church in Blairsville are changing color right now.  There are three big trees in the flower bed outside the MAC (the activity center next to the church,) and they are about 25 feet tall.  I love to stand under them and look up into the blue sky.  

 

I'm telling you, if you live within 20 miles of Blairsville, it is worth the trip to go see these trees.  But do it this week, because without warning, they are gorgeous one day and drop their leaves the next.  Then all you get to see is puddles of golden leaves on the ground.  They are much prettier looking up.

 

I have some very fond memories of Ginkgo trees  in Norfolk.  There are two huge ones in front of Northside Junior High School, and several in the median strip on Granby Street near the cemetery, and some big, beautiful ones inside the cemetery.  Oh yeah, and Bolling Ave is lined with Gingko trees.  Both sides of the street!!  What a glorious sight that is in the fall.  

 

I hope you get to see some Gingko trees in your travels.  Just look for brilliant gold leaves against the sky.

 

HAPPY FALL!!!

 

 

 

I took this picture when we walked the loop on Friday.  The view changes every day.  I'll show you again later this week.  

 

I love this time of year!

 

HAPPY FALL!!!

 

We went to the Ocoee over the weekend, and saw thousands of folks, rafting down the river.  

 

I'm not sure how long the season lasts,  but it's only watered on the weekends.  It is great fun to watch all the activity.  We park in the first big rafting area you come to, pay our $3 parking fee, and stay as long as we like.  There are picnic grounds, hiking trails, lots of people, and lots of water.  

 

The Ocoee was the site for the canoe slalom for the 1996 Summer Olympics. You can go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocoee_Whitewater_Center?wprov=sfti1 and read more about it.  Very interesting, and right in our backyard.

 

Or if you'd just like to take a day trip to the Ocoee, go to Ranger and turn left.  It's about an hour away.  

 

HAPPY SEPTEMBER!!!

 

 

How bout this for pretty?  

 

We made this quiche using onions, chanterelle mushrooms and roasted peppers from the garden.  

 

Jon loves making pie crusts, and he's gotten really good at it.  And the rest of the recipe is from Nanny Barb.  You can find it in the recipe section under main dishes:  Nanny Barb's Onion Pie.  It's a great recipe, and easy.

 

This quiche will make 4 meals for the two of us.  So there's dinner for this week.  

 

HAPPY COOKING!!!

 

 

I don't know if you have seen this map, but it is quite interesting.  I just found it when I was searching the site for something else.  Mark posted it years ago, but it's still accurate for the most part.  The big lot that was annexed isn't numbered, but the rest is pretty accurate.

 

Here's a bit of fun:  Orient yourself to the map, and then find your lot by its number.  

 

Looks different in 2D doesn't it?  If you go to Googlemaps you can see a satellite picture of our mountain. That's fun too.

 

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

 

The very same day that we saw the Carolina lily, we saw this thing growing right in the center of the hiking trail.  

 

We knew what this was.  We've seen it before in our neighborhood.  It is Jack-o-lantern mushroom.  POISONOUS!!!

 

The mushroom field guide says it is a look-alike for Chanterelles.  Not even!!  Except they are both some shade of orange.  Chanterelles look gentle and sweet, and this thing just looks nasty.  To me, it even screams "DON'T EAT ME!!!"  And what nerve:  growing in the middle of the path.

 

We saw lots of mushrooms that day, none of which we brought home for supper.  We are very selective when it comes to mushrooms.  I don't even trust Seek completely when it comes to mushrooms.  I look them up in the field guides, then look on the internet for back up information.  

 

Can't be too careful.  

 

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

 

 

 

Look how beautiful our world is, even after the storms.  We've had thunderstorms nearly every day this last week, and this is what we get when it's over.

 

We just sit out on the porch and enjoy the rain, then the aftermath.

 

Just thought you'd like to see our little piece of heaven.

 

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

 

 

 

I know I've shown you this before, but today is monumental.  I just went over 1000 articles!!!  A few of them repeat the subject, but no two are exactly the same.  No cutting and pasting.  Well, I have reused a couple pix, but all the articles are unique.

 

Mark made this sign for me a few years ago, and bestowed on me this Master's degree:  Master of Bloggery!  I feel like I just earned it.  

 

THANKS FOR READING!!!

 

On Tuesday as we were walking up Stonebriar, we stopped to pick a few blackberries.  Jon picked a handful, then moved his foot a little to the left and we heard a bleat.  We turned to see a baby deer standing up in the ditch, not 20 feet away.  We had just walked right past her.  

 

Momma was way up the hill, but definitely within earshot.  She started stomping and huffing, and running around crazy.  We moved on to give her some peace, thinking she might come hustle the baby off to a safer spot.  

 

We got to the top of the road and turned around heading home, and the baby was settled back down in the same ditch.  I tried to take a video, but she was so well camouflaged that I took a video of some rocks just beside the fawn.  I did get this picture though, when I realized she was settled back down.  

 

Be sure to slow down and be on the lookout.  It is fawning season in Five Forks.

 

HAPPY JULY!!!