Our Deer Friends

These same 5 deer keep showing up and eating our grass.

Slickrock Falls

Last Saturday was a beautiful day so we decided to find a few waterfalls for our weekly hike. We went to Translyvania County (Land of Waterfalls) near Brevard armed with directions to find Slickrock Falls and Cove Creek Falls. We took the Parkway and when we got to Mt. Pisgah I decided to pull off and check out the hike to the summit (I was driving so Robert could take his afternoon nap.) Last time we were at Mt. Pisgah, about 1 1/2 years ago, the fog rolled in so fast we jumped in the car and took off so we could get out while we could still see so we really didn't get to see the view from up there. I checked out the sign for the summit hike (Robert was still snoozing) and it was only about a mile but was steep. I figured we'd save that for another day and stick to our original plan. Plus, once again, there was fog at the summit but I was able to get a picture of the view from the parking lot. So, back in the car and off to find the falls. A little further up the road we got off the Parkway and found Slickrock Falls. It was really easy to find - the falls are right off the road so there wasn't much of a hike involved. The directions to Cove Creek Falls were a little trickier. It wasn't far from where we were but the directions weren't very clear. We found where to park then walked into a campground. We followed a creek most of the way then found a trailhead and took it. We walked quite a ways then realized we were on the wrong trail. The directions said to walk about a mile and the falls would be right there. We figured we had walked over a mile and saw a pretty creek but no big falls. It was getting late in the day so we turned around and headed back. It was bugging me that we somehow missed the trail to the falls so when we got home I found a different set of directions in a book. These directions told of a different trail off to the left in the campground. The directions I had from the internet didn't say that. Well, it was a nice hike anyway and now we know how to get there so we'll save that for another hike.

Slickrock Falls

Sun & Moon

Moonrise, sunrise, sunrise and moonset.

One morning the sun was rising on one side of the house while the moon was still setting on the other.

Mountains-to-Sea Trail Hike

Two weeks ago we decided to go up the Blueridge Parkway to the Craggy Gardens for a hike. It was a warm, clear day and the views are supposed to be spectacular. We knew the Parkway was closed at the Gardens and has been for over a year due to a landslide but we were told you can still get to the hiking trails. Well, for some reason, the Parkway was closed quite a bit south of the Craggy Gardens. We found a trailhead to access the Mountains-to-Sea Trail so hiked on that instead. The MTS Trail follows the Parkway and runs - you guessed it - from the mountains to the sea. We walked for about an hour then turned around and came back.

Let's Get Physical

So, we've been keeping up on our walking & hiking. One day I got Robert to walk up to the swing with me. George & Theresa have a house about a mile past the swing so they walked down and met us there. A few days later I walked all the way to George & Theresa's house. My goal is go all the way to the community center at the top of the mountain. Robert's goal is to not go with me. It seems like our walks are always my idea. It usually goes something like this:

Me: "Robert, darling, would you like to take a walk with me?"
Robert: "I would but I have a lot of calls to make."
Me: "Speaking of calls, the nursing home called and they have an opening."
Robert: "I'll get my coat."

An article in the newpaper caught my eye last week. The headline read, "Wife Exercises Husband to Death." I called it to Robert's attention and then went on to read how she did it. The 41-year-old wife and 73-year-old husband were in a swimming pool and she wouldn't let him get out. The article didn't explain where the pool was - if it was in their backyard, at the neighborhood Y or what, but for some reason there was a video of the whole thing. It showed the husband trying to get out of the pool 43 times and the wife kept pushing him back in. Then she was dragging him around in the pool by his ankles. After he finally got out of the pool he had a heart attack and died. The article went on to tell how the wife USED to be a man until she had a sex-change operation and at that time changed her last name to Newton-John because she admired the singer and liked the movie Grease. After reading that, Robert certainly has nothing to complain about. He knows I'm hopelessly devoted to him.

It's Cold Down Here

Well, I'm back from hiatus by popular demand. All I can say to the thousands of you who begged me to post more pictures on my blog is - "Get a life!"

A few weeks ago we had some very cold weather. This time, the local news was right. It was frigid. The temps. were below 0 with the windchill. They also predicted ice & snow so, clever as we are, we moved Robert's car down to the bottom of our road the night before just in case we needed to get out in the morning. No more backwards-Honda-sliding for us! Turns out our road wasn't icy this time but at least we're getting smarter.

No more Wheel!

Harvey likes the cold nights. He has us trained to build a fire for him in the evenings and he curls up on his pillow in front of the hearth.

Weather Pix

Swingin' Time

I've been getting a little more brave with my walks. This is my new walk to the swing. It's about 1 mile from our house.
You can see the swing just below the house under construction and to the right. It has a little roof over it. It's more visible in the 2nd picture taken with the telephoto lens. What you can't see is that the road to the swing is very steep. That's the brave part.

Closer...

Closer...

Here it is!




The reward is I can sit there and look at the view. In the close-up picture you can see the roundabout and gazebo that USED to be our walking destination back when we were wimps. You can barely see our house from there.

Lumberjacks

The weekend before last Amy & Cheri came over to chop firewood. Now, before you say anything, it was Amy's idea. She kept volunteering them (I'm not sure Cheri knew about it) so, of course, Robert took them up on their offer. They worked hard all afternoon and we have enough firewood to last us awhile. There is another pile down below the house. I don't think they'll come back until after fireplace season is over. But, hey, we fed them a pasty dinner!