Road Trip to Grandfather Mountain

Yesterday morning, the weather here was beautiful and my Sweet Heart and I were in an outdoor mood. Since I am off work for the weekend and don't have any schoolwork due till Monday, we decided to go check out Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. It is a bit of a drive from here but well worth it. The temperature up there was perfect and a light breeze was blowing.

It is a good thing my camera is digital. I took 112 photos! Yes, I know, that is overboard. The beauty of it is, I can load them onto my computer and look at them on the bigger screen before I have to decide if I want to keep them or not. It was difficult to decide which to share on the blog. I will scrapbook some too.

The first is the trail on the way to the swinging bridge. It looks much more difficult here than it really is. We saw people of all ages and sizes on the trail. If you wish you can drive to the top and then go on the bridge. We like the hike. The second and third are similar, I had a hard time deciding, so you get both. The third is the bridge. I am a little afraid of heights so it took bravery to get me out there. My Sweet Heart held on to me all the way.

Breakfast is ready, more later.

A squirrel from Savannah and a visitor at home

Good Morning! It has been a busy week. We went to Savannah GA over the weekend. This squirrely guy lives in a park across from the Unitarian Universalist Church. Usually the photos I post here are from my home area, this guy was just too cute to pass up. You just know he is getting ready to say something interesting.
I took several photos of him and my husband took this one. He is a good deal taller than I am so was able to get closer. (Not as close as the picture looks, I have a great camera.) I took a lot of flower photos. The weather was perfect for walking.
It seems so odd to travel without the children. I keep expecting to meet up with them. I don't feel old enough to have adult children. At the same time, it feels like we are on a date. My Hubby is a lot of fun to spend time with.

Now this turtle guy was a visitor at our place. I was about to turn in to our driveway after work and I saw what looked like a big rock in the road. Sure enough, a turtle. I put the flashers on the truck, (dirt road, not used much) and went to get the camera and my hubby. After we both admired the fellow and I took several photos, we put him off the road safely, back by our well. He did not stick around the next day, but we enjoyed his visit all the same.
Breakfast is about ready, more next week or sooner.

More lizards, the project and an organized forest

I have photos of two more lizards, one I am certain is different, he looks absolutely prehistoric. The other may just be a smaller version of the one I already posted. I will post the prehistoric guy. He is cute and a little shy. They are remarkably tame, they will usually let me get within a few feet before they run off. With my wonderful little camera, that is close enough.

We spent the morning working on the project again on Thursday. The wallpaper manufacturer recommends putting down primer over the old paint. I am getting excited, can't wait to see the finished project. My Hubby painted the window and door frames while I was at work.

I have been taking lots of photos for scrapbook page two of the project. I will post a link to my gallery on scrapbooks etc. as soon as I figure out how to do it.

The last photo is one that strikes me as a little odd, it is an organized forest. The trees were planted as a commercial crop. It is pretty but creepy at the same time. Have a great weekend.

Sunday Morning

I have gotten a little behind with this, I can't believe it has been 6 days already. To make up for it, I will post extra pictures. We went camping again last night. I didn't take the camera because of the heat. Our high temps are in the 90's right now and that is not good for batteries. We had a lovely evening and slept well.






This morning when we got home, I was greeted by the most lovely and intense scent. My magnolia tree is going nuts. It is covered with blossoms.



The first photo is a bud, I call them cups because I love to stick my nose in and just drink in the scent. This one is
about the same size as my tea mug. You have to do this
cautiously as we share our home with a hive of wild bees.






I will admit to being afraid of bees, but we have come to
to an understanding, I leave them alone and they leave me alone. We thought about having them removed but apparently, bees are in danger from some sort of mite. Our wild bees are doing well so far and we have been advised to leave them alone. I am still afraid of them, but I like having them around. I like the sound they make when they all hum together. I am even getting quite brave with the camera, although they are apparently camera shy. I had to take several photos to get this one.


I was sitting on the porch with a cup of tea and enjoying the early morning concert from the bees and the birds, when I spotted another visitor. This little guy currently lives in a planter full marigolds on my porch steps. He yawned and posed so sweetly for me. He doesn't make any noise when he blows up his neck sack, I think it is some kind of mating ritual, sort of like putting on a tie.




The last photo is him on the rim of his home. With that, I will sign off for now. My sweetheart says pancakes are ready!

"restorative"

These are tiny little flowers we found on our walk yesterday. No, I didn't pick it, the wind was blowing so my husband held it still for me. No walk today, we spent the day at the bookstore. Well the afternoon anyway. We went to Michael's first. We got some foam core board and painting supplies for our room project. I am really enjoying the work. The paint looks great, now we are waiting for the wall paper.
At the book store, (Borders in Augusta) we drank coffee and I did my homework. It is a nice environment for it. I saw a book that said something in the title about making your house "restorative." I really like that thought, not just restoring your house, but being restored by your home. Sometimes when I have a rough day just coming up the walk to the steps makes me feel better.

Almost forgot to mention, we found a bunch more ripe berries yesterday. We brought them home and had them with our dinner. They were wonderful.

My children are calling and emailing on a semi-regular basis so I am dealing with their absence ok. I miss them a lot. They called tonight and it was so good to hear their voices. Dinner is ready, so off I go.