Oops, one more look at last summer.

I was looking through all the pictures on my computer,

(there are probably way too many)

when I realized, I had not posted these.

So, since it is much cooler and a little overcast here today

and since some of you are already into winter,

I decided to post one more look at Summer in the South.

(These pictures were taken several months ago, it is not that green right now.)

 Yellow Summer Flowers,

Doesn't looking at this just warm you up?

 This one looks exotic.

I love the macro.

 Busy Bee.

Oh summer, I miss you already.

 Baby Black Bear up a tree.

OK, have you ever been told,

that if you are chased by a bear,

you should climb a tree?

 Mama Bear,

This just goes to show,

climbing a tree will not slow down a black bear.

There were actually two cubs up there but I could not get

both in one shot.

 Mama and Baby eating acorns,

Apparently they like acorns,

No worries,

I was using the zoom lens,

these guys were way up in the tree tops.

At one point, Mama Bear started to climb down,

the people below moved very fast getting away from the tree.

(Me included)

Later that day. 

Why am I wearing this funny hat and why am I grinning so hard?

 Navitat Zip Lines,

Now those of you who know me, will remember,

that I am afraid of heights.

I refuse to let that stop me.

When I was in the Air Force, I knew that being afraid of heights could cost my career,

so I went where I had to and did not let anyone know.

(You would not believe how high up the light on the tail of an aircraft can be.)

 Sara, one of our guides, hooking up my Sweet Husband's harness.

I asked him to go first.

 There he goes, he took right to it.

 I'm going where?

and I am doing what?

 Zipping is a rush! I had a blast.

This rope bridge was much scarier for some reason.

I was petrified all the way across.

I did not stop to take pictures!

I did it!

I did it several times!

I want to do it again!

Yes, I am nuts!

IT WAS FUN.

Want to join me next summer?

As I post this morning,

I am sitting in front of a lovely warm fire

and listening to Christmas music.

I don't really miss summer,

I am enjoying my autumn too much.

Have a lovely weekend,

Kat



Day trip part three, produce stands and home. Contest!

Almost forgot,

we stopped for a picnic lunch before our walk on Heintooga Round Bottom Road

(Don't you just love that name)

We had home made bran muffins with peanut butter.

We headed home after our lovely walk. 

We stopped at a produce stand on the way back down the mountain.

 Isn't this a great harvest display?

There are several stands and each is a little different.

 They have beautiful pumpkins

Some with nice twisty stems.

 An assortment of gourds.

Some of these are quite fantastic.

 There were several different kinds of apples on offer.

We bought some King Lush,

 and some Arkansaw Black apples.

They are organically grown.

They were selling several kinds of grapes too and you could smell them.

 Inside the place is an antique / stuff store.

It is choc-a-block with things.

Here we have an old telephone,

a fire truck peddle car,

and gallons of cider.

 Anyone need an old mountain still?

Just look at this place,

my Mom would have loved it!

 A display of canning jars on window shelves.

 One of the kind gentlemen working at the stand saw me taking photos

and suggested I walk around out back.

This is the view.

 From a different angle.

 This old sign sits out back.

Notice the bird with twirly wings on top?

Just so you know,

I could go for everything on the sign,

except the boiled peanuts.

No thank you!

The last bit of enjoyment for the trip?

German apple pancake made from the King Lush and Arkansas Black apples.

Guess what I am having for breakfast this morning?

Don't forget the contest folks,

It goes till next Wednesday.

I really would like to know who looks at my posts,

and what you think of them.

There are three easy ways to enter the contest.

1. Follow me,

2. If you are already a follower, leave me a comment,

(You can comment on any post between now and Wednesday, I will give one entry per comment)

3. If you do not wish to follow or leave a comment,

send an email too 

akatscorner@aol.com

tell me what you think.

Can't wait to hear from you,

Cheers,

Kat

Autumn on Heintooga Round Bottom Road, Blue Ridge Parkway.

I took a break from school work,
My Sweet Husband and I headed up to the mountains,
It is nearly a four hour drive,
but I think you will agree it was worth it.

Maggie Valley really gets into the spirit of Harvest Festival and Halloween,

there are elaborate roadside displays set up in front of many businesses.

 This place has pumpkin fudge!

Look at the size of those Pumpkins!

I am thinking, PIE!

Pumpkin pie is my all time favorite dessert,

even better than chocolate (yes, I know, that is almost sacrilege, but it is true).

 I love Jello brand instant pumpkin pudding when I can find it
and lately I have a thing for Pumpkin Ale.

 We found a lovely picnic spot out behind the store with the great display.

 Here is another view of the river, it sounded so peaceful.
I took these pictures about a week ago and the temperatures were in the high 60's to low 70's (15 to 21 degrees Celsius). It felt great. It is always a little cooler in the mountains.
The leaves change earlier up there too.

 After our picnic, we headed up onto the Blue Ridge Parkway.
One of our favorite trails is Heintooga Round Bottom Road (I love to say that).
It is a one way, winding, unpaved road.
It goes through some beautiful territory.
We like to park and walk along it.

 Are you starting to see why we like it so much?
The scenery is quite different up there.
Most of our trees are taking there time, we have very little fall color
here at Kat's corner. As I said in the last post, the pictures of our old barn with
all that autumn color are from a previous autumn, before we had the roof replaced.

 I will of course post pictures of our lovely old house with autumn around it,
as soon as our trees will cooperate.
In the mean time, Heintooga Round Bottom Road sure soothed my hunger for autumn.

 This is one of my favorites.
You can see off in the distance, why they are called the blue ridge mountains.
How can you not love a place that looks like this!

I am so happy it is fall!
I love to be cozy and cooler temperatures mean;
fires in the fireplace,
my long fuzzy road,
Warm red fuzzy slippers,
and a fat lazy cat that likes to snuggle on my lap once again.

Spontaneous the lap cat,

now what could be more cozy than that?

Hope you are all warm and cozy too,

Kat

Craggy Gardens.

Come away, oh human child!

To the waters and the wild

With a faery, hand in hand

Those lines from W.B. Yeats poem, The Stolen Child,

Yeats
kept running through my head as we walked along the trail.

Craggy Gardens is truly a magical place.

Awesome in the oldest and truest sense of the word.

They are part of Smokey Mtn National Park, up on the Blue Ridge.

Time plays tricks, it is easy to see where the old stories about
entering the faery kingdom, then leaving and finding out your afternoon has lasted for years,

come from. It felt like we were only there a few minutes,

not nearly long enough.

The trail leads across a meadow.

View from the edge of the meadow.

The wind was perfectly still when I took this picture.

Dappled sunlight sneaks through the trees and all too soon, it is time to leave.

This seed head is as pretty as some flowers.

Craggy Gardens is not a formal garden,

just a natural, magical place.

Kat

Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

We had planned on a lazy weekend, but when we got up yesterday morning, the weather was perfect here at Kat's Corner and even better up on the Blue Ridge.

Since as I pointed out the other day, summer is almost over, we decided to head back up to the mountains.

My Sweet Hubby and I were both raised in the Rocky Mountains. The Blue Ridge Mountains are not as tall, they are certainly more green, and they have a very different feel, but they are most certainly, mountains, and sometimes, that is just what we need. 

How would you like to have that view out your window? The ride up is beautiful. I have taken so many photos up on the blue ridge. It is amazing in all seasons and all weather (OK, I will admit, I am not going up when there is snow on the ground, but I am sure it is still amazing).

Here is another one of those amazing views. The Blue Ridge Parkway goes through several states. Someday, we want to drive the length of it with lots of hiking and camping along the way. I want to see what the other end is all about. Do roads call you like that too?

Look at that sky line. We were heading for two places, the Folk Art Center, and Craggy Gardens. 

The Folk Art Center is located at milepost 382 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is a partnership between the National Park Service and the Southern Highland Craft Guild. Each time we visit, there are different artists demonstrating their crafts. There are museum quality items on display as well as for sell.

Notice the display of hand made chairs hung up high?

This is a light and airy place with lots of room.

I bought a book on hand made art dolls.

Another view, you can get some idea of how many different things are available. The quilts alone are worth the trip. There are paintings, jewelry, Christmas ornaments, furniture, bowels, pottery, cards, even hand made brooms that would make Harry Potter proud.

There is a gallery upstairs that is full of wonderful things, no photography allowed though.

They have a sculpted clay dragon up there that looks like he is ready to speak.

These are Bowed Psalteries.

They are hand crafted by Rick Long.

He was playing one out in front when we arrived.

We bought one of the CD's and have already listened to it twice. The music is otherworldly.

Now if we could only get Loreena McKennitt to sing with him...

They come in two sizes and he says they are easy to play.

I can play a radio quite well and usually handle a good CD player, I don't think I am quite up to these.

Would you like a sample?

Mr. Long was kind enough to allow me to video him for you.

If  you are interested, he has a lot more information on his web site. You can purchase his instruments and CD's from the Folk Art Center any time or directly from him on his web site.

Ringing Strings Bowed Psalteries

If you would like more information on the guild or on the Folk Art Center itself, see their web page.

Southern Highland Craft Guild and Folk Art Center

As for the Craggy Gardens, yes, we did make it there and we had a nice hike. I took a bunch of photos. I will post my favorites here soon. I think I will save them for a post all on their own.

Have a great Monday,

Kat