Just some views of a beautiful spot

 

Following a nicely paved road (I think called Mills River Rd) which has a yellow line down the center until we cam to this one car at a time overpass. I slowed down, and then crept slowly through the one way space. Since there were lots of other cars and trucks going both ways, I had good reason to go slowly, figuring they might be doing the same (hopefully) if anyone was coming from the other side.

Nice to have some picnic tables around...and some that were in the shade were already occupied!

There it was, Andrew's Geyser! It certainly was shooting up some water, which is apparently gravity fed from a pipe with a cutoff further up the mountain.

The pool needed cleaning!

Then there was this strange cloud overhead! So we're sharing this with SkyWatch Friday!

All along the roadside had been a small river, which the road crossed several times. I bet it would have been nice to put our feet in that! Yep, this was an 86 degree afternoon.

Before leaving, once again I took a photo of the description of the battle of the Civil War which was fought, or maybe avoided, near here.

That fence at the top of the hill denotes where the train will run on it's several trips through these mountains from Old Fort to Asheville...starting much further east.

I missed seeing the plaque in honor of this land having been Native American territory before the European people arrived. 

After you devote one day to opening your eyes more fully to the beauty of nature, you may want to make this part of your daily routine. Each day drink from the beauty all around you, and allow it to rejuvenate your entire being. All you have to do is pause, for just one minute, and really take it in, remembering to thank Mother Nature for her beauty. 

Daily Om

The price of my life!

Before starting in on factual complaints...must share gratitude for the lovely mural which I've been watching. Here's how it looked Mon. evening.

Again I was along in this lane, with a red light ahead of me, so I did the slow down and snap routine.

Love the darker turquoise background! I will see what happens the next time I get a chance to drive by. OK I admit, I do sometimes go out of my way a bit. Lots of us Black Mountainers know some short cuts to avoid the light in the center of town, which goes through a long cycle that's even longer if the pedestrians have pushed for a cross walk light.

Here's the little gas station, and yes, on Tues afternoon, I captured the mural also. Looks pretty much the same though!

 Energy Pricing:

I must whine a bit right now. I drive an older Toyota, with a 10 gallon gas tank, or maybe 10.5. The other day I filled it up, and it cost $40. The price had been 4.69, but I had coupons for 15 cents off a gallon...and there I was. Liquid gold it has been called before. And I feel for the big SUV's with big gas guzzler engines!

I posted in my facebook account that Heather Coxe Richardson had given a good synopsis of what's happening with the US gas prices.

"What appears to be driving U.S. gas prices is the pressure investors are putting on oil companies, whose officers answer to their investors. Limited production creates higher prices that are driving record profits. In a March 2022 survey of 141 U.S. oil producers asking them why they were holding back production, 59% said they were under investor pressure. Only 6% blamed “government regulations” for their lack of increased production."

And I remember many a day and night in the last month when I could have windows open to cool mountain air until around 10 am, then closed them for the next 8 hours. Thus my elec. bill was $43. It will likely be higher now that I'm hermetically sealed and air conditioned...I'm so grateful!

Gun control

The there's the gun problem...another facebook post...

Our idiot representatives in government have some stop-gap gun-purchasing measures that will pass probably. They are not anything like this. Nor like the way the UK or Australia, or who knows what other countries are doing WHO DO NOT HAVE EXTREME GUN VIOLENCE KILLING CITIZENS AND CHILDREN!

I'm so ashamed of us. We have such a good idea, a democracy. We are so far from living up to the standards which are possible for us.

I avoid spending money because I want to be economical and get the best deals.

But I also want a recliner to replace my love seat. The love seat is an overstuffed brown leather. It's really comfy for just sitting back and relaxing. I advertised on my local group of FB to give it away, but that 2 strong people would have to carry it out and down 4 steps and 50 feet to the parking lot. I didn't have a single person interested!

The loveseat had been freely given by a friend, and I'd love to send it to another home free as well.

So no recliner at this point.

I am thrilled that this last weekend we had cooler weather come through our mountains. Nights were so cool I turned my little split heater on. I imagined a cat curled next to me, to no avail!

I also need to get on the phone to all my medical providers to get statements sent to me for use as a deduction on my rent (a subsidized situation which makes it affordable!)

Today's quote:

It's like, at the end, there's this surprise quiz: Am I proud of me? I gave my life to become the person I am right now. Was it worth what I paid? -Richard Bach, writer (b. 23 Jun 1936)

Summer Solstice celebration, completed!

 A picnic by a stream in the woods of Montreat NC. I'm bringing my own salad, and will share a nice hunk of stilton cheese...with crackers if others wish.

That's the reason I'm not posting until this afternoon. Here is my place of memories saved.

A site for a wonderful shady lunch! It was 89 when we came back down the mountain into town. I dare say it's hotter in Asheville.

Some of us wanted to check out the path along the stream...

I love this quiet little picnic area...it's near the campgrounds, but only one other family was nearby behind some trees.

One of us is a vegan, but finally had just a taste of my Stilton cheese with mango and ginger.

We shared parts of our lunches with each other.

The Rhododendron are about to bloom...here's a bud!

As we were chatting after lunch, a young man came walking up the stream, with a fly fishing outfit, and proceeded to catch a little fish right near us. He fortunately took its picture then threw it back in, and continued flicking out his bait.

Day trip, part 2 Sylva NC

 I just found out (from Big Dave) that today he's also posting about his visit to Sylva a few weeks back. So check out his post too...HERE. (PS he usually shows photos of the food they eat also.)

I somehow didn't take photos of our favorite bookstore, used and new. City Lights, Sylva.

We not only enjoyed browsing, and petting the store cat, but ate a delightful lunch downstairs in the restaurant. These two signs were on our table along with condiments.

On line I found their Tee-Shirt design.

The restaurant does have outdoor seating, but this was one of those 90+ degree days, so we opted to eat inside. It wasn't very crowded.

Earlier I'd taken a break in the Farmhouse coffee shop, and didn't even have any coffee!

It was a peaceful place, with little two-somes along one wall...neat lighting elsewhere...and the barndoor led into the furniture and furnishings store.

My friends are more interested in shopping, always thinking of gifts. I preferred waiting for them and catching up on emails!

I guess you have to be right across the street from the Easter Island head...or walking on that side of the main street.

Since it was in the 90s by the time we left, we chose to go look at chocolates just before leaving.

There's really nothing better than hand made chocolates. I parched out my 4 over 3 days, but one day I had to eat 2...at different times. I chose cat paws with sea salt, dark chocolate. They were like flatter turtles.

This was my last cat paw. Oh what yummy memories!

Today's quote:

"I am happy because I want nothing from anyone. I do not care about money. Decorations, titles or distinctions mean nothing to me. I do not crave praise. I claim credit for nothing. A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future."

And that's the last quote from Einstein.

Those Day Lilies! (and the insane GOP convention of TX)

 

As you can see, these beds are partially shaded, especially from the afternoon sun.

I've been spending hours working on a birthday celebration post on my ancestry blog "Three Family Trees," for my great grandmother on my mother's father's side...Annie Elizabeth Williams Webb...born 1862 in MO, and married and lived the rest of her life in Texas, dying one month before I was born in 1942 (also in Texas). Come on over and learn a bit about her and her family! 

And I once was proud to be a Texan, as well as a Republican during Eisenhower's era.

What's the matter with these people? G.O.P. belongs on a desert island where they can rule in their own strange way...it sure ain't American!!

"...delegates to a convention of the Texas Republican Party today (June 19, 2022) approved platform planks rejecting 'the certified results of the 2020 Presidential election, and [holding] that acting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was not legitimately elected by the people of the United States”; requiring students “to learn about the dignity of the preborn human,” including that life begins at fertilization; treating homosexuality as “an abnormal lifestyle choice”; locking the number of Supreme Court justices at 9; getting rid of the constitutional power to levy income taxes; abolishing the Federal Reserve; rejecting the Equal Rights Amendment; returning Christianity to schools and government; ending all gun safety measures; abolishing the Department of Education; arming teachers; requiring colleges to teach “free-market liberty principles”; defending capital punishment; dictating the ways in which the events at the Alamo are remembered; protecting Confederate monuments; ending gay marriage; withdrawing from the United Nations and the World Health Organization; and calling for a vote “for the people of Texas to determine whether or not the State of Texas should reassert its status as an independent nation.'”

Thanks Heather Coxe Richardson