Adjusting to changes

I could post this under my geographical blog, Living in Black Mountain.

But many of the changes I'm adjusting to these days aren't exactly geographical.  Physical yes, even medical.  And if you count a new neighborhood of condos as geography, then they count.

I live on North Blue Ridge Road...and many people live on/off of South Blue Ridge Road...which runs from the south side of the tracks and US 70 all the way around to State Highway 9 South.  It actually ends up parallel to the I-40 and US 70 highways for most of its length.

And there are a few horse pastures along it as well as single family homes and a few mobile homes. But one horse pasture was sold and rezoned a few years ago. And it's now got a fancy name and some buildings have been erected which will be the models. Good jobs for construction crews, and perhaps we'll have some new wealthy neighbors (compared to the horses at least.)

Sweet Birch is just a cul de sac at this point...I wonder how many homes will be built there.

Other communities along S. Blue Ridge include a "trailer park" area in the flood zone of the Swannanoa River and still a bit of former farm land. At least 2 more horse pastures can be seen, with horses often.  There's a fire department near the indoor soccer building. There's also a community garden with some great produce. And Veterans Park has baseball fields for young people and walking trails for us older folks.

In the next  5 10 years there will be a new exit built off of I-40 leading into Blue Ridge Rd and US 70 in this area of Black Mountain.  It has a strange traffic pattern with a roundabout.  It will take up a lot of our geography, I think.
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And then there's happy news, that I just re-read an old comment on a post about ancestors all named George Granger, and Gail said:

"La NightingailMay 6, 2018 at 3:08 PM

It does seem a little strange there would be two fellows with not only the first and last names the same born around the same time in the same area - but also with the same middle initials. But families do funny things with names, sometimes. Back in my own family history - prior and up to Edward I of England, my family history shows the de Clair family going from generation to generation as Richard de Clair to Gilbert de Clair to Richard, to Gilbert, to Richard and so on down the line till Edward I's daughter, Joan of Acre, married a Gilbert de Clair. There our knowledge of how many more Gilberts and Richards there were ends. I can see the confusion now, however. Uncle and Grandfather Gilberts, and Uncle and Grandfather Richards - not to mention great Uncle and great grandfather Gilberts and Richards. Whew!"

I didn't know until about six months later that I'm also descended from the de Clairs and Joan of Acre! So now we're cousins, about 10 times removed!

Quote for today:

Call out to the whole divine night for what you love. What you stand for. Earn your name. Be kind, and wild, and disciplined, and absolutely generous.

DR. MARTIN SHAW