Eating on high!

 Our Mt. Mitchell trip had a pinnacle event, (groan!) to have a picnic at the picnic grounds..

Plenty of tables, even handicap accessible, plenty of nearby parking. We ambled along until we found a shady spot with a view, and a bit of sun, since it was kind of windy at that point. (Thank heaven for the wind, which not only entertained us, but kept the tiny flies at bay - at least no biting!)

I tried making a 360 degree video...it isn't that great.

There are many dead trees in one area of the picnic grounds. The woolly adelgid continues to knock out perfectly healthy trees.

Aside: Adelges tsugae, the hemlock woolly adelgid or HWA, is an insect of the order Hemiptera native to East Asia. It feeds by sucking sap from hemlock and spruce trees. In its native range, HWA is not a serious pest because populations are managed by natural predators and parasitoids and by host resistance. In eastern North America it is a destructive pest that threatens the eastern hemlock and the Carolina hemlock. HWA is also found in western North America, where it has likely been present for thousands of years (See Wikipedia)

Evidence of HWA or Hemlock Woolly Adelgid - white patches on underside of branches.

 I thought at first this small rodent was a chipmunk...but no stripes. and a long tail.

So a baby squirrel with interest in the next table visited us, but was skittish enough to take off when we started talking about her.

Our prerequisite selfie...not sure who's on Teresa's shirt. I'm sure going to miss spending days with her and her granddaughter. But fortunately we can text, facetime phone visit, and phone call each other daily still! Making new friends (see below) but keeping the gold ones!

Wonderful young balsam trees growing. I could watch shadows of clouds crossing mountains in the distance all day.

I stopped for a shot with Madison after we'd had our lunches.

I found peanut butter and jelly on brioche bread were delicious, with a Coke Zero and Key Lime yogurt. Teresa packed PB&J and pickles, some pretzels and chocolate chip cookies for them. I shared some cookies I brought all around as well.

We ate "above it all!"

Yes, one of these vistas will become my header, when  I get tired of looking at the shot of Lake Tomahawk, which I just put up. Let's see, maybe a week from today? 

Sharing with Saturday's Critters (do pest beetles [woolly ageldids] count?) at least I found a wild squirrel!

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And oh yes, the fun part of Saturday (yesterday) was meeting Mary Moon and her daughter Jessie. Such a lovely time, even though short. Mary is just as she is on her blog, only taller than I thought she'd be, and oh so sweet, trim, beautiful, loving, and just the kind of friend who I hope I move next to in my new home. Can't I take her with me? Oh dear, guess her hubby might have something to say about that!

Barbara and Mary at Four Sisters in Black Mountain. (Soon to be thousands of miles apart, but still right here on their blogs!)

And yes, by 3:30 the dining table, two dressers and a book shelf had taken off in the Habitat truck. I tipped the workers $10 each and a Coke Zero...hope that was enough. Probably not... But they saw how I live, so most folks won't expect much from me. Just big gratitude!