Update about blog

The joy of waking to this view each morning is just so wonderful. Even if the camera sees all the distortions from the window screen, I easily ignore them. Many of these green trees stand near or by the Animas River which flows through the town.
Showing posts with label Lake Tomahawk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lake Tomahawk. Show all posts

Saturday, April 25, 2026

Saturday so...

 

Hummingbird at Cardinal Flower, photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service via CC PDM 1.0.


Monarch Butterfly on Swamp Milkweed, photo via Canva



from the internet

Allen's Hummingbird



Quick shots out the window of pileated woodpecker. His huge blaze caught my eye but then he kept hiding from me.

From the internet




Breakfasting squirrel keeping warm while it was 44 degrees last Mon. morning (and due to be colder Tues). we had frost warnings again. But yesterday (Fri.) it got to 80 F.

Sharing with Saturday's Critters



And for Skywatch Friday...let's look a bit closer at Lake Tomahawk.



I spy a family of Canada Geese! Fortunately they were swimming in my direction.


Somebody was honking up a storm. These were tiny little goslings to have been way out in the lake. 


It may have been this lone goose, or maybe the family's protective ones. I imagined that the lone goose might have been their son or daughter from last year, and wanting their parent's attention. Or something else only geese know about...


Saturday, March 28, 2026

Last Sunday at Lake Tomahawk

 











The drake of the couple by the island took offense at the other pair swimming by...lots of honking and splashing ensued. 

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And yesterday I had breakfast (oatmeal and coffee) with a female red bellied woodpecker (outside the window just at my eye level in the maple tree!) She only had a patch of red on her head, while males have a full mohawk of red.

Public domain photo

Sharing with Saturday's Critters



Thanks to Jess Craven for this musical number for No Kings!




Monday, March 23, 2026

My inner child had a great Sunday

 

By Susan Seddon Boulet

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It was a day to be outdoors. 84 F in the afternoon.

I'd approached the day with minimal plans, and wanted to experience a child-like day. 

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First I ate lunch under the slightly blooming tree to the side of the tennis courts at Lake Tomahawk.

(More on blooms later!)


It was a beautiful day for Canada Geese, who are in mating season and quite vocal about who gets to swim with whom.

Also people walking and many dog walkers. And even a family fishing (more later!)

As you can see, this post is to skim the surface!

I just did so much yesterday!

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Then I drove directly to the Blue Ridge Parkway, after finding the cheapest gas in the area.


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I wanted to just sit at an overlook and see how my breathing did with a higher elevation. First stop, Haw Creek Valley, elevation 2720. (I live at approximately 2400 feet above sea level.)

Asheville Mall makes a white swath of parking lots and stores in the distance. All the trees here were bare still.

But the sun was heating me up so much, I only sat in my stadium chair for 5-8 minutes there, and went driving on up to the next overlook. There were very few cars considering it was a beautiful Sunday!


I love sitting up here, looking down toward Black Mountain behind one of these ridges.

More about my Parkway visit soon! My goal Sunday afternoon was to try breathing at a higher altitude than I'm used to. I met this. No problems just sitting in the sun.

But when got home and I left the phone in the car and had to return to get it from my apartment, I again got out of breath. Shucks...a whole day out, and just walking back to the car showed me my limitations again.


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Yesterday I witnessed part of the Great Mother's March going to Washington DC. Here's my blog about it.

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Spinoza said, “The highest activity a human being can attain is learning for understanding, because to understand is to be free.” And, “If you want the future to be different from the present, study the past.”


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Good news from The Contrarian at 6:30pm yesterday:

BIG NEWS: Norm Eisen and his colleagues in the courtroom got a huge summary judgment win this week in their Voice of America case.
What is Voice of America?
VOA is an independent broadcaster funded by the U.S. government that spreads accurate news to countries around the world. It especially seeks to distribute the facts to those living in countries without freedom of the press or independent journalism.
What does this mean?
The Voice of America will no longer be muted — the judge ordered that over a thousand VOA journalists and workers (who were put on administrative leave by the Trump Administration) must be reinstated by tomorrow. All other decisions that were made to gut the agency were ordered down to “statutory minimum and have been “vacated and set aside.”
Contrarian subscribers fuel victories against Trump in court
Your subscriptions help fund critical court cases like this one; successfully throwing sand in the gears of the Trump Administration’s unconstitutional attempts to control our media and silence the resistance.

Monday, December 22, 2025

Winter is supposed to be going out

 So the sun has returned, with promises of warmth to come - but it will be many more months before the spring blossoms start peeping out.

10. 16 by wildwoodblessing - Grandfather Mountain of the Blue Ridge Mountains


Seven Sister's mountains over Lake Tomahawk, Black Mountain, NC my photo probably 2024


Lake Tomahawk almost frozen over, January 17, 2025.


Dec 16, 2025, shallow Lake Tomahawk with some ice as it is being drained again. Sigh. Walking by gives the muddy marshy decaying odor. No more pretty reflection photos for a while. The senior citizens are still waiting for the Lakeview Center to be renovated so we can again hold programs and eat in the dining room together. The Town Council has been dragging it's feet with many promises (unfulfilled.) Politics! Bah! Humbug!

Oh, speaking of that which I just quoted, what is your favorite version of "A Christmas Carol" (movie?) by Charles Dickens? I kind of enjoyed Bill Murray in Scrooged (1988). But I first saw the TV show sometime in the 50s, just not sure which one, except it was pretty long. But I probably remember best the TV rendition in 1970 with Albert Finney and Alec Guinness.


The Arboretum in Asheville has a great Holiday light display, for night-time enjoyment. Here my friend Teresa shows her affinity to a butterfly (bundled for the weather) Taken 12.11.25.


A similar pose by a Santa at the Peri Social House.

Many are busy preparing for their Christmas celebrations. What rituals do you and your loved ones share for this holiday? Do you open one or all your presents on Christmas eve? Do you plan a big feast? What do you share? My friend Teresa (the butterfly above) has a pickle ornament which becomes part of different family fun each year.



My favorite pie, Dutch Apple Pie (just bake it from the freezer!)


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Thank you for being with me while I celebrated the Winter Solstice yesterday. I watched a lovely zoomed program. It was best for my health not to be in an intimate circle with friends this year...and I missed that camaraderie. 

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Last evening (Dec 21) was the last night of Hanukkah.

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Today I changed the header to this...


Winter Solstice being celebrated in a small apartment...thanks to YouTube video of a fire, and my own little grove of fake evergreens!


Friday, October 3, 2025

Asters at the lake

 Flowers!


Symphyotrichum, New England Asters with Goldenrod


Lake Tomahawk

Sharing with Floral Friday Fotos.


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The mind creates the abyss, the heart crosses it.

SRI NISARGADATTA MAHARAJ