Sitting in my backyard at 3175 feet

 

You may have noticed some of these shots from my Sunday travels post several days ago. But here are just Blue Ridge Parkway scenes. Starting at 2720, just 300 feet higher than where I live in Black Mountain, the aim was to try breathing higher altitudes.

Although I only sat here a few minutes, I worried about sunburn. The next week I did have puffy sore lips, the only sign of difficulty!

Willow and Ruthie from Lafayette LA came by and we talked about St. Gertrude of Nivilles as the patron saint of cats...which of course they had never heard of.

Closeup view with some purplish flowers. 

Farm land below, while you might see the cut of the Parkway as it traverses a midrange mountain slope.

Somewhere in the distance is my home in Black Mountain. I travel about 14 miles from there to this lofty view. It costs about a gallon of gas for the round trip!

OK, why do I cut myselfie off? Because there was a bit of something on the end of my nose, but nobody around to tell me. And of course I couldn't see the photo worth a hoot in the bright sunlight.

Which reminds me, why did my iPhone stop offering panoramas and portrait settings? Now all I get are video and photo choices...with different things within photos. ARGH!

My 3175 foot elevation is lovely, and with low humidity I can breathe ok. Of course I haven't tried doing anything strenuous yet!

The lack of foliage means you can clearly see the devastation from the hurricane storms in Sept. 2024. 

The Craven Gap area (a trail as well as a road that goes up to several homes off the Parkway) was hit hard by either wind going up the gap, or water coming down. Trees are littered all over the woods helter skelter!

A recent hiker at Craven Gap saw this wildcat.

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Tomorrow I'm going to try the "Sit and Be Fit" class, at least up to the marching and heavy breathing part at the end! It's at the Lakeview Senior Center. (written on Tuesday 3.24.26)

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And an astronomer said, Master, what of Time? And he answered: 

You would measure time the measureless and the immeasurable.

You would adjust your conduct and even direct the course of your spirit according to hours and seasons.

Of time you would make a stream upon whose bank you would sit and watch its flowing.

Yet the timeless in you is aware of life’s timelessness,

And knows that yesterday is but today’s memory and tomorrow is today’s dream.

And that that which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space.

—Kahlil Gibran

On Time

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Sharing with Skywatch Friday

Erin go Bragh

 For St. Patrick's Day...from an area with a few Irish descendants, in western North Carolina.

Have a happy St. Paddy's Day all! Raise a glass of green beer to cheer everyone for a good new year ahead. May all experience peace, abundance, good health, love and joy!

Slàinte ! To your health!

And for the non-alcoholic among us, the same wishes apply!

A shamrock blooms in my window on my desk, but it's a ruddy version, so doesn't remind one of the Isle of Green! 

My roots include the Scotch-Irish, which means some ancestors were born in Ireland, though their parents had been immigrants from Scotland. 

One ancestor is:

John Francis Beattie II, (1718-1790) b. 1718 Killishandra, Cavan County, Ireland, d. 18 Aug 1790 Emory, Washington County, Virginia

Another descendant attached this coat of arms to his page in Ancestry. (yes a tiny file and there're no details about it.)

And the more I look into his life story on Ancestry, the more confused I got. A will written by one John Beattie says his wife is Margared, and he had 8 children which are named. He died in Virginia.

Another John Beattie lived in New York.

And there were 3 different wives names given, Ellen or Eleanor, Martha, and Margaret/Margared.

My ancestress, Margaret Beattie (1762-1861) married a man named Rev. Thomas "Junior" Hansford (1758-1841). They were both born in Virginia and married there in 1788. There are 13 children listed, but some duplicate names with different birth dates...so they may actually be the same persons.

Right after their marriage they moved to the frontier of Kentucky, where they raised all their children and are the Hansford parents buried in Crab Orchard KY. 

So whatever the connection to Ireland may be, these are some American documented ancestors. I can sometime go through all the siblings of my direct line and sort out who was duplicated, but that's for another day.

Today (Wednesday March 14 while I'm writing this) is warm again and I'm going to enjoy some of the green shoots that are finally showing after the greys of winter.

Happy St. Patrick's Day if you celebrate, with or without any Irish roots.

Many large cities have a parade!

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Today's good news:

Fat Cat Elon and the Musk Rats played musical sounds in front of 10 foot tall puppets of Putin, Trump and Musk...standing at rally in front of the NC Legislative Assembly on 3/16/25.

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And happy saint's day to:

 Saint Gertrude of Nivelles Day is celebrated on March 17, honoring the life of Saint Gertrude, who was an abbess and is known as the patron saint of travelers, gardeners, and cats. She founded the Abbey of Nivelles in Belgium and was canonized in 1677 by Pope Clement XII.

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Today's Family Album: 

A green (?) flower in Russ's ear, and I'm in orange (being protestant of course for St. Patrick's Day) while younger son Tai spreads his arms  behind serious looking cousin Zachery Miller - Houston TX around 1985 or so.

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Today's Quote:

Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don’t claim them. Feel the artistry moving through and be silent.

JALALUDDIN RUMI

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Today's Art:

Nippon Coraline - Handled Vase, circa 1909, with beaded glass decoration of Iris on a mottled green.