Zachy!
I love the holidays! Thanksgiving this year was spent in Dallas, hanging out with the fam and my adorable nephew. He did like the dinosaur... I could tell because he tried to eat him. Zachy has the most adorable laugh/giggle. He needs to move to Charlotte. And his parents, of course. In other areas, I've been working on a couple projects, will post pictures if they are completed soon...
RAWR!
The mosaic wall hanging is done... quilted, bound, and hung. Next project... a dinosaur. In anticipation of seeing my little nephew Zachy in just a few days, I made a little dinosaur for him tonight. I sketched it out on freezer paper and stitched it up - a pretty quick project. Hopefully Zachy will like it too!
Back to Mt Rogers... and the Fog
So I've hiked Mt Rogers quite a few times now. And the ONLY two times I have had crazy fog was when hiking with Scott. He, I and Bekah hit the road Saturday morning despite the 80% chance of rain. In fact, it rained most of the way up there. But the first mile and a half of hiking was rain free, with low, cool looking clouds hovering just above the mountains. And warmer temps than I was anticipating.
However, as we began to hike up Wilburn Ridge, the winds came roaring in and the sideways rain commenced. We continued on, 2.5 more miles to the top, where the winds and rain stopped. A bit more rain back down near Wilburn again, but not too bad. The ponies were more scarce this trip, probably seeking shelter from the weather. Good times anyways!
Peanuts!
The peanuts were planted back in May...I never knew exactly how they grew... apparently the main stem puts out little runners, where the flowers had blossomed, which head down into the soil, and the peanuts grow ON them. Pretty cool!So I thought the plants would yellow more than they did, and so when I pulled them last weekend... some of them had started growing their OWN plants. :) Oops. I pulled them all though, and they are currently drying on my porch - supposed to do that for a couple weeks. It has unfortunately been rainy though, so it is slow going.
New Friends
The other day I was at Starbucks. Starbucks has two things... a Marble Slab Creamery next door and a flock of "local" birds that hang out. This combination means that the birds are both friendly and well-fed. This little guy sat on my car while I loaded it up. I think it'd be kind of cool to have him as a regular hood-ornament. :)
And this weekend I had gone out on my porch to get some stuff and as I raised my head I caught a large object out of the corner of my eye on the railing... it was a large praying mantis. I grabbed my camera and did a mini photo shoot while he watched.
Apple Success
YAYYY! I picked applesssss!!! :) Scott and I left a misty Charlotte, hitting sun halfway to Flat Rock to pick apples. It was a windy, beautiful day. Sky Top Orchard is a pretty cool little spot up on the mountain and they have everything apple you can think of. Including apple cider donuts. Scott and I got to talking about them on the way up and were crazy hungry for them by the time we arrived. We made a beeline for them before we did anything else, hoping they were as good as they sounded. And. they. were. Wow. These were the best donuts I have ever had. Hot out of the oil, covered with cinnamon sugar, YUM! We (or I) picked a peck of apples, tasting them all - they tell you to taste as many as you want. It was a good thing they were cash-only, and I only had enough for one peck and a donut, or I'd have been in some serious 
trouble! Apple picking done, we snagged 1.5 dozen donuts, and headed to Dupont State Forest to check out some waterfalls. We were
able to see two - Hooker Falls, which was in the movie Last of the Mohicans, and Triple Falls. It was a great day! And now, I just pulled a fresh apple pie out of the oven..
Apples... maybe?
Apples. They are apparently much like the elusive spider lily. I was supposed to pick them a couple weeks ago, but just days before our trip, a deluge of rain was predicted. All day. I will say that it turned out to be a good day - to sleep in, enjoy a late breakfast and relax. And, after all, we rescheduled the day. Because we seriously had a plethora of people who were going to go. It was going to be an apple extravaganza like you'd never seen. Until last night. When the news foiled my plans again by forecasting thunderstorms this Saturday. Not to be denied the pleasure of picking the apple straight from the tree, I went into plan C. Plan C calls for taking half a day off on Friday and coercing my friend Scott to go with me. Scott tried to appease me by promising a bag of apples from Harris Teeter, but I would not be bought. And so I agreed to check out a couple of waterfalls while we were out there. It was a hard sell, but I eventually broke. And if the weather tries to mess THIS trip up...!!!!!!
Mt Mitchell
Had an eeaaarrrrlly wake-up call Saturday morning to get up and out so we could start our assault on Mt Mitchell by 10am. Mt Mitchell is the highest point east of the Mississippi and is about an hour from Asheville, NC. The hike from the Black Mountain Campground is 6 miles. Up. That's a 4000' climb in 6 miles. It was probably the hardest hike up I've done due to it being a consistent uphill climb over such a long distance. The hike is predominantly closed in by the woods, on a path covered with tree roots 
and rocks, so it requires looking down a lot. But we survived, and broke out onto the top... where there is a parking lot, museum, gift shop and snack bar. Kind of funny after 3.5 hours of hiking up to see people who have DRIVEN up. An amazing view from the top. When we set out at the base, it was 39 degrees on top, but had warmed to 50 degrees and windy by the time we got up there. We enjoyed snacks, bought some hot chocolate, took pictures, and headed back down 6 miles, which took an hour less than the hike up. Topped it off with 
dinner at My Father's Pizza in Black Mountain before driving home. Good trip!
99 Red Balloons
BALLOONS! Today we filled 1000 balloons to hand out in the local Matthews Alive Parade. WHEW... early morning + walking around in the sun = nap. It was a fun day!
Memories
Took a trip to Mary Jo's today to look for fabric for some curtains and pillows. And while there I saw fabric that was the EXACT color (pea green) and style (little velvety rows) of the couch we had growing up. :)
Cotton!
This would be yesterday's picture... due to not being able to get online at all last night. My cotton is opening up - very cool... makes me think snow. :)
MAIL!
I love mail. LOVE it. And when I saw the wadded up package stuffed into the back recesses of my little mailbox, I assumed it was something I had ordered for work. But it WASN'T! My college friend Danielle, who makes the cutest outfits for her and her daughter, sent me some fun scraps to play with! This is just a sample of them. I'll have to add them to my project list...
Chasing Butterflies
AMAZING weather today. 70s, no humidity, sun... amazing. After work I went by the garden and spent almost 45 minutes chasing butterflies. There were three different colors - a black one with bright blue, another like that but yellow with the blue, and this orangey one. It was my favorite. I also saw a hummingbird, but wasn't fast enough to catch him on camera, and a couple yellow birds which I have tried before to get pictures of - they are too fast. The cotton has started to open! Yay! More on that later. I also picked another handful of better boy tomatoes. Still waiting on those peanuts.
Monday = Coffee
A productive work day, 3 mile run with Lisa, cooler weather... time to curl up on the couch with this. :)
A week in pictures
So Jules and I are having a photo challenge to help us be more bloggy. Starting today, we are posting a photo a day for a week. And mine today is TOMATOES! I planted a second crop of them and just picked this bag full. It includes the last of the yellow cherry tomatoes, Lemon Boys, one Mr. Stripey, a couple Purples and some Better Boys. Salsa time!
Shenanigans in the Mountains and on Water
So LAST weekend I hit the road with my college friend Julie, to go visit another one of our college friends, Andrea. It was a hilarious drive and trip, with a LOT of laughing, some rain, a lot of coffee and some good curling up on the couch with peach pie. YUM! This trip will definitely have to be repeated again soon. :)
And THIS weekend, or rather, today, Scott and I went back to Lansford Canal State Park to do some kayaking. The last time we tried this trip the river was crazy swollen from all the rain, which had majorly submerged the spider lilies. I had given up on them until next year. However, as we paddled around the shoals we discovered a handful of them here and there! I can't imagine what it looks like to have that whole area packed with them. It was a great afternoon though - sunny and warm, but not too hot, the water temperature was perfect.
Art in the Ordinary
I love when I look at art other people have created and it inspires me. But when I can look at something made out of ... STRAWS or PENCILS and be impressed... wow. While looking online in search of some ideas for a project I'm thinking about, I found this website. Check out the photos, starting with the first one, and specifically look at what it says the display is made OF. It's pretty cool. :)
Tara Donovan Art
Massive Spiders
Spiders. Ick. I can remember my older sister making me come get a spider that was on her bed. And it didn't bother me. But these writing spiders are the size of a small dog. And they apparently multiply. When I went out there yesterday, there were three along this fence, and they are HUGE. From their top leg to bottom, they are the length of my pointer finger. At least they eat Japanese Beetles. And other bugs that accidentally fly into their massive webs.
The garden is a little unkept at present... I need to do some weeding but haven't had the time, and it's been really hot lately. I keep hoping it will cool down. At present I've got a second round of tomatoes getting ready to ripen, peanuts, cotton, sweet potatoes, watermelon and cantaloupe. And I was just noticing that the vines from the watermelon and cantaloupe have snuck through the fence and a couple melons are growing outside the garden. Maybe those spiders will clean it up for me...
Birthday Fun :)
When you think birthday, you think ponies... right? Right. That's what I thought. For my birthday this year some friends and I headed up to Mt Rogers to hike and see the ponies. And they were everywhere! This trip we saw a number of baby ponies. I was tempted to put one in my backpack. SO CUTE!The weather was amazing, as were the views. Rebecca and Sam both brought birthday cake to celebrate. :)The required on-top-of-the-mountain picture... totally enclosed in the woods. That confused a couple of hikers who came up while we were there. They were about to continue through the woods in search of a true peak.It was a great trip and we definitely slept well afterward. A couple days later Lisa took me out to Ratcliffe on the Green for a birthday dinner. They use ingredients from the local farmer's market. I had a duck and pheasant pot pie and a dessert that was like a pudding cake made with farina... cream of wheat! YUM. It had a cognac apricot sauce. Lisa picked the strawberry shortcake with a mountain of mascarpone. Both were amazing (and pictured below).
Farmer's Market - Tomato Tasting
Walnut Pesto
There is a LOT of basil growing in my garden. It was slow starting, but has taken off and is quickly starting to flower. Which means it needs to be harvested now before it goes bitter, or allowed to go to seed for next year. And so, I made a big batch of pesto.I normally use pine nuts when making pesto, but since I already had walnuts, I used those instead and the flavor was just as good, with maybe a little more texture. I'm a fan of recipes which can be made almost solely in the food processor, so pesto is a great recipe for me. I doubled the recipe since I had so much basil. It starts with 1 1/2 cups of packed basil leaves, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Pulse until basil is chopped.Add 1/4 cup Parmigan-Reggiano (fresh grated), 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts or walnuts, and 1 tsp minced garlic. Process while pouring a steady stream of extra virgin olive oil (1/2 cup) until a mostly smooth sauce is formed.I had the sauce over pasta with chicken the first night, and tonight made homemade pizza with pesto, chicken, cherry tomatoes from the garden and goat cheese. YUM!
Garden Progress
After the decent early summer rains, it has been a bit more sparse lately. However, the overall temperature this summer has been amazing. None of that nasty 100 degree heat of a couple years ago. Find a nice spot in the shade, some iced coffee, and the temperature is perfect, even at the end of the day. My sunflower head is quickly drying out and facing straight down like a shower head. The vines in the garden are starting to dry up, so I harvested the majority of my winter squash. In the process I discovered another volunteer cantaloupe as well as sweet potato vines sprouting from where I threw the extra pieces aside.Tomatoes are still consistent, green beans starting to come off, I may cook my first batch tonight. Peanuts aren't quite ready yet, sweet potato vines and watermelons are looking good. The gardeners all got together last week for a feast from our individual plots - YUM. We've been trading recipes since. One favorite was Angela's zucchini and blueberry cobbler. :)
trouble! Apple picking done, we snagged 1.5 dozen donuts, and headed to Dupont State Forest to check out some waterfalls. We were
able to see two - Hooker Falls, which was in the movie Last of the Mohicans, and Triple Falls. It was a great day! And now, I just pulled a fresh apple pie out of the oven..
Had an eeaaarrrrlly wake-up call Saturday morning to get up and out so we could start our assault on Mt Mitchell by 10am. Mt Mitchell is the highest point east of the Mississippi and is about an hour from Asheville, NC. The hike from the Black Mountain Campground is 6 miles. Up. That's a 4000' climb in 6 miles. It was probably the hardest hike up I've done due to it being a consistent uphill climb over such a long distance. The hike is predominantly closed in by the woods, on a path covered with tree roots 
and rocks, so it requires looking down a lot. But we survived, and broke out onto the top... where there is a parking lot, museum, gift shop and snack bar. Kind of funny after 3.5 hours of hiking up to see people who have DRIVEN up. An amazing view from the top. When we set out at the base, it was 39 degrees on top, but had warmed to 50 degrees and windy by the time we got up there. We enjoyed snacks, bought some hot chocolate, took pictures, and headed back down 6 miles, which took an hour less than the hike up. Topped it off with 
dinner at My Father's Pizza in Black Mountain before driving home. Good trip!
On Saturday my friend Ciara got married in the NC mountains. I drove the wedding cake up (AHHHH!). No mishaps. And, apparently, I neglected to take a picture of it. I was too stressed the thing would fall over while I was driving because it was not. in. a. box. Open and free, three-tiers high in the back of my truck and I couldn't see it from the driver's seat. So I didn't 
know for sure that it had survived the winding mountain roads until I arrived. I DID make a sign for the back to explain my extreme slow turns and care over bumps. :)
Matthews Farmer's Market for their tomato tasting. Sun shining, humid air, people everywhere. I don't think I've ever eaten that much tomato prior to a cup of coffee. Actually, I KNOW I haven't. We took our ballots and tried various tomatoes like the "Great White", "Green Zebra", "Chocolate Cherry" and many others. After making our votes we picked up fresh baked chocolate chip orange muffins and a cup of coffee and sat in the shade to chat and people watch. It was a fun way to start the day.
