I often get inquiries from folks who have read something on my website and need clarification. This week, I got an inquiry from some folks who had read my article on the Swinging Bridge and wondered if you could drive … Continue reading →

We’ve had a little drizzle overnight, but Saturday is forecast to be a beautiful day. There are still some dogwoods in bloom, but most of them have faded. The flame azalea is still in bloom in most locations. There may … Continue reading →

UPDATE: We’re at over 3″ of rain (2.81 at Mercier’s) as of 6:00 PM. There may be some flooding, Hemptown Creek was out of its banks on Loving Road, where the barrel plant is, and the little RV campground, about … Continue reading →

It seems the Blue Ridge Brewery has changed hands again, about ten months after it was sold by Patrick Walker, the person who developed it, to Gene Holcombe, the owner of the Blue Ridge Bed & Breakfast. It has apparently … Continue reading →

We have the first lady slipper in the yard, and we’ve seen the first Mourning Cloak. The trees have leafed out incredibly fast over the past few days. The pollen remains high. Durham, North Carolina – about 325 miles from … Continue reading →

It was close to 80 on the porch today. We saw the first hummingbird (gone too fast to identify), the first dragonfly (ditto), the first Fence Lizard, the first Black Wasp, and maybe a Mourning Cloak. Last night we heard … Continue reading →

It’s a beautiful day in the mountains, unless you have seasonal allergies. I think the pollen is peaking along with a lot of other things as we enter the beginning of high spring. The redbuds are still in full bloom, … Continue reading →

We’re forecast to enter another drizzly period. Some sarvis is still in bloom, others have started to fade. As of a few days ago, it was still early for wildflowers. There are a few dogwoods down by the lake headed … Continue reading →

Some of the sarvis is in bloom, despite the cool mornings. This probably means that there are some spring ephemerals (that’s naturalist talk for wildflowers) in bloom. I hope to have a report on that later in the week, but … Continue reading →

We had a little thunderstorm pass through around 9:00 AM, and the rest of the weekend looks very fine, if the forecast holds. Our redbuds are starting to bud, and the sarvis is showing some white tips. We’ve also seen … Continue reading →