tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26119836929656598842012-01-27T17:58:34.300-05:00Living the life of gardening on the low spot of a North Carolina mountaintop.Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.comBlogger15761100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-17556788425924715042012-01-26T14:35:00.005-05:002012-01-26T18:12:28.282-05:00

I need one more rock that is too big to move to balance the new line of rocks. I'm sure I can find one. How easy it will be not to move may be another matter.Now that I have wiggled all these rocks into place I am not sure I am liking it all that much. It feels off again. One thing I will try is to have the center section of leaning stones have a mid point and then lean the stones on the right to

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-71621044254531163842012-01-25T17:51:00.005-05:002012-01-25T18:39:35.031-05:00

I have seen many pictures of rocks stacked just leaning against each other in a number of different ways and always liked that look. I thought I would give it a try. Now granted the pretty rock pictures I saw had nice fancy squared off rocks, not like the irregular rocks I have. You make do with what you have. I can't afford to buy fancy rocks.And in the process of wiggling rocks this afternoon I

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-58370914659176254202012-01-24T17:02:00.011-05:002012-01-24T21:27:45.739-05:00

A funny thing happened after the Garden Rant interview. Bulbarella became a search word. Curious readers must have wanted to know what is a Bulbarella. The google wasn't sending them to a post that would help much in the matter and Bulbarella is an Italian surname that was cluttering up the search results. So I will help inquiring minds who want to know.In about two months or less depending upon

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-284155511250263142012-01-23T18:19:00.013-05:002012-01-23T19:52:52.544-05:00

I promised them a garden unlike any they have ever seen, high on the low spot of a North Carolina mountain top.There was mention of a wild forest filled with native wildflowers and shrubberies. There was no mention of some other items that might be considered attractions in the wild cultivated gardens.Right now it is hard to imagine the lush that will awaken in a few more months and fill the

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-7520789037878883562012-01-22T16:08:00.006-05:002012-01-22T18:20:42.710-05:00

The morning was sunny and a warmish 50 degrees in front of the next wave of rain. That was enough for the snowdrop's petals to fully open. There's not a whole lot of difference between open and closed.I felt like the chainsaw today. That stack of logs on the left used to be one big log running from the little hill on the left all the way past the small clump of Miscanthus on the right. It was one

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-50548831844826494372012-01-21T18:43:00.001-05:002012-01-21T18:45:28.770-05:00

To Speak Of

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-84021456956090143072012-01-20T16:18:00.006-05:002012-01-20T17:55:32.690-05:00

I felt like fire today. The last of the rubbish piles in the garden to be have been burned up. The last of ..... right. The forest is incredibly generous with its production of rubbish. I have been eyeing a location for a permanent fire ring, made out of stone of course.I am most happy to have those last piles of rubbish gone. It feels like the garden to be is finally free to become.There was

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-5879571688396369222012-01-19T18:48:00.007-05:002012-01-19T19:56:07.157-05:00

It is a nice feeling to wake up in the morning and think what do I feel like doing today. Even though it felt much warmer with sunshine and no wind, it was cold. The tear in the fabric of Creation was frozen solid. I wasn't in the mood to wiggle rocks anyway. How about a fire? Should I burn the last rubbish piles? Nope not in the mood for fire.I decided to head to the ridge top garden next door

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-37231328085827254482012-01-18T18:52:00.005-05:002012-01-18T20:22:12.947-05:00

There was some rock moving today. There was only a whisper of snow in the morning leaving the rocks unburied and in view. It took a while to get going though. There wasn't a hint of warmth at all for most of the day.As is often the case, I get a rock idea and start to worry if there will be enough of them to pull it off. Why that thought continues to enter my mind is beyond me. Once I get going

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-67615298738431255222012-01-17T18:43:00.005-05:002012-01-17T21:33:46.685-05:00

Need some wiggling. But it has been a busy day at Asheville 2012 Fling headquarters. The basic itinerary went live yesterday. The registration went live this morning. Sponsors are being added. Facebook is getting fed. Communications are flowing in and out fast and furious. There was no time for wiggling anything.I know for a fact I could not do this kind desk work for a living. It would

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-29930108183147839832012-01-16T19:21:00.005-05:002012-01-16T20:32:45.433-05:00

The snow falls and quickly melts away. I have not had to shovel a thing. This is how a proper southern winter should behave.The next round of snow is swirling around out there. Then it looks like we may get a bit of a warm spell with highs in the 60's.Warm spell. The 60's. There was a time not so long ago when that would have been considered an apostasy.

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-17586908551696208002012-01-15T17:46:00.005-05:002012-01-15T20:55:27.769-05:00

It was falling fast and piling up quick for a while there last night, but the morning revealed it was just another meager inch of snow. By the time I felt prepared to trudge off in search of blooms for Bloom Day it was already half gone, melted on a sunny day.Could there possibly be anything blooming out there in all this snow and cold?It is way to soon for the daffodils and the Bulbapaloozathon.

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-7313742739905572072012-01-14T19:16:00.006-05:002012-01-14T20:59:20.102-05:00

Made NewBy a gardener and artist.Down by the river and on the wrong side of the tracks, the power of gardening to turn what was abandoned and decrepit into beauty and purpose is on display.A garden holds power to transform souls.A tapestry of vegetation connects the man made to the divinely created.And offers a chance for us to contemplate our place in that creation.Come to Asheville and leave

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-41386444174764795052012-01-13T18:36:00.005-05:002012-01-13T19:02:41.203-05:00

The temperature dropped. The snow fell, only about half an inch, much less than the predicted one to three inches for the Tennessee border regions.With a low of 15 and a high of 30 it was enough to keep me inside, doing a whole lot of nothing. I napped. I needed it. The two furry alarm clocks I live with rise about 4am regardless of any extenuating circumstances.The extended diagnosis shows a

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-893789353692981942012-01-12T20:49:00.008-05:002012-01-12T22:15:26.041-05:00

I took a load of rubbish to the dump dump and returned with a load of woodchips. The roadside vegetable garden is now more than halfway covered with a fresh load of woodchip mulch. I'll mow down the dead dried sticks of the perennials in the wildflower surround at some point before spring and planting time arrives. I keep thinking we might get some real deep snow and that's when all those dead

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-22239098537840005432012-01-11T17:36:00.010-05:002012-01-11T19:00:12.177-05:00

I was forced to clean house today. That means I got some dusting and vacuuming done. It just rained and rained and rained. There was even thunder and lightning. It almost seems common due to my location that the eye of these low pressure fronts pass directly over me. I took advantage of the brief hole in the goo to take a few things next door that don't fit in the cozy cabin or that I don't want

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-47734303031521418052012-01-10T17:02:00.008-05:002012-01-10T18:21:35.073-05:00

The dung has been freed from the useless cages and officially turned. Two piles of it anyway. Something is happening. These two piles are much darker than the third pile I have started.I moved them a bit more off to the side to make even more room in my parking lot. One day another small two bedroom house will go on this level pad. It might get used as a potato field in the meantime. With all

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-24842607185025272022012-01-08T18:10:00.011-05:002012-01-08T19:27:08.517-05:00

I got started on hand mowing the sunny utility meadow and all the under lush that constitutes the wild cultivated gardens. There was a dry hole in the pea soup diagnosis of the next several days. No sense in letting it go to waste. Winter is bound to arrive at some point.Can you believe there are actual baby shrubberies in the garden to be that become more noticeable when the under lush gets cut

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-45170005156009815032012-01-07T16:40:00.008-05:002012-01-07T18:16:43.931-05:00

At The Wrong Time Of YearThey say pine trees will not transplant. They say the best tree planting time is in the spring or in the fall. So they say.But a volunteer pine tree, most likely Pinus strobus or White Pine, is too close to the path and in the utility easement's danger zone. It might be the middle of winter, but the conditions of cool temperatures and days of rain to come are just right

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-22064625495343231122012-01-06T20:03:00.004-05:002012-01-06T20:43:38.182-05:00

I keep imagining that winter is bound to arrive and hang around at some point. Until then I might as well keep moving. A sunny sixty degree day had to be put to use. I wandered down to town and cut down a whole bunch of Miscanthus grasses in a client's garden. It is perhaps a bit early, but they are down south for the duration and won't care. Now that I am much more client rich, come spring time

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-28792100647188063522012-01-05T22:46:00.007-05:002012-01-05T23:31:40.801-05:00

The new rubbish pile generated from the removal of the dead hemlocks was not allowed to linger. Before it got cold, wet and moldy, up in flames it went. Fast too. The stuff had been dead for a while.Today was a day for a good cleansing. Four and half years after it all began the look and feel of a construction site is finally disappearing.The collectibles are all in one pile now off in the corner

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-59536494080598734702012-01-04T17:11:00.012-05:002012-01-04T19:00:11.616-05:00

The dishwasher hoses were detached and drained at the house next door this morning. The furnace was shut off. The house has been officially winterized and removed from service for the winter now that it is headed back to 60 degrees by the weekend.I was most pleased to see that my cabin building and renting neighbor who harvested the dead hemlocks took me up on the offer for a free stack of 1x5

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-47009794955095188902012-01-03T17:00:00.008-05:002012-01-03T18:57:05.590-05:00

The insulated plumbing box with the added heat tape was not up to the task. Three out of five of the cold water lines froze. The hot water lines were fine thank goodness. I lost the toilet, cold half of the shower and the cold to the washing machine. I was not pleased.After contemplating the situation I wandered next door to see what I might find to add a little heat to the insulated plumbing box

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-43101923376924802562012-01-02T19:45:00.002-05:002012-01-02T19:52:41.230-05:00

In a blizzard. Maybe not an official blizzard, but I don't care how much snow is falling, if the wind is gusting to 25 mph and higher and the temperature is currently 14 degrees, it's a blizzard.

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-66292604035663808572012-01-01T17:37:00.010-05:002012-01-01T19:07:32.941-05:00

And I will play with them.My too big to wiggle rocks got moved by the machine this morning. I had six of them pulled out of the heap where they had been dumped and used them to mark entrances to garden paths.There were more rocks in that heap than I knew. It was partially rearranged in a more pleasing configuration.These two were the really big ones. After all the rocks I have schlepped around

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-24877745321879548182011-12-31T17:01:00.010-05:002011-12-31T18:46:16.038-05:00

My dead hemlocks were big suckers. There was nothing petite about them. I think my cabin building and renting neighbor is most pleased with his haul. One full trailer load was taken out this morning. Another load will go out tomorrow. The clean up has begun. A pile of rubbish has formed.Seven huge hemlocks and one giant black locust for my wood burning neighbor came down. The difference is subtle

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-46583645706491676632011-12-30T18:06:00.009-05:002011-12-30T19:43:24.260-05:00

Just when you think you are making headway against the collected piles of rubbish stashed around in various locationsMy wood burning neighbor stops by.Apparently he had been pimping out my dead hemlocks on the internet. Hemlocks are not for burning. They are like pines and have too much resin that can build up in the chimney when burned. My dead hemlocks were being traded.Which one will we go

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-36729354853013954142011-12-29T16:54:00.010-05:002011-12-30T18:20:58.859-05:00

If it got in to the mid 50's today the snow didn't notice. There was little meltage. Two more piles of rubbish were made to disappear though.Cold, wet rubbish takes forever to burn. It was an all day task and I had to constantly feed the fire. Those two smaller brown spots in the snow on the left and upper center left are former rubbish piles. Now they are gone and out of the way in the garden to

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-77824578485911973212011-12-28T17:01:00.009-05:002011-12-28T18:33:07.916-05:00

Well, we are toying with the notion of winter, before quickly returning to highs in the mid 50's and lows above freezing.There is still plenty of time for a real winter to arrive. I mustn't get complacent.Some winters will have a snow pack and some winters will only have light snows.It was a nice cold day for a good hot fire.One rubbish pile is gone. There are four more to burn, all to make more

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-65597654304024197202011-12-27T18:08:00.003-05:002011-12-27T21:47:48.788-05:00

And before the snowNaked Ladies were deeply plantedBefore the ground got frozeSome snowdrops fell in there too.Next I think I'll be needing a sack of sedum cuttings to go on top.

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-56412408896805210792011-12-26T18:05:00.004-05:002011-12-26T19:48:30.835-05:00

The journey south is complete. I wonder if the south is moving north this winter though. There has been a lack of snow and cold compared to winters past. Snowdrops are already attempting to bloom much earlier than what may be good for them.The diagnosis is calling for the other kind snowdrops for tomorrow night and slightly cooler temperatures to follow, but nothing of the wicked winter variety,

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-22551955864725213842011-12-25T17:57:00.006-05:002011-12-25T18:21:00.806-05:00

From a bit south of Outside Clyde. Hope you all had a most pleasant day.As you travel through the garden of life take a little time to pull a few weeds.Yes I spent a little time on Christmas morning pulling more weeds. It is a habit of mine.Not only will pulling a few weeds make the garden a tidier place, you never know what gifts you may find. The gift this morning was the discovery of a

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-7730217517783671682011-12-24T16:16:00.008-05:002011-12-24T18:00:36.978-05:00

I may just have to stop traveling south to the land of azaleas and camellias. It pains me to see a garden that was so magical for me as a child go bad. The maintenance gardener in me knows that with some routine effort all could be well. The trouble is the needed effort is hard to come by and there are not enough funds to purchase it in sufficient quantities.This is just one of the problems in an

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-18742380798061115322011-12-23T19:13:00.007-05:002011-12-23T22:21:32.782-05:00

How much stuff can a pack rat pack in a two story building long used solely for packing stuff? It has been 8o years since the packing house was used as a real home and became a place for stuff. And to this day you can still find a few items my grandparents packed in there even after is has been purged more than once over the years.Now I should be happy we are not dealing with hoarders here. This

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-48558319775968331262011-12-22T21:48:00.007-05:002011-12-22T23:08:48.977-05:00

I drove further southWhere the byway's not scenic and the staggering quantity of traffic freaks me the hell out.The kitties were made comfy in the bigger house next doorHopefully they'll catch any mices in there while they are trapped inside and a bit bored.Further north all the gardens are near empty bedsWhere is stays a bit warmer are camellia blossoms instead.The chore for tomorrow with a

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-49049268180444543492011-12-21T15:55:00.005-05:002011-12-21T18:33:31.599-05:00

It's rain not snow and somehow that just feels wrong at this time of year. But what do I know? I have only been here going on five winters now. That's not long enough to know real winter patterns in these parts. I certainly can't expect them to be exactly the same every year. Better rain right now anyway.Rain or snow I linger inside looking out my windows. I need to burn that brush pile.I heard

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-14965430942296995822011-12-20T18:46:00.009-05:002011-12-20T20:41:00.328-05:00

It was a relatively warm day and there was no snow covering it. I had to return my empty dung boxes for refilling and had noticed some mighty fine looking fresh piles of woodchips down by the river in my travels to and fro. Seemed like the perfect chance to load up on some woodchips for the roadside vegetable garden. My layer of chips was getting thin. The stuff just keeps decomposing making my

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-69070662533419498432011-12-19T17:08:00.003-05:002011-12-19T18:26:12.243-05:00

I stacked a few more rocks on the upper wall beneath the cozy cabin when I came home this afternoon. It's not quite done and needs more rocks to finish it off. The lower wall will get some touch up work after I fill the floor to the proper level with the gravel base. I need a load of gravel delivered to get moving on this. In the meantime I can fetch rocks I suppose.From this angle I do believe

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-87347889771780278702011-12-18T16:38:00.006-05:002011-12-18T17:59:21.850-05:00

The sun just barely makes it over the top of Hebo mountain across the scenic byway to shine on the cozy cabin right now. Only five days to go until the winter solstice. It looks like I will keep the 10am to 3pm solar heating assist when it is available. Until the trees in the garden to be grow taller anyway. They have habit of doing that.The new section of dry stack wall is done. That didn't

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-49848668566135133572011-12-17T16:45:00.007-05:002011-12-17T17:56:01.118-05:00

I can post thousands of pictures on the world wide web of my ongoing endeavors and think almost nothing of it. The slow moving traffic along the scenic byway makes me a little squirrelly though. Granted a good deal of that traffic is hunters driving around in circles. That always puts me on edge. They are driving in circles looking to kill things. I sit in one spot building things.I'd love to be

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-27468559365877354322011-12-16T21:00:00.003-05:002011-12-16T21:28:55.883-05:00

So I spent the day at the house next door cleaning up after the floor man so I can put the house back together. Why oh why do I wear my glasses when I clean? It looks like the floor man got into a fight with the glue for the vinyl floor in the napping room and lost. Then there is the sad fact that many things in that house have not been moved in fifteen years. And when I do something I might have

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-30519793957344973352011-12-15T18:17:00.006-05:002011-12-15T18:57:37.866-05:00

At this time of year chances of me having a live bloom of any sort are slim to none. I did have another warm sunny day in the middle of December. That alone is worth celebrating. I spent my day wiggling big rocks into place. I may not have any blooms, but I have made more progress on an actual defined flower bed.The short dry stack section has begun. I need more rocks. They keep getting further

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-59126581094383581102011-12-14T17:37:00.007-05:002011-12-14T20:36:30.716-05:00

It must have gotten over 60 degrees today. I never looked. The sun was out. The wind was calm. The snow had all melted. I had to strike while the ground wasn't froze. Who knows how long this will last. I bet I can make it to the end of the glass bottle edging.Indeed, a corner was turned. The bottles connected to the path entrance and the first stones for a short retaining wall were laid. Big

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-38623162771580063502011-12-13T21:39:00.007-05:002011-12-13T22:31:30.373-05:00

A few projects have been going on at the resident gardeners house next door that I got to oversee and not actually do myself, praise be. The wood floor was sanded and stained. It is now two shades lighter. It brightens the room dramatically and works much better with the tones of the wood walls.Now this is where I give the warning that camera lighting and computer monitors never give a perfectly

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-48106314437492189522011-12-13T19:10:00.009-05:002011-12-13T19:44:18.104-05:00

I went for a short stroll through downtown Asheville while perusing some venues for an event next spring and actually managed to buy a gift for the season of giving.Yes, once upon a time chickens were sold just like this from this very building.Mom where are you?She's in the chicken alley selling her honey.It hurts just a little because it rings a bit true.Random walls of pretty.Would you slide

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-49922725756897018192011-12-12T17:00:00.005-05:002011-12-12T18:29:40.297-05:00

It is more than a few years away before my attempts at winter interest in the garden to be gain some size and substance. In the mean time I have to go looking for small vignettes that hint of things to come.The evergreen conifers are hiding in this tableau, but they are in there. Next spring I'll be adding another pfitzer type juniper to this bed. I may need a bunch more of this Yucca filamentosa

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-91461868570674314372011-12-11T16:28:00.006-05:002011-12-11T17:39:34.199-05:00

Day two of forest clearing saw the expansion of the garden to be. One day there will be a woodland path bordered with shrubberies that will wrap completely around the ridge line and reemerge from the forest on the opposite side of the cabin by the front door. One day.Panning to the left you can see how this slope relates to the back of the cozy cabin. You might also notice the rather distinct

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-88304009859566502952011-12-10T16:48:00.007-05:002011-12-10T19:34:00.774-05:00

Tree thinning continues. Most of the Black Locust logs were hauled out and three smaller and poorly placed maples came out. One of the things I hope to rectify by my wanton destruction of innocent trees is to create more of an understory plant community in the forest setting.The forest here simply has no understory of shrubberies. It has plenty of the ephemeral spring wild flowers and a number of

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-54184059790248688702011-12-08T17:44:00.005-05:002011-12-08T21:19:05.747-05:00

How beautiful this Nootka Cypress will be when it is 20 - 30 feet tallIn all the winters to come.Joined by growing pinesNeedles poking through the fresh snow.This was the snow left after a day's melting when I returned home.As suspected there was not a flake to be seen down in town.Up top I live in another world where winter has much more to say.

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-40581441885482693482011-12-07T16:33:00.007-05:002011-12-07T17:48:25.622-05:00

It went from pouring rain to a blizzard in under ten minutes. The temperature dropped 10 degrees in about the same amount of time. I'll be going from trapped inside to encased in short order.Good thing I got to town to turn in my dung boxes and back before the snow came. I hope turkeys don't eat grass too. This poor horse pasture is not looking so good. All this wet makes horse hooves that much

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-9207598455529456512011-12-06T15:18:00.008-05:002011-12-06T23:16:49.800-05:00

It has rained all day and I have been trapped inside. The diagnosis calls for rain all day tomorrow. That will be followed by another bout of snow. It is rather pleasant to have a slow leisurely morning knowing I don't have anything pressing to get to. Then I start to get antsy. I should be doing something.My physical body luxuriates in the lack of motion, the still nothingness. It seizes the

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-78296691660593488632011-12-05T18:01:00.007-05:002011-12-05T19:36:44.547-05:00

You can't even bounce a tree off of them without the power going out.My wood burning neighbor was creeping around in the forest when I woke up late this morning. I stayed to help .... or make things more difficult as the case may be. You see I wanted the two Black Locust trees right at the bottom of the stairs down to the basement patio and real close to the back of the cozy cabin cut ten feet

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-38525632577182130722011-12-04T17:52:00.004-05:002011-12-04T20:06:19.388-05:00

I looked at the county topo map to figure out that the cozy cabin is 85 feet lower in elevation than the top of the low spot. That extra height and a little tree thinning makes a world of difference in the view. I can wander over there anytime for a look, but the comforts of home are no longer there. It makes it more of an effort.Looks like something is headed this way.I do have reason to ascend

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-43751264671728715162011-12-03T19:30:00.004-05:002011-12-03T22:50:47.487-05:00

Eighty five feet lower down in elevation isn't quite the same as the view from the resident gardeners house. I have wires in my view. My view is wires. Things could be much much worse so I don't lament the tragedy of my viewless condition. I have scenery. That will do.A house on a hill. A 4000 foot high hill. There is really only one way a house in these hills can't have a background of more

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-16823100796474684882011-12-02T17:59:00.006-05:002011-12-02T20:19:29.105-05:00

Attached a chain to one of my trees. Then he went home because he wasn't feeling up to the task.Yes I have more trees I am willing to part with to keep my neighbor warm through the winter. Another round of tree clearing along the drive, behind the cozy cabin and around the parking area is in the works. Funny how that can happen in a forest. I want a tidy forest of healthy trees with a little more

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-32413878804143622272011-12-01T17:00:00.005-05:002011-12-01T19:05:22.259-05:00

There's not much light or warmth left by the time I get home these days. I'm lucky to be able to wander around for a bit before the dark sets in. The sun now hides behind Hebo Mountain across the scenic byway around 4pm and puts my world in the cold shade before the sun ever sets. It could be worse. There are folds in these mountains that may not see any direct sunshine at all right now.Miss

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-14570906936793805392011-11-30T17:51:00.002-05:002011-11-30T17:56:02.399-05:00

But there's still varmints out there worth chasing.

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-25539354314594810432011-11-29T13:59:00.005-05:002011-11-29T18:03:55.993-05:00

A time when long naps may become more frequent.I have made a list of projects to keep myself moving. It's quite a list. Slow mornings lead to slow days, so we will just see how it goes.In the beginning the snow melts nearly as fast as it falls. The ground still holds some warmth. For a little while longer anyway.It may be an over reaction to this round of snow, but the new anti-shoveling

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-7932750425411524282011-11-28T20:18:00.002-05:002011-11-28T20:21:11.952-05:00

Lots and lots of rain. The creeks are rising rain. Then a bit of snow they say. For now there is rain. Lots and lots of rain.

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-1733634082816125522011-11-27T17:06:00.007-05:002011-11-27T18:34:58.046-05:00

Why can't I just compost them? Here are two of the three additional house plants that came over from next door. Now there are four. It's like getting a bunch of new pets that need to be fed, watered and fussed over. I don't need that. And they mess up the nice clean lines inside the cozy cabin. I should just toss them. If they were fake plants that would be oh so easy. But they are alive and I

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-13418246082718102242011-11-26T20:01:00.002-05:002011-11-26T20:08:43.575-05:00

Especially after a nice hot shower.The poor kitties got fat while I was gone. Very fat. I don't think these indoor vacations are good for them. Time for them to get out there and chase some varmints.

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-31978731524217011652011-11-25T17:11:00.005-05:002011-11-25T19:56:47.557-05:00

It was deemed to risky of a procedure to attempt only a few hours before the house was filled for a second day of feasting. An executive decision was made to halt the hot water heater exchange. A real plumber would be called on Monday. I didn't argue. It looked easy enough though.Our hostess may have lived through enough family gatherings in a construction zone for one life time and opted out of

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-35060576600325699702011-11-24T19:15:00.006-05:002011-11-24T23:28:38.754-05:00

Float to the ground one at a time.There is no way of telling what the final count of petals will be.This really is the garden where it all began, where a life could be counted in petals. A big part of my childhood remains here in a magical garden as the petals have floated off on the wind.I come back when nineteen thousand camellia petals have already fallen one at a time. I yearn to gather them

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-33591626320951667812011-11-23T21:42:00.003-05:002011-11-23T22:49:24.848-05:00

The gas man called. No hot water heater valve for you. They only make the right thread valves now and you need a left thread valve. No valve for you. Aaack!!What that means in layman's terms is you need a whole new hot water heater and why yes we do have those in stock. We'll deliver the new hot water heater. Now you need to call a plumber, disconnect, drain and remove the old tank, bring in the

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-27047161449653337912011-11-22T18:46:00.007-05:002011-11-22T20:47:44.398-05:00

There is a garden out there in need of attention. But I have graduated from assistant gardener to building superintendent and have only had the time for a few short discouraging strolls.A second gas man came by today to rap on the gas control valve of the hot water heater with a hammer. That didn't work. The diagnosis was confirmed. They need to order a new control valve. It will arrive at some

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-9926615366803486342011-11-21T19:10:00.004-05:002011-11-21T21:19:35.782-05:00

I have traveled south a ways to deliver a delicate flower to a more suitable winter climate. The climate is behaving for the moment. It can however turn winter like in due time. The 80 year old green house my grandfather built must be coaxed back to life after laying dormant for the last seven months. The delicate flower needs a comfortable place to over winter.The green house is old. The

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-978078109375765042011-11-19T19:41:00.005-05:002011-11-19T20:56:39.911-05:00

Is a house plant.But it fell out of the pot and followed me home. Quite a few more of these Cordyline australis weren't so lucky and ended up in a compost heap. I hope it likes indoor living as much as its former poolside setting. While more cold hardy than most tropicals, it was surprisingly unfroze after repeated frosts, it wasn't going to survive the whole winter out there unscathed. It was

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-47471221454689475962011-11-17T20:39:00.008-05:002011-11-17T21:02:03.012-05:00

And The BeastI want me one gargoyle. Big like this fellow.While I was gone it was snowing high up on the low spot.The beasts were most happy to see me when I got home.It had gotten considerably colder. The beasts don't do cold if at all possible.

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-79869295190077619042011-11-16T17:05:00.003-05:002011-11-16T17:32:05.125-05:00

In a late fall garden after the leaves are raked Looks like I missed oneBefore the rains came.

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-85456951156919796042011-11-15T19:46:00.009-05:002011-11-15T21:33:25.744-05:00

My world has turned a somber grey and russet brown. Great bits of it are tipped in a white fluff waiting to take wing. The white fluff of flowers done may be all there is for Bloom Day.A faint pink hue lingers in the cotton candy froth of the Muhly Grass. The Sheffie Mum is brown. The exuberant chaos of the tall flower meadow is gone. Withered and weak the hollowed out stems wait to return to the

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-12251102945825245552011-11-13T16:12:00.007-05:002011-11-13T17:02:54.554-05:00

Bottle by bottle some structure begins to form.The structure comes with free rocks. Most everything I do in the garden to be comes with free rocks. I wasn't about to try and move these.The Lush was given a haircut so that I can contemplate the new structure during the barren time of winter.A planting bed takes shape around many things already planted in there. More weeding and more wood chip

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-80169283593260316292011-11-12T20:43:00.014-05:002011-11-12T22:23:31.223-05:00

I have been planting shrubberies practically from the moment I arrived four years ago. This definitely isn't anything like Maui. Baby shrubberies in these parts take their sweet time to grow. I suppose it is understandable when there are only six months of the year available for that.To this day all of my baby shrubberies get lost in the Lush and swallowed up in the vast space of the garden to be

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-2995622348595937742011-11-11T17:52:00.006-05:002011-11-11T22:45:31.563-05:00

Going by the calendar it is too soon. We have not even had the first significant snowfall. But the trees are completely bare. The Lush has turned brown and slowly crumbles away. The bare earth gets more visible with each passing day.The flower heads of the tall flower meadow have turned to a white fluff, ready for a ride on the blizzard winds. The look of winter is here.The baby Japanese Maple I

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-84416576368347668682011-11-10T19:22:00.006-05:002011-11-10T20:07:03.478-05:00

The Japanese maples are often the last to get fall color. Just as often they are apt to get froze and turn brown before the color has a chance to develop. There are good years and bad years. It is a risk you take on the edges of their zonal preferences. The Japanese maples like a prolonged gentle fall without any harsh interruptions.So far half good. These two have great color on the bottom half.

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-37459238737465818132011-11-09T17:51:00.003-05:002011-11-09T19:44:39.124-05:00

Well they like the new pasture I seeded for them. In only a couple of weeks after the fence came down they have eaten the tall, lush, new grass down to the nub, ignoring the older portion of the pasture. There are one too many horses for the grass that is available.Today I helped move fence to bring the second pasture expansion into the horse's domain. The goats got screwed. Parts of this new

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-18271596663322958422011-11-07T19:42:00.005-05:002011-11-07T20:10:04.380-05:00

This is not a lifting rock. This is a wiggle it around rock. It's heavy. It needs a home.It slid down the cut slope of the garden access road last winter. Today I felt like wiggling it a little. The barren season is a great time for rocks. They are easier to find when the Lush subsides.It might make a nice step or an end piece for the short wall I want to build along the path from the basement

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-26563718301755743232011-11-06T16:20:00.005-05:002011-11-06T16:31:39.529-05:00

I've headed down the garden access road with the glass bottle edging.The dirt is so much softer here which makes things much easier.How much will I be able to get done before May the 20th 2012? How many projects and processes will be attended to?I'm expecting a crowd that day. They will see what they will see in the condition it happens to be in whatever that may be.

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-11324433643005469662011-11-06T13:57:00.004-05:002011-11-06T14:22:42.559-05:00

It has more movement, more notes, more interest and is buried deeper than previously. It was too high out of the ground before and that annoyed me too. The ground was a little more willing to give today, thank you. You have to keep in mind it had been compacted more than once as a house pad and road bed. This was not soft ground.Now I can contemplate it for a while and add notes here and there if

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-39983477435641387042011-11-05T16:51:00.005-05:002011-11-05T18:41:18.700-05:00

The glass bottle edging was too linear. Too mundane. One note and kind of blah. It needed to be kicked up a notch. My sense of order doesn't let go easy as you can see. What if I transition to randomness as you head out in to what is bound to be another wild cultivated garden?A sense of order will carry you inside.I set about reimagining the glass bottle edging and adding stone to the mix. It is

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-35413858050946859202011-11-04T21:13:00.009-05:002011-11-04T23:21:48.874-05:00

I had my doubts when I planted it and it has done nothing but thrive. The camellia down there blooms faithfully and in abundance every November. Most years it is well past peak before the first wicked chill of winter freezes the left overs.Since then I have found other healthy and happy camellias in gardens down there. I was a little more confident when I planted a second camellia in another

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-71565097738111630172011-11-02T21:43:00.000-05:002011-11-02T21:43:14.741-05:00

Still in full untattered bloom after several freezes, a dollop of snow and the start of the barren time, the Yellie Mum is a keeper. To have something with this much bloom the first week of November is a rarity high on the low spot. It means I will need to have more. A divide and spread operation will have to occur. Perhaps I could fill the entire cabin side bed with it.

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-72090612254335730022011-11-01T20:50:00.001-05:002011-11-01T20:50:58.733-05:00

Four full months lay ahead in which the world around me will be grey and bare. The very contours of the earth will be exposed. It will be late February before a significant push of the daffodils breaks the spell and signals the beginning is near. In a few short weeks I will be left alone in the cold, high on the low spot. I don't know why it feels so heavy this year. With each passing year I am

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-6176533811219263432011-10-31T21:15:00.000-05:002011-10-31T21:15:34.914-05:00

The spirits of the earth were invited in to the little house of Hale Mana. They were pleased with what they saw and moved in on a breath of wind. The little house stirred with rustling, quiet ticks, gurgling. The resident of the house would not be alone. Hale Mana came to life. The spirits toiled through the first summer settling in and arranging things. Their sweat poured

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-10729754634264119682011-10-30T20:19:00.001-05:002011-10-30T20:46:42.315-05:00

Once it got growing the Lush took it away faster than I was able to roll it into place. We have had three mild freezes and the first snow now. The Lush was fading away. I didn't want to wait through several heavy snows and a couple of gale force blizzards for the Lush to be laid low and I was able to see it again. Today I chopped down the Lush to reveal the Creation once again. It will take a

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-60666484225402709252011-10-29T18:58:00.000-05:002011-10-29T18:58:23.738-05:00

The seasons have turned full circle. What could be a better sign of that than the first snow of the winter. And what could be a better sign that my period of tragic underemployment is over than me heading off to work in the snow on a Saturday. And just as I figured it was only snowing up here. By the time I got to town the

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-89957678615737415682011-10-28T19:43:00.000-05:002011-10-28T21:52:51.187-05:00

In the Forest High on the low spot the forest trees are near bare. There is another chance I could wake to a dusting of snow. If not this time, it will be snow soon. As the forest clears out, the distance you can see in, like the night, lengthens. Once this maple is completely barren I will have more of the heart to remove it. Its trunk grows out

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-74422651414806748022011-10-27T20:05:00.009-05:002011-10-28T10:43:56.061-05:00

Once again I find myself with the task of scouting out possible gardens for a garden tour. And once again I am seeing things never seen before, places I have only heard about and never found the time to visit, places that are right in my own backyard.There are perils and rewards for nudging yourself out of your own mundane routine.Four years of gardening in the wilderness and the garden to be is

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-34070674332758108482011-10-26T21:12:00.004-05:002011-10-26T21:51:16.473-05:00

The ever increasing heaps of horse dung are starting to scare me. There's chicken and goat poop in there too, mostly as an amendment with the straw bedding that gets cleaned out of the Coop deVille and The Goatel Carolina.It is piling up faster than it is decomposing and I want some finished product by the first of March. I think I need to pick a pile and work it. I have been negligent in my

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-19673353165527638162011-10-25T20:48:00.005-05:002011-10-25T21:23:27.959-05:00

Of MapleIn the sunshineOf a warm autumn day.Then I spied a tiny seedling. Should it fall out of the ground now or next spring? By the time I go back the lone leaf will probably be gone, the tiny seedling impossible to find, the decision to wait will have been made.

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-24279006823520355222011-10-24T18:21:00.009-05:002011-10-24T20:03:39.548-05:00

I can see downtown from the parking lot. And is that a UFO in the upper right corner?The fifth annual garden bloggers fling is coming to Asheville, NC in 2012, a city that recently earned the great distinction of being labeled a Cesspool of Sin by one of our own state senators. It is sure to be a good time.The planning has begun in earnest and as soon as the ducks are all wired up, the dates for

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-35578759517688488772011-10-23T19:36:00.003-05:002011-10-23T21:22:51.012-05:00

I don't want to look at an ugly propane tank the rest of my natural born days. I'm not overly fond of the satellite dish either, but I have to live with that if I want to send and receive messages from the heavens.It seemed simple enough. I bought seven boxwoods, Buxus microphylla var. koreana 'Wintergreen' to hide what I could, the propane tank, in a yet to be grown and determined Pearl Fryar

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-58494569955862894782011-10-22T09:39:00.015-05:002011-10-22T19:52:12.007-05:00

I take too many pictures. Or maybe I just show too many pictures on the blog. Between having visitors, visiting Cataloochee and work kind work there were too many pictures to fit in one post and not enough time to do it.So back to Cataloochee we go for another visit during the fall season of the elk rut.An old barn makes for a good place to rest in the shade. We were alerted to this bull elk's

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-23511668925908743232011-10-21T19:03:00.002-05:002011-10-21T21:24:40.891-05:00

At the end of Lickstone Ridge

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-48571825677451326682011-10-20T19:49:00.007-05:002011-10-20T21:28:42.777-05:00

It's all about location and elevation. Depending upon where you go and which direction you look, fall may be at peak or fall may be on the way out. The snow just missed us again, but brother got a dusting at the house they rented on another mountain and three hundred feet higher in elevation. Winter keeps tapping at the door.High on the low spot autumn is nearly done. There is less and less left

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-77259131763059579022011-10-19T16:48:00.006-05:002011-10-19T19:12:23.389-05:00

Rain falls in the morning lightOf a brilliant autumnFog rolls after to obscure the midday sunThis suffused light magnifiesA brilliant autumn in the fall rainBefore the snow flurries in

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-6067769319152777692011-10-18T19:31:00.013-05:002011-10-18T20:21:30.519-05:00

Autumn in the garden to be.The leaves are falling. It will all be over soon enough.

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-71929568872155537432011-10-18T18:43:00.015-05:002011-10-18T19:23:22.654-05:00

Brother and his most lovely wife are here visiting. Let's go for a fall drive in the mountains.Mountain Ash, Sorbus americanaLooking Glass RockGalax, Galax urceolata WaterfallHow about Lycopodium obscurum?Graveyard FieldsFallThey timed their visit perfectly.

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-72304552889637338262011-10-17T20:33:00.009-05:002011-10-17T20:56:34.437-05:00

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-76883847876144322892011-10-16T18:45:00.012-05:002011-10-16T20:02:40.609-05:00

It is fall.So I bought a camellia to plant just to watch it die. Maybe. This is one of the cold hardy camellias rated to zone 6 and minus 10 degrees. The coldest it has gotten since I have been here is minus 4. I have minus 6 degrees to spare. I tend to err on the side of gardening in a zone 5b, but I'm a bit of zone pusher apparently. It is the late fall blooming Camellia x 'Winter's Snowman'

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2611983692965659884.post-2094578197038382532011-10-15T17:25:00.017-05:002011-10-15T20:00:52.642-05:00

The garden repeats itself. Last year on this very same date the wind howled and the blue asters bloomed in profusion. Today on this very same October Bloom Day a chill wind was blowing big time and the blue asters bloomed in equal if not greater abundance. I think I will be stuck with the blue asters for the duration.Fall and blue asters. That is what I have for Bloom Day.And a few mums. Butter

Christopher C. NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com10