Falls Branch Chalet, Bat Cave

This house has intrigued me for a while. It sits on the upper edge of Hickory Nut Gorge on Route 74-A in Bat Cave, NC. To get there you have to go up and over the Continental Divide and then the two lane road plunges down into the gorge alongside the Rocky Broad River.



Just past the Gerton post office on the left this little cabin perches next to the road with the steep embankment of the gorge behind it. In rainier times the falls just roar over the rocks and down beside the house. I would think it would be scary to be there if the falls were flowing very heavy but it has survived many floods and hurricanes in the area.

It is for rent and from the looks of the web site very well cared for and with great amenities. Maybe I can convince hubby to take me there for a romantic overnight stay one weekend!

Please visit Watery Wednesday for more wet photos and Outdoor Wednesday for nature ones! Happy Wednesday!

Trout Lily, Fairview

Our town is very rural with a main road running through it - we have a post office, Food Lion, school, an assortment of gas stations, two restaurants (I wrote about Sugar Beet Cafe) a Dog and Pony pet food store and Trout Lily .

Trout Lily is billed as a healthy mini market - it is really a very good health food store with everything a market has. The have a great selection of local products - Hickory Nut Gap Farm meats, fish from the Salmon Guy, local beer from various breweries, local baked goods and jams and jellies and an assortment of frozen foods, drinks etc - all that you would find in a small market.

They also have homeopathic remedies, wildcrafted herbal tinctures from local sources, herbs and vitamins for mild illnesses. In fact then I was coming down with the flu - I went here for local herbs!

We have had a very windy icy winter which has really destroyed their sign!

It is a great place in warm months to pick up locally grown veggies and fruits which are displayed in the bin out front. They are open most days past 5pm so it makes it great to stop by on the way home to pick up something you may need for supper!

Thanks for stopping by. Please visit other places around the world on My World Tuesday!

Flowers and Old Homesteads

For Today's Flowers I have chosen photos of the jonquils and daffodils opening up in the yard by the hundreds. It is hard to give a true picture of all of them as they are in clumps scattered in the front, side and back yard.

I bought some pansies to plant in pots under the spruce tree in front.

I am also taking part in Scenic Sunday today - I am always intrigued with the remains of old homesteads that I pass on the back roads of the mountains. This one is on Route 74-A just above Bat Cave. You can see the foundation and chimney for the fireplace - that is all that is left.

I always wonder who lived there, when and what happened to the place - fire, whatever?

Happy Sunday!

Photo Hunt - Fresh

This week's Photo Hunt word is Fresh.

Here is my husband working in the fresh soil to plant broccoli plants and lettuce seeds for fresh produce this season! This is one of several beds we will plant - more to come!

For more fun takes on Fresh check out Photo Hunt!

Skywatch Friday

Not much going on this week- weather mild, no flowers to photograph. At least winter kept me busy with snow, ice and all sorts of goings on! Here is my Skywatch Friday post!



These were taken from the Grove Park Inn in Asheville looking out at the Smokey Mountains with overcast skies.

Visit Skywatch Friday for more great sky photos from the planet!

Linn Cove Viaduct, Grandfather Mountain

An engineering marvel taking the Blue Ridge Parkway around Grandfather Mountain rather than through it. Read here for more info on the buidlingof the viaduct.

Be sure to check out more Wordless Wednesday posts!

Happy Spring and Photo Hunt

Finally Spring is here...hope you all have a wonderful day.

I am participating in Photo Hunt - the theme is three today...so three of our lovely daffodils already blooming in the yard. For more Photo Hunt visit Tnchick!

Skywatch Friday

Blue skies, warm sun and spring tomorrow..can't get much better! Happy Friday.



For more Skywatch Friday posts visit here.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

For more Wordess Wednesday click here.

Early Spring Blooms

Our Lenten Roses are up and blooming - soon others flowers will join them



The daffodils are just about to flower but are not quite there yet.You can see the yellow hiding underneath the green.

Hubby Don has been busy building his cold frame to plant his early spring veggies in - all that is left to do is to build up the soil and put together a cover for it. He has broccoli, onions and lettuces all ready to put in it.

Click here for more Mellow Yellow Monday!

Rumbling Bald, Lake Lure, NC

Not able to get many posts up this week - hubby has the flu and then I came down with a version of it! Hopefully we will both be back on our feet soon - not fun to have the two of us sick at the same time!!!!!



A few weekends ago we had a very warm day in the 60's so I took a drive south from my house to the town of Lake Lure. Looking across the lake from Lake Lure Inn you have a great view of the ridge called Rumbling Bald.



Rumbling Bald Mountain gets its name from a series of strong earthquakes that hit the vicinity between 1874 and 1886. The mountain apparently literally "rumbled" during the quakes, and there has been speculation that the sounds were caused by falling debris within the cave systems in the peak. Many of the local residents at that time fled the area, thinking the peak was going to erupt.




There is a trail up to the ridge top - the sheer rock cliffs are a favorite with rock climbers. The Nature Conservancy now owns part of the ridge but still lets the climbers in to scale the cliffs.

Click here for more Scenic Sunday posts.

White Wednesday

The snow is all gone...finally so I wanted to join in White Wednesday with some photos from around the house. I picked up this painting of a white cat on wood at a thrift shop in Connecticut last time I visited friends there. Very primitive but that is what I like about it.



This egg and feather wreath is so unusual, so natural. I got this at a local antique mall. It is one of my favorite decorative items.

For more wonderful White Wednesday posts visit our hosts at Faded Charm.

UPDATE -- We had a virus on the computer last week but got back online pretty quick -we called our computer place and they were going to charge us another $150 to take the virus off - the same one from three months ago. My husband then called Microsoft and worked with a young man from Mumbai, India over the phone and computer to work it out. It took over and hour but it worked and it was free. So call Microsoft for PC problems before you spend money to fix them!

Computer Virus!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I will be off line for about a week due to a virus in my computer!!!! I bring it in on Monday to get it repaired. Hope to catch up with all of you later! Have a great week.

Flashback Skywatch Friday

I am tired of white wintry photos so here is a sky photo of a rainbow taken a few summers ago up in the High Country in Linville. Just a remnant of the rainbow is visible in the lower left corner. It gives me hope that the world will be green and warm again....sooon!

For more lovely sky posts visit Skywatch Friday!

White Wordless Wednesday

Hopefully this is our last snow! we have gotten 38" - three times our usual. For more White Wednesday click here and more Wordless Wednesday click here.

More Snow....

This was our world yesterday - a balmy 45 degrees and some sun. Seems like I just posted photos of the snowdrops blooming...and we have snow today. It had all melted pretty much but now they are saying up to six inches will fall!








We have already gotten 6 inches - just got back from a hike up our ridge - beautiful with all the trees covered with snow! And it is still coming down!!!!



For more photos of My World Tuesday click here!