Wierd Weather

Libby insists that I post these things! It was a noteworthy series of weather events, to be sure.

Libby here: Mike finally got up out of the chair and let me get to the computer. He already commented on the snow and cold on Easter weekend, and last weekend brought more of the same. On Sunday, the day started off fairly warm and humid, with temps in the 60s (which we enjoyed in thorough heathen fashion [it was a vacation day from church] by eating breakfast at Denny's and going food shopping). By late afternoon, though, snow started blowing down from the Craggies; here's a shot of clouds of snow wafting across the interstate from Sunset Mountain. By midday Monday, the clouds had cleared out of the valley but were hanging tough on the high peaks. This view is from Old Lakey Gap Road looking north toward the Parkway and Mt. Mitchell. Oh, and we had 2 days of 60 mph winds to boot. Toward the end of the week, matters had moderated. Thunderstorms were forcast for Thursday evening, but nothing too extreme. Ha! We got nearly an inch of pea-sized hail in about 5 minutes, nearly covering up the flip-flops Eli left out on the glider. (Click on the images to see them larger, and really get the details in each.)

Clingman's Dome (at last)

It was a gorgeous day today. The youth handbell ensemble, which normally rehearses on Sunday afternoons rang this morning (wonderfully!), so I gave them the afternoon off. That left us footloose and fancy-free for the afternoon. We decided to try Clingman's Dome again, on the NC-TN border. Here is a panorama video from the lookout tower at the summit. The crowd in the tower just didn't understand the need for silence and respect as I shot the video. The view starts towards the NW, with Mt. Mitchell barely visible at 73 miles distance. The view taking off parallel to the ramp follows the NC-TN border. (Briggs got to see some tennis today!) Here is an excursion below the walk-up ramp to find a hidden surprise amongst the vegetation below. It was 70 degrees in Black Mountain when we left, and a good 15 degrees cooler at 6643' at the summit; still, we didn't expect to find this! The tower doesn't really lean like you see it in the photo! We had a great time!

Soccer-man Briggs

Those of you who know Briggs, know that exactly two things occupy his waking moments: fire trucks (and other emergency equipment) and balls. Any kind of balls. So when we learned that Black Mountain Recreation and Parks offered a soccer program for kids as young as three, it was a no-brainer for us to sign Briggs up. In the end he responded only so-so to the whole thing. If it were just a matter of running around kicking and throwing the ball, that would be fine. But three really is too young to try to do anything more than that. And for the older kids, the program needed them to do more. Briggs spent a lot of time on his own knocking the ball around. We had the last session today. Briggs was excited to get a medal (that flashes no less), but we think he was kind of relieved that the program was done.

Webelos Camping

Eli and I participated in the "Mountain Man" camping event sponsored by his pack this weekend. The event was designed to let the boys experience some fun old-style activities. They got to try their hand with a BB gun, with a bow and arrow, with knife and tomahawk throwing, splitting rails, driving nails and splitting logs for firewood. Eli had a blast. Here is a link to a set of photos of Eli at the event. The camp out was held at Rockmont Camp for boys. One of the dads is on the staff there; and one of the guitar players at church, Dan Davis, is also on the staff there. We spent a lot of time with Kevin Frederick and his son Sam; they were the only two Webelos on the outing. It was chilly last night, but nice and warm today for the activities. No wind; no snow; no hail; how delightful!

What Is This?

I was able to conquer the east bank yesterday afternoon. There had been a fence set back from the road about 12 feet. It had fallen over in places and was seriously overgrown. I pulled it down a couple of weeks ago. The lawn inside the fence was in good shape. Outside the fence hadn't been mowed in forever. That's what I tackled yesterday. It all went fine, but I found this. It's concrete, set back from the road about 12 feet; it's about 6 inches square and sticks up above ground level about an inch. I have no idea what it is. Libby and I speculated that it relates to the road somehow: "Right of Way." But we are not at all sure. Anyone got any ideas?

Easter at the Folly: Jesus Rises; Eli Drops

Eli's too young to be trying to impress women, but he was trying to impress Uncle David and Aunt Brenda. Here's a link to a very short video of him trying to slide down a line in the yard. Short but memorable. Listen for the "twang" of the line at the end of the clip!

Snow!

It came as a bit of a surprise.

We had been warned this could be the coldest weekend of the year. But chances of snow were minimal. What started as blow-off from the Craggy Mountains last night persisted overnight, and became our own little snow shower. We awoke to a dusting everywhere this morning!

Libby is working a temp job this week at a manufacturing plant in Weaverville. Chatting with the folks there about the blast of cold air this weekend, she learned that there is often a cold snap right around the time the dogwoods bloom, and a good chance of another right around the time the blackberries bud. We're in the midst of the first, and lo and behold we not only got cold, but snow as well. Celebrating our 18th anniversary as we are this weekend, Libby and I reminisced about the fact that it snowed on April 7, 1989, the day of our wedding rehearsal, 18 years to the day that it snowed last night!

When we bought Barkers' Folly, the sellers told us they thought there might be asparagus growing somewhere on the lot. Earlier this week I found it and plucked three stalks. Checking yesterday, I found these gangly shoots that were not even an inch tall on Monday!