Hillsborough, North Carolina
So far the fall color here is pretty patchy. Occoneechee Mountain is the highest point (867 feet) here in Orange County, where we now live. So Monday we climbed a trail up to the top to see what the view might be like. Even though we see deer almost every day in our yard it’s still a thrill to see a wild one out deep in the woods.
On our way back to the parking lot we heard quite a commotion in involving several crows and possibly another kind of bird. We kept stopping to try to see what was going on, but we never saw anything.
Part of me thought perhaps we had chosen the wrong week to visit Mt. Mitchell, that we might have waited a week in order to see more fall colors. Well, it turns out it was a good thing we didn’t go a week later. They had enough snow over there in the mountains to close Mt. Mitchell State Park and 37 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We would not have been able to go see any of what we did!
Whoa, enough snow to close the road? Will it melt or is that it for the season?
Looks like you’re surrounded by lots of nice woodlands, is your new town less settled that where you were in CT?
It was only a couple of inches but apparently it made the roads unsafe. It was an unusually early, record-breaking snowfall for the mountains. We live on the outskirts of a large metropolitan area (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill – locally known as the Triangle). Take a left out of our neighborhood and we’re almost in the city but take a right and we’re blessed with a very rural area full of farms and woodlands. In many ways we have the best of both worlds.
Sounds ideal!
🙂
Barbara, that black “writing” by leaves were just fantastic
Leelah, what a poetic way to describe the contrast between the black twigs and the colorful leaves!
See, when I guessed snow… that wasn’t a so far fetched idea. I’m glad you did the hike and enjoyed purposeful smelling of the firs though. 😃
The last picture just stopped my breathing. I don’t know why but pine and pine cones remind me of Christmas! There’s absolutely no reason for it. Growing up in Houston, TX, then living in Austin, TX, Denver, CO and now Corpus Christi, TX; none are pine territory. So why. I don’t know. But that photo so simple and so beautiful says Christmas to me, Barbara.
The deer spotting you is something wonderful. She has one ear turn to hear you and the other turn to hear what might be on the trail. I wish I had that skill! What a photo capture. I wonder if they smell human? I also wonder if the deer on the trails are different than the ones in your front yard. They may look the same. But the ones living so close to humans… are they more docile, perhaps?
I’m so happy for you, Barbara, that you are having such a great exploring adventure in this phase of life.
The first photo colors are gorgeous, especially this Fall.
They did warn that the weather in the mountains is highly unpredicatable. We would not have been prepared for the snow! 🙂
It seems like the pine cone picture is pretty popular! It was fun finding one surrounded by the pine needles in a lower branch. I love pine cones and have a big rustic wooden bowl filled with them in my house, now sitting in my bay window. I add different things to them as the seasons change.
The deer living near us are very tame and seem to know they live in a friendly neighborhood. They don’t even hurry across the street and assume the cars will slow down and stop for them, which they do. They line up at our deck when the grandchildren come over because Tim lets them feed the deer blueberries and apples. The ones in the woods are probably used to seeing lots of hikers pass by every day, but they don’t approach us and nobody feeds them out there.
I’m happy you enjoyed the pictures!
I’d be excited to see the deer in the wild too Barbara. I know you, a nature lover like myself, always enjoys the wonderment of these creatures in their own habitat. You got some nice shots of this inquisitive deer – lucky you for the encounter. You had a wonderful view here, like before … this was great planning because you would have had snow and thwarted parts of this trip. My favorite picture of all, not the leaves, view or deer, but the close-up of the pine tree with pine cone. I could almost inhale the scent from here.
Thank you, Linda! It was fun finding the pine come on the tree and surrounded by fresh green needles. I see a lot of them on the ground but the green backdrop makes them more special. If I had been in the mountains when it snowed I might have gotten a picture of one dusted with snow. Maybe I will if it snows over here. Yesterday on the news they showed the department of transportation getting their snow plows out, just in case. Hmmm…
What a change in the weather after sweltering in heat and humidity so recently. Readying the snow plows puts it into perspective doesn’t it? We are getting our first hard frost on Sunday into Monday, but then temps in the 60s for a few days after that. Hmmm here as well.
So, I looked up an average first frost date for my area and found it is November 1. Hard frost December 1. I think it will feel like winter a bit later here. While your temps are in the 60s ours will be in the low 70s. It does feel like fall here, but more like an Indian summer.
That sounds lovely – low 70s is ideal for me. Our day today started out nice and bright and then a huge cloud passed overhead … I was out in the middle of Lake Erie Metropark and thought “really – you said no rain until Tuesday night?” The weather folks have been getting it wrong a lot lately … they called for a lot of rain yesterday and we never got a drop. I’d have gone to a big park yesterday, but the threat of rain kept me at Council Point Park (which pleased the squirrels and birds anyway).
I wonder what our ancestors did about predicting the weather before we had radio and TV meteorologists to keep us “informed.” I bet they got caught in a lot of unexpected storms. Or maybe they paid attention to clouds and weather patterns and were better at predicting it themselves. I’m thinking of getting us raincoats with a lining for days of cold rain here…
Yes, maybe they were more adept than some of ours are today – they did the same prediction for a week ago Sunday and it was bright blue. That’s a great idea – maybe a pair of “walkable” rubber boots with a pair of warm socks inside.
I’m trying to adopt the Scandinavian philosophy of “there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.” Walkable rubber boots sound like a perfect addition to our wardrobes. 🙂
That’s a good philosophy to have Barbara. A fellow blogger lives in Tofino, British Columbia. They have more rainy days than sunny ones as it is a rain forest. Wayne says he wears rubber boots all the time since often grounds are soggy.
Snow already? Oh I’m glad you went when you went. It’s amazing how quickly weather can change in mountainous areas. The photos of the deer are delightful, such beautiful animals [when they’re not eating my plants].
Apparently it was a freak early snowstorm, even for over there in the mountains. I think everyone in this neighborhood must have planted deer resistant bushes because the deer walk by them without even taking a nibble.
I enjoyed heading into the woods, Barbara, and seeing these picturesque overviews and all the colorful changing leaves. And a good thing you went when you did–snow!
Happy to hear you enjoyed another one of my woodland walks, Jet! We’re starting to find our way around to the wilder places and are looking forward to more frequent adventures.
I am so glad to hear that, Barbara. Have a great time adventuring in your new digs.
Thank you, Jet! 🙂
What a lovely view of that river! And the deer almost looks as if she was posing for you! It’s hard to believe about the snow, but I suspect it might be rather common at this time of year, particularly in higher elevations. For sure, our squirrels have been busy gathering food, so perhaps they know something we don’t?!?
I suspect the Eno River will be featured in a lot of my future posts because it runs through and by a lot of state parks and nature preserves. The deer was definitely looking at me and the camera, sizing up the situation before she proceeded to cross over the trail. Maybe the squirrels do know something is up. The one Tim has been feeding seems to be squirreling away the walnuts somewhere out of sight, and even tried to bury one in my pot of mums!