You all know that I love plants. Well, I happened to see an online advertisement for a close-by (Franklin, NC) plant sale benefitting BVFAS residents. I love plant sales and if I can help out a non-profit organization by buying plants that might be a great thing. But first I wanted to know who were these BVFAS residents. So I went to Bella View Farm’s Facebook Page and discovered they are an animal sanctuary...but not just any sanctuary—- they give forever homes to disabled farm animals. How cool is that? Phil and I jumped in the truck and headed for Bella View Farm Animal Sanctuary. We immediately saw why it was named Bella View... it does have BEAUTIFUL views. Peacocks, ducks, turkeys, horses, and goats announced our arrival to anyone listening. I wandered around and then went in the plant sale area where I met Rhonda, the owner. Rhonda told me that she sells plants to help cover the cost of care for her special needs animals. Presently she has five special needs goats. Two of them are learning to use a special wheelchair so they can be mobile. She also has horses—one of which is blind, and chickens (one uses a special wheelchair). Rhonda’s plants are available throughout the growing season, but she is so busy providing care for her animals that she announces on their Facebook page the dates she will devote to selling plants. I think her animals are trained to cheer on shoppers because every time I took another plant to the counter, the turkey would let loose with a loud gobble and the peacock would answer with his own unique sound. They were definitely cheering me on! I was proud to see the peacock donating towards his upkeep. Beautiful peacock feathers were $1.00 each! I helped out by buying: 3 Blue Moon Woodland Phlox, 7 Golden Tiara Hosta, 3 Mel’s Blue Stokes Aster, 3 Chocolate Foxglove, 3 Columbine, and 1 Fireball Hibiscus. Rhonda also had coral bells, foam flowers, nine bark, several fern varieties, native flame azaleas, trees, and so much more. Her prices were impressively low. Read the literature below and visit her soon.
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Our hiking ladies took a drive down the Gorge Road to Franklin, NC to visit Wayah Bald and then take a hike to Rufus Morgan Falls. Pam and I met Ginie at her house across the road from me. We took our traditional ‘before hike’ selfie... ...and then we were off! First stop— Wayah Bald. My first thought was that this place looked so spooky with all these dead trees. I asked Pam about it and she reminded me that the horrendous wildfires from a couple of years ago burnt much of this land. And to think a person intentionally set these fires. Ugh. Look at the devastation. Our destination was the rangers’ lookout seen off in the distance. When we arrived I noticed a designated spot for carving one’s name. How smart! I wonder if it keeps people from carving and marking up the tower and trees. I didn’t notice any graffiti so maybe it works. Then we climbed up the tower to check out the views. Clouds were rolling in which blocked much of the view, but it was still beautiful. There was a handy map which would be perfect for identifying landmarks seen on a clear day. It even had Whiteside Mountain marked. We lingered a bit longer hoping the clouds would lift but it seemed more clouds were rolling in. We decided to check out the picnic area across the way. What a perfect spot for a future picnic! They even had bear-proof trash cans. We returned to the car and took off for Rufus Morgan Falls. After we drove down a long dirt country road, we came to the trailhead. We parked at the trail head and started on the 1-mile hike. The trail was narrow but relatively easy to hike. There was a noticeable incline but it wasn’t too hard on us. The floor of the path had spots of tangly roots so we had to watch our footing. We came to a wet crossing but there were plenty of rocks to help us cross. We continued on a bit further. We came to another wet area to cross but this time there was a small bridge. We continued on but knew we were getting close. We came across this little gem of a waterfall, but Pam said it wasn’t Rufus Morgan Falls. So we continued following the trail. And there it was! We got a little closer... And we always take a selfie at the waterfall. We stayed a bit and then decided to finish the hiking loop back to the car. We drove on into Franklin to a restaurant I had read about and wanted to try. The food was fresh and delicious so if you’re ever up this way, try it out. Everything is locally sourced. Be sure and order one of their cathead biscuits. Yum! Get busy planning our next hike, Pam! So many waterfalls, so little time!
Our lady hikers were at it again! This time we went waterfalling in DuPont State Forest in search of Hooker Falls, Triple Falls, and High Falls. The parking lot was crowded at this popular spot. We took our traditional selfie... ...and took off on the trail. We came to the first fork in the trail. We opted to take the Triple Falls Trail and immediately crossed a bridge. Of course we stopped on the bridge to take in the water view. And then we continued on the trail. I just love a beautiful trail through a forest. This trail ran alongside the water and the scenery along the trail was lovely. I’m sure this tree growing around a rock demonstrates a profound life lesson for us all! We continued on the trail, stopping often to enjoy a view. We continued on the trail... ...and came to this view of Triple Falls. We walked a little further up the trail... ...until we came to these steps leading to a better view of Triple Falls. Such a lovely series of three waterfalls! After enjoying Triple Falls we continued on the path to High Falls. Isn’t it delightful to see a 3-4’ deep stream with water so clear you can see the bottom? We lingered a bit and then we walked further up the trail again. We came to the base of High Falls and detoured from the main trail to have a look. We climbed over a log or two and crossed a few boulders to get the view below. We took a few pictures. But we wanted a closer view so we climbed through mud, logs, and boulders. We kept moving closer to the base of the falls. Several people crossed through the water to the rock directly at the base of the falls but we opted not to do so. Instead we returned to the main trail, continued on and were rewarded with another view of High Falls. We couldn’t resist a group selfie here with High Falls in the background. Further up the trail we came to Covered Bridge Trail which led us to a covered bridge at the top of High Falls. We hiked back down the trails almost to the parking lot where we took the path to Hooker Falls. Just a little ways down this trail and we were there. I turned around and saw Pam who was apparently giving us the ‘This hike is over’ signal. And since Pam plans all our hikes we decided we had better keep her happy so we returned to the car and drove on into Brevard to eat at Hawg Wild BBQ. Yummy! Are you ready to plan our next hike, Pam?
For three years, I’ve wanted a carved bear to lounge on our bedroom deck railing. I was super excited when I came across a chainsaw artist out of Maggie Valley named Mike Ayers. I lurked on his Facebook page for a time checking him out. I quickly learned that this ex-marine is extremely talented and even competes internationally. So I texted Mike with a picture for inspiration of what I wanted. He didn’t hesitate to reply that he could create it with no problem. I sent a flurry of pictures of our deck and sent the measurement of the railing. And Mike was off to create. When he secured the log that would become Big Mama he sent me these pictures... And then he cranked that chainsaw of his and got to work! And Big Mama was starting to emerge... Soon Mike picked up his chainsaw and started working again... And I was getting excited! Mike jetted off to an international competition while Big Mama dried out. The first week of May he sent me these pictures and said Big Mama was ready to come home. Mike rolled in the next morning with two helpers to unload and mount her. When he uncovered her, I was jumping up and down. She’s perfect! Now came the fun part— unloading that 350 pound beauty! And then they rolled her up the steps... ...through our bedroom and out onto the balcony... ...where they lifted her up... ...and placed her on the rail. Mike secured her in place with some serious bolts! And there she is! She’s a head-turner! We’ve already had cars stop, back up, and take pictures of her. Welcome home, Big Mama! Phil is already saying he wants Mike to create a climbing cub to join you!
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Phil & SharonMarried 40 years and hoping to enjoy many more! Archives
December 2019
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