Galen Airborne

Michael sent these pictures of Galen airborne on a sled after the recent snowstorm. Galen's friend Silas is watching.

Donna Jean's Path

Donna Jean has always liked to walk for exercise (and the pleasure of being outside). Earlier this year she decided that walking on the road had become too hazardous for her so she took to walking back and forth on her driveway. But she likes to have the dog with her and trying to negotiate a walking stick and a leash with diminished vision started to seem like a bad idea.

So she decided that what she needed was a level, hard surfaced path going straight across her front yard (about forty feet). The yard is fenced so the dog can run around loose. Bev Hill planned it out and brought over a crew, some pressure treated lumber, and a bunch of gravel and made this nicely tamped, level mini-track. Donna Jean likes to go out on warm days and do about five laps out and back while Nigel romps. Also she has a new red coat.

Stand Up

Thanks to Laura's Pizzeria, Lucy Doll, and Jada Cash for bringing Jada's brother Cliff Cash to the neighborhood for what Lucy insisted was the first-ever Burnsville performance by a professional stand-up comedian. Cliff riffed on Southern culture, white supremacy, personal tragedy, being broke, and other comedic subjects. He generously delivered two sets worth of material and, through some mystery that nobody quite understands, stood there by himself and got people to laugh and laugh and laugh.

He was really quite funny.

Burnsville Halloween

On Wednesday, I went to walk off some dentistry and discovered that Burnsville does a pretty elaborate, organized trick or treat thing on West Main and the Square. The streets are closed and there are lots of people parading around in costumes collecting treats from treat dispensaries sponsored by local businesses and organizations.

Hallowe'en, like most things, has gotten pretty commercial, but I'm happy to report that there were still some homemade costumes in evidence.

Here's an excellent Calvin and Hobbes. (That's his  Calvin face.)

This is the better-looking Professor McGonagall. (Her Hermoine was busy collecting candy.)

By far the best cat mask on the square.

And then there's the spinning beachball of death. Loading....loading....loading...

Radio Dog

It's bear-hunting season, and there are canine transmitters on the Parkway.

Trail dogs

So many trail dogs.

Miked Ball

It makes me happy that in this storefront on West Main Street in Burnsville there is this little audio setup that includes a keyboard, some electronics, a tom-tom, and a miked basketball.

Stickbug on Spider Thread

Sunset Phenomenon

Looking toward the Blacks from TTT just after sundown. I posted this on Facebook and Jeff tagged it as a mountain shadow, but Tal thinks it's more likely that it was the shadow of a distant thunderhead. Smithsonian seems to be backing him up.

Emma, Jeff, Kids, Bubbles

The slideshow below looks better if you click through to YouTube.

Dark Sky

Yancey County's Bare Dark Sky Observatory is a fantastic resource. Plan a trip. They have two large telescopes, laser pointers, reclining chairs, and lots of information to share. When was the last time you spent a couple of hours just looking at the stars, anyway?

Pair and Trio

Michael Fishbach sent this amazing picture of a pair of hellbenders, taken in the South Toe River with his underwater camera.

Miika sent this perfect trio of woodland dwellers.

The Farm Olympics!

Once again, Gaelen and Nicole hosted a bang-up outdoor party at their Green Toe Ground farm in early July including the Farm Olympics, Celo's most competitive and most ridiculous sporting event.

Here's a collage of contestants in action. You can watch it in this little viewer, but I recommend full-screen for maximum muddy detail.

Log by Log

There's a remarkable project going on over at Penland School right now. The school has known for years that many (about 20 percent) of the logs in the iconic Craft House were damaged to the point of needing replacement. It took a decade to raise the funds for this project, and for all that time everyone kept wondering how in the world the job would be done when the time came. Now that contractor Richard Huss and crew are deep into the job, we are starting to get the answer.

And the answer is: log by log. They take out a log or two, put in some props, cut a new log to length, lay it in the space, mark it, cut notches, put it in place, refine the cuts, put it back in place, and then do it again. It helps that the building has a quite a bit of structure inside of the logs and it’s nailed together every which way. But the secret seems to be patience and the methodical application of craft.

Cool Tents

Last weekend there was a big old singing gathering at the end of Grindstaff Road -- with cool tents.

End of the day

Tom Trout sent this fine photo from a recent, post-rain evening.

#cinderella

There was a packed house in the South Toe School gym on Friday night for the Fifth Grade production of their play, #cinderella, an update of the old fairy tale.

Led by the amazing Miss Margot, the play included an original script (written by the class), live music, two sets (because you need a house and a ballroom), 

a zillion costumes and props, multiple dance numbers, and lots of clever jokes. Not only that but you could hear all the lines -- way to project, kids!

And everybody loves a school play, right?  (Click pictures to see them bigger.)

How many trees...

From Charlie and Joanne:

How many trees could a woodchuck climb,
if a woodchuck could climb trees?

This one in our yard was 40 feet off the ground and would not come down (we thought maybe it COULD not) until we went inside.  Then he scampered!

Kill the Burning Bush!

Jess Ruegg recently educated me on the invasive nature of the common landscape shrub, Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus). Though it turns a beautiful red in autumn, it really is bad news for our native plants. Further research has convinced me that these intruders must go.  Today, I dug this one up by the Community Garden, and now it is on its way to being dead.

Ice Station

On my way to Clingman's Peak to get the rainwater sample on Tuesday, April 17.

This is the road, near the top of Clingman's.

And here are the radio towers at the top, entirely encased in ice.

From our correspondents

Ben sent this visual report on an the results of a windy night a couple weeks ago. These are the mailboxes that sit between the Health Center and the Community Center. Face down--bummer.

And Miika sent this from Gretna, Louisiana, just across the river from New Orleans. Note that Dixie Beer is 100% pure and certified premium--certified! Also note that this is a "stag bar." Who, I wonder, would want to go to a stag bar?

The sign, however, is 100% awesome.

Leonardo Arches

On Saturday a bunch of people got together above the soccer field to make some self-supporting arches out of bamboo. They are based on a Leonardo da Vinci design for a temporary bridge. We saw some versions online, mostly made from milled lumber, but Jeff thought it would be fun to use our local bamboo.

Leo's drawing.

We bundled the bamboo for strength and to create flat surfaces. We had to incorporate some notches to keep the cross members from slipping. The arches were unstable, but they held themselves up with no fasteners.

Paige, Billy, and Mike making bundles of bamboo.

Here are the four arches we made. The one in front and the one in the back are bamboo. The one on the left is made from lumber, and in the middle Jeff and friends are assembling another from lumber. Click on it to see more detail.

Olga Ronay also sent over a few pictures from the afternoon:

Grindstaff Road Baldy

In forty years I've never seen a bald eagle around here. But last week, at about 6:30 PM, I found this one was happily pulling the guts out of a dead racoon in the middle of Grindstaff Road. I saw it again in the same place the next morning.

That's right, the keen-eyed predator that is the symbol of our nation, EATS ROADKILL!

Also of interest, Randy reports that he and a number of other bicyclists have seen a pair of bald eagles along the North Toe and along Cane River near where it empties into the Toe (Huntdale).

They are strikingly beautiful. (It's worth clicking on these pictures to see them bigger.)

Back-up camera

Luca and I recommend an automobile back-up camera for selfies.

Crazy atmospherics

Just before sunset, near Clingman's Peak, mid-February.

The Blacks from the air

Evan got this fantastic picture of the Blacks while flying from Phoenix to Charlotte. It's worth clicking on it to see it bigger. I think I got the landmarks right, but someone will let me know if I didn't.