Rime on the Ridge Tops

I saw rime on the ridge tops the other day. It finally got cold enough, and conditions were perfect for it. Hoarfrost, my grandmother called it. That is from the Old English, meaning white or gray.

On a cold and sunny winters day with a hard blue sky, a lone cloud floats onto the top of a mountain or ridge line, and seems to become attached to it, as though alive, and with some purpose. The ridge top is closed from view, as the cloud seems to slowly move and boil, lifting an edge from time to time to reveal pure white below. It stays, as though communing with the mountain top, and finally begins to float away, ragged now, with wisps and streamers departing from the main cloud, which slowly moves off to reveal a shining white mountain top or ridge line, a white so pure and glowing above the gray winter woods that it hurts the eyes, reflecting the sun so perfectly.

I was caught in one of these clouds more than once, or might I say, I was graced to be within them. The sun is hidden, and the world is gray, gray woods and a gray mist that moves like something alive, depositing ice on everything, trees, limbs, twigs, Rhododendron leaves, grass blades. Even my beard was turned white; it was red back then. It now looks as if I had been standing in one of these clouds. Time is like a hoarfrost cloud for me, I guess. Ice is deposited heavily on the side of the twigs that the air is moving from, making a wedge shaped ice shroud on the upwind side. This greater accumulation of ice on places like Craggy Gardens and Mount Mitchell will kill the buds on the upwind side of the trees, giving them a lopsided shape, called "flag formed". To be on a mountaintop while this is going on makes one feel magical, as though some mystical creature is going to appear out of the mists; indeed, shapes appear in the mists and seem almost to turn corporeal, and then dissipate, sending shivers up your back, though it is only the cold.
And the mountaintop is pure gleaming white in the light of the winter sun.

This phenomenon is a form of sublimation, where ice forms directly from supercooled water vapor, without the intermediate phase of liquid water. Mostly, you will only see it on the higher ridges and peaks in the middle of the winter, when the odd clouds turn the mountain tops white.

Winter, finally

Well, winter is finally here, or at least, sort of. Cold today, with a brisk wind, gusts are supposed to be 50 mph. The weather is still a bit warmer than normal; above freezing at night. Birds are all over the feeders, and are fun to watch.

Mid Winter Warm

It is warm here in mid winter. Mid Winter day is almost upon us, the shortest day of the year, and it is very warm here, in the 70's yesterday. Whew!
Midwinter was important to my remote ancestors, the people of the British Isles. It is a time of celebration, as the Sun, upon its travels, having traveled to the south, turns north again. Obviously, in the British Isles, in some of the more northern areas, it looked as if the sun were going to disappear from the sky on Mid Winter. The fact that it did not was cause for celebration. Mistletoe was used for purification of the house, to bring peace to all who entered. It was also a symbol of life and fertility, being one of the few plants that managed to stay green all winter.

Winter arrival

Winter has arrived. A few days ago we had snow. Today it is chilly and windy. A hard blue sky, and the limbs of the great Oaks sway to a great rhythm. The wind moans and howls around corners, making your bones chill, even in a warm house. You just have to shiver.
Squirrels are wearing their winter coats, with pretty white spots on the backs of their ears. Slate Colored Juncoes forage under feeders, and if my grandmother were still here, she would call them "Snowbirds", and claim their presence presages snow. The leaves of the woods Orchids, Cranefly and Putty Root, have popped into being, and are collecting sun light while the great deciduous forest sleeps. Turkey Brush, a type of Club Moss, covers road banks and forest floor, hopefully dreaming of its glory days, when its ancestors were taller than the mighty Oaks, about sixty or so million years ago. How the mighty have fallen...
Though the woods look dead, they are not. Squirrels forage in the dead leaves that fell mere weeks ago, and deer pick at the buds of shrubs that sleep in the winter as they quietly avoid the puny efforts of human hunters who seem to fill the woods at this time. Of course, humans are not the only hunters...
The Red Tailed Hawk floats above the fields, and suddenly falls to pin the rabbit to the ground. Ah, a full day's meal - she won't have to scuffle for voles and mice today. The Coopers Hawk darts through the woods and the brush on the woods edge, popping the occasional song bird that fails to be aware of threats. Life needs constant vigilance out here in the winter woods.
As we go deeper into winter and the days finally get longer, life will get even more difficult, but the days will get longer, and the sun will finally start its journey back up in the sky. But, today, winter is upon us.

Colors Peaking

The colors here in the Asheville area are just about peaking. We are about 2000 feet here, and the colors are outstanding. If I were out "leaf peeping" here, I would get on the Parkway on US 70 and go south to NC 191, and take that to NC 280 to Brevard, or actually, Pisgah Forest. Turn right at the Wal Mart and go into the Pisgah National Forest. Have fun.
Alex

Late Autumn

I went out hunting this past week. Have no fear; no animals were harmed in this hunting foray. I am not the best hunter in the land. Mostly I was looking at the colors of the Blue Ridge. Some of the trees were spectacular, primarily the Scarlet Oak and many of the Hickories. Last week, I got some photos of Sassafras. The drought seems to have brought out the color in this species.


Not the best picture, but the color is OK. I would like to have a better camera, but oh well...


Here you can see the different leaf forms of Sassafras; three lobes, two lobes, like a mitten, and a single leaf. Below are some I collected.

There are others in our area that have these leaf shapes. Mulberry comes to mind.

Now, about the hunting trip. It was to the Sandy Mush Gameland, a new bit of property bought and managed by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission near Asheville NC. Some wonderful trails through several different forest types, plus some fields and successional communities. Saw a nice beaver pond on Turkey Creek, and it looks like a place to go fishing next summer.
Oh well. Winter is coming in a month, and we will pass through to Spring. See you all next week.
Alex

First day

A Garden Spider of the genus Argiope, probably A. aurantia. They are found on fencerows, in gardens, and my front yard. They are rather large and intimidating, but are wholly harmless, and add a little drama to the fall of the year. Most of them have made their egg cases and passed on, but a few are maybe still out. Best time to see them is from July to October.
Northern Water Snake. These can be seen right now, though they will soon be looking for a denning place.

I just opened this account with the idea of sharing some of what I do here in the Blue Ridge. I have had some experience in writing, and plan on doing a good bit of it in the future.
Since the Mountains are in the Autumn cycle, I thought I would go through my photos and share a few of Autumn. Once I get used to this, I will probably be able to label them, but the one above is a blue Aster from last year. Davidson River near Brevard. These are all over the place now, though rather small due to drought.

Autumn heat

It is dry this year. Terribly dry. I can think of all the jokes I have heard about how dry it is, and none of them are funny. All along the roadsides here in the Blue Ridge, the plants show signs of stress, even the Goldenrod.
Amazingly, most of the fall flowers are present: Goldenrod, Blue Aster and White Aster, Ironweed, and a few others. I have heard that colors are pretty north of here, near Burnsville on the Parkway. Even with the dry, the Parkway is pretty. Craggy Gardens shows how it got that name. If you go off into the picnic grounds, the road up will show you many flowers.
South on the Parkway, I have been to Black Balsam and Ivestor Gap, and it is very pretty. You can see extremely rare Closed Gentian here, and a few other fall specialties. Good luck - your luck will be better at high elevations of over 4000 feet.
Enjoy!