Spring Climbs the Mountains

Spring indeed does climb the Mountains. You can see it happen, as I have when I was traveling weekly between Asheville at 2000 ft. and Morganton at a little over 1000 a few years ago. In the Piedmont, Spring would already be in full swing while only a few signs were showing here. At around 3000 feet, there was nothing.
Today, Spring is in full swing here. Sarvice (Serviceberry), has bloomed, and Dogwood is blooming. We even had Dogwood Winter. There are Spring wildflowers out everywhere like the Spring Beauty, Trilliums, and Fire Pink. Pansy Violets are also out. Tadpoles are in the pools and seeps where a few weeks ago there were only eggs. Leaves are out on many of the trees, and the hills are greening up.
However, if you look at the surrounding hills, you will see that the green goes only part way up the slopes. Past a certain line on the mountains, at probably 2500 feet, the woods are still gray. Spring hasn't gotten there yet. Go up the Parkway to Mt. Pisgah, and you will discover it is still the tail end of Winter there. So, Spring is indeed climbing the hills, as it has done for millennia.
Now is a great time to see wild flowers in the Smokies. A nice place is the Kephart Prong parking area.
Hope to see you out there!
Alex

Dogwood, wildflowers, and cold weather

Dogwoods are just starting to bloom, and the weather is turning cold. It has always been that way, or so I have been told. My grandparents called it "Dogwood Winter", and believed that we would always have a cold spell when the dogwood bloomed. In my 57 years, it has always seemed so. I could be all scientific and make some reference to weather patterns and coincidence, but generally, I just accept Dogwood Winter as part of my heritage. Perhaps this seems superstitious, and I guess in a way it is. However, I have seen it happen in almost every year of my 57, so there is some empirical data there. I do not believe in the "hoop snake", or a myriad of other myths and legends, and no, Copperheads and "Black Snakes" do not interbreed. However, "Dogwood Winter" seems to happen every year, as does "Blackberry Winter". So there.
There are a host of wildflowers out. Spring Beauty makes silver carpets where it grows thick, but if you get up close, it is white tinged with pink. So it is with the Pansy Violet, which is called "Johnny Jumpup", except they make a blue or yellow carpet, and the flowers are those colors. Appalachian Serviceberry, called "Sarvice" by the Mountaineers (including me) has made its snow white mist against the unrelieved grays and browns of the early Spring woods, and now is making leaves, and the sweet and tart berries that will be ripening about the middle of June. Bloodroot and Trout Lily have both bloomed, and are making seed pods; the Bloodroot is growing ever bigger leaves too. If you poke through the richer coves and bottomlands, you just might see the Little Sweet Betsy, a type of Trillium with dark mottled leaves and red upright flowers that has the odd odor reminiscent of over ripe apples. Other Trilliums will be blooming soon if they aren't already.
So, if you live near the Mountains, come visit. Start out at Asheville, or another place at about 2000 feet, and go up, maybe on the Parkway. You will see many phases of Spring, until you get high enough, and only the Sarvice (Serviceberry) are blooming. Beyond that and it is still Winter.
Shoot me an e-mail if you are going, and I will help you plan your route. Heck, I might even go with you if you invite me!
Enjoy!