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!