Tag: rural

Winter Storm hits the NC Mountains

I had made plans a few weeks back to spend a few days in the Blowing Rock area in the hope that it might snow, and that I would capture some white, winter landscapes. Well, boy did it snow! In fact it snowed to the point where it caused significant chaos on the roads, and people were stranded all over the place. Some couldn’t travel home from ski resorts, and the roads and ditches were littered with cars planted firmly in the ice and snow. Not such a big deal up north, but certainly it certainly presented a challenge for the Watauga County public officials, stretching their resources to the limit. Fortunately for me, I was there for fun, and my Jeep Cherokee 4×4 certainly earned its stripes as it carefully transported me through a winter wonderland. One of my more thrilling and adventurous excursions!

Country Brevard

This town offers the best of both worlds, both country and downtown experiences. The farmland surrounding the town center is quintessential charming, the stuff of childrens’ storybooks. Lush valleys currently supporting fields of corn and cattle, surrounded by blue mountains. I have photographed these areas through different seasons. This is the Summer look.

Exploring the Cotswolds

And now for something completely different from the marshes of the low country. I am in England for a couple of weeks, and staying in a beautiful little stone cottage in a village called Stanton. Here are some of the images that I captured yesterday while exploring the town. There is only one pub, no other restaurant facility, the nearest grocery store is an “express” (fruit, sandwiches, other basics) and is located a few miles away in the next village. The village is surrounded by soft green hills abounding with sheep, cows, and horses. It’s raining today but hopefully the weather will allow some further wanderings in the area.

Quick Roadtrip through the Pee Dee, SC

Someone had advertised for sale a studio light that I had been looking for. The price was attractive, but it meant a 2-1/2 hour drive North of Charleston to Givants Ferry in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina. Where, you may ask would that be? According to Wikipedia… The Pee Dee is a region in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of South Carolina.[1] It lies along the lower watershed of the Pee Dee River, which was named after the Pee Dee Native Tribe, a state-recognized tribe of approximately 200 members.

Again, Wikipedia tells us that … The Pee Dee people, also Pedee and Peedee, are American Indians of the Southeast United States. Historically, their population has been concentrated in the Piedmont of present-day South Carolina. In the 17th and 18th centuries, English colonists named the Pee Dee River and the Pee Dee region of South Carolina for the tribe.

Well I’m always up for a road trip, especially if they are roads less traveled. I wasn’t disappointed, and these images are of scenes that caught my attention and were taken mostly along the Pee Dee Highway, off the US-701.

Upstate South Carolina

After spending some days in the Brevard area of North Carolina, I wandered back over the state line into upstate South Carolina where I stayed at a wonderful B&B in Salem called Sunrise Farm. Such fun to walk out of the door before sunrise and capture the light as it rakes across the pastures and signals the dawn of another day. Of course many farm people wouldn’t understand why this would be a big deal, but for a city girl, it’s a treat. Here are a few images from early this morning. These last few days of fall in the mountains have been amazing, but tomorrow it’s back to Charleston and the low country, home.

From the Sea to the Mountains

Every fall I try to spend time in Western North Carolina. I am like a child in a wonder world when surrounded by the brilliant colors of Fall. I don’t always time it right, but this time everything came together and I hit the peak for this area. I like to base myself in Brevard, because from here it’s a short run up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and elevations of 6,000 feet (where the trees are already bare) or I can wander around further down the mountains. Right now I’m socked in for a couple of days by a front that’s moving through and bringing a lot of rain, but here are a few from the last couple of days. No saturation added, in fact I had to back off the colors because they were almost an assault on the eyes! My favorite time of year.

The Promise of Fall

I wouldn’t go so far as to say there was a “nip” in the air yet, but it is getting cooler and the humidity is dropping. The mornings are glorious and some trees are beginning to drop their leaves. Just another couple of weeks and nature will start to amaze with her explosion of color in the higher elevations of North and South Carolina. I was looking back through some photos I took in the fall of 2016, a particularly good year for color. Hopefully 2021 will not disappoint.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;  a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Road Trip to SC Peach Country

Spring in the south is a wonderful thing. For refreshing the soul, try driving randomly through the area of Ridge Spring, Johnston, and Monetta in upstate South Carolina while the peach orchards are in full bloom. Every year I am compelled to take that run up Highway 78 from Charleston and every year I am so glad I did.

Pecan grove

Young Harris, Hiawassee, GA in the fall

A group of us girlfriends headed out on a road trip to upstate Georgia in the Appalachian Mountains. We rented a cabin for the last three nights and spent time exploring the area. These photos include views from Bell Mountain overlooking the Chatuge Lake and town of Hiawassee, a barn along a rural road, as well as images from a visit to Anna Ruby Falls in the Chattahoochee National Forest. Tomorrow we move on to Townsend, Tennessee. Most of the colorful leaves were blown away courtesy of Hurricane Zeta as it blasted up the Tennessee Valley a few days ago. Hoping to find some color lingering in the next few days.