Daily Dose of Aggravation: Turning Into Grandma Edna
July 31, 2025
My Grandma Edna was a good lady. Kind and helped people and tough. As she got older she got bad about having way too many of different grocery items. She was great about remembering every anniversary, birthday, and sent sympathy cards, cheer cards, get well cards. She was on the ready at all times because she had a Hallmark Card store in the phone stand. She was bad about having so many and so disorganized she'd just go buy more rather than hunt through them.
The Thing Box
One of the ways she stayed at the ready for gifts for birthdays or any occasion was the Thing Box in her bedroom. It meant that she had an endless supply of picture frames, knick-knacks, make up compacts, nail polish, costume jewelry, handkerchiefs, and the like. We kids loved to dig through the Thing Box and she seldom minded. We asked before we just took stuff.
I have heard my mom say many times in recent years "I'm turning into Mom!" and then she'd laugh and tell me what latest thing she'd done to qualify. I have noticed over the past decade that I am getting more like Grandma in the over run of grocery items. I'll get organized. Swear I'm done with being like that, and then in time my cupboards get back into a mess.
I was fixing supper this evening and part of the meal was fried chicken. Kenny sometimes likes barbecue sauce with it. I looked in the fridge to find none. Only a partial bottle of ketchup. No worries! I remembered I had just purchased a bottle on sale at Food City last weekend. I got it out and as I turned the Lazy Susan I noticed, 1, no 2, no.... 3 bottles of Heinz tomato ketchup. Oy! I've done it again. My thought process is this. Oh well, it isn't eating anything sitting there. It will get used up.
I just need to keep quiet and don't do anything to draw Kenny's attention to it or he will fuss at me.
It seems that just thinking that thought is like some sort of great Galactic Beacon like Silver Surfer working for the Destroyer of Worlds... Galactus.
Above: is Silver Surfer's surf board which is a beacon to draw the destroyer. My thoughts of deception are the beacon that draws Kenny's fire.
Below: Galactus eating a world (Kenny is Galactus... my destroyer)
I set the barbecue sauce on the table and called him to eat dinner. Kenny is VERY particular. I may have mentioned this before. I am not kidding. He said "I need barbecue sauce with my chicken." I responded "I've got you. It is already on the counter top." He glanced then took a closer look.
"We don't have any Sweet Baby Ray's ?" His favorite kind. "No. I don't think so. This is the same thing . Sit down and let's eat." He wasn't having it. He first checked the fridge in disbelief. He then moved on to the dreaded Lazy Susan where the excessive bottles of ketchup were living. "Good Lord, Dana! You've got three unopened bottles of ketchup in here!!" I was digging in the pantry for my life.
I produced not one, but TWO bottles unopened of his favorite Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce.
Yes, I've been busy accumulating again. I thought of how unfair life is and how I cannot get by with a thing that he doesn't find me out. I did what I usually do and laughed like a hyena. I pleaded Edna Syndrome. He laughed so hard at me he couldn't be mad. It is a running joke. He is overly particular. I am Forgetful Jones and just buy more of stuff.
Below: Forgetful Jones-- Me.
Below; Granny Painter on the left and Grandma Edna on the right. I love her and miss her. Miss them both!
My grandson Michael asked me what I was doing on Friday? He has been dating, working, and busy now that he is driving. He wanted to spend time with Nanny and I was all for it. We planned to go hiking. Originally we were going over toward Cherokee and Alarka Falls.
Some things occurred that made me think better of it. I asked him if he'd like a 'rematch" with Gee Creek? Back when he was nine we hiked there. He fell and blacked his eye. It took five years off my life he hit so hard. The trauma nurse in me was afraid he'd broken his orbital bone. Thankfully he just had a nasty black eye and it hurt. He agreed that yes, he'd like to have a do over. We planned to hike to the falls and swim.
We stopped off for an early lunch at 11 am at Midway Milkshake in Etowah. It was our first time trying it and it was good! We got there at 10:45 so we had fifteen minutes to kill before they opened. We walked over to Starr Mountain Outfitters to look around and shop. We each got a tee shirt and I got a sticker for my water jug. We walked back to the jeep to stow our new purchases then went to order lunch. Midway Milkshakes is worth a stop. It is a burger joint and fast food, but it is such a nice setting and the food is good. They have clean restrooms around the side of the building. This place is cool. Starr Mountain Outfitters is always worth a stop also.
They have constructed a mini golf by the outfitter store called Midway Mini Golf. All this is along Hwy 30 west 3 miles out from Etowah on the way to Athens.
Once we had lunch over with we headed on down Hwy 411 south to Wetmore. I did good this time and hit the turn onto Gee Creek Road with no problems. We had to stop and wait for the Hiwassee River excursion train to finish passing before we could continue to the trailhead.
Our day was overcast and it drizzled rain on us just barely two or three times today. It felt great since it was hot and humid. We arrived at the trailhead to find two other cars there ahead of us. We passed those folks on their way out as we hiked in. My new knees functioned great, and I did fine with my breathing and oxygen levels despite the uphill climb and the heat.
No one fell today. Matter of fact at age 16 Michael helped ME negotiate the terrain safely.
He is far more savvy now than he was then. He recognized the spot where he fell and laughed calling it the "shit eating spot". I laughed so hard I had to stop so I didn't fall. The stream was flowing awesome. One thing I noticed was the almost total lack of any flora along the trek.
I had seen numerous cranefly orchids there in the past, but today none were out. I felt sure we were a good two weeks early for those. We passed the ruins of the old quartz and silica mine, but opted to visit those on the hike back out.
Before I knew it we were at the falls. The obstacles I'd been dreading were behind us safely and simply. It was hot and the water looked and sounded amazing. I put my backpack and trekkers aside. I donned my water shoes and took a few moments to take photos and video. Then we both got in the pool at the falls and swam!
Below is a photo of the main falls of Gee Creek. It is a little less than a mile one way to reach it.
above Michael hasn't gotten in just yet
Below: I am in the water with the Go Pro taking photos and video. He has found a good sized fish he's looking at.
Above: I am swimming on my back with the blue skies above. This is one of my favorite things to do.
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Above and below: Michael in the plunge pool
Below: underwater shot of the pool. It isn't perfectly clear, but it is clean, healthy and feels great!
On Thursday evening before this trip I was very depressed. I was having a sense of hopelessness and loss. Today's hike along with the companionship of my grandson, the exposure to nature at its finest really put the spark back in me. It was exactly what I needed. I remember exactly the second I recaptured that inspiration and vitality. Grandchildren are my link to the future and help make me feel alive. They bring me so much joy. Just as nature does. Putting the two together is a perfect combination.
I had a moment of seeing the deep green moss, verdant forest canopy, blue skies, sunshine, sparkling, cold water on my skin. It returned me to center. I do not worship the creation, but the Creator and this is where I find closeness to Him. Seeing my eldest grandchild still wanting to spend time with me and sharing the experience was quite satisfying. Michael told Kenny once we got home about "Nanny didn't want to leave today!" meaning he had to drag me out of the woods! It made us all laugh. Some things ..the essence of who we are at our core never change.
I am the one in the family who loves the water the most. I am a Leo for my zodiac sign. The lion with the sun as its ruling heavenly body. A fire element. Maybe I need the water to balance me out. Kenny is Cancer which is a water sign, but he hates water more than everyone in the family! He needs my fire. Maybe Zodiac signs are just nonsense.
Below is a video of swimming at Gee Creek Falls that really turned out good.
It is shot with the camera and the Go Pro in the water!
Once we satisfied our swimming at the falls we discussed what else we wanted to do today? I was no longer interested in going up to Starr Mountain flower looking since I was early. We decided we'd be satisfied exploring spots downstream we passed on the way in. That is what we did. I was so proud of Michael. At age 16 he helped ME navigate the tricky spots and it was so much easier. The "shit eater" spot where he took a spill he handled like an old pro. I had been dreading it and instead it was over before I realized it. He instructed me exactly how I should do it to be safest. It made a big difference. My new knees work great, but they will never again be as flexible as the ones the Lord gave me to start with. The hike out was a piece of cake. We took plenty of time to stop and look at whatever we chose.
He was fascinated with the old mining sluice so we focused on that. He wanted to crawl through it.
I was against it at first, but upon studying it I found it looked doable and sturdy. I had a head lamp and the Go Pro lights it up. I offered to do it with him, but he turned me down. The drop off on the other side is no joke. If we ever do it it would be best to start on that end and come out upstream near the cascade.
It was odd that the first cascade we stopped at to get in another pool of water was way warmer than the water at the main falls! It was bathtub warm!
Above and below: another small cascade with a pretty water hole we enjoyed. It was very warm.
Below is the old mining sluice box. This shot was taken with my Canon camera.
Below: I am standing at the sluice looking up at the above ground part of it
Below: this cascade sits directly in front of the sluice and is the water source to flush things through. It would be very dangerous to stand near it during high water.
Below: this shot was taken with the Go Pro. It really lights up the interior despite how tiny it is! You can better see the interior walls and the water.
Below: a close up of the stream.. an isolation shot of the creek just before it enters the sluice
Below: water from the stream flowing into the sluice tunnel.
We played around here. Michael went to the far side. Lay down on the end and waved back at me through the tunnel. It is on the video, but is hard to see.
Below is a video of this part of our experience. It was playful and fun.
We had such a great time today. I am happy that my grandson still wants to spend time doing things with me. Here is how we started out.
Below is an image of when Michael was about nine months old. I toted him on my back to take him hiking. I had to take a bottle, diapers, wipes, his "dissy" blanket, and "Dopsy" was the name he gave his pacifier. I carried that little Sumo wrassler baby on my back many a place. He was adorable then and turned out to be a tall, slender, handsome young man.
We hiked out like a breeze. It started to drizzle rain on us, but felt great. We got back to the jeep and there was only one truck left in the parking area. It was directly behind my jeep. Michael got his dry clothes and changed in the front seat. I stood under the hatch and changed. I looked all around and studied that truck. I could not see a soul in it. I believed it to be empty. There is another trailhead there at that spot and I assumed they must have gone up Starr Mountain Trail. We didn't meet anyone else on the way in as we were leaving. I dried off and draped a towel round my shoulders. I tried to hurry up. It does seem like being naked is an invitation for someone to roll up on you. I was uneasy so I laughed and told Michael I'm just going commando ( no under pants) no one will know but us. We're just going home." He laughed and I jumped in the vehicle and we fired it up to leave. As I was turning to pull out the truck behind us started up and turned its lights on. Hells Bells! This is pretty much par for the course of my life. Nothing for it now. In the words of Larry the Cable Guy "Lord, I apologize!"
My granddaughter Mia is now age four and a half. She will turn five in October. She is potty trained, and has been for some time now. She went through a spell of feeling she needed to strip naked to use the toilet. We have passed that now and move on to other interesting quirks about toileting.
Mia is a little bit of a germophobe. She is totally freaked out by the idea of the toilet getting clogged and overflowing. Who can blame her? I'm recording some of the funny things she has done to be able to recall them and laugh later.
I heard Gabe tell her yesterday "Mia, you need to go in the bathroom and pick up some of that toilet paper you have all over the place. The trash can is running over and it is falling in the floor. Why did you feel you needed to use SO MUCH toilet paper? Why did you feel you could not put it in the toilet and flush it? Were you scared of the toilet getting clogged?" To which she responded "Yes. I am."
Sure enough the trash can was a mountain of toilet tissue. He wasn't kidding.
Her response to him that ended this exchange was "How dare you speak to me about that!" but then she looked at me and cut her eyes and grinned. She was leaning into her wicked side.
We were outdoors and Gabe and Mia were playing on the swing set in my back yard. She jumped down and yelled "I've gotta poop!" and headed for the house. Gabriel spoke to her and said "Girl, please remember to FLUSH the commode when you are done." and I added "Yes, and please try not to clog the toilet again with so much paper". She went from being on a dead run to go do a number two... to fussing and yelling at us and running around in circles while she fussed. She got her point across. "Don't talk to me about this EVER AGAIN!" Once she made her proclamation she finally headed indoors to use the bathroom.
I went by the bathroom a few weeks later and noticed the toilet was not flushed, but needed to be.
Mia had struck again. When I tried to flush it the toilet acted like it was going to overflow. It was clogged. I went round to my master bath and got the toilet plunger and quietly went to work unstopping it. Gabriel came by and asked "What are you doing?" I explained and asked him if he wanted to learn how to use the plunger in case of an emergency? He nodded yes. He knows it isn't if, but when it will be needed. We were in the bathroom with the door half shut and being very quiet.
We could hear Mia in the living room watching cartoons and playing so we believed we were safe to proceed. About the time I started plunging the toilet and demonstrating to Gabe how to do it, Mia appeared . She popped in and looked at us both accusingly. "What are y'all doing?" Gabe's eyes got big as saucers. Neither of us wanted to poke the bear today. After her Don't ever talked to me about this AGAIN!" declaration we knew better.
Mia is anything but stupid. I had to think fast. " I'm trying to unstop the commode where I clogged it from using too much toilet paper. I'm real bad about doing that." Gabe is behind Mia grinning, but daring not laugh. She looked at me and seemed to agree that yes, I did have a problem. and she trotted off satisfied that she was not being accused.
Once she was safely out of ear shot we both lost it and laughed. I am a weak woman to be scared of a four year old and to allow myself to be bullied by her, but I do. I am a peaceful soul and it is just easier to make it about me and claim it as my fault than suffer her wrath.
Below is a funny video by Betty Butterfield talking about commodes.
We had this trip planned for weeks. We had a rain check from October 2024 thanks to Hurricane Helene. We opted to avoid Western NC until things settled down. I had couple unsettling days Tuesday and Wednesday. Our tiny kitty Happy is only a few months old and she got sick. She was so small and pitiful. It was 50/50 whether she was going to make it. I had a cough for two months. I was short of breath and fatigued. I had been in and out of the doctors office. I insisted on a chest x-ray and bloodwork to help determine the cause. The bloodwork came back normal, but the chest x-ray showed my heart is enlarged. It got my attention like nothing else.
Below: Happy isn't so happy anymore and neither were we. She is sick and weak in this photo. I was having to syringe feed her which she hated, but it helped. I was also having to bathe her little butt like a baby.
Below is a video of kitty after she was mending and feeling frisky again. She was chewing, fighting and sniffing one of Gabe's socks. She loves him like no other. He's her "dad".
I changed medications to help calm my lungs down, and got an appointment to have an echocardiogram to help figure what is happening with my heart. We wondered if we should even go on this trip? We prayed it over and thankfully Happy the Kitten turned a corner. We decided to go, but take the baby kitty along. She needed close care. I did not trust anyone to look after her the way I would. She turned out to have a gut infection. Metronidazole is the drug they gave her that cleared it up. Her nausea and dehydration went away. She began eating like a horse again and running around playing. I never thought I'd be so glad to go back to attack mode with a pet. I told her if she'd just get well I'd let her bite me and not fuss. I'd gladly put up with sneak attacks. Kenny said she reminds him of Cato on the Pink Panther movies. Always attacking Clouseau.
We couldn't check in until noon on Thursday so we took our time heading over. The trip through the gorge on I-40 East was not bad at all. It went well. The damage to the road and the work to repair it is significant, but it is moving along. We got to Adventure Village and ate a quick lunch and got set up. We got Happy situated and rode back to Brevard to get groceries. Once we had returned and our chores over we headed to the pool. We spent the afternoon swimming and visiting with other campers.
Before the fireworks at dark I fixed dinner for us. Kenny caught some striper on a fishing trip to Smith Mountain Lake, VA. with his brother Chris. Chris and Louise sent Kenny home with instructions for cooking and a packet of beer batter mix. I had never done this before. I admit I wasn't keen on eating striper. I fixed beer battered shrimp and the fish. It was so good! It was very messy to prepare, and very rich to eat. We loved it! It turned out great. I had never successfully prepared battered shrimp before. I always overcooked it. Tonight I nailed it! I even tried the fish and loved it and will fix it again. Both were good, but very, very filling.
Below: beer battered chunks of striped bass. What was left of it! The kitty ate the left overs all weekend long and it was exactly what she needed to get her strength back.
Below: beer battered shrimp.
Below is a photo of Happy after she got to feeling better and eating good. She is playing with Kenny trying to get his fingers.
Thursday night the campground put on a fire works display that was very nice. The moon was waxing and lightning bugs were out. We saw little kids running around trying to catch them. The nights here in Western North Carolina's mountains were cooler. It was perfect.
Above: Just look at that cotton candy sunset across the campground.
Below: The crowd is gathering for fireworks.
Below are two shots of the fireworks display. I am not good at night photos so I didn't get many that were worth sharing.
Below is a video of the fireworks display at Adventure Village. It better shows the scene and isn't too long. I edited it down to around 4 minutes just hitting the highlights. This was the second time we've been here for July 4th and these folks know how to throw a party!
Friday morning we got up and Kenny fixed breakfast. I prepared steaks for the grill placing them in marinade for that night. We headed toward Weaverville afterwards to visit Blue Ridge Daylilies. I had wanted to visit this place for two or three years. I made up my mind this was going to be the year. I had double checked with them to see if they'd be open July 4th and they were.
Blue Ridge Daylilies is about fifteen minutes north of Asheville. We found it easily. It is well signed, but the parking situation is not ideal. Despite that we found a parking place safely out of the road. It was busy, but not crowded. They have restrooms available on site near the entrance.
They sell daylilies as well. I saw a sign with the rules one of which was no walking through the garden. I had a chance to speak to a nice man and clear that up. There are paths among the plants that ARE okay to walk on to get a closer look at most of the lilies. They just want visitors to stick to those and don't go tiptoeing through there making your own way. They also do NOT allow deadheading (picking off spent blooms). I have been guilty of that in the past at other places to remove one or two dead, wilted blooms from what would otherwise be a perfect photo.
I used an editing tool at home to do a tiny bit of pruning out dead blooms instead. I didn't break the rules though it drove me crazy to keep my hands off. I dead head my plants at home. The nice man named Chris also pointed out to me an area that was lilies with a T or D designation. Those are new cultivars still under investigation. I listened to the conversation between him and another fellow. I learned that some of the things they look for are:
bloom duration
color fading or leaching
wilting during heat
Consequently I came to understand that dead heading blooms could potentially damage the plants and interfere with their studies of them.
Kenny and I were blown away at this magnificent place! It is quite large and very beautiful.
It was eye candy for me in every direction. Chris said to me it was overload and he was right! It was sensory overload in a good way.
above: first look at Blue Ridge Daylilies
Below: people milling around near the entrance
Below: garden rules sign.
Below: a planter mounted on the bridge railing. I liked the rooster peeping out. He looks like Heihei from Moana! (Boat Snack!)
Below: the creek winds through the property watering the land
above: impatiens pot with a fairy ornament. I had one of those, but it rusted.
Below: one of the main gardens. The lilies here are established, named cultivars.
Below: one view of the test garden which I liked even more, but these are all un-named, new, experimental cultivars.
Below: another view of flowers in the test patch. I edited a few dead blooms out of this image.
Below: cultivar named Tanya LaCorte daylily
Below: a test cultivar as yet un-named. I learned from studying the glossary of terms that this form is considered UF (Unusual Form) It is likely a cross between a more typical hemerocallis and a spider form. I like it alot!
Below: Dearest Mahogany is the name of this beautiful lily. You can see the dew drops on it.
above: One of my favorites is Happy Valley!
above and below: another of my favorites of the visit...
If you look closer the same variety of lily is exhibiting two different forms. The center of the top lily is open. The center of the bottom one has extra petals.
Below: another test patch lily.
above: another test patch lily and below it is already up for a Junior Citation even before it is named!
We enjoyed our visit to Blue Ridge Daylilies a lot. I decided I'm not going to have a lilies edition this season as I have waited too late.
Below is a short video of the garden that better illustrates the visit.
We headed back toward Brevard. They closed off some of the streets for a July 4th event called "Shindig on Main" . We stopped in Pisgah Forest to have lunch. We wanted to go to Pisgah Fish Camp only to find it was flooded by Helene and is closed. Probably for good. Instead we had lunch at Hawg Wild Barbecue across the street. It was good. We next went to the old car show in downtown which is part of the celebration. Kenny and I both enjoyed the old cars. Many sweet rides shown there. They had 177 entries which the MC said was a record number for them!
Below: The entire gallery of car show photos is above if you prefer to just click through those.
But here is a sampling of what we saw. Below the first things that got my eye were the red belair and the old Fork truck!
Below: Kenny strolls past a showing of American muscle cars and one old pickup.
Below: a Detomaso Pantera! profile view
Below: rear view of the Pantera (Italian for panther) Toy Guy! license makes me wonder if it belongs to the owner of O.P. Taylor's Toy Store ? It is parked right outside the door.
Below: shining like a new penny is a 1958 Chevy Impala convertible. It is across the street from Rocky's Ice Cream and General Store. Better go in there while you can!
Below: a 1969 Shelby GT 350 with cowl induction. Kenny's Uncle Howard had one of these. The color shown is an aquamarine and it must be a little more rare. It is the only one I've ever seen this color.
Below: 1964 Ford Fairlane 4 door sedan. My friend's parents had one of these. We used to laugh at the "small toilet paper roll" seat belts in it. Her mom would get annoyed at us.
Below: I love me some old pickup trucks. This one is a Ford F 1 Series. I'm guessing late 40s to early 50s model. Sharp red paint job. I don't prefer white wall tires. I also hate seeing these things chopped like so many people do. My Grandaddy Skeeter had a black one with the old wooden slats in the bed. I can still smell the horse hair in the seats and the tobacco from his cigarettes.
Below: Kenny and I are checking out something I didn't even know existed. a Mini Moke made by the same company that makes the Morris Minor! A British Motor Company product. Very weird and kinda cute!
Below is a few second video of the car show that really sets the tone. Feel good music playing... all American stuff right there. "Hold Back the Night" sung by The Trammps
We took in the entire car show and the afternoon had grown hot. We made a complete circuit and headed back to the truck and then on to the campground. Back at the camper I checked on the kitty and fed her. I gave her the medicine she needed for the day and the probiotics. She wolfed the probiotics down as if she were craving them. She would frisk around and play then crawl up in my arms to be petted. Her little purr was back to being loud and vigorous. She went to harass Kenny for awhile. I sat down and had a cup of coffee and did some painting with my acrylics. I keep the supplies in our camper in case I get the chance to play.
Below is a photo of the canvas I painted. It isn't quite 100% finished in this image. I read where some of the lilies have diamond dust so I mixed clear glue with some of the paint and did a little diamond dusting of my own! I'm not good at painting, but I have a lot of fun with it.
Hey! I went in a local art gallery and saw what others say is "art" and I figured I'm better than that! I paint to suit me.
We were at the camper considering what we should do the next day? Kenny wanted to go hiking or get outdoors. I was game. We discussed the Frying Pan Mountain Tower. That was part of the plan. I was concerned how we'd reach it with all the closures along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I posted a question on Facebook asking how to access it. Jason Horton filled me in on how. Our friend Wally Storey saw the query and let me know he and Kathy would be at Pisgah Inn the next day! I called him at once to line that up as part of our daily plan! I hadn't seen him in a year and a half. They were to go camping with us October 2024 when Helene hit. We made plans to join up with them the next day for an early lunch and a drive on the parkway. Wally has had some serious health concerns and his doctors for now say NO HIKING! We were allowed to do short jaunts off the parkway. So that's what we did!
Friday night we had burgers for dinner and drove back to Brevard for the fireworks display. They are put off at Brevard College so we were able to sit with other families on a hill in downtown. Finding parking was a breeze and finding a spot was easy. It was very mellow. The night was moonlit, seventy five degrees and clear. We had a grassy bank to sit on with lots of other folks. Kids were running around catching lightning bugs wearing glow jewelry like a Blue Ridge Mountain Rave!
Below is a video that is a little over 8 minutes long of the Brevard Fireworks Show 2025. The finale is around 5:40 on the video if you want to skip ahead to the best part. I edited out as much as I could, but it was a good one and I didn't want to eliminate anymore.
We Wally & Kathy on Saturday around 11:30 at Brevard Diner and had a fabulous lunch. We were all gabbing with one another catching up on the news. It was the best feeling to be able to spend time with them.
It scared me that our friend has been through what he has. Grateful to God for the watch care.
Our trip was not the usual hard charger stuff, but none of us needed that. Kenny has been working his butt off . Many of our recreational activities worry me that it is not fun for him, but hard on him.
Taking out the camper, boat, or side by side are all work of another form. Having the kitty along helped us slow down a bit. My own and Wally's health concerns slowed us down in a good way for now.
We had a great time and a restful time. We enjoyed the parkway and all the views and scenery.
I got to see a number of beautiful Summer wildflowers. We had a steak dinner Saturday night afterwards. Sunday we got up and I cooked breakfast. We packed up and headed home. The drive back through the gorge was filled with delays and made us an extra hour and a half on the road. It was still worth it!
Below is a view from the Blue Ridge Parkway from a pull of near Graveyard Fields
Below: rosebay rhododendron was in bloom all around
above: purple Summer phlox in bloom along the parkway
above: view from the parkway of Looking Glass Rock. Kenny got out the binoculars and we were able to see two dudes in bright orange shirts climbing the rock!
Below: Fire pinks still in bloom!
Below: crimson bee balm
Below: Turks cap lilies. First of the season for me. They are just getting started.
Below is a play list of more feel good car show type music from the 1970s and earlier.
I enjoyed listening to these tunes while writing. I like all kinds of music.
