PAVING CHANGES: UPDATE

Due to the rains tonight, along with the fact asphalt cannot adhere to any dampness on roads, PAVING ON APPLE CREEK ROAD IS NOW SLATED FOR TUESDAY, MAY 5.  Please take note and plan accordingly.

Well, what a gift to have the power come back on after less than an hour off, when the preliminary estimate was 10:45pm!  I'll take it, but the main line of storms has yet to arrive.  I'll keep the flashlights handy.  :-)



Bob

PAVING UPDATE

This just in from the ACAHOA Board:

We just received word from the paving company that if it is dry they are going to try and pave three separate pieces of road on Apple Creek Road on either Thursday or Friday. Unfortunately, we do not have any more definite information at this time. The three areas to be paved are the main entrance, the area where the culvert was replaced up near 844 Apple Creek Road, and an area between 925 Apple Creek Road and 986 Apple Creek Road. So, this paving will affect everyone who resides in Apple Creek. During the actual paving, it is best to not try and travel on the new asphalt. If Jeff Hintzman gets more detailed information--such as a definitive date and the times--we will be sure and pass it on. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience.



Bob

WILDFLOWERS IN ACA

(Click on pics to enlarge)

Every spring I like to get out and catalog what wildflowers I see around home on Staymon Road.  This is by no means an exhaustive list, just a smattering of some of the more unusual ones at the moment; but if you are out walking or driving, this post may help you identify what you're seeing. Wildflowers come and go as the spring unfolds, but I was pretty happy to see one of these Toadshade Trillium for the first time here, down near Apple Creek Road on 4/20:

Yellow Trillium

We have two species of white trillium in ACA I've seen, the white Wake Robin and the Large-Flowering Trillium (the latter not out quite yet):

White Wake Robin Trillium

In the purple category, we have the rather striking Dwarf Larkspur:

Dwarf Larkspur

An unusual yellow flower looks like it's wilted as it hangs straight down...it's the Large-Flowering Bellwort:

Large-flowering Bellwort

I won't bother posting pictures of all the various violets, as we have several varieties of blue/purple, white, and yellow.  This white flower has the cute moniker of Squirrel Corn:

Squirrel Corn

In the non-descript category, the medicinal Blue Cohosh is in bloom (Black Cohosh is here, too):

Blue Cohosh

In the tree category, the first leaves fully out are Buckeyes, easily identified by their five leaves coming off of one point:

Buckeye leaves

Stay tuned for others to come!

Bob

BEAR CAUGHT ON CAMERA: STAYMON ROAD

Look, bears are a normal up here. Dean Russell captured a young-ish bruin hauling his trash can uphill just last night from Staymon Road, which is my first positive communique this spring about bears.

As a precaution, you may want to bring in your bird feeders at night.  In time, this one will move on. Wildflowers post coming soon!

UPDATE 04-16-2020: From multiple sources I've learned that bear threatened someone at home and that a wildlife or forestry ranger had to kill it. A FED BEAR IS A DEAD BEAR. Saddens me it had to end this way.


Bob

"BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES..."

The Easter Tree, Lake Junaluska (click to enlarge)

Happy Easter Sunday, everybody.  We've got a passel of severe weather heading our way that I want to talk about and share with you.  Before I go into details and timing, the National Weather Service has a nice catch-all .pdf on what's ahead for us in ACA, with good self-explanatory graphics you can walk yourself through.  Click HERE to access it.

After what was a rather 'quiet' March in terms of weather, the first half of April has been more raucous, none more than tonight.  Strong cold fronts have been able to dive through the south from the northwest, and this low heading our way is expansive, with heavy snows to the north and tornadoes down in the south-central states.  I was afraid tonight's storms might take out a lot of the blooms around, so wanted to get some pics before that might happen.

Dogwood, Lake Junaluska (click to enlarge)

My concerns are with wind-related damages, be it power outages, trees down across roads and driveways...several years ago, a top of a tree flew down and totaled my car sitting in the driveway.  No fun, there.  Heavy rains and lightning should also grace us with their presence, which means fur-baby Maisy will be in my face going, "Dad! Dad!  Look! Storms! Dad! Dad!"  Maybe some of you can relate.

Bleeding Heart, Lake Junaluska (click to enlarge)

The strongest of the storms should move through in the 12am-4am window here in ACA, though a few storms and certainly rain will be around well before then.  In western North Carolina, the Storm Prediction Center of the NWS has us in both the yellow "slight" category here as well as the orange "enhanced" category in the southwestern toe.  Don't be fooled by the 'slight' wording...storms may be more hit and miss, but they will certainly be around.

Yet another cold front will pass through mid-week, once again bringing the chance for lows right at 32 degrees Thursday morning.  Luckily, cold temps like that can't hang around long at this time of the year.

Be safe, stay well.  Wildflower post coming in a few days.



Bob