Beautiful sights

While we were in the mountains last weekend, we visited friends from Raleigh who were staying in a borrowed cabin. Below is their awesome view of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The cabin itself was so tucked away that we could not find it, so we met at an intersection and followed our host. Not only was the cabin and view a delightful hidden surprise, but the furniture and decor of the cabin was a lovely cache of art treasures from all over the world. This guest room has two twin beds with pillows and bedspreads made from molas from Panama. Aren't they scrumptious! I actually own three mola squares which I purchased at a Latin American festival in Chapel Hill one year. They are made by using reverse applique, cutting away layers of different colored fabrics.


One of my favorite things to do at our mountain place is to walk along the creek and take pictures. This is the dam that used to power a mine at the top of the mountain. The structure for the turbine is still in place. We used to camp next to the dam, just behind that big tree on the left. It was wonderful to hear the sound of the waterfall. Along the creek and all up the mountain are huge laurel thickets. Actually, rhododendron, but known as laurel up there in Laurel Springs. They should know! The laurel leaves are a weather indicator. Flat when it is warm, they curl up to the size of pencils when it is freezing! The first afternoon it was quite warm and sunny.
After that, it got down to the single digits every day. It was only 2 degrees F when we woke Monday morning.

Friday night a group of us rode to the top of the mountain on Gators and four-wheelers. What a memorable night! the moon was almost full, the sky was clear, and the snow crystals sparkled like diamonds in our headlights.

Christmas tree farms in the snow.
We had no trouble with power outage or frozen pipes up there in the frigid cold. However, when we got home, our water pipes had frozen at the connection at the street. Poor DSH dragged a generator up our long driveway to the curb and used it to place a light in the connection box until they thawed. It was not nearly as cold here. Made me glad for our snug little home in the hills.