The Legend of the Blowing Rock
Last weekend we took a day-trip back up to the town of Blowing Rock, NC. With the majestic Blue Ridge Mountain scenic views, the town shops and our favorite barbecue restaurant, it tops our list of favorites. We had never actually been on the Blowing Rock, so we paid admission to see what it was all about.
I admired this little bird who chose to sit atop the Blowing Rock.
This little girl beside me looked lonely. 🙂
I’ve always loved a good legend. Something about them always connects me back to my childhood, where things could instantly turn magical and mystical. This, to me, is one of those tales that takes me back to that time.
It is said that a Chickasaw chieftan, fearful of a white man’s admiration for his lovely daughter, journeyed far from the plains to bring her to The Blowing Rock and the care of a squaw mother. One day the maiden, daydreaming on the craggy cliff, spied a Cherokee brave wandering in the wilderness far below and playfully shot an arrow in his direction. The flirtation worked because soon he appeared before her wigwam, courted her with songs of his land and they became lovers, wandering the pathless woodlands and along the crystal streams.
One day a strange reddening of the sky brought the brave and the maiden to The Blowing Rock. To him it was a sign of trouble commanding his return to his tribe in the plains. With the maiden’s entreaties not to leave her, the brave, torn by conflict of duty and heart, leaped from The Rock into the wilderness far below. The grief-stricken maiden prayed daily to the Great Spirit until one evening with a reddening sky, a gust of wind blew her lover back onto The Rock and into her arms. From that day a perpetual wind has blown up onto The Rock from the valley below. For people of other days, at least, this was explanation enough for The Blowing Rock’s mysterious winds causing even the snow to fall upside down.
I’ve got my own handsome Cherokee brave. 🙂
Chime a little Chime
I love wind chimes.
Maybe it’s because they’re one of the few things left in life that are non technology-related. Maybe it’s because it’s the first thing I bought myself a couple of months prior to moving and starting a new life in 2008. Or maybe it’s because they provided such good company during the times I felt alone.
I paid only ten dollars for this set of windchimes, which is a steal for chimes (I know mine isn’t such a vintage set, but I’ve grown accustomed to their harmonial sounds). I’m sure at times my neighbors could’ve shot me for the relentless chime songs coming from my third floor condo, but I never got any complaints.
My chimes are still with me, though now weathered and worn. Much like an old flag proudly waving, both require that common denominator of wind in order to perform their duties. I’ve always thought weathered and worn adds character to pretty much anything. Weathered and worn tells stories.
This morning I ran across the Mother of all Windchimes -they’re called Corinthian Bells. I can’t afford them, but if I ever can you can bet I’ll have a set. Aside from the beautiful music of a harp – I’ve never heard anything quite as lovely. Thought I’d share one more video (not mine) showcasing this beautiful set – it’s so sweet. The end of this video made it an instant favorite of mine… and who couldn’t use a little more sweetness in their day?
🙂
The white-assed bee
Keith really entertains me with his love for nature. Early last spring, it was a little box turtle he rescued from a job site that came home to live with him for about 4 months. The little thing was such a carnivore! Keith would diligently go out and ‘fetch’ him worms, and the tiny little turtle would just ravish them. ‘Autobot’ was later released in a nice little pond-like area.
When the time comes, which is soon – there will be black snakes a’plenty. Let me say right up front that I am not a snake person, not even close. This said, upon hearing my screams, Keith will go pick up said snake and transport it to a nearby tree. I personally think these snakes adore him – I say that because one climbed up to his kitchen window to get another glimpse of him last spring. Of course I got a picture of it!
They call him… the snake whisperer.
As it happened, this past weekend was to be insect weekend. From the front porch K motioned for me to come look through the storm door. He was holding a dragonfly, it’s little legs wrapped tight around his finger. He told me it was still a young one (obviously my understanding of the dragonfly aging-process needs work). K’s eagle-eyes found Junior on the ground and said he would be in danger if he got caught there during the looming storm.
And what a storm it was to be. Never in my life have I seen anything larger than quarter-sized hail. Saturday though, we got Kansas hail – baseball-sized. We happened to make national news with this one! I shall call it… Carolina Hail.
I guess I should realize by now, my man doesn’t exaggerate… he just doesn’t have it in him. Chuckle if you want to on that – but I can guarantee if you call him on something he tells you, you’ll lose. I quite simply adore this wonderful trait he possesses.
When I arrived at his house Friday, he told me about this carpenter bee who was running around with a white ass because of him. Carpenter bees are territorial and like to ‘hover’ – add to that the fact that they’re huge. K had been painting some louvered doors outside, and apparently this one wanted to hover in his face. After several failed attempts at rerouting the bee, he inadvertently swiped at it with the paintbrush in his hand. He said it sped off down the street. About an hour later, the bee showed back up at his house, sporting a white ass! Doubting Thomas over here asked if he was sure it was that exact bee, and did it really have a white ass. He calmly said yes, it was that bee and yes, it did.
The next day, we were ready to leave and he pointed up in the air beside him, laughing. Sure enough, said bee turned 90º to look at him (like the snakes, even the bees seem to love him – even after being swiped by a loaded paintbrush) and sure enough it had a white ass! Not just a dot, either – a genuine big white bee-ass! Come yesterday, it’s still guarding that section of the house. My stomach is literally sore from laughing at that, umm-hmm, particular end of the bee.
Sorry for the language, but it’s Keith’s story and that’s what he’s called it from the beginning. It just gives more ooomph to the storyline. Seriously, would a bee with a white butt be funny? Not so much. But a bee with a white ass? Now that’s hilarious…
Are you kidding, of course we got a picture!
Footnote: for all you insect-lovers… no bashing, please. Mr. Carpenter is alive and well, and doing a marvelous job of guarding his assigned spot on the side of the house. In this picture taken Monday 11 Apr, he’s actually hovering above the bricks, as Keith followed him around to get a detailed picture. As of yesterday, the remaining paint looks as though it’s ready to flake off any minute – I only wish we could’ve gotten a shot when his whole, umm, rear, was white!
The Town of Blowing Rock
It’s one of my favorite places. Basically, I love everything associated with the majestic Blue Ridge mountains – the Parkway, the scenic overlooks, the endless trails to choose from, the attractions like Linville Falls and Taverns, Chimney and Blowing Rocks. And I adore all the little towns in between.
They apparently received some more of the white stuff up there on Saturday. We saw a few small piles of snow scattered on the sides of the road as well as leftover brime. It was a perfectly weathered day to walk the town of Blowing Rock, with the afternoon high reaching about 65º. We hit all our favorite shops like Poppy’s and The Last Straw, and even bought a couple of things. Keith bought a couple of the led wax candles, that actually have timers on them! I thought it was so neat that we’ll never have to touch them except to replace the batteries. I bought something I’ve had my eye on now for over a year… those little battery illuminated willow branches that compliment a large vase arrangement.
It’s nice to walk up and down the streets of a quaint little town while holding hands, never being in a hurry. I always find myself wishing we could stay longer. Of course, the trip wouldn’t have been complete without a trip to Kilwin’s for some homemade fudge. Like I really needed another couple pounds! Oh well, maybe I can spread it out a little so that it doesn’t accumulate all at once…
Work it out
Having been sunny and highs hitting the mid-60’s, what a beautiful weekend it was. We went hiking for a bit yesterday at a local mountain/state park near Keith’s house – it was just the perfect day for it. With the amount of trailing we’ve done in the past year, I’ve decided that I might just be in need of some hiking gear. At the very least, a walking pole with which to steady myself. 🙂
My outdoorsy stud-muffin...
After the hike, I was completely spent. As soon as we got back, I promptly collapsed on the couch and went out like a light for two hours. This is not like me… I’ve seriously got to work on my endurance. With this said, I have been challenged:
The Jillian Michaels challenge for the week...
I really like the thought of a healthy new recipe under 500 cals per serving. Now, to burn 300 cals (or more) per day? I can only accomplish that one way, Jillian – Ima have to double-up on my workouts this week. I’ll be sure to let ya know how that goes for me.
Flip flops
It’s gonna be that ‘great kind of weekend’. Got a room reserved waiting for us at the beach, just need to get down there. Only flip flops shall adorn these feet this weekend, as I’m not taking any other kind of shoes. Well, maybe I will take some tennies – but as a last of the season rebellion I’ll strive hard not to wear them.
Hope everyone has a beautiful and blessed weekend…
Blue Skies and Butterflies
I ran across this story while browsing yesterday, and found it more than worthy of reposting.
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day, a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. What the man, in both his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!
~Author Unknown
I asked for Strength………
And God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for Wisdom………
And God gave me Problems to solve.
I asked for Prosperity………
And God gave me Brain and Brawn to work.
I asked for Courage………
And God gave me Danger to overcome.
I asked for Love………
And God gave me Troubled people to help.
I asked for Favors………
And God gave me Opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted ……..
I received everything I needed!
Cow Killers – the Red Velvet Ant revisited
Here at wordpress we’re fortunate enough to have a stats feature that informs us of our most-read posts. I personally find this feature useful, and in paying close attention to it for the past month, have found one post that supersedes all others by a mile. It is the post I wrote on my experience with the Red Velvet Ant.
I had never seen one prior to that one instance. At the time, it’s mere image was so unrealistically startling that I questioned whether or not I was dreaming. I haven’t ran across another one since then, which if I never do again it’ll be too soon… but apparently  a LOT of you out there are coming in contact with them this summer. The google search terms that people use to find information on them are plentiful, which lets me know they are still very much alive and well.
The insect coined the name ‘Cow Killers’ because when cows graze, they often pull the grass up by the roots, and sometimes attached to it is a less than friendly red velvet ant. The insect will then crawl up the nostril or face of the cow and sting it. Although ten times more powerful than that of a red ant, it’s a myth that it’s sting is lethal enough to kill a cow, unless of course there are multiple attacks. The female Cow Killers are wingless, which is what I encountered. They crawl around the ground looking for the holes of other bugs such as ground-nesting bees. They’ll infiltrate the nest, find a cocoon and eat a hole in it, then deposit an egg. When it hatches, it then feeds on the bee larva. Amazingly enough the insect is born as white, legless grub and will go through many stages before metamorphing into fuzzy Red Velvet Ants.
Here’s a very informative video on this most interesting insect which is really a wasp. This lady is well-informed and shares some very useful information on this most intriguing insect.
Click here for a short informative video on the Cow Killer
Photos © Kim Hosen;Merrimac Farm Wildlife Management Area, Nokesville, VA; September 2009
Bits and Pieces
I gazed down at myself as I sat down in my car seat this morning and discovered a spider had hitched a ride down the stairs with me. Lovely. I should be used to it by now I so hate spiders.
On a brighter note, here comes our holiday finally and with it the three-day weekend. Longer for some, I know, but I’ll take the extra day and not complain a bit. I recently made a friend who frequents the lake (via boat) and she invited us out this weekend. I’m SO STOKED I couldn’t be more excited if I were going to the beach. Wellll, I might be a bit more excited about that – but this is still major to me. I haven’t had a good day out on a boat in well, I don’t count last year because the boat never even moved from it’s stationery spot. So, three years now. That’s far too long for ole’ water-Bon to be a land-lubber. Craving the ocean too, but that’s a whole other story. The lake will most definitely temporarily suffice.
So, Eclipse has come out. All of my New Moon buddies have seen it so far and are telling me it’s mega-awesome, so I can’t wait to see it. My guy said something about Monday and it probably will be less crowded that day. One friend of mine was going to see it for the second time last night. The last movie I went to see more than once was Nights in Rodanthe, which I saw 3 times at the theatre. I didn’t know it at the time, but that movie was to become a staple in my newfound single life.
I have a friend who is taking his girlfriend to the beach this weekend – and planning to ‘pop the question’ to her. From what he said, she’s wanted this for a long time, and what better time than July 4th holiday? I’m such a romantic, so I bask in stories like these. I got all sappy yesterday when I heard what he was planning, and the girls at work were laughing at me. I can only explain it by saying that I’ve never in my life had anyone who actually wanted to marry me, so I guess that’ll make a person a romantic if nothing else will. I can’t wait to hear how he did it when he gets back in town… will he propose on the pier? On the beach? Or maybe at Broadway, standing underneath the fireworks after they start… my goodness, I love that idea….
Stay tuned. 🙂
Summer Solstice
A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year, when the tilt of the Earth’s axis is most inclined toward or away from the sun, causing the Sun’s apparent position in the sky to reach its northernmost or southernmost extreme. The name is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, the apparent movement of the Sun’s path north or south comes to a stop before reversing direction.
The term solstice can also be used in a broader sense, as the date (day) when this occurs. The solstices, together with the equionoxes, are connected with the seasons. In some cultures they are considered to start or separate the seasons, while in others they fall nearer the middle.
A common misconception is that the earth is further from the sun in winter than in summer. Actually, the Earth is closest to the sun in December which is winter in the Northern hemisphere.
As the Earth travels around the Sun in its orbit, the north-south position of the Sun changes over the course of the year because of the changing orientation of the Earth’s tilted rotation axes. The dates of maximum tilt of the Earth’s equator correspond to the Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice, and the dates of zero tilt to the Vernal Equinox and Autumnal Equinox.
The reason for these changes has to do with the Earth’s yearly trip around the sun. For part of the year the Earth’s North Pole points away from the sun and part of the time toward it. This is what causes our seasons. When the North Pole points toward the sun, the sun’s rays hit the northern half of the world more directly. That means it is warmer and we have summer.
The day of the summer solstice is the longest day of the year. The length of time elapsed between sunrise and sunset on this day is a maximum for the year. In the United States, there are about 14½ hours of daylight on this day.
~Wikipedia.com, Calendar-Updates.com
Birdland…
Yet another family of birds have ‘flown the coop’. It was the sweetest thing. We got up this morning and I notice K veering off to the right to open the front door. All the sudden I hear “I knew it, I knew it!! They’re gone.” Sure enough, his last family of birds nested under his porch had finally all spread their wings and left. We were wondering how much bigger the babies could get… it was comical to still refer to them as ‘babies’. They had gotten so big that only about two of the four could fit in the nest at one time. They sat up there looking like big lugs – baby birds on steriods. K could barely get out the front door anymore for anything since the mama and daddy birds were in instant protect mode of their ready-to-fly-at-any-given-moment babies.
We’ve stood here and watched bird after bird go for a drink in the birdbath. He decided it needed some clean water – the birds are now having a bird field day. 🙂
Nature is so cool… yet often sad, and always unforgiving. We were talking about it last night and he told me a story of how he recently witnessed a hawk swoop down and score a dove, carrying it off in it’s huge beak. Many birds of different species tried to come to it’s rescue, in vain. The Hawk only needs one split second to complete it’s task. In this case and most others, it got it’s prey. I was told there are still a bunch of feathers were the ‘incident’ happened.
Here’s a link I’d like to share on yet another woe of Nature. This is a bit graphic at the end, and throughout the 4 minutes can really get your heart pumping, but I promise you won’t be sorry you watched it. 🙂
Peace.
The ass end of things
Ass: the word that we Southerners add to the end of existing words; thereby creating additional words used to intensify a feeling or condition.
In my opinion, it all started with smartass and dumbass…
I myself just did it on a status update. ‘On a rainyass day like today’. Yeah – alrighty then. How about lameass, crazyass, or tiredass. You’ll probably never hear anything like beautifulass or prettyass, though. The mere fact that I woke up today thinking about this is in itself a little disturbing.
It is indeed a rainyass day today. It’s a good steady rain though, and much needed. I just watched a baby bird get pushed out of it’s nest (or fall, not positive of which) and land in the rocks below. After the stun wore off, it got up and ran under K’s daylillies in the flower garden. I’m hoping it’ll be okay and nothing will get it. The little thing’s never been wet, never before felt rain… well, nature can be so cruel at times.
Well, guess I’ll take my lazyass on in the kitchen and make some lunch. It’s been a grand four days off.
The Snake Whisperer
Snakes in general terrify me, and I hate them. I don’t want to hear about how beneficial black, corn and king snakes are – or the fact that they’re non-poisonous. They’re the stuff my nightmares are made of, and I could definitely see myself having a coronary over one. About five years ago, I stepped on a baby copperhead in my house **YES I SAID IN MY HOUSE** and I’m still not over that. Did I mention I was barefoot?
My boyfriend has had several recent encounters with black snakes which I think he rather enjoys. In each instance, he’ll ‘rescue them by moving them (by hand) to a tree or another part of his yard.
Last week’s instance (these are his pictures… I told him that second one was Nat Geo material):
Lo and behold, Saturday night here came another one (a different one) on the wrought iron railing of his porch. Once again, K gathers it up and places it ‘safely’ back in a tree. The thing was obviously looking for some eggs or baby birds, as it was about 4 feet from both when he happened upon it.
Sunday morning, we woke up to this in the kitchen window (taken through a screen with my cell phone, so it’s grainy):
Upon further inspection outside, he’s pretty sure this is the same one from his porch Saturday night. Now, I’m telling the truth here when I say that snake was gazing at K adoringly, almost lovingly; as lovingly as a snake can look, anyway. It’s almost as though it was thanking him for not killing him the previous night.
Right before camping out by the pool for the afternoon, he saw a mockingbird chasing another one away across the back yard. Ugghh.
All I can say is, word’s really getting around throughout the snake community that this is the yard to go to. C’mon over, buds!! Plenty ‘o bird life, and Massa’ won’t kill ya here…
Pre Summer
Wasn’t this a beautiful weekend? Never mind the rain, it seemed to make things even more beautiful. Yesterday the sun came out for most of the afternoon and K and I partook in some quality time beside of (and in) his pool. I didn’t think we’d be able to get in it this early in the year, but it got really hot outside. You could feel the sun literally burning your skin! So today I sport the sunburn from hell – mainly my face got a bit too much.
Saturday morning, we got up and on a whim decided to drive up to the best BBQ place in the world, Â Woodlands BBQ in Blowing Rock, NC. This place is simply the bomb… and well worth the drive. I honestly can’t say enough good about it.
Okay, we got a little mountain scenery in as well. We parked and walked around the historic town of Blowing Rock. The azaleas are in full burst there, and there are so many beautiful flowers, everywhere! The shops there are the most unique I’ve ever been in. I so love spontaneous day-trips.
Know something else I’ve evolved into doing? Loving a roadtrip with the windows down and my hair blowing. This is something I used to abhor – my hair simply could not get that messed up. Ever. But now… it just doesn’t matter. In fact, I’m so comfortable with it I just may get a scarf for times like this, like Thelma and Louise. If ya think about it, it might even add a little Hollywood theme to the ride. Hey, it’s all about how it makes you feel, right? And I feel damn good. And it feels good to feel damn good…
A Dis N Dat Monday
I was probably with the general population of people who didn’t want to get out of bed this morning. This put me in about a 30-minute time difference in crossing the bridge. Once again, it was hard to keep my eyes off the lake. The sun had already tipped the horizon lending the water some of it’s rising color – gentle pinks and blues.
I paid a little more attention this morning to something that used to be subliminal, but has become increasingly annoying to me. Let me first say that I do NOT drive and text. I will not even LOOK at my phone if my car is moving, even to read an incoming text. Trust me, I realize the danger and what it can result in. Now, with that said – I will read them when I come to a stop at a red light, and respond if I still have time. When that red light turns green though, my phone gets placed safely back in the console regardless of whether I’m finished or not (gotta love that autosave).
So what is annoying to me? The eyes. Yeah, I can feel ’em. The person in the lane beside me (usually in an SUV for reason of them sitting higher) that is staring at me like I’m committing a criminal act. Get over it dudes – there ARE people out there that obey the law and put the damn phone down when they’re supposed to. As well, I have never been hindered at noticing the change in the stoplight from red to green. This is because I’m still paying more attention to the traffic than the phone. Anyway, that’s my rant for the day.
The leaves are filling in so nicely on the trees. Along with it of course comes the pollen, but gotta take the bad with the good. I just had a coworker come in on top of the world. Her guy came into town for an extended visit this past weekend and she is definitely sporting a perma-grin. 😀 Just made my day.
The Shark Whisperer
I love marine life. Sharks in particular amaze me – seriously, every single thing about them. I’ll get engrossed in a tv special about them in a split second. For this reason, I wish I’d done better in school and went on to excel in marine biology. Either that or writing, my two true loves in life. 😀
I watched what was actually a rerun of a special the other night where CNN’s Anderson Cooper had the amazing once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of free-diving with professional “Sharkman” Mike Rutzen. Free diving. This means cageless. With Great White sharks.
The Great White is by far the most dangerous and powerful shark known to man. It always blows me away to see how massive these sharks were, so witnessing a human being free-diving with them is quite remarkable. Click here to see the 13-minute special aired on CBS’s 60 minutes.
It seems that I’m always learning something new about sharks – guess I can attribute this to the interest factor in that I’m always paying attention! First, contrary to what some people believe, they are not blind or even partially so. Mike said that they actually like to make eye contact with humans! Can you imagine making eye contact with a Great White up close and personal? Also, a sharks eyes are not black, they are actually blue. As he and a great white swam past each other while making eye contact, he pointed the color out – and you could even see the sharks eyes turn to him. The sharks seem to ‘like’ him. Um again, these are Great Whites – the same predator depicted in the movie Jaws!
Mike searches for curious sharks... which he calls 'players'.
Now, he doesn’t just free-dive into any old Great White infested waters, mind you. He ‘feels out’ the sharks beforehand – deciphering their ‘personality’ or ‘current mood’. This is how he will decide if the shark is what he calls ‘a player’, an endearing term he uses to describe a curious shark. With all the criteria in place – in he goes.
Mike “Sharkman” Rutzen owns and operates his own dive company off the coast of South Africa called Shark Diving Unlimited. For a nominal fee you’ll be able to cage-dive, allowing you to safely observe the sharks for yourself (you’ll just need to travel to Africa to do it with him). I can’t think of a single thing in life more awesome than the opportunity to do this. Along with his faithful and professional crew, he operates the business with his vessel Barracuda – a 12.5 meter Lee Cat specifically built for Great White shark cage diving. Her twin hull makes her extremely stable… admittedly by SDU, a good thing to keep in mind if you’re prone to sea sickness! With a maximum of 21 clients each trip, the back deck is spacious with an upstairs viewing deck that offers a great vantage point to watch the action. All diving equipment, towels and picnic lunch are on board, as well as all required safety equipment including two 15-man liferafts.
Michael believes that he is able to decipher the body language of great white sharks – and proves his theory by altering his own body language to maintain control of the interactions. By making his body smaller, he can attract a curious shark; by making himself bigger in the water he can deter a confident shark. His golden rule is to ‘stand your ground – because everything that swims away from a Great White shark is potential prey’.
German filmmaker Ralf Kiefner made a wonderful film about Michael free-diving with Great Whites. The film is called Beyond Fear and was broadcast on National Geographic. Since the release of the film, Michael has become known world-wide for his unique understanding of Great White shark behavior.
By free-diving with these magnificent creatures, Michael hopes to increase awareness of the many shark-killers out there that still exist, as well as promote the ‘gentler’ side of sharks. He believes this to be a crucial step in the right direction in changing the public’s negative image of these majestic predators.
In his native South-African accent, Michael jovially states that he’s always felt he will be one of  those who die at a younger age. When asked why, he replied, “Well you know… I smoke too much, drink too much, and I like to drive my car really fast.” AC asked, “But it won’t be from a Great White?” to which Michael replied with a sly grin, “Naw”.
Information and photos derived from www.sharkdivingunlimited.com
Manners – A Lost Art?
Please. Thank you. Excuse me. Oh, the nice things that come to you as a result of just uttering these simple words. Have we Americans forgotten our manners? I’d like to say no, but unfortunately I believe many have.
I drove up to the mountains yesterday to do a little hiking. It was obvious that our area had been hermitized for several days as a result of all the rain that Hurricane Ida brought in, because there almost wasn’t a parking place to be found in the State Park.
When we finally did find a place, we had to squeeze the car in – the SUV to the left had overrode his space. The owner of the SUV to the right was still standing by his vehicle, which we had to get pretty close to. My boyfriend rolled his window down and said to the guy, “I’m going to move it over a little” to which the guy replied “Oh, you’re alright”.
We found out pretty quick how treacherous this hike was to become, being as how it eventually led up to a waterfall. Needless to say, the waterfall reward at the end made this one the most popular of all the trails.
Once the trail started getting kind of chancy, oftentimes we would have to wait for ‘oncoming traffic’ to make their way up, or down. Can you believe there was usually an ‘excuse me’ and/or ‘thank you’ involved? As well, I would say it when people would wait on or move for us. Sometimes we were winded, as other hikers were – but we all managed to keep our manners with the ‘excuse mes’ and ‘thank yous’.
It behooves me that people can be in the middle of a freaking forest and maintain their manners, and yet forget them when out in public, such as a restaurant, grocery store, etc.
Hmm. Manners. In the woods.
A habitant of the forest.
Life of Bon 
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