Working in Hendersonville, NC

It was a long 10 day shift installing wells, but you can't beat the location. The mountains around the Asheville/Hendersonville areas are beautiful and I often had to pinch myself to make sure I really had it so good! This is what a drill rig looks like:

A lot can happen in ten days and we had it all: lightening and thunder, misty rain all day, hot weather, and a bloom of mushrooms of all kinds.

One day we were out in a field that must have been a favorite hideout for yellow jackets. We saw the area where they must have had an underground nest so I made sure the drillers set up away from the nest. I was writing notes in my field book and minding my own business when I got stung on the back of my neck by an angry yellow jacket that got stuck in my hair. It's been a long time since I was last stung, and it hurt, so naturally I screamed. Before I could say, "That hurt like a son of a gun, and it was a yellow jacket, I reckon," the driller's helper was pressing a wad of chewing tobacco onto the welt on the back of my neck. He says it pulls out the poison, and he did say, "reckon" a lot. We are in the south, and the hospitality does come with charm.

Now, this is one of the coolest aspects of doing work up here besides the wildlife. We get to stay at the Waverly Inn, a bed and breakfast run by a couple who treat you like family. They gave me the best room in the house, a beautiful room with an adjoining sun room since I was staying a piece (pretty much all month minus a few days).

Downstairs on the front porch they serve snacks and drinks so people can chat and meet other guests, while enjoying the peaceful event of rocking in the rocking chairs and enjoying the birds. Every evening they greet me by name and ask how work was, bring me a ice cold glass of coke and pull up a rocking chair for me. Afterwards, I enjoy a hot bath get something to eat at a nearby restaurant within walking distance and then come back "home" to grab a slice of homemade cake that John and Diane have in the kitchen. I mosie upstairs with my cake and herbal tea and watch a bit of one of the movies I brought. It was like working really hard for 12 hours and having 4 hours of vacation afterwards. Not bad!

On Saturday night after work, I went to see a play, Unnecessary Farce, at the Flatrock Playhouse. I laughed for 2 hours and came back to the Waverly and slept like a rock. It was a fantastic comedy, and I needed it after a few stressful days at work that followed the bee sting.

My sun room adjoining my bedroom at the Waverly.
There was a nearby nursery that has loads of cool shrubs and so on my drive home I loaded up to start working on our backyard.

I have 4 days off starting today and then head up to Hendersonville again for another 10 days. Have a good weekend!

Chilling Out in the Backyard

We've had a pretty mild summer, averaging in the80s-90s I would guess, and so we've spent more time outside than I would have predicted. However, the humidity is still higher than we are used to from California. Notice in almost all pictures of Paul that I post he is without his shirt. There's a good reason for this: he doesn't like having a shirt stuck to his back in the humidity.

Anyway, we've been spending a lot of time outdoors for another reason. Fairy has been driving us crazy. She's been squawking and squeeking and screaming to be held and everytime we leave the room she amplifies. I took her to the vet a few weeks ago and the vet thinks it's part hormonal and part we've been catering to the squawks. So she has become like a whining child used to getting her way. Solution: to ignore it or get out of the house. So, here we are eating dinner outside, and see my camp chair in the background for lounging and studying.
This was another delicious crockpot recipe that we tried on the weekend- very good.


Then with all the outdoor time, we discovered a few turtles roaming around our backyard. Here is Ted, probably in search of Cynthia.

Crosswalks are for Everyone

I was driving to work a few days ago and was stopped at stop light in Charlotte when a whole flock of Canadian geese began crossing the road at the crosswalk. They seemed to wait until the light turned green and then the leader confidently stepped out. The rest of his flock were doubting Thomases, however, and lingered behind for a few minutes before crossing. This is a bad picture taken through my windshield, but you can see the brown blobs to the left and the one lone leader off to the right, nearly across the street.

They were waddling halfway across when their light turned red. Those of us going to work that were crossing their path started easing our way across. They weren't decisive about going forward at a good pace, so we went on and crossed ahead of them. But, as I looked into their faces as I went by to say "sorry", I felt real sheepish. For they seemed to say, "How dare you! We're in the crosswalk!"

Andrew Jackson State Park

After church last Sunday, we turned right on the 521 instead of going left and headed to Andrew Jackson State Park. We heard about it but hadn't been there yet, and thought it would be a nice place to go on Memorial weekend. We quickly changed in the car into our shorts and tennies and were ready to see a crowded park of families. We were surprised to see that it was nearly empty aside from a few folks enjoying the tranquility of the lake.

This couple was enjoying a romantic day of reading in the park... not to each other, but each was engrossed in their own book. And, the gentleman had his guitar at the ready to serenade his love, most likely.
The lone fishermanMe posing but trying not to look like I'm posing (I'm still working on this technique).
This little nature trail goes around the whole lake ~ 1 mile.
Paul says, "The water's warm!"
A gaggle of geese! We had never seen Canadian geese so close. These guys ( A mom, dad and their kids) really liked to follow us and eat the grass at our feet. They never looked at us as if they were expecting food, and they were eating as voraciously as if the grass was running away from them. They just seemed to like company while they were eating- the more the merrier!

This is a great park complete with camping. The campground was full, but it was small and so there was still a very peaceful quality to this place. We loved it!

Humans in the Headlights

Jerry and I were walking across a big meadow yesterday, heading out to check on a creek running through the facility. We had a long pole rigged with duck tape and a scooper and it was rather cumbersome. We were preoccupied with our trek across the field, keeping our eyes open for snakes, and making sure we didn't trip on the pole and scooper. I happened to look up in time to see a deer running pell-mell straight at us.

"Jerry, should we be concerned?" We both froze in our tracks and stared at the fast-moving animal heading straight at us.

"Nah, she sees us." We kept standing there.

"Uh, are you sure about that?"

And at that point the deer seemed to wake up from some inner reflection and said with it's eyes and panicked expression, "Oh, deer, there are people in the road!" Brakes slammed and it zig-zagged off into the trees 20 feet away.

Whew-- we all three sighed with relief -- we didn't get run over, and the deer didn't have us on it's windshield. That was a close one!

Wisteria and Another Cemetery

Well, I've made it through day six in the ten day shift, just over halfway there and I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Plus, yesterday was my birthday and I was treated to a birthday song serenade by the drillers and my fellow co-workers working in the field with me. It was kinda funny because everyone present were the rough and tough sort of gentlemen wearing hardhats and boots, and yet they brought in scones for my celebration pre-work treat rather than doughnuts. Who would have thought?

Driving back to the hotel this afternoon, it was the first day that I wasn't rushing soil samples over to Fed-Ex to ship to the lab, and so I had a leisurely drive. For the first time I saw beautiful purple flowers hanging all over different types of trees. They must have just started blooming, or I've been too busy to notice, but they look like they are hanging from a vine growing over the trees. This must be Wisteria that my mom's friend Charlene was telling me about: a plain vine that doesn't have leaves when it is in bloom, and it has gorgeous hanging purple flowers. Picture below is from Wikipedia.

I wish I had my camera handy to photograph each day along the roads I drive because there are noticeable changes to the blooms and leaf growth each day! What a glorious season spring is out here!

Wisteria (?) on the roadside here in Virginia.

Oh, and another exciting thing some of us saw today at the plant- a very large cat off in the distance, walking next to the railroad tracks, along the treeline. It was about 100 yards away and looked blackish brown with a long tail, and it moved like a cat rather than a dog, but it was the size of a large dog. Hmmm... I looked up black panther on the internet but no scientific evidence has proved the existence of black panthers in North America. Is there such thing as a large black bobcat with a long tail? This mystery is going to bug me, but will not likely be solved as we couldn't get a picture.

By now you know my fascination with all the cemeteries out here, and this is a beautiful one on my drive to the plant. I love how folks out here take the time to keep flowers on the graves.

Good night, and sleep tight!
P.S. Trish, on Monday I sent a batch of spun cashmere/silk back to you via UPS. Should be there soon...

Osprey Sighting

I so badly wish I could bring my camera to the sites where I work! The wildlife is phenomenal as there are usually habitats set aside or produced for the animals around the facilities. At this location in Virginia, we are working right along the James River and so the birdwatching is fabulous. As I was waiting for a pump to purge out muddy water from a well, I noticed some unusual hawks circling around above the river. Some came quite close to where I was and I got a good look at them. They were a lot different than the hawks I'd seen around in California, so I described the bird to Steve (a co-worker) who seems to know everything about anything (in a humble way), and he thought it sounded like an osprey. I came back and googled it, and sure enough this is what I saw:


These birds are fisherbirds, catching fish with their scaly feet (and big talons too). No wonder they seemed to not stray from the river. At first I thought they were vultures because they were so big and were flying in circles. But then I noticed the bright white belly and stripe along their faces, and had to admit I'd never seen a vulture with those characteristics. This picture above is compliments of Wikipedia.

Secret Graveyard and Lizard Wells

Just when I was thinking this was going to be a routine sampling event-- wrong again! This is kinda a fun little story.

Four of us are working as a team out at this particular job site and it can be really good times with the right people. The three people I'm with out here are a lot of fun and are the adventure-seeking type. Our project manager, Fred (names have been changed to protect the innocent), only here with us for the first day, was oblivious to this fact somehow, and he was giving us a general tour on the first day since none of us had been out here before. "There's well # such and such over there (motioning) and off to the left and around that hill behind the stump is well #such and such." Poor guy was droning in a very monotone voice while the four of us were jostling around on the dirt road ride trying to sound interested and attentive. As usual, when in a situation that is best not to fall asleep, I did. Mike jabbed me in the ribs as usual to wake me up and it didn't seem that I missed much. Yawn.

So we come around another bend in the road, and Fred was saying, "... and there's well# such and such by that pallet, and here's where we drop off the purge water, and the graveyard is off to the right in that forest..." That's when everyone's eyes became saucers and and their heads were craned to the back as we ambled past where the graveyard was supposed to be.

Fred was happy to continue on the grand well tour but luckily, Mike said, "Hoooollld on Fred. You said graveyard. Can we have a look?"

Fred looked surprised at the interest and then shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, if you really want to," he chuckled. "Actually it's quite interesting. John and I were here installing wells and were told by some employees about it. So we started snooping around in the forest and found it. Aparently the graves are of a family that lived here in the late 1700's to early 1800's. We were reading the tombstones once we cleared back the brush, and when we looked up we saw a large black snake hanging from the tree looking at us. That's when we cleared off and didn't come back."

Meanwhile Fred was driving slowly along the mysterious forest edge looking for the spot when he slammed on the breaks and pointed his finger, saying, "There." We couldn't see any telltail signs but as we got out of the car and walked closer we could see a faint trail easily missed by an untrained eye. We made our way slowly through the trees and thick shrubs to a little overgrown fenced in area with three tombstones inside. Someone had been by recently to tidy up a bit, but not enough to appear to be a regularly visited area. It was a well-kept secret. As I gazed down at the tombstones trying to make out the engravings, I couldn't help but wonder what these people saw when they lived here along the Cape Fear River (the grave was not 50 yards from the water although we could not see it through the forest) 200 years ago. Did they see much of the Revolutionary War? Was the father who was buried there fight in it? He passed away in 1811, and lived to be 54 years old, so it was possible. I think we were all thinking similar thoughts, as there was a respectful silence as we stood there.

We made our way back to the car, all deep in thought, and deeply impressed with Fred and his interesting way of shrugging off adventure. Mike asked dubiously, "Is there anything else cool about this place?" Fred thought, reflectively and finally came up with something he thought might pass, "Well there is an alligator living in the pond over by the shed over there and he's usually just hanging out ."

Needless to say, we were all most impressed again, and feeling bolstered by everyone's enthusiasm Fred thought it was a good time to mention "Lizard Well." He took us to the well and warned us that inside this well lives a family of lizards that are very territorial and stand their ground. "So becareful when you take the top off the well, because they're all likely to run out and be aggressive. Just give them their space and sample as if they aren't there." I can tell you everyone was thinking it but didn't say it for fear of sounding chicken: "Yeah, right."

Nobody was too excited to volunteer for that one, but Mike and Lindsay got the luck of the draw and had to sample that well yesterday. Mike sent us a picture message showing him holding the well cap with a lizard perched staunchly on the top, not about to go anywhere. Actually, Mike said because the weather was so cold, and being that they are cold-blooded, the poor guys had a hard time of being territorial as they were not able to move above a crawl! It's been about 30 degrees.. maybe not exactly, but that's how it's felt.

Mavis

Mavis, the maple we adopted earlier this fall, has finally decided she better catch up with the big girls and drop her leaves for hibernation. It was probably our nice, cozy, sheltered patio that made her lazy. But the cold week we had last week was frigid even on a sheltered patio, so I'm sure that's what initiated defoliating. I have to admit, I wasn't sure if very young maples went through the rigors of dropping leaves and regrowing them in the spring, thinking that the first year might give them a break since life is already tough enough just trying to break out of a seed. But, lo! I went out to water this weekend and there she was with a few leaves less! She didn't bother going to the bright red for showy display, but rather, a mellow yellow.

Don't Feel Sorry for Me

By now a lot of folks near and far know that I'm riding my bike to the office every day when I'm not in the field. My family knows, and people at work can't help but notice when I parade down the hall with bike and riding clothes. I get a lot of looks that say, "you poor soul" and a lot of generousity by way of offers for a ride home. Believe me, I will not turn them down when it gets windy, rainy and icy, but for right now please don't feel bad for me!

If people don't envy me as they drive by, they should! The weather is perfect, if not a little on the cold side, and the scenery is to die for. All the deciduous trees are every shade from flame red to the softest yellow and salmon. The air smells of fall and leaves flutter down from above as I cruise down the sidewalk. Other bikers are smiling, walkers are smiling and I'm smiling. I even found I had a bug in my front teeth when I got home yesterday - no joke. I was thinking to myself: those poor souls in their cars don't know what they're missing!

These pictures are taken around my apartment complex, but my whole ride to work is pretty.

The Rest of the Hiking Pictures

No words necessary - the beauty speaks for itself!

End of St. Mary'sTrail (Waynesboro area, VA)

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

On the way to one of the mundane tasks of collecting the mail at our mail center, Paul and I happened across a very beautiful sight. A buttery yellow object came gliding out of the sky almost floating like a leaf until it flapped once or twice and then floated again. Butterflies always seem pretty graceful, but this surpassed any I've seen and maybe it was the shear size of its wings that made it appear to move effortlessly. Anyway, I ran back home to get the camera realizing that the patch of flowers it was heading to seemed to be keeping it busy. Sure enough, there it was flitting from flower to flower, not noticing us in the least.

Of course then I came back and tried to find what kind of butterfly it was and turns out it is the state butterfly of South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Alabama and Delaware-- a popular belle. This yellow beauty is called an eastern tiger swallowtail (Notice the long tail like extensions on the wings). It can be found as far north as southern Vermont and as far west as Colorado, but it is most prominent in the east. It is noted to be a strong flier according to South Carolina State Parks, and an important pollinator of orchards and gardens.

If you are into knitting like me, and would like a lace challenge, check out Fluff Buff's new project that is called "Wing o' the moth" which reminds me of this butterfly. She posted it on Sept. 10.

In case you were wondering, I still can't figure out what type of butterfly we found over Labor Day (see picture). Let me know if you know-- I'm very curious.

Allergies and Musical Nights

The last few nights it seems Paul's allergies have hit a crescendo. In the earlier part of the night his nose plays the quiet notes and melodies of a sweet slumber, but around 3:00 his nose is so blocked up it plays like a trombone hitting the highest notes of the composition. In reality, it's sounds more like a party favor on New Year's but regardless, it creates an element of surprise so powerful that it not only wakes me up, but wakes Paul up himself, as he sits up and says, "what was that?"

So I've looked up on Wikipedia what might be causing his allergies, and most likely isn't anything special to North Carolina. The most common allergen out there is Ragweed which is pervasive across all of North America. Since North Carolina has more greenery in general than California, it probably also has more ragweed. In case you want to see the culprit, here it is:

Botany is such a fascinating science and so I'm working on learning the plants in my new environment. Here is some of Wikipedia's comments on ragweed:

"Each plant is reputed to be able to produce about a billion grains of pollen over a season, and the plant is wind-pollinated. It is highly allergenic, as the greatest pollen allergen of all pollens, and the prime cause of hayfever. The plant blooms in the northern hemisphere from about mid August until cooler weather arrives. It usually produces pollen more copiously in wet seasons. Two species, Ambrosia artemisiifolia and A. psilostachya, are considered among the most noxious to those prone to hay fever.

Ragweed is a plant of concern in the global warming issue, because tests have shown that higher levels of carbon dioxide will greatly increase pollen production. "

Green is Good

I do love green--a general lover of nature and a bit of a tree-hugger, proud to say. So when we lost "Big Red" during the move toNC, it was a big loss. Big Red was our baby California redwood tree that we brought back from a Napa Valley petrified forest tourist shop on our 4th of July excursion last year. Big Red doubled in size from 6" to a whopping 12" over the past year living on our balcony in the hot San Fernando valley. But the moving van delay from the promised 7 to 14 days to over 3 weeks just whithered Big Red. We tried to rejuvinate him (Paul faithfully misted him with water every day) but to no avail. Not wanting to jump to finding a replacement, we waited a few weeks, but when Big Red went from shriveled green to brown we decided to order another redwood tree from Cali. Little Red arrived yesterday and here he is all planted and perky on our porch.

This morning I woke up rested and refreshed for the first time in days (all the travel throws a kink in the sleep pattern) and decided to get going on Trish's wool (see Trish's Tanglewood Fiber blog) that I have failed to finish spinning. I'm going on close to three months and she has been a saint, patiently waiting for me to get my life together and to send her her single ply. I love helping Trish with her spinning-- she supplies me with fun and lively wool to spin and it saves me from having to buy expensive fiber. Plus, she's a gem to work for.


This is my Majacraft "Rose" spinning wheel modeling Tanglewood Fiber.


And this little guy is a model specimen of our house guest that I mentioned yesterday. He is a green anole, I found out through some web searching. The above picture and following description is from Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia:
"This species is native to North America, where it is found mainly in the southeastern parts of the continent. Anoles are most abundant on the coastal plain from North Carolina to Florida, and west into central Texas, at least as far as San Antonio. They have also been introduced into Hawaii. It is sometimes referred to as the American chameleon due to its color-changing abilities; however, it is not a true chameleon. The species is also relatively popular as a pet. This and most other anole species are rarely bred in captivity, so most specimens sold in the pet trade are wild-caught. Anoles are, by their nature, curious creatures. A healthy lizard usually has a good awareness of its surroundings."

Permanent Residents and House Guests

I did end up going away for work on Thursday after all. I came into the office Thursday morning at 10 till 8:00 with my overnight bag and stuff for the field just in case and they said, "We're leaving in a few minutes so get your stuff together." And off we went. I got home last night at 10:30 after two full days in the field, a long drive back and unpacking at the office.

Meanwhile, our girls have been adjusting just fine to their home. Clementine, our pionus, loves to stare out the window and watch all the critters outside. She gets really excited when we open the sliding glass door so she can listen to the bugs, the birds and the neighbors.



Fairlight (Green-cheeked conure) doesn't have a real appreciation for the great outdoors. As long as she has her toys to play with and Paul within her sight, she's a happy bird. She's been extra clingy since our move though.



Clementine has made a new friend.

A little green lizard comes by every afternoon lately and clings to our sliding glass door staring in while she stares out. He's a cute little guy about an inch and a half long. Paul says that he's very tame and likes to have his picture taken. Do geckos live on the east coast? I just have never seen a lizard be able to scale glass.

Actors' Day Out on Campbell's Greenway

That's right, you read it right-- Actor's Day Out. We had a lazy start today and managed to mozy out of the house around noon, heading for an incognito walk along Campbell's Greenway near our home. We pulled into the parking lot (note our red Mustang above) and were promptly followed by a news van. We headed for the nearest bench and sat down to enjoy our picnic lunch of cheese and cucumber sandwiches because we had already worked up an appetite just driving there. We were savoring our first taste of sandwich when we were approached by a man in a business outfit, apologizing for interupting our chewing. He introduced himself as being from Channel 9 news and wanted to know if he could get our opinions on Charlotte's city council's vote on preserving more greenways for recreational use and wildlife. We explained that we just got here to Charlotte but were happy to oblige. So there you have it! We make our appearance on the news tonight, supposedly, but we have no TV connection to see if it happens. All I could think about while Paul was talking was, "Is my hair ok?" and "Dang it, forgot my lipstick!" Not really, but what are the chances of having something so random as that happening? Pretty darn funny, I'd say. The Channel 9 news website has the video at http://www.wsoctv.com/news/14036642/detail.html if you want to see Paul in action, with a cameo appearance by yours truly. The article has the video to the right hand side with a picture of a bulldozer on the front. Just click on play!

The man of the TV himself..... Mr. Paul Teague

After our interview we packed up and headed on our walk of the greenway. Here's a colorful butterfly we saw on the way.

And for you fishing enthusiasts (Dad), there are little pockets even in Charlotte.