Looking at walls

 

As I leave Montreat NC, I pass under it's stone gateway. Sorry about reflections.

Tom Sawyer's friends have put many coats of white paint on this basement wall of bricks...but you can see the iron of the bricks seeping though over time. 

Yes, these walls are in the basement of the Black Mountain Center for the Arts...which was once used for the jail.

There's more to this story!

But to complete the story I started last Monday about the murals on this building, I noticed the one on the stairway today, which is described in the plaque about all the murals.

Here it is:

I hadn't seen the "Universal Citizen" mural yet...but this time I found it!

Universal Citizen

Today's quote:

Our loving intentions can easily transform the space in which we live.

However, do you think a prisoner in that jail could have had loving intentions enough to transform his space? Me neither. But we always have the ability to change our own way of reacting to reality around us.

I think that I shall never see

 ...a poem as lovely as a tree.

Thanks to Joyce Kilmer's poem.

Today I focus on the trees by Flat Creek.

Not sure if these are sister trees, or the small one is just a secondary  trunk.

There are so many wonderful textures on trees.

Way above the creek bed, and the power lines, are houses along the top of this ridge.

While below is a short driveway and several hiking trails going in different directions in Montreat NC.

Most of the greenery in February in these woods comes from rhododendrons. But there are also some evergreen trees.

Today's quote:

“Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life...”

Herman Hesse

Sunday at another place on Flat Creek

 After church last Sunday I drove up to Montreat (on Hwy 9, it's only road in and out of town.) 

I wanted to see a different area of the creek which forms the backbone (being the lowest part) of this valley. Here's a poor panorama shot showing the back of the tennis courts on far right, the creek itself, and a bridge between the parking area and the 2 lane Hwy 9.

I did not find peace and quiet in which to "recharge my psychic energies" this time. There were little people and their families all over the running water and the rocks.

I think it's great that these young people are exploring nature and finding what they can do climbing the rocks.

Since this is a cool shady valley, rhododendrons were still in bloom everywhere.

I had to wait my turn to get on the bridge to take photos.

I was pleased enough just to find this spot, which was new to me. It's great to know my little favorite creek still has new surprises for me to discover.

Today's quote:

The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth. -Niels Bohr, physicist, Nobel laureate (1885-1962)

Those physists! If you know what he was talking about, another profound truth, please let me know!

Healing woods or healing waters

Many times I come to this sweet little stretch of Flat Creek, just inside the gateway to Montreat.  I can't do much hiking these days, so it's nice to park right near the road and walk immediately into the woods and see running clear water.

I wasn't sure how much longer this bridge would be standing!  I didn't hold onto railings for any measure of support.

The bare roots that had tripped me as I stepped off the bridge a year ago are now covered by nice gravel.

The drainage pipe is almost invisible though it's in the center of the view below. Just above on the other side of the creek is a memory garden with various markers and cremated remains in a stone wall. It is a quiet meditation place with stone seats for remembering lost loved ones.  It's invisible from this side of Flat Creek.

Yes, there are fairies who visited me...in the forms of bright pale blue butterflies.

When the creek rises...

 It's not quite at flood stage...and the rains were a few days ago...so the water's clear.

 You may notice the shadows indicate the sun was out.  Let's be sure and give it credit. Whenever it shows up these days is cause for celebration.  Date? Feb 24, 2019.

 While the trees are bare, it's possible to see the pretty homes up the mountain in Montreat.

 This old bridge somehow keeps getting cobbled together.  It has huge bolts in each juncture now.

The joy of sunshine

When did the clouds and rain start last week?  When was the last time the sun woke me up in the morning?  I don't remember. But when I got home from church I opened windows on both sides of the apartment for 60+ degree winds to blow through...to let my own and my furnishings clear the cobwebs.  I know it's not time for spring cleaning quite yet.

Also before getting home, I followed the request of one of my readers to go look at some of the sights that I'd captured during the rainy times, and show you what they look like in sunshine. Remember that it takes a while for yesterday's rains to flow out of the ground though, so I stayed on dry land.

Many places feel the results of days of rain after the sun comes out and the flooding is still around.  Here's a facebook shared photo from Sevier County TN from yesterday.

I'm pretty sure that's the Little Pigeon on a rampage.

Historic New Salem Baptist Church in Sevierville, TN.

OK, I don't mean to lead you to believe this is happening in Black Mountain, NC.  It isn't.  And perhaps the flooding in Sevier County has dimished by today.

Here're my Montreat photos from around noon today!

Lake Susan is glimmering in sunshine. You can see the roof of Ten Thousand Villages, but just barely the house further up the slope. Compared to the cloudy day last Sunday HERE.

There goes the water downstream, having taken many of the leaves from the Rhododendrons.
And here's a view as it tumbles down the mountain today...

Here's last week's same view.