A mountain ridge is not flat along the sides

March 17 is St. Patrick's Day.

In the literal observation of a Saint from the Catholic church, even though he has some great stories attributed to him, most Protestants in Ireland would not be observing this holiday.

In fact they wear Orange.

As a protestant - or at least not Catholic, I tried that once. Got many pinched arms as result.

SO  - I go along with the flow. There are many times more Irish descendants in the USA than there are either Catholics or Protestants in Ireland. I kid you not. Thousands more!

A pretty dawn sky  before rain started last Friday.

When a low sun hits my ridge view, suddenly it's not just a silhouette, but has three dimensions. But you have to be fast to capture what that sun is telling you. Bear with me that looking at that ridge through the many branches of trees is really an enjoyable pursuit for me. It will soon be gone for about 6 months of having leaves outside on these trees.

Within minutes you can see all the slopes are crenelated, and not just a flat surface which the usual dark mountains against bright sky lead one to believe.

I love being able to imagine how roads travel up through the mountains. (Yes I posted this a few days ago...did you notice?)

The end of the day.

Vincent van Gogh painted the scene of The Starry Night, which would become one of his most famous works, a total of 21 times.

Today's quote:

One may have a blazing hearth in one's soul, and yet no one ever comes to sit by it. -Vincent van Gogh, painter (1853-1890)

Contours in mountains

 Late afternoon sun the other day showed all these ridges coming down from the mountain in more clarity.

 But a phone through window or screen left a lot to be desired...sorry about that.

 I was struck by the curve of bare rock/or perhaps a fire-break coming down from the peak. But it was already hard to see with the twigs and beginnings of leaves on the trees.

Full magnification on an iPhone camera is very impressionistic.

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.

Ah, keep track, a day with sunshine, March 2, 2019

There are strange things happening, like young women in shorts, wading in the Tomahawk Creek, throwing a volley ball back and forth.   The young men are walking away...are they uninterested, I wonder?  Ball is seen just above one of the boys, but actually was being tossed between the girls. Depth of field is all smashed together this far away!

 Gorgeous Carolina Blue skies are reflected in the lake, depending upon the angle I take photo from, or the amount of light bouncing off the water?

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.

The bridge over Flat Creek

 It looks cobbled together out of sticks...

 But thankfully there are a couple of big wood power poles under the planks.

 The water was high after a long rain the day before.

Oh glorious sunshine! The bridge is barely visible just at the end of visible water. 

Icy Waters one

Quote for today:

Take full account of the excellencies which you possess, and in gratitude remember how you would hanker after them, if you had them not.

Marcus Aurelius

Sunshine through leaves

Translucent leaves sparkle in sunshine, especially against the deep shade of an evergreen.

Today's quote:

The more you sense the rareness and value of your own life, the more you realize that how you use it, how you manifest it, is all your responsibility. We face such a big task, so naturally we sit down for a while.

Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi