Flowers to enjoy

 While I take a break from bringing all my outdoor plants off the balcony railings and tucking them into sheltered places in anticipation of the remains from Ian, here are the indoor goodies!

For Floral Friday Fotos..

It started out with purchasing this bouquet because of the gorgeous sunflower, and all the lilies were just buds...

Then day after day, they all bloomed!

I can't smell them though...but I remember coming into a room once and immediately smelling them, so being a bit naive, I stuck my nose down into the throat of a lily. Came up with a bunch of pollen on me, and made the mistake of wiping it onto my shirt-tail. That stuff stains!

Today's quote:

You will experience how neglected areas of your home and your heart light up and flourish when they are regularly tended and cared for.

I'm baaaack!

 Doing workouts at the cardio/pulmonary rehab gym at Heart Path in Asheville.

I do like the "New Step" machines!

I found an old friend from 2 years ago...as well as a friend from Black Mountain...so I'll be making some new friends too. It's good to have some leadership (which I missed when trying to workout at the YMCA.)

I'm trying to go easy on myself to start...but I worked pretty hard earlier this week, and knew I needed a nap when I got home! I'm only going twice a week, and that leaves me other days to do things like take walks or drives. I can no longer do hikes due to my lungs, but the mountains offer their glorious views from many a overlook!

Today's quote:

We are all more blind to what we have than to what we have not.

AUDRE LORDE

The books I've enjoyed by this author

 Amor Towles

I just finished this, as an e-book. It finally was enjoyable for me. When I tried the audio, I was not happy with all the voices and different accents. But Rules of Civility did have clear character development, which then wavered a bit as the story progressed. A personality shift happened with one of the main characters, and it sounded for the best. The rest of the world continued on it's path, with everyone moving into and out of status, war, relationships, wealth and poverty. But I must say the ending was a bit of a surprise, and even (dare I say) a disappointment. After a week of thinking about it, I think I can say that. 

However when I read his first book as an audio, I love "A Gentleman from Moscow." There weren't quite as many voices described...but I did feel I knew each of the characters. Having it read by someone who knew Russian culture before the Communists, or just after the Revolution, it was delightful to find the memories brought back.

It reminded me of how times we live through change individual lives, as well as the culture. How each person decides to hold onto some things/ideas/practices, and how one copes with changes...all are brought out by the Gentleman and his friends. This gets 5 stars from me. Civility maybe gets 4.

And a last footnote, I tried several times to read Lincoln Highway, but the characters all seemed so mired in negative forces, whether against one another or just the play of the script, I just gave up.

Today's quote:

In those parts of the world where learning and science have prevailed, miracles have ceased; but in those parts of it as are barbarous and ignorant, miracles are still in vogue. -Ethan Allen, revolutionary (21 Jan 1738-1789)

Outside and inside for Autumn

 

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday).

People say that the soul, on hearing the song of creation, entered the body, but in reality the soul was the song itself.

 —Hafiz

Around town

 

This is the view of a newly constructed home (?) on State Street, right next to the Monte Vista Hotel

They have some very clever use of stone and wood in making walls in the landscape.

From the other side, you can see it's two buildings.

And it's possible more will be done on this side since there's still a pile of gravel over on the right.

It may have a great view of the mountains, it (or they) don't exactly blend in with the nearby architecture though.

Here's the next home down the hill from them, which is vacant and has been used as an event location many years back. It's for sale.

Today's quote:

Don't get so tolerant that you tolerate intolerance. -Bill Maher, comedian, actor, and writer (b. 20 Jan 1956)

Some color,

 ...but from blossoms, not from leaves quite yet!

Outside the Presbyterian Church of Black Mountain, Fri. Sept. 16

Then back in my neighborhood

This rose bush has been untended, but lives. The Peonies here aren't damaged.

The last roses...nobody ever pruned back the dead ones, so not much of a second bloom. Of course I could have snuck over there on a Saturday or Sunday and done the deed. Just didn't feel like it. 

A valiantly surviving lavender.

These beautiful peony plants were sprayed by the new landscape crew. They have also killed many of the hostas around the buildings.

Sad to see the damage. Certainly not adding any autumn color!

Today's Quote:

We must risk delight. We can do without pleasure, but not delight. Not enjoyment. We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of the world.

JACK GILBERT

From chaps with a trophy to the Peace Corps

I do have children and grandchildren who took part in competitive sports...and in middle school at least they got trophies. They've since thrown them away, as they were plastic anyway.

This week's prompt photo for Sepia Saturday looks great for bicycling folks.

My son and daughter-in-law in Tampa/St. Pete FL are big ice hockey fans of the Tampa Bay Lightnings. So there's a cup worth taking a photo of!  They won their second Stanley Cup in 2020, the first US team to win during the pandemic...without fans in the stands!

Getty images

And when I went trolling for old photos of my family, I found these, which aren't at all on this theme. But it won't be the first time I wandered off the theme.

My youngest (on l.) graduated from college in 2001, then spent the next 2 years in the Peace Corps. Some of that time he was in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, staying with this family and helping with various community projects.

He had already become vegetarian in college, so I hope he found enough nutrition in the meals Mrs. Sterling prepared for this family. Apparently they would be able to add the new addition to their house thanks to the room they rented to the Peace Corps volunteer...my son. He reported an abundance of Avocados on the tree in the yard, which he could just pluck off to eat.

Well, that's about as far from this Sepia Saturday as you can get!

Today's quote:

Kiss the Earth with your feet.
Print on Earth your love and happiness.
Earth will be safe
when we feel in us enough safety.

—Thich Nhat Hanh

Black Mountain update

 

The refurbished old gas station now has a little vintage type light fixture out by the road, and some grass rolled in, but no good sidewalk between that grass and the road itself. That probably will have to change.

Here's an earlier shot from July...that dirt area is now grass, but there's just 18 inches or so of concrete sloping into the asphalt of US Highway 70. No curb anywhere.

In Ingles Grocery, they don't do autumn. They jump from summer straight to winter needs!

As I drove by...sorry about cut-off by window. This is The Grange, with focus on meat products and serving alcoholic beverages with them. The gravel lot used to be a parking lot, so these nice shelters and some landscaping are really a good improvement. Unless you want a place to park.

I'll have to try it out some evening. It doesn't look like it does any business at noon (on Wed. when I took these photos and very few cars were parked in the slots right by the sidewalk.)  I like the side order dishes which the same company sells at Little Sprouts, their catering outlet where I can pick up delicious beans, sweet potatoes, sour cream mashed potatoes, and "That Salad" which serves me 3 full plate meals.

Sharing with Skywatch Friday

Farm Animal Rights: Post #3

In fact, if everyone in the U.S. ate plant-based food one day each week and ensured that any animal products they eat one other day that week were from animals raised on pasture, it would spare 2.8 billion animals from factory farming annually, which translates into a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, pollution and resource usage from factory farms by more than 25%.

Source: "How many Animals Does a Vegetarian Save?" Counting Animals.

See how the average temperature in your area is changing.

Explore Climate Science Info

Yes, Wood Fired Pizza day!

 

Our waiter gave friendly help, but his appearance goes to tell the level that wait staff have fallen to in our restaurants these days. If they show up and do the job, apparently appearance isn't that important! And if he's the son of the owner, or someone important, my comment still stands...hair is supposed to be in a net for food service!

Post #2

Farm Animal Awareness week:

Meanwhile, there are independent farmers and ranchers raising animals on pasture with significantly better animal welfare and environmental outcomes, but these producers are drowning in a consolidated market flooded with cheap factory-farmed products that have been bankrolled by the government through subsidies and bailouts. As a result, the number of farms across the country is going down while the number of animals on the remaining operations continues to go up.

According to the USDA Agriculture Census, in 1950, there were 5.6 million farms raising 100 million farm animals—but in 2017, there were two million farms raising 9.32 billion farm animals. This rapid consolidation has dire consequences for animal welfare, responsible farmers and ranchers, rural economies, the environment, and public health.

(Just think about those numbers, less than half as many farms.)

Source: "Census of Agriculture." United States Department of Agriculture.

Bricks tell the story

 

Tall ceilings and hard surfaces make for a very echoy sound that travels a long way in this doctor's office in Old Fort.  But the exam rooms do have lowered ceilings and afford privacy.

The nurses have a bulletin board that gives medical information. 

At some point in this building's life (I do wonder what it originally was) there was an entrance on this wall...now bricked in.

I seldom pay attention to the furniture that stands along the walls. No idea who it belonged to either. Maybe if I'd read some of the signs I would have found out!

Post #1 on Farm Animal Awareness

This National Farm Animal Awareness Week in September is the perfect time to remember that farm animals are the ones who suffer the most while advocates exhaust their resources fighting potential allies.

Nearly 80 billion sensitive, playful, intelligent pigs, chickens, cows, and turkeys are raised and slaughtered each year for meat, milk, and eggs.

The majority of these animals are intensively confined entirely indoors or crowded together in barren feedlots where they suffer immensely. Source: "Meat and Dairy Production." Our World in Data.

All of this information was published in the Treehugger Newsletter today: Factory Farming Is More Destructive Than Ever

Plant-based and sustainable farming advocates must join forces to fight it.

By

Daisy Freund

Published September 19, 2022 09:19AM EDT