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Chihuly: Atlanta Botanical Garden

August 12, 2016 by Leah Leave a Comment

Years ago one of my girlfriends introduced me to the glass artwork of Dale Chihuly via some grainy photos on her phone and I was hooked forever. Then he brought his magic to the Cheekwood Botanical Garden in Nashville and I haunted that place every chance I got just to see the glass in every form of weather and light. So when another friend suggested we head to Atlanta for a trip to their botanical garden to see another exhibit, I was in. The Atlanta garden is stunning. There is a conservatory, an orchid house which rivals any I’ve ever been in, a kitchen garden that could supply an entire restaurant, and beds of flowers and shrubs that capture the imagination and make you want to run home to your own garden and stick pieces of glass in it. I loved this place so much and can’t wait to go back!

A Treasure Chest of Memories: White Rocks Recreation Area & Camel’s Hump

July 12, 2016 by Leah Leave a Comment

I grew up camping in Vermont. While other kids in school were going to Disney World, we would pack up the car and head up to the Green Mountains where we stored a little camper in a place called Camping On The Battenkill. My memories of this place are of happy times, exploring the trails, tubing down the river, catching frogs in butterfly nets, and crunching through the fallen leaves of colorful autumns. I wanted to share it with Rob. He’s heard me talk about Vermont so much that it was time for us to go. After a cancelled flight and a day and a half lost from our trip, we flew into Manchester, NH and drove over to Arlington where we’d be staying. As we entered the state I felt like we’d opened a time capsule. Everything existed in a state of sameness from when I was a kid. Some small business have closed in Manchester and Arlington looks decidedly older than it once did, but many of the shops are still there, owned by the same people, selling the same little things. The Equinox in Manchester is just as imposing as it once was, and the availability of artisanal cheese (as in it was made on a farm by people who don’t wear vests and have handlebar mustaches) and maple syrup is quite plentiful.

The first hike did was at a place called White Rocks in Wallingford. I’ve only ever done the ice beds trail which leads to a small overlook, but I wanted to climb to the top of the White Rocks boulder slide. This is accessed by taking the Long Trail/Appalachian Trail south.

The AT through Vermont is a much loved stretch of trail that is spoken of wistfully by Appalachian Trials bloggers, so I was excited to see at least a part of the trail. You head up the mountain for a ways before you come to a field of rock cairns in the middle of the woods. At this point, you make a right turn and head into a not very obvious section of trail that will lead you to the edge of the rocks. There are no sweeping views on this trail, but the forest is lovely and we ran into several people who were thru-hiking the Long Trail. One woman was with her daughter and was really proud of herself for making it the first 80 miles. She encouraged us to take the time off and do the trail because it’s a memorable, wonderful experience. Someday!!!

Once we came closer to the edge, the woods were strewn with granite boulders, mixed with blueberry bushes and fir trees, until you suddenly took a step and entered into a sweeping vista of the Taconic Mountain range. We sat on the rocks and breathed, taking it all in and enjoying the cool breezes.

The next day we headed up to Waterbury to meet up with a high school friend who I haven’t seen in 6 or 7 years to hike the Camel’s Hump, an iconic Vermont Trail that leads to a peak with 360 degree views. Seeing old friends immediately brings a feeling of home, and seeing Megan after keeping in touch all these years was the highlight of our trip for me. We headed to the trail, which Ryan was familiar with being quite the hiker himself. (These two are now engaged! See happy picture below. Also note their adorable dog Isla who handled the trail like a pro…and cheese)

This trail was freaking hard, but so incredibly rewarding. For the first time since I’ve started hiking, I had blisters on the back of both feet that bothered me the whole way up. I have no idea how people hike the AT with blisters. They are miserable and painful and just plain suck. This trail was incredible. I’ve gotten used to hiking in the Smokies where the inclines are gradual and go on for miles. Not so with New England trails. They basically go straight up and just paint the blazes on rocks.

We were scrambling up boulders and I eventually gave up on my trekking poles because I needed my hands to grab roots, trees, and rocks to pull myself up. I also couldn’t breathe, which really ticked me off because with all the hiking I’ve been doing, I thought I was in better shape…not so.

As we climbed higher, the views became more stunning as the Green Mountains spread out below us and you could even see far enough to catch glimpses of the Whites. This trail is unreal and I hope I get to do it again sometime.

We headed back down in an easier direction to go get some food and stop at the Cabot Cheese Annex on the way out of town, an absolutely dangerous thing to do. I only bought 4 bricks of cheese and have since regretted not just blowing the bucks and getting everything they had. It was all so delicious and they sold varieties of cheese I can’t find anywhere in the stores down here. I highly recommend the Tuscan Herb, which is impossible to find anywhere outside of VT. The day was full and lovely and perfectly sunny, and I was sad to see it end. Friends, beauty, love…what more does a person need?? My parents were also able to meet up with us on this trip, which was pretty fun too.

There were other parts of Vermont that were equally special, like exploring all the old nooks and crannies of the Vermont Country Store in Weston and running into a girl my age from Southold. What are the odds?! They have an old mill just off the square and the barn was open so we wandered around and looked at the woodworking tools, marveling at the skills of past artisans.

We also went to a lovely farm outside of Manchester and got to pet some animals.

And Merck Forest with its rolling fields and maple syrup house.

The last day of our trip we went to Hildene, which was absolutely as beautiful as I remember it to be. They now have a creamery with the sweetest, most adorable little goats, where you can learn about the cheese-making process.

And before we left for the airport, we stopped at the Bennington Monument and looked out over the mountains for one last glimpse of this lovely place until we return again.

Gregory Bald & Andrews Bald: Blossoms and Bears

June 17, 2016 by Leah Leave a Comment

This past weekend a good friend from college and I headed out to the Smokies to hike on some of the mountains known for their flame azaleas and rhododendrons. The second weekend of June this year seemed to be a bit early for the flame azaleas, but we lucked out and were able to see some bushes that were in full, glorious bloom.

The first hike we decided to tackle was Gregory Bald. During the time when Lisa and I were planning this trip, I saw lots of articles about how Gregory Bald is the best kept secret of the Smokies, how it’s the best place anywhere in the world to see flame azaleas, how it’s a must-see for adventurers who want views without the crowds…on and on. It was this description that clinched it for me though. The thing is, I completely agree with all those descriptions. Yes, the bald itself is incredible and I’ve never been in an environment like that before, part meadow, part blooming brushy hedge. However, the trail made me want to kill myself.

This is how the trail looked the entire way until we got to the top. Not terribly interesting forest with little air movement. Agh!

Maybe it was the fact that we’d had a little too much moonshine in Gatlinburg the night before, or maybe it was the lady problems we were both having, or maybe it was that we didn’t get the best night’s sleep in the dingy old hotel where we stayed, or maybe it was the giant biscuit we both ate for breakfast…all of these things combined in such a way that we felt really tired the morning we decided to do this hike. We got up pretty early and headed to the Cades Cove loop in an effort to beat the traffic only to discover that on Wednesdays and Saturdays Cades Cove doesn’t open to cars until 10 am. So we sat around and looked at the trail riding horses, waiting with hordes of people for the road to open. One hour later, after a visitor center stop and a bumpy dirt road, we were at the trailhead.

Once we had our gear strapped on, the ascent began. 5.5 miles up to the top with no downhill breaks whatsoever. We struggled 3,020 feet up the mountain through a sometimes-boring deciduous forest where at points there was zero air movement and sweat poured out of our gross, tired bodies. There were many stops along the way to catch our breath, grab a snack, drink some water, and then determinedly trudge on, ever thinking we were close because there wasn’t one damn sign or marker on that whole trail until you were .6 miles from the bald. Which, at least we knew we were .6 miles away, but hell, it seemed like we were surely closer than that.

When we finally did reach the bald I was at a loss for words. We started seeing bright dots of orange throughout the woods as we neared the bald, until we came out into a meadow covered in flame azaleas in every shade of orange, red, and bright pink. I’ve never seen anything like it. The trail led through an area of blueberry bushes, blackberry bushes, and azaleas so densely packed that you couldn’t see through them, then opened up into a grassy meadow where we could see farm fields and mountains for miles.

Lisa and I survived being music majors together in college, so this was a piece of cake in comparison to that. This year I’ve been so thankful for the adventurous women in my life who have literally climbed mountains with me…

At this point, the second weekend of June, the azaleas were just starting to bloom, so some of them were still budded and a few of them had already passed. If we’d been a week or two later, the explosion of color would have been dynamic. We sat and took in the scenery for a while before getting up to talk around the bald. A couple who’d been on the trail in front of us said there was a bear about 300 yards away in the bushes, so we immediately headed in that direction. There were several people on horseback who were yelling at the bear, and as we got closer a behemoth of a bear exited the azaleas, walked a short distance and went right back into the shrubbery. That was all we saw of him and I wasn’t able to get a picture, but he looked like the size of a small car and I took this picture in the gift shop to give some perspective on how utterly giant he was. We could see the bushes crashing around as he foraged for berries and eventually, he just wasn’t there anymore so we pet the horses and took some pictures with some really gorgeous shrubs.

As the day wore on, we decided to head back down the trail. We went back through the meadow and into the area where we first entered the bald. As we were neared the tree line of the woods we heard an enormous crash in the shrubbery directly next to us, like a semi was trying to make its way through the bushes. Lisa immediately grabbed the bear spray from my pack and we started yelling and banging our trekking poles together. The noise stopped and we stood there, hearts beating out of our chests, not knowing if the bear was going to keep coming or if it had decided to turn and retreat. We continued to listen and make noise and finally headed back down the trail…all 5.5 miles of downhill which eventually cost me my right pinky toenail due to boots that weren’t wide enough. I think I’ve finally made the transition to exclusively using trail runners since I can’t find a pair of boots that don’t kill my feet.

After an utterly exhausting day getting to Gregory Bald, we decided to head up to Andrews Bald, which is accessed at the Clingman’s Dome parking lot. The trail is 3.6 miles RT and leads out to another bald with sweeping views down to Fontana Lake. When we parked the car everything was shrouded in mist and looked like rain, but we made the decision to stay. As we headed down the trail the clouds began to clear and it turned into a glorious day. The forest on this trail is simply stunning, filled with Fraser firs and mossy logs. Even though it’s quite a bit more manicured than some of the other trails in the park, the separation from the crowds was immediate when we entered the woods. A really nice surprise on this bald was the blooming Catawba rhododendrons, which we hadn’t really seen any of on the other trails. There were also some flame azaleas up here and it was decided that we could have just skipped Gregory Bald and enjoyed this spot just as much if not more.

After the Bald we walked up to Clingman’s Dome to take in the views and were able to see where we were yesterday. It’s an incredible feeling to look across a mountain range to a peak you walked up the day before.

On the way down we saw a little bear crossing the road (right place, right time…bears move quickly!), which was the perfect conclusion to a trip spent in the woods, enjoying all the surprises we saw, dealing with the bugs, and taking in the beauty of wildflowers flung far and wide along grassy hills.

Birds and Blossoms: The Garden Takes Flight

May 18, 2016 by Leah Leave a Comment

A lot has happened in the past month! Gardening, hiking, traveling, friends, home stuff…I’m way behind, so I’m just focusing on the gardening portion of that action. Contain your excitement and hold onto your plants…

This year we added one ton, as in 2,000 pounds, of compost to the garden. While this seems like a lot of compost, it only gave about an inch of coverage to the plot. The city of Franklin has an incredible compost program. The guy who runs it is educated in soil management and has a real passion for what he does, his enthusiasm is contagious. You can go to the compost lot and for $20 per yard (about one truckload), you can get some really rich dirt to add to your garden. We got two yards, dumped it all in there, tilled for a second time this season, and then smoothed it all out before adding plants.

I had some serious problems with the garden last year. The three straight weeks of rain in the beginning of the season pretty much destroyed all the tomatoes and fostered a host of pests that were impossible to get rid of later in the season. I also lost the fight with the weeds and nearly ended up in tears a couple of times as I pulled tree-sized invaders out of the beds. It was too much. So this year, barring bad weather, my way of combatting these challenges involved tilling twice, rotating where everything was located, treating portions of the soil with a mixture of soapy water to hopefully kill any larvae still present, and adding a heavy layer of mulch to the path that will hopefully smother weed growth at least in that section.

I also purchased a grow light this year and grew everything from heirloom seeds so I knew exactly what was going into the garden. Starter plants can often carry diseases, pests, or chemicals that people are unaware of, and I wasn’t taking the chance. I have to admit that when I put those pathetic little seedlings out into the world, I was 110% confident they were all going to die. They drooped and stuck their middle fingers up at me and threatened a mass suicide attempt as I begged them to survive in the cold, cruel world of April. Luckily, the sunshine worked its magic and everything is growing like crazy now…

I’ve never grown spinach before, but since it was the one thing Rob asked for this year, I threw some seeds in the dirt. We have more than I know what to do with. One thing I hate about this is the bugs. I find myself obsessively washing this stuff 8 times, spinning it out, and examining each leaf because creatures stick to these leaves like white on rice. I think in the fall/winter, I’m going to attempt growing some inside under the grow light where I won’t have to worry about tiny invaders.

Three years in, the asparagus has hit its stride. We harvested for about 3 weeks before allowing the plants to grow and replenish their energy. This is probably my favorite vegetable garden plant. It’s so easy. Dig a trench, plant the crowns, cover with a pile of compost/manure, let them grow for two years, and then voila, you have delicious asparagus that tastes better than anything you’ll buy in the store.

Aside from the practical chore of growing food, the flowers around the house have made everything so lovely this year. A group of peonies that were here long before I was were relocated from a shady spot and now look like this…

The winter was so mild that the sage in the herb garden bloomed. The smell is heavenly, like Thanksgiving Day!

Dianthus, euphorbia, and geraniums have brightened everything up, along with yarrow, lavender, clematis, and a few early daylilies…

One thing I’ve noticed while sitting in front of my huge office window is how many birds we have in the yard. There are tons! Woodpeckers, bluebirds, finches, sparrows, blackbirds, warblers, titmouse, juncos, chickadees, a very lively brown thrasher, cardinals, mockingbirds…their colors flit past so quickly that I wonder how often they go unnoticed, how few people stop to appreciate their loveliness. Right now, we have a blackbird nest in the large pine next door, a family of 5 just left the bluebird house, a robin’s nest in an apple tree, a mockingbird nest in the weeping cherry, and I recently discovered a finch nest in the explosion of clematis by our front walk.

Every year we have a family of bluebirds in a little house attached to the back fence. This is the first year I’ve been able to watch them from start to finish. I didn’t actually see any of them leave the nest, although one was perilously close one day, hanging out of the opening, but still too timid to go for it. Yesterday, I saw papa bluebird feeding a speckled fledgling on the fence. Bluebirds really are harbingers of happiness because I feel giddy every time I see them. These pictures were taken over a couple of weeks as they grew, up to the day the last two flew the coop.

Each day the yard looks a little different and I walk around in awe of life and growth and beauty. The ability to hike in the mornings before work has also re-opened my eyes to how incredible this world that we live in truly is. I walk a lot, Rob thinks I’m crazy half the time because on the weekends all I want to do is walk. Mostly, it comes from a desire to be outside, out in the air and sunshine, surrounded by the trees and the flowers as they put on a spectacular show for those who take the time to slow down enough to notice.

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. ~ Albert Einstein

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