Sometimes a Sunday Drive is a Walk
Joe and I made our annual hike down to the abandoned apple orchard off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Last year the apples were puny. This year there were none. Either we were too late for the picking or the trees didn’t bear fruit this year. I couldn’t fill my backpack, so I filled my camera with the color and beauty of where we live.
There were no apples, but there was plenty of thistle. And only one fleeting monarch sighting.
It was the kind of day that Andrew Wyeth would want to paint.
After our short hike, Joe went back to work and I met up with some friends for a neighborhood walk.
“I’d rather live with red weeping eyes than close my windows and stay inside.” I said, telling my friends that a round of steroid and antibiotic drops, taken with the hope of healing my red itchy eyes, was unsuccessful and I was considering whether it was allergies.
Aka hay fever. We have plenty of hay in Floyd.
And how could this harmless looking flower bother so many people?
After our neighborhood sightseeing walk, I took a real Sunday drive, looking for monarchs and such.
I drove up to the Parkway overlooks where I discovered the rising moon.
Later, when I told Joe about my sightseeing trips, he asked, “What did you see?” “More thistle, cows and the moon,” I answered.
It was the kind of day you want to bottle, which somewhat makes up for having no apples.
Post note: You can read a 2005 post about Joe’s and my apple picking tradition HERE.
September 16th, 2013 6:40 am
Yep, your part of the world sure is purrty!
September 16th, 2013 10:00 am
Beautiful photos! Usually it’s not the goldenrod but the far less showy ragweed that irritates folks. I like to put steeped chamomile tea bags on itchy eyes, lay back, enjoy and repeat. I like the thistles.
September 16th, 2013 10:52 am
Oh, this allergy stuff is new to me. I have been doing hot facecloth soaks on my eyes 2 or 3 times a day. The color of thistles makes me swoon.
September 16th, 2013 1:16 pm
I’d brave my hay fever for such beauty too.
September 17th, 2013 4:53 am
Beautiful pictures of such BEAUTIFUL things of Nature…..You DO live in a Gorgeous place, Colleen….!
September 17th, 2013 8:42 pm
Thanks for sharing your beautiful walk…..too bad about the allergies. I thought that plant was golden rod?
September 18th, 2013 6:02 am
try washing the area around your eyes/eyelids with commercial baby shampoo and warm water 2-3 times a day. you’ll notice some relief in a few days if it is blepharitis. i have issues with my eyes and know how irritating and uncomfortable it can be. good luck.
love the pics and the posting, especially: “It was the kind of day that Andrew Wyeth would want to paint.”
September 18th, 2013 3:09 pm
allergies aside, definitely enjoyable.
September 18th, 2013 10:18 pm
[…] The apples were early this year and so are the spiders, both usually come in or closer to October. We are being webbed in at our […]
September 24th, 2013 10:57 pm
Thanks for sharing the photos, Colleen! Beautiful shots of what makes us glad to be alive and here.