road to Amicalola Falls

We took off on the Beastess today up to Amicalola Falls. It was a gorgeous day for a ride for the life of me I can' t remember the name of these flowers. they are about the size of a salad plate. HUGE, I looked up the flower type- it is a Crimsoneyed Rosemallow this is the view from the lodge at the falls And here is a view on the way up with a bit of Kudzu in the foreground One more shot from the road up there Side view from the top of the falls. Its about 450 steps down to the bottom and can't remember if the Appalachian Trail (AT) starts up here or at the bottom of the falls Another view from the top. someday we are going to be there when it is a super clear day this little guy could have cared less whether it was clear or not. He was just enjoying a beautiful day of being alive ;-)

5 guys or...

We met Bry and Emerson yesterday at 5 guys. Emerson thought it was yummy He is quite the ham. And he has chewing down to a T. Now to just get the swallowing part down or maybe he was just savoring the tasty burgers and fries from 5 guys I am thinking on this visit it was 3 guys and a gal... instead of 5 guys Burgers and Fries. Mmm mmm mm are they ever good!

A walk in the rainy woods

Of course these posted backwards, but this is the long trek up a hill at the end of our daily 2.3 mile hike. We've had lots of rain this week. It is so green. Moss all over the trees Petey says whatcha doing back there. Come on. We saw a deer here on our way back but I didn't get a good shot of it. Last week we saw a whole family- dad with his atlers growing, mom and a yearling and then a fawn. Really neat.

Soon to be replaced deck

Ok, I tricked you! Instead of starting with the deck I just had to put in a shot of our steps up the hill again. I just really admire the craftsmanship involved in making these. You cannot believe how incredibly hard and rocky this area is. I really like how they turned out and can't wait until the wood either weathers a little or we can treat them to blend in with the hill a wee bit more. Ok - thought I would capture all the porches and decks before they are replaced. The benches in the front will all be replaced with planters of the same height. We have been in a quandry with what to do with this little triangle. So we are taking out those benches as well and extending the deck and will add more pots with plants and another small seating area. I want this area to be a hummingbird haven as it is right outside our dining room windows. This deck really gets a beating from the weather and will be replaced with a Trex like product - cedar color. We also asked for a more craftsman style railing. And now we wrap around to the back. The first bench there on the left will be a planter, but the other two benches will be replaced with sturdier ones that look like our cedar gliders that are currently on the porch front and back. I can't wait for it to be done. Not exactly sure how we will be getting in and out of the house and office when this is all ripped up :-)

new steps and soon to be old deck

We had some new steps built up the side of the house. I LOVE the way they curved them gently. We (including Petey) are having a great time going up and down this never used hillside of our house. Notice how steep the driveway is? We also had some steps built up from the back yard to where we have a bench in the trees. We are having the deck replaced in the next couple of weeks and will be replacing some of the benches with planters. We also had a couple of bird feeder planters with steps down to one of them put in. The cedar posts are on back order but should be in soon so we can rehang our birdfeeders. Here is kind of how it all fits in together in the backyard And there is my long haired hippie husband taking his pictures to post

Day off at the North Georgia Fair

We took the day off today to go up by Lake Chatuge to the North Georgia Fair. What a wonderfully relaxing day. We wandered about... Saw stuff including a very full lake :-) (that makes me very happy) this pretty cool cabin And this plant with the HUGE ol Giant flowers just outside of Blueridge. Anyone know what it is?