Well this time yesterday we were already 3 hours north of the bay area and on our way after several delays to our place just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. We had great traveling conditions and despite the closing of I-95 due to all of the flooding in S.C. it was open up at I-26 which is about an hour or so north of Savannah which is the route we take over to Columbia. There was normal traffic on I-26 westbound which we would have thought to be congested but the local folks were staying home and off of the roadways. We did see some very high water around the outlying areas of Columbia and some road closures east of the interstate as we passed by. The trip was smooth and we made super time and would have made the 700 mile trip in about 11 hours as now all but S.C. is 6 lanes. We did our hour and half stops to walk, eat and gas up at our usual places and now have this down to a routine adventure. Our last stop was in Elkin at the foot of the mountain to restock which took a good hour or more.
Well the mountains received over 15 inches of rain during a period of 9 straight days. Everything looked lush and green yet several of the trees were bare with the loss of their leaves. The oaks around the cabin are showing some color and we are hoping for a peak of sometime in the next week or so especially now that the night time temps are in the 40's. It was rather pleasant on the back porch with a reading in the middle 60's. The cabin after being shut up for a month was cold but dry and just as we left it in September for our big trip back to Florida and then out West with our friends the Botbyl's and Tracy's. We were saddened to learn the Tray's have cancelled their couple day visit on their way back from California to attend a wedding in Charleston, S.C. That city is also flooded with severe water damage. The garden almost washed away as well but a few of the veggie lived through the dry period when we first left and now through this deluge of rain. A couple teardrop tomato plants survived and I picked a couple dozen as well as a few cucumbers despite the vines being dead. The beets and Swiss chard are doing as well as can be expected. I picked a couple dozen jalapeños as well as a couple Bell peppers that didn't rot with all the rain. Most of the herbs survived except for the cilantro and a thyme plant. The deer ate off most of the steeva plant and the October bean vines are dead and the pods saturated. I don't know if they will dry out or not.
I must say the Zinnias are magnificent as they are about waist high with very colorful flower heads and while several were beat down in the rain they are coming back in all of their beauty. The Fall Daisy's are in full whiteness and almost glow in the dark. The single Marigold plant is huge and loaded with heads which should make for some great seeds for next year. The grass while it has grown wasn't as tall as I expected. I did notice the huge buck that shares this land with us left his tracks in the soft ground. I would sure like to get a picture of him and maybe a couple steaks as he definitely eats well. I'm not sure if there has been a frost yet but the temps have been close to that mark at night. Our "mountain mom", Helen has had her heat on for several nights.
Well we unpacked and set up the portable electric heater to warm the inside of the cabin which by bedtime was rather cozy despite everything in the cabin was cold. It was a great day for coming back with clear skies and our decision to stay in warm sunny Florida was a good one. We already miss our family and some of them are planning on a visit around the 17th for a week or so. Many thanks to those who thought of us as we traveled, LATER
