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It’s Another New Year
I don’t really buy into the whole new year, fresh start, clean slate bit. All of me at 11:59 pm on December 31 carries across to 12:00 am January 1. Chances are high that I’m not changing. Not really. That Costco box of Cheez-its will still be on the counter the next morning, and I will still be sneaking 2-3…
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Whitetop to Beech Mountain
Every year we alternate which side of the family we spend Thanksgiving with. This year it was the Rollins side, and Mom and Dad wanted to meet up in Whitetop, VA rather than Chattanooga, TN. My parents rented a second place down 58 and had my brother and our families stay at their place on Pond Mountain. My sister has…
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Wild Spaces at The North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville
Back in August I traveled to Asheville, NC for the EcoStream Conference. I first dropped off my boys with my parents in Whitetop, VA, then drove down a little early so I could explore the North Carolina Arboretum. I’m pretty sure I went to a workshop at the arboretum over a decade ago when I was just barely pregnant with…
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All the Crispy Plants
I just sat down to share pictures of the fall fire-pit garden and heard a loud buzzing coming from behind my head. I took off my sweater and then shook out my hair, and an angry bee flew out and into the overhead light. I turned off all the lights, opened the backdoor and eventually guided it to freedom. Most…
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Doughton Park Camping 2018
How nearly every Blue Ridge Parkway adventure begins and ends: a stone arch We planned this trip three weeks out when we were looking to camp in Hanging Rock during an October weekend. Every single reservable campsite was booked for every single weekend in October. When I relayed this information to my friend Sarah, who had felt me out on…