The blue irises have made their appearance in the roadside ditches and fields, and we have our own odd spots of them here… The post Iris and Wild Mint Bouquet appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
Well, I did try some new things for this painting, but they didn’t entirely pan out like I expected. Flowers are just challenging… The post Peonies on Gold appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
My friend Shane—who is a Gardener Extraordinaire—has an immense English garden behind his house, and every year he cuts buckets full of the… The post Trying New Things in Oil Painting appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
Most days when I head out for a hike I spend a few minutes (at least!) looking for salamanders. Here’s Pippi pretending she’s… The post Pippi Posing as a Salamander appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
I went out walking in the woods and came home with this pretty bouquet of phlox (lavender and pink), ragwort (yellow), greater chickweed… The post Beezus’s Bouquet & Storm Front Over Hanging Rock appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
Finding mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) blooms feels a little like a treasure hunt. These plants grow in colonies from a few dozen to a… The post Mayapple Blooms & Ramp “Flags” appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
I had my sandwich at this spot earlier in the week, and a friend (hi, Margaret!) said I should paint it. She’s bossy,… The post Storm Front Over Hanging Rock Oil Painting appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
Day rises arching her back— having spent the night collecting the circus of rainbows on concrete soda cans still sticky a high frequency… The post Origami Instructions for Folding a Bee appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
I love finding jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) in our woods. It’s amazing how well-camoflauged they are. Here’s Beezus out ahead of me on the… The post All Green Jacks-in-the-Pulpit So Far appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
Lance and I hiked with the cats up the East Ridge and absolutely enjoyed the wealth of white violets coming into their bloom.… The post White Violets and Pretty Brown Spider appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
This winter we had a short week or so of extremely cold weather. My bees had been periodically out in the month before… The post Bees are Back! appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
Wildflowers are arriving now in a great tumbling rush. Although the fringed phacelia is still the most prevalent wildflower, the new bluebells smell… The post Bluebells, Watercress, & White Trillium appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
We lived in a gas station that year. The farmer offered to let us live there free but we paid rent because we… The post The Summer We Saved the World appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
Every year I love this time. The fringed phacelia gets so thick on the mountain that I have to walk VERY slowly and… The post Phacelia in the Owl’s Grove & Yellow Birch Trail appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
Some years it goes this way. I saw very little bloodroot this spring, but by golly there’s larkspur in buckets, more than I… The post Larkspur & More Larkspur appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
People often ask me what I do with all the ramps I harvest on our mountain, and the answer is really pretty simple:… The post What I Do With the Ramps I Forage appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
A few months ago a deer was hit not far down our road, and I’ve been waiting for some of the bones to… The post Deer Jawbones, Sarvis, & Best Trail Nibbles appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
It’s possible that I love finding salamanders more than I love finding blue crawdads, but maybe that’s only because the salamanders won’t pinch… The post Buttercups, Dandelions, and Salamanders appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
Neoclassical? Greek Revival? I will have to look it up, but it’s one of those old Southern confections, double row of oaks, Spanish… The post I Watched a Romcom, Then Dreamt of Heaven appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
The fringed phacelia is coming in quickly, and the bees and bugs are enjoying it already. Also arriving are the purple deadnettle, mint,… The post Phacelia on the Rise, Solomon’s Seal, and Boy Growing Wild appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
I have never gotten in trouble turning over rocks (yet). But it’s smart to be slow and careful. That’s even more important as… The post Baby Blue Crawdads! appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
Last week I visited my friend Kathy’s studio to paint with her. She had daffodils in a little blue jar that I worked… The post Studio & Storm Daffodils appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
They come in clusters, of course, and even when I remember one of these scents today, they often bring the others with them.… The post Top 25 Scents of My Childhood & Youth appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
Pressing through the gap on the road tonight I watch heat lightning flicker; the storm sharpens its edge against the mountains. I cannot… The post Through the Gap appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
I boxed for about ten years before moving to the High Country of Western NC. I also competed, refereed, coached, and did all… The post The Satisfaction in Boxing appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
I went out looking for skunk cabbage, but didn’t see any of the purple spathes I like to photograph. However, I did see… The post Hepatica, Dekay’s Brown Snake, Puffball & Pippi appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
Lance had to work down in Rutherford county this week, so I drove down with him to keep him company and so that… The post Crabtree Falls, Blue Sky, & Mountains, Mountains, Mountains appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
A couple of years ago we had our driveway graded and graveled, and now the coltsfoot—which loves disturbed land—is going wild. Soon they… The post Coltsfoot, Daffodil Yellows & Good Greens of Spring appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
Today I had a lovely photograph to work from, taken by Susanna Holstein, and I was feeling confident enough to try a 16×20… The post Easter Sunday Morning Oil Painting appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
We were hiking out past the pair of Appalachian spicebush trees that we harvest from most years, and I noticed that one of… The post Clearing Briars from Our Spicebush Tree appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
We were out digging ramps and cutting daffodils recently and I said what I’ve said for years: We should divide and transplant some… The post Transplanting Daffodils and Replanting Ramps appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
Speedwell, or veronica, is an interesting little… or medium-sized… or quite large plant. There are a LOT of different speedwells. We have at… The post Tiny Bright Speedwell in Bloom, Last Winter Offering, Rainbow Cat Butt appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
Bloodroot seems like a rather coarse name for such fragile, ethereal beauty. Lance and went out to find the colonies that grow on… The post The Delicate Beauty of Bloodroot appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
March took her sweet time, but she finally brought me some goods for my foraging bucket. I went out looking for chickweed and… The post Toothwort, Ham, & Cheese, Plus Ramps: First Foraging of the Year appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
There were three things I wanted to be when I grew up. The first was a knife thrower in the circus. My father… The post Sweet Georgia Brown & the Feeling of Flying appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
Are daffodils my favorite flower? I keep returning to this. Probably because they are a) my favorite color, and b) the first—and wildly… The post Outrageous & Beautiful Daffodils appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
The marvelous thing about living about two hours north of Asheville is that I can get there almost entirely by taking the Blue… The post Driving the Blue Ridge Parkway Again in Spring appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
We arrived in a swirl of red dust and the scent of shortleaf pine and now my clothes were stiff, my hair water-combed… The post Night on Spring River appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
In winter I try not to disturb the salamanders, who are sleeping down in the cold mud, waiting for spring. But on a… The post First Salamander of 2024, More Earthstars, Plus Witch Hazel appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
I enjoyed painting this little red-roofed lighthouse, which is actually the Cape Blanco lighthouse in Port Orford, Oregon. And while I’m learning a… The post Red-Roofed Lighthouse appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
There have never been puppies, which seems like a failing for which I might like to assign blame. Though God knows there have… The post Under The Handmade FREE Sign By The Road, 2 Miles From Our House appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
At the corner of Green Valley Road and Highway 88 in Ashe county North Carolina, there’s a sign tacked to a light pole… The post 5 Christmas Trees at the FREE Sign appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
A few weeks ago Lance and I spent a weekend camping at Bear Den mountain in Little Switzerland NC, where we got some… The post Blacklight Mine and Fall Mountains Camping appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
Most of the time I do my best to ignore the disease in my brain. I try not to read about it, think… The post I’m Not Asking for Hope, but for Wonder appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
I wanted to do a still life, but felt overwhelmed by the complexity of many of the photos I found online. But when… The post Teakettle Watercolor appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
When I was last visiting my uncle Mark in Kentucky, he dug me up three little pawpaw seedlings he had growing in the… The post Planting the Pawpaw Seedlings appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
I had been thinking about painting this particular barn—which is just off our road on Cherry Tree lane—for a couple of weeks now.… The post Cherry Tree Lane Barn Watercolor appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading
You aren’t likely to get away from my uncle Mark without being fed as many home cooked meals as possible, handed a bag… The post Gifts from Uncle Mark appeared first on Appalachian Ground. | Continue reading