Watching The Sunrise From Clingmans Dome

Today is my last Saturday in the mountains for a while. Wanting to make the most of the day, we decided to drive to Clingmans Dome, the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and watch the sunrise. It meant getting up at 3:30AM, and driving to Tennessee, but it was worth it. It was still dark when we arrived. We stepped out of the car and were blasted by strong winds and freezing temperatures (shouldn't have been a surprise at 6600 feet, and though we had coats, we never thought to bring hats or gloves). But the sky twinkled with thousands (no exaggeration) of stars. It was awe inspiring. And then we saw it, a shooting star...the perfect start to our morning! When the tips of our noses were frozen, we got back into the car and turned on the heater for a while. I noticed the sky to the east beginning to brighten, so we made the half mile trek up the mountain to the observation deck. Another thing we didn't anticipate was the effect the altitude would have on us. We started up the path with lots of energy and enthusiasm, quickly finding ourselves winded and a little dizzy. We slowed our pace and made it to the deck. Remember that wind and freezing temperatures I mentioned? Of course, it was magnified at the top (click here to see the deck). But we were rewarded for the effort...

 

 

At this point, we were so cold we went down the ramp to get out of the wind. After getting some feeling back into my hands, I made my way back to the top. Johny decided he was too cold and would watch from a spot on the Appalachian Trail. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I knew sunrise from this vantage point would be breathtaking (in more ways than one). What I didn't realized was how emotional I would feel; it really did take my breath away.

Our day didn't end with the sunrise, I have much more to tell, including a bear sighting (no kidding), but will save the rest for tomorrow (too many pictures in this post already).

Thanks for reading my blog, see you tomorrow,
Lise

Rhododendron & A Black Morel

I love the colorful spring blooms that surround us with splashes of bright color. We're still waiting for our rhododendron to open around the cabin (we're at 3600 feet), but these, like the iris photos I posted yesterday were taken in town yesterday. The intricate center of rhododendron reminds me of a henna tattoo!

 

Much to our surprise, Johny found this black morel right next to our compost pile. We've never found a black morel before, they've always been yellow, (click here to see photos), and here one sprouted right beneath our feet! We'll be cooking it this evening, 

along with these yellow ones we harvested yesterday. I'm curious if there is a difference in taste--experts say the black are the best--we'll be doing our own comparison and I'll let you know what we think!

Thanks for reading my blog, see you tomorrow,
Lise

Iris, Up Close and Personal

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading my blog, see you tomorrow,
Lise

How Does Our Garden Grow?

Watching the garden sprout brings a joy I can hardly describe...it's a little like birthing a child. Have you experienced something similar? This year, our garden is being sowed in bits and pieces, mostly by Johny, who's been wearing the overalls in this family for a while now. I've been so busy with my writing class and preparations to head back to Florida, I've not been an active gardening participant. I'm proud of having planted bean seeds, but that's all I can take credit for thus far. We will be sowing more in the next few days before I leave, but I fear I won't be able to see those seeds sprout. So far, this is what we have pushing themselves through the rich soil and up to the sun...

Strike beans; love how they curl themselves from the soil.

Spinach; looks plain but we've not had success so we are especially hopefully these grow to their full potential.

The lettuce sprouts are a little blurry (from my photo, not from the ground), but they are abundant. The entire row is sprouting!

Potato greens are pushing through the straw...I hope we get more true potato fruit this year. 

The mache looks good; this will be a real treat to enjoy fresh. Have you ever eaten mache? It's used like a lettuce, with small round leaves that are sweet, crunchy and thin like a spinach leaf. Yum!

The turnips are sprouting at a wild rate, they definitely needing thinning. Yeah for the turnips, last year they were a little sparse.

As I walked from the garden in my sprouting reverie, I came across some dandelions and violets blooming along the side of the road. The contradiction of colors drew my attention, I thought you might enjoy this...

Thanks for reading my blog, see you tomorrow,
Lise

Color With Our Coffee

Following a gully washer of a night, we enjoyed our coffee while on the porch swing, grateful that the only damage we experienced was road erosion (it was significant, but it can be fixed).  We were entertained by several goldfinch and a stunning rose-breasted grosbeak feeding upon the sunflower seeds I set out for them. They hung around for quite some time, giving us splashes of color as we enjoyed our coffee. Once they flew away, I could hear them singing in the woods, it was a lovely serenade. Click here to listen to the sweet melody of the grosbeak, you'll be glad you did.

We expect to have more dangerous storms roll through this evening and tomorrow. Times like these remind me of how precious life is. I'm holding healing thoughts for all those who've been effected by these storms and am hopeful they experience a swift recovery. And looking forward to blue skies.

Thanks for reading my blog, see you tomorrow,
Lise

Lise's Violet Jelly

It's a spring tradition at our cabin--making violet jelly from those dainty little violet blooms that blanket fields with purple. Easy to make, the biggest challenge is picking lots of the tiny purple flowers! I really enjoyed making what may be my last batch of violet jelly for a while, click here to read more about my new adventure.

Lise's Violet Jelly

Make the violet tea at least 24 hours before you make the jelly. Boil 2 cups of water for every 2 cups of cleaned violet flowers. Pour the boiling water over the freshly harvested violets (make the tea the same day you pick them). Cover the bowl with a plate and let it steep for 24 hours.

Strain the mixture. Your liquid will be a deep violet color.

Ingredients:

2 cups violet tea
4 tbsp Myers lemon juice with zest and pulp
3.5 tbsp Ball pectin or 3 tbsp + 1 tsp + 1/2 tsp (this amount of pectin will result in a softer consistency that will still spread with a knife but the jelly could not stand on it's own, if you like a firmer jelly, increase the pectin)
4 cups sugar

Directions: 

Sterilized your jars, lids and rings. Keep the jars warm in a low temp oven, the lids and rings in a pot of hot water.   


Pour the violet tea, pectin, and lemon juice into a large pot and bring it to a boil. The lemon turns the purple violet tea a pretty fuchsia.

Once the mixture is boiling, add the sugar and stir to melt completely.

Bring the mixture to a rolling boil, then let it boil for 1 minute.

Ladle the hot jelly into the jars.

Wipe the top of the jar, place the lid and hand tighten the ring. Place the jars upside down on a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then turn them right side up.  You will begin to hear a delightful little popping sound as the jars seal. You don't need to use a hot water bath. This is how the old timers have made violet jelly, and it's always worked.

I doubled the recipe and ended up with ten 8 oz. jars.

Can't wait to spread this on some toast...I do believe this is my favorite of all the jams I've made!

Visit The Prairie Homestead, Flour Me With Love, and A Bright and Beautiful Life for more interesting recipes.

Thanks for reading my blog, see you tomorrow,
Lise

A New Adventure Begins

When Johny and I were considering living this log cabin life, I came across a quote by Mark Twain--“twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones that you did.” It had a significant impact on our deciding to come here over two years ago.

I'm excited to share that once again, I've made a decision to "advance confidently in the direction of my dreams," (part of a favorite quote by Thoreau) and have accepted an awesome position with a non-profit organization on the west coast of Florida.

When we moved here, we committed to a year of log cabin living. We enjoyed it so much that we decided to keep living this simpler life until I found the right employment opportunity. Well, this one found me, and as things continued to unfold, I knew it was perfect in so many ways.

We've made this decision together, and it does mean change for us. The current plan is that he'll stay at the cabin with Pogo and Fluffy, keeping the garden going and bringing me fresh produce care packages when he comes to visit. I'll find a small place to live (have found a cute little villa for the transition) and come up to the cabin for long weekends and vacations.

I've one more week before I leave the cabin. I'm sure I'll shed some tears as I drive away, and I've no doubt I'll miss my log cabin life. But I'd regret not taking this opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others.   

I'll continue writing my blog, though I probably won't post every day--I'm sure I'll have plenty to tell about my adventure and I'll also share cabin happenings. The life I'll be leading may not be my log cabin life, but it's still Lise's life, after all.

The photo is a trillium, the first I've seen in our woods. I thought it appropriate, as this post is a first too. Thank you for your support over these past two years, you have made blogging a real joy!

Thanks for reading my blog, see you tomorrow,
Lise