Long Hope Valley

Here’s a new addition to our drive up Three Top Road

 

Here’s a nice piece from Bill Leslie at WRAL interviewing folks from the Blue Ridge Conservancy about the importance of protecting Pond Mountain.  It’s not too far from our cabin but we haven’t checked it out yet.

We built a fire pit this fall and invited neighbors over to roast mallows and enjoy the full moon in October.  Gabriel roasted/burned a lot of mallows, but fed most of them to his mom Rebecca. Jeremiah left with more mallow in his hair than he ate. Robert and Donna came up for a drink. With the full moon above and Long Hope Creek rushing below, it was a beautiful crisp fall evening.

A tufted titmouse couple has built a moss nest on the top of our porch light.  The mother, now known as Tufty, sits on her eggs as long as she can until we disturb her when we walk by or when Kobe barks.

We couldn’t get a good photo, but here’s a picture of a tufted titmouse and a typical nest. They usually lay between 6 and 8 eggs that are white with brown speckles. Welcome to Long Hope Valley – Tufty and family.

Summer is here in the valley –

Just below our cabin runs Long Hope Creek which becomes Three Top Creek across the road – where you can fish for trout until your heart’s content.

Kobe’s a ” peak bagger” – this is his second – he climbed to the summit of Three Top Mountain with us this spring. He just turned 12 but he still has a lot of energy and love to give.  The first peak he bagged was Elk Knob in Watauga County.

Over Memorial Day weekend, we went on a 3-hour hike with the Nature Conservancy on their property at Bluff Mountain, not far from our cabin as the crow flies. I looked out over this rock face on my stomach but Brian stayed back.

We saw a 350-year old maple tree and a fen (swamp) in a valley above 4,000 feet. We also saw the endangered Sundew carnivorous plant in the fen. The bluff was gorgeous, with rhododenrons growing out of the rock face and waterfall cascading down the mountain.

Brian, Kobe and I hiked one of the peaks of Three Top Mountain last Sunday.  The weather was glorious and the summit, at 5,100 feet, gave us a great 360 view of the southern Appalachian mountains.