Confessions of a Tree Hugger

I have to admit something. I think I might be a tree hugger... Don has been called this on several occasions, usually in the context of "What are you? Some kinda tree hugger." As much as it pained me to see our wacko neighbors cut down every tree in their back yard that didn't require professional tree removal, today I feel like I've lost a member of my family. The moron that we sold our quaint little cottage to has cut down the most beautiful 80 year old magnolia I've ever seen:

There over to the left you can see what wonderful shade it offered to the entire house. I'm not sure what the reason was, but I'd guess that since he hasn't touched the yard in the 2 years since he's been there (other than to tear everything out), he's a) too lazy to clean up the leaves b) he's been told that he can't grow anything in the yard with it there, or c) he's crazy. I'm sure about c, and a is a poor excuse to cut down any tree. And before you haters go on about how bad it is to clean up after a magnolia tree.... I did it for 2 years and it wasn't so bad. I'll take a magnolia over an oak or pine any day! So.. goodbye old magnolia - I sure did enjoy you while I could. And if there is any fairness in the world, his power bill goes through the roof.

Deep Gap Backpacking Trip

Dad & I hiked the Deep Gap Trail at Mt. Mitchell this past weekend (7-19 & 20, 2008). Mt. Mitchell is the highest peak east of the Mississippi River at 6,684 ft. The Deep Gap Trail starts at Mt. Mitchell and tracks the ridge line of several 6,000ft peaks before reaching a grassy knoll named Commissary Ridge. The trail is steep and rugged and there was almost no water to filter but we were prepared and all ended well.



Dad & me on Mt. Craig.



A nice view of the Black Mountains (part of the Smokey Mountain Range).



Yours truly - the trail follows the ridgeline in the background.



Sections of the trail are STEEP.



Another great vista.



Wild irises at Commissary Ridge.




Sunrise at 6,000 ft.




Watch that last step...



Nice photo of a weathered tree and the Smokies in the background.



Me relaxing - almost done.



King of the hill!

You'll Sleep Better Now

Today I got a great question at work and decided to post the answer here so you would sleep better at night (and would have some useless trivia to thrill your non-sciencey friends with)

Q: Does a commercial dishwasher kill the rabies virus? For instance - if I took my [rabid] dog to a restaurant and he ate off of one of the plates, would washing the plate kill the virus so that the next person eating off of that plate wouldn't get rabies?
A. Before I answer this, let me ask what restaurant allows dogs to eat off of their plates? Or better yet, who takes their dog to the restaurant and thinks: Oh yeah, it will be fine for Mr. Bojangles to lick my plate clean. Anyway, in the event that you are worrying that the last user of your salad plate was a rabid dog, rest assured that the dishwasher should do a great job of killing the virus. 1. It should wash the virus right away. 2. Its a virus - needs mammalian cells to replicate and survive. 3. I've include the diagram below to demonstrate that the rabies virus is enveloped (and you've probably always wondered what it looked like). Enveloped viruses don't hold up well to the environment - meaning heat, detergents, etc. I read a bunch of stuff, but in general everyone agrees that if the virus is outside of the animal for very long, it dies. 4. Pastuerization temperatures kill the virus (>160 degrees F), and commercial dishwashers are required to have a final rinse of 180 degrees F.



Rabies virus is found in saliva, so be careful whenever you kiss a rabid animal. You laugh, but plenty of people do, and plenty of people let rabid animals play with their pets. The only way to test an animal for rabies is to kill it and test its brain... so.... play it safe and stay away from all of those cute cats/dogs/raccoons/foxes/kittens that are stray. You'll feel a strong desire to save them all, but in the end it could be more trouble than its worth.

Foothills Trail - Bad Creek Access to Oconee State Park

Dad & I were back on the FHT this weekend. I took Friday off so we could squeeze in 30 miles between Bad Creek Access & Oconee State Park. This finishes the FHT for me - dad reminds me AFTER he finished the FHT. I'm only 34 so the way I see it he's had a lot more time to get it done. We had good weather for most of the trip. To avoid some severe thunderstorms Sunday morning we woke up at 11PM Saturday and hiked the remaining 8.3 miles out in the pitch dark. That's an interesting way to experience the trail - just be careful!



Trillium - these were in bloom all along the entire hike.



Whitewater River - this is where we had lunch on the first day



Nice view of the sky near the Whitewater River.



Steps - lots and lots of steps - then a few more.



Upper Whitewater Falls



View of Lake Jocassee from the Grassy Knob escarpment near the Upper Whitewater Falls.



Blaze azaleas on the trail near Round Mountain.



Foothills trail - close to Sloan Bridge (SC107).



Kings Mountain Falls



Small wildflowers by the side of the Chatooga River.



Dad & me at the Whitewater Falls overlook on the first day.



This is a photo of me finishing the FHT. 5-10-2008

Dog Wash Day

We couldn't stand the smell any more so we washed the dog.



Somebody save me - PLEASE!



Get this water off of me!



Must... get... dirty!



Isn't the prom tonight?

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words... what's a video worth?

Jenny's Birthday!

Ready to blow out the candles...



The birthday girl and her dog... nothing better than GO!

Birthday Peonies

Dog Day!

Sunday was a great day for Bark to the Park!

Flowers

Petunias in a hanging basket.



Clematis growing by the back deck.



Dianthia in a pot we have in the back flower bed.



Kyra keeps all of the flower beds organized and secure from moles and other undesirables.

Home at Last!

Smokey finally made it home from the vet. He's on some great meds and seems to be feeling pretty good. The vet says all he needs now is a little TLC. He made a lot of friends after almost 2 weeks in the animal hospital - seems he's been cuddling with all of the pretty girls that work there. I can't say enough good stuff about Dr. Sheridan at the Cat Clinic of Columbia and the other vets at Shandonwood (particularly Dr. Wales). We're very glad to have the Smoe back!

Sick Kitty

Smokey has now spent an entire week at the Vet recovering from urinary crystals. Other than not being able to pass urine, he seems ok. He doesn't like catheters though, and pulls at least one out a day. Hopefully we won't have to sell any of our organs to get him out. So... here's a picture of what this sweet cat endures at our house. Everyone at the vet loves him. I visit daily - but I think it helps me more than him. So, please cross your fingers that Smoke-stack is home soon.

The Trip That Almost Never Was - Backpacking The Foothills Trail Hwy. 178 to Bad Creek

The latest trip was planned to finish dad's last section of the Foothills Trail. It is a 32 mile hike from Highway 178 (A4 in the Foothills Trail Conference Guide) to Bad Creek Access (A7). This first photo is of dad & me at Hwy. 178 before the first attempt on Thursday. Notice something missing with the guy on the left? (hint: tent poles) We hiked a few miles in before remembering the poles. After hitchhiking our way back to my truck at Bad Creek we went home to regroup and start again Friday.



Dad early on day #1... warm and more importantly, dry.



Dad on a bridge made out of a fallen tree.



There were lots of flowers along the trail.



More trail-side flowers...



A waterfall on Laurel Fork Creek.



Oconee Bells on the trailside.



Looking over Laurel Fork Falls. This is where we camped the first night (7.5 miles)



Laurel Fork Creek upstream from the falls.

There are no pictures from day two because it rained hard and cold. We decided with the nasty forecast in front of us we'd hike as many miles as possible so we could make it out in two nights instead of our original plan of three. At the end of the day we hiked 17 miles from Laurel Fork Falls to Bearcamp Creek.



This is me the morning of the third day leaving Bearcamp Creek. Still smiling but cold, wet, and tired.



The Thompson River



More of the Thompson River



Dad on the Thompson River bridge officially finishing the Foothills Trail.