I wanted to kill some time, and the day was too pretty to stay cooped up indoors. So I took the car out for a spin.
I took these photos from the highest part of the Blue Ridge Parkway, in Jackson County, near Sylva. It still looked like winter up this high (around 5500 – 6,000 ft). Most of the trees are still bare, though a few are starting to bud. A little higher up, and deciduous trees give way completely to Fraser firs (a type of conifer native to the Southern Appalachians that grows on the highest slopes).
The microclimate at these heights has been compared to that of states much farther north, and even southern Canada. It never gets very hot here, even in the summer, and it gets a lot more snowfall than we do in the valleys and lower elevations. I don’t think anyone actually lives this high up, though.
I’m doing this a day early because the weather was so gorgeous today and who knows about tomorrow. One day doesn’t make a big difference, so here’s this week’s photos.
It’s starting to look a lot like early summer for the most part.
The same neon green field I thought was so trippy looking one month ago. Now with everything else green too, it looks less weird but is just as green.
The same field from another angle. In the distance cows are grazing. Both these photos were actually taken on 4/23. I cheated.
Taken around 11 AM today in front of the post office.
The same location as the March 8th and March 29th photos.
Previous posts in this series:
1. Winter into Spring: March 8th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/03/08/winter-into-spring/
The Progression of Spring:
2. March 15th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/03/15/the-progression-of-spring-march-15th/
3. March 22nd: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/03/22/the-progression-of-spring-march-22/
4. March 29th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/03/30/the-progression-of-spring-march-29/
5. April 5th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/04/05/progression-of-spring-april-5th/
6. April 12th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/04/12/the-progression-of-spring-april-12th/
7. April 20th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/04/20/the-progression-of-spring-april-20th/
I was out in Leicester, NC today and suddenly saw this huge field with grass so bright I thought someone slipped LSD into my water bottle. Or that I’d somehow been transported to western Ireland. I have never seen grass as green as this. These photos don’t even capture the neon intensity of the green.
Here’s a bonus photo of the mountains about 20 miles south of Leicester. The grass here is “normal” green–contrast that with the above photos.
I love this part of the country in the spring. ❤
Lucky Otters Haven 