Autumn officially begins Sept 22, 2018. Fall announces the arrival of the leaf season. A collage of brilliant colors, painting the mountains with red and gold, peak in mid-to late October. A few fun facts about the autumnal equinox.
For our visitors looking for something to do when they come to the Southern Appalachians/Blue Ridge Mountains, may I suggest take a look at the Wilderness Society pages. Or try the lists at the Union County Blairsville pages.
For those of us living up here it means cool morning sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee watching the squirrels play and stash nuts while the leaves fall gently to the ground in an ever growing pile to be blown away more often than we want to.
Right now we are planting. Daffodils, tulips, crocus, dahlias and iris for the spring and new mums and begonias are going in the ground in hopes they will winter over well this year. The leaves get blown off the ground and out of the gutters on about any dry day we may have.
We begin checking the wood pile and generally looking around the house to see what chores need to get done before winter comes along. The doors and windows have been open for a good 2 weeks now, the weather has been ranging high 70/low80’s during the day and mid 60/high 50’s at night. Time to prepare the homestead.
The chimney needs cleaned, even if this is not your primary source of heat, your fireplace or wood stove won’t burn properly without proper airflow. Your secondary heat source is every bit as important as your primary. Preparing your portable generator each year should be a ritual. Check your propane, fill it now while the prices are lower, if you have not already.
We prepare our food stores by making sure we have enough dried and canned goods for a 3 week period for 4 people, even though we only have 2.
Dried Beans are cheap, tasty, and store beautifully. Indeed, you can use dried beans for up to a year or more, so it’s worth your time—and will help your budget—to learn how to properly store them. Follow these tips to successfully store dried beans in your pantry or stockpile. The process is easy and takes just five minutes.
One of the many chores I do this time of year is to take the blankets out, wash them and let them air dry. I do run them through the dryer on air when I am taking them in to be sure we have not carried in any of the many insects living in the woods here with us. I want to make sure that if my husband grabs his mother’s throw to keep his feet warm, that it looks and smells like his memories.
The staff at Union Realty would like to welcome you to the mountains.
Enjoy your new mountain community and Welcome Home!