Warning to those afraid of snakes-

Here are the pictures of the great Laurel Ridge Rattlesnake Round -up. This pretty girl was spotted several times sunning herself on the upramp of the Black Mountain Fire Station #3. Here is a close-up of her rattles and a view of her home.

You can see how close to the firehouse the snake lived. She wasn't afraid of people, but we had to relocate her for her safety and ours. After her capture she will be released at the head of the Catawba River and will have plenty to eat. Timber Rattlers are protected and are not supposed to be killed.

It's almost time to capture the snake. Can you believe I am standing so close to the rocks? I got to hold the flashlight. I am setting my camera to take a picture when they catch the snake, but I got so excited I forgot to snap the picture.

Our Rattlesnake

This is the picture of the the Timber Rattlesnake that lived in the rocks next to our firehouse. Isn't she a beauty? She has eight rattles, which means that she has shed her skin eight times. If they eat well and are healthy, they can shed their skin several times a year.

July 2008

Here is the stitching we did on our canvas books. Look at the next two posts for more information!

Close-up of our Canvas books

From left to right: Cheryl's, mine, and Karen's. It is amazing how each person went in an entirely different direction!

Canvas Bookmakers

We're at it again! Cheryl drove over from Tennessee and Karen drove up from Georgia and we created some books using stretched canvases as the covers.

What we did on our summer vacation

We hiked for five days - July 13-19, 2008 - with a group through the John C Campbell Folk School. Some hikes were on the Appalachian Trail and others on trails in Georgia and North Carolina. John Templeton, who hiked the entire Appalachian Trail four years ago, led our group. Enjoy the pictures of our vacation!

Micky as 'The French Broad'

Robin Krupp from Asheville is a children's book illustrator and active in River Link. She designed this coat in her Surface Design class at John C Campbell Folk School July 13-19, 2008 showing the French Broad River. It is only fitting that Micky (Mireille Chazalmartin-Felenc) from Frnce would model it for her!

Here are a few pictures from our vacation - a group shot in the Joyce Kilmer forest and two of the many butterflies we saw on our hikes

This is Micky. She is French but is living part-time in Charlottesville, VA. This is a picture of her soaking her feet and legs in a stream after our first day of hiking to Blood Mountain on the Appalachian trail - a fairly uphill seven mile hike!

I'm a tree hugger

Yep, it's official! I'm a tree hugger! This was taken on Day 2 of our hike in the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. It is the first 'old growth' forest I have been in and could not believe how large the trees are.

Swimming at Mouse Knob

Our Fellow Hikers

A group shot at Siler Bald. Left to right: John Templeton, our leader in the blue shirt, Priscilla, Micky From France, (standing) Anne from California, Rebecca from Connecticut, and Thom.

We came upon his car along the trail near Mouse Knob on the Snowbird river area of the Natahaila Forest. It looks very natural there, doesn't it?

Sometimes words aren't necessary

Our Vacation - Hiking the Appalachian Trail

Just like Gilligan's Island...

... it started out as a three hour hike at 10 am on Thursday, July 3rd. At the top of the Brushy Creek Ridge we posed for a group shot. I am in the turquoise t-shirt between Boyce and Frances Tucker, Dwayne (aka wrong-way Jennings aka Magellean Jennings) is next, and Jim Cropper (in the orange safety T-shirt) photoshopped himself into the picture. Boyce, Frances and I backtracked our steps and got home six hours later. Dwayne and Jim were tracked down by the GPS on Jim's phone and brought home by the Fire Chief of Black Mountain Fire Department shortly after 7 pm. It was still a beautiful hike!

More BOOKS!

Here is the cover from my Mica Book, another class taught by Dan Essig at Bookworks in Asheville, NC. This is my cover - a transparency  covered with a thin film of natural mica. I used a jeweler's saw to cut the hole in the thick, manmade mica.

Hiking

I can't believe I have abandoned my blog! Here is a picture of Cheryl, Frances and Kay after our hike with the Land Conservatory group.