Appalachia Through My Eyes - Fall Color Is Here

“The hills are beginning to catch fire. Autumn’s glory is spreading across the land. The backroads are calling. The greatest show on earth is just around the corner.”

John Parris – These Storied Mountains

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I had the pleasure of driving through the mountains of Graham County several times this past week. I was amazed and awed by both the beauty of the fall leaves as well as the speed at which their color deepened each day.

Tipper

Appalachia Through My Eyes – A series of photographs from my life in Southern Appalachia.

 

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27 Comments

  1. I have never been much of a fan of Dolly Parton, but I listen as often as possible to Fiona Ritchie and the Thistle and Shamrock. I guess I’ll have to get Wayfaring Stranger. I can rip out the forward.
    Fiona Ritchie got her start at WFAE which is the only PBS stations I can get here and it crackles whenever I drive under powerlines. It don’t even pick it up at home. You would really be surprised at how little is the difference between Ms. Ritchie’s music and that which I grew up on. And you would be surprised at the vast difference between it and the Nashville crap we hear today. Dolly Parton and the like are quick to latch on to whatever will pad their wallet. May their caskets of gold be studded with diamonds in the shape of guitars and musical notes. Maybe Ricky Skaggs or Alison Krauss would write a forward for me. Doc Watson is gone.
    This is my theme though I sing it “Wayfaring Pilgrim.”
    “but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.”
    I’m just going over home.

  2. Tipper, I hope you had a good time. Have been reading your blog each day that I could see. I had cataract surgery on my left eye and a intraocular lens implant and it healed really good and I hope the next time in six weeks appointment it will be 20-20 like my right eye. I still have to have bio-focal glasses for reading small print. Happy Reading- Life is good.
    Peggy L.

  3. Miss Cindy….that would be me. I live on the MS Gulf Coast and we have very little change. There is one tree though that has beautiful color changes. The Popcorn Tree. Out back in the woods I see only green. They go from green to brown and fall. But then again….we do have 26 miles of white sand beach and seafood for the taking.
    LOL

  4. How I wish your widgets would work, I would love to peruse your past posts.
    Now say that three time fast. That,that,that is cheating.

  5. Tipper,
    Saturday I was walking with all my family and offsprings, even had one in a stroller. My Great Grand-daughter didn’t even sleep on our 3 mile walk. She couldn’t decide if she liked the Nantahala or all them beautiful leaves.
    Nice picture of 28, those Mountain Colors are breath taking…Ken

  6. Hi Tipper,Beautiful picture!Everythings green here in Hi.Memorys from the late 1940s come to mind.before the leafs are raked into a pile to burn 4 young girls are rakeing them into lines,shaping them into different rooms,kitchen,parlor,and bed rooms.Did you ever make a leaf house.God Bless.

  7. There is a wonderful new book called Wayfaring Strangers on the origins of Appalachian music from Scotland and Ulster to what became the U.S. It’s by Fiona Ritchie, of Thistle and Shamrock fame, and Doug Orr, president emeritus of Warren Wilson college, and the founder of the Swannanoa Gathering workshops. The forward is by Dolly Parton and it has a CD with 20 tracks of music and wonderful photos and illustrations. Great buy for hill folks and for anyone else interested in Old Time music.

  8. One of my favorite books as a child was “Great-Grandpa Bunny Bunny”. Through the course of the story, he teaches generation after generation of his offspring to add color to the world. One generation was given the task of fall colors, something, growing up in South Texas, I never had the opportunity to see.
    My husband was assigned to service in the Washington D.C. area and that September our first child was born. While in my windowless room in Ft. Belvoir I heard people talking about what an unusually glorious Indian Summer had arrived; in the few days I and my firstborn were in the hospital, Great-Grandpa Bunny Bunny and crew had done their magic. It was glorious – perfect weather and awe inspiring scenery for long walks with my newborn!

  9. Here in Brevard, the colors are coming in, but mostly gold with a few red sourwoods mixed in. The days have been wonderful.
    Our annual Allison family reunion is in Brevard this weekend, so we are looking forward to the event. My family left here in 1830 to move west to what is now Jackson County, NC.

  10. Tipper,
    Your picture looks like an old 50’s linen paper postcard. Beautiful!
    I love John Parris, just acquired his Mountain Cooking book a few weeks ago for a bargain. I love all his books, still hunting for a couple of them!
    Our grandkids are on Fall break, hope the weather clears for us!
    Thanks Tipper,

  11. There is a maple tree at the end of our street that has the most beautiful fall leaves on it…I look forward to my drive to work when I have an opportunity to reflect on God’s paintbrush mirrored on this beautiful autumn day…Thanks for posting the photo of the fall leaf change in the mountains. Spectacular!!! Have a wonderful day! Prayerfully,

  12. Ah, yes! Fall is one of my favorite times of the year for a casual ride through the mountains. I just love the colors on the different trees; it’s like a living vividly natural color painting.

  13. I love the Autumn colors. Been in Florida, but coming home Wednesday. When more of my family was alive we used to have our family reunion the first Sunday in October.
    Betty and I are looking forward to driving over toward Franklin to see the fall colors.

  14. This is probably the most beautiful time of the year. Just sitting on the deck and inhaling the great mountain air reminds me why exactly I moved here.

  15. I’ve been struck by how fast the leaves have changed in the last three or four days. Ironically, the weather has been exceptionally warm (and wet – especially for what is normally the driest month of the year for us).

  16. Tipper, It’s that time of year when the mountains show their full glory in living color. You know their are actually people who live where there is no changing of the seasons, they don’t have mountains and they don’t have the color change.
    I am very happy to live in these glorious mountains of Western North Carolina!

  17. Where did you take that picture? We were through Graham County twice about two weeks ago and only the Sour woods and sumacs were turning.

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