Even though our recent snow wasn’t a big one it is still hanging around. The snow has melted around the edges, but the cold temperatures have kept it looking mostly like it did the day it fell in the back of the house.
We’ve not been off the hill in a vehicle yet. The Deer Hunter always moves at least one to the bottom in case we have to go somewhere. Yesterday we used a sled to take packages to the truck so they could be dropped off at the post office.
Chitter had to go out, her car has been parked at the bottom too, she made it fine once she got out of Wilson holler. There are a few places on our road that stay snowy just like our driveway. On her way back in she had to stop because of work in the road. She about slid into the ditch, but the men working pushed her back up into road so that she could get traction and drive on.
There’s much folklore surrounding snow in the mountains of Appalachia. One I’ve heard often is if snow lays on the ground for three days it’s waiting for me. You know I’m hoping that’s what this snow is doing 🙂
A few others shared by Blind Pig readers over the years.
Ed Ammons: My mother used to say “if it snows like meal, it’ll snow a great deal.”
Granny Sue: The day of the month the first measurable snow falls is supposed to be the number of measurable snows that winter.
Jim Casada: A cross-legged snow will be deep (A cross-legged snow is one where wind is in play, driving the snow flakes this way and that. The connection with a deep snow makes sense, because such winds are usually associated with strong fronts.)
There are many other pieces of folklore connected to snow. Another that comes to mind is the number of fogs in August =s the number of snows. I’ve always said that one must be for somewhere other than here.
Don Casada left the following comment on yesterday’s post.
“That is one of a couple dozen of the Kelly Bennett photos which I attempted to replicate in modern times. It was taken along old NC 10 above Sylva, between the Beta and Addie section. I believe – and maybe one of your Jackson County readers can straighten me out – that the section is called Foster. At any rate, you can see that image and my own on the 3rd slide pair here:
https://www.diagsol.com/Photos/Bennett/Matching_landscapes.pdf
(Maybe you can embed the link or maybe it will happen automatically; I don’t know).
At any rate, while I’m decent at identifying landscapes, and have spent untold hours doing so to support Hunter Library’s assembly of metadata for the Bennett and other photo collections, this is one which had me stumped. Creeden Kowal, Director of the Swain County Soil & Water District ID’d it for me. I may be mistaken, but I think she said that it was someone else she knew who recognized it. Maybe she can follow up and make sure credit goes where it belongs.
The range of mountains are, as the header to the photo indicates, part of the Plott Balsams. The peak at the left is Blackrock Mountain (5755 ft above mean sea level). Above and slightly to the right of the home is Yellow Face (6034 ft). What appear to be twin peaks at the right are on a lead which runs almost due south from Yellow Face.
I really needed to be on the opposite side of the fence to best replicate the angle, but at least the section of the Balsams is pretty decently matched.
Your readers might enjoy leafing through the others to see how things have changed over the course of about a century.”
Be sure to jump over to the link Don shared and look at the old photos and the replicated ones—they are all amazing.
Last night’s video: Snowy Walk in the Mountains of Appalachia.
Tipper
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Grandfather always said it was waiting for more Snow ❄️
Don,
Was the second set of photos taken at or near Darnell Farms (formerly Ferguson fields) alongside the Tuckasegee? Would Tom Ferguson be Thomas Jefferson Ferguson and was he the son of David Philetus Ferguson and Fanny Noland? Did Tom marry Ila Sherrill?
As expected, Ed, you’re spot on in all respects. That section of what we knew as the Ferguson Place/Dairy/Farm/Fields is now owned by the Eastern Band of the Cherokees. I don’t think it is officially listed as Kituwah by the USGS, but that’s the place.
Yes, Tom married Ila Sherrill. They’re both buried in the Bryson City Cemetery:
https://friendsofthebccemetery.org/BCC-2.php?IndividualID=1189
https://friendsofthebccemetery.org/BCC-2.php?IndividualID=1188
Tom’s brother, Gola, and wife Jerdie Watson and their son, Frank are also buried there. Ila’s parents and sister Mayme are as well .
That farm has quite a history, and I should reconfigure the “Then and Now” photos to include a bit of narrative to go along with the simple name.
I love to see how you are embracing & enjoying your snow ! I loved your video of your snowy walk in the woods & the girls video of sledding! Thank you for sharing ! Love to you all !
Very interesting comparison photographs. I enjoyed studying them. Thanks to Mr. Casada for doing that project.
Have you heard how Pigeon Roost has fared?
Leslie-if you mean from Helene I’ve heard they were hit hard. I’m not sure about the recent snow.
Thank you, that’s what I meant. Bless their hearts.
We’ve always heard if it lays around for a week it’s waiting for more, but I like yours with a 3 day wait. Either way, I’m hoping we get some more. Brad Panovich (Channel 36 in Charlotte WCNC) seems to think we may have a chance for more this week…I love him and hope he’s right! ❤️
Yes, this is 2nd comment today but I just went back and looked at Don’s matching landscape pictures and had to comment again. I am so glad, sir, you did those “endless hours” work. You created a legacy. I saw so many attention-catching details. Those cleared fields and cutover lands are now invisible proving that nature can and will recover. And whoever thought a boat on a mountain river would sport a sail? And was that load of logs chestnut, chestnut oak or something else? And what is the history of that Craftsman house that has survived all these years? And what becomes of original grave monuments if/when they get replaced? And landscape trees do have to be replaced, no matter how well loved, they can’t cope with changed needs/desires when too close to buildings. There is a bit of melancholy running through as well; namely that change will continue and the places we now know will become different yet again. That the horizon though, those mountains, will remain is a consolation.
My father, from West Virginia, used to call snow that barely covered the ground, poor man’s fertilizer.
Here around Gainesville, GA the snow is going away very slowly also. I think I have posted this before maybe but I’m pretty sure this winter has had more cumulative hours below 32°F than any other winter in the 41 years we have lived here. And that trend is continuing. Looks like a record-breaking winter. The cold gets to me more than it used to, as I suspect is true for quite a few BP&A readers. And, as Jackie said, falls are of more concern than when I had more ‘bounce’. I call this need for life revisions “the undiscovered country”. I have never been this age before, nor ever will be again; learning as I go. Would love to learn more from Don about the old/new landscape matching. There are such things nowadays as landscape interpreters; those who “read” a landscape and explain what has occurred on it. Nearby is a state park with all kinds of mysterious gullies, humps, bumps, vegetation and so on that just beg to be understood (by me anyway). Been puzzling over such more or less all my life and have scarcely begun. Won’t live long enough to get good, or even figure out if it is possible. The work recently done for Helene is an example of what is now possible that one could spend many days on the ground and never grasp what one was seeing in its entirety.
Ron,
I don’t know if it’s from study, practice, or just the way my mind was made to work, but I really enjoy trying to figure out where landscape photos were taken, and at least if they’re taken in our neck of the woods, am half-decent at it. As one of the images taken at the Ferguson place indicated, the modern photo was taken by Heath Hyatt. Heath and another relative youngster, Creeden Kowal (both grew up here in Swain County) are also adept at figuring out not just what is seen, but about where the photographer (Kelly Bennett in the case of all of those) was standing. Because both are considerably younger, by the time they get to be my age they’ll be far better than me (but I won’t be in competition with them by that time!)
Something I’ve come to better understand over the last 15 years or so is just how much I look at but don’t see, and am reminded of the hymn by Clara Scott which we sang in church when I was a boy, but haven’t heard in a long, long time – maybe over half a century ago:
Open my eyes, that I may see
Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for Thee,
Ready my God, Thy will to see,
Open my eyes, illumine me,
Spirit divine!
Don Casada’s newer photos replicating the old ones are wonderful. They made me incredibly sad to see the old beauty disappear because of the inevitable “progress”. Thank you, Don, for the time you have spent documenting this photo collection.
Happy Day Tipper…you still got snow! 🙂 I enjoyed a look at the before and after photos, but was sad to see the after of “Platt Balsams” – they all reminded me of a Joni Mitchell song from 1970 called ‘Big yellow taxi’ and part of the lyrics say: ‘ they paved paradise to put up a parking lot!’ (or a high-rise building!!) The link to her song: https://youtu.be/CBSUAKPOjDk?si=O82Qv6nV2tFpcNzu
I hadn’t heard any sayings about the snow that were posted, but they sure are interesting. I absolutely love how Jim has took Kelly’s photos and recreated them. It’s like a Then and Now photo gallery. I love it! I don’t recognize most except the Bryson City photos since my husband and I went there last year for a weekend vacation. I’m so happy to see some of the buildings are still standing like in the past. Great job Jim and thank you for keeping the photos updated so future generations can enjoy too.
Don Casada, your photos are wonderful! If we could see time lapse photography of the whole earth, it would look like hoards of ants, building and moving and rebuilding constantly. The mountains remain though.
Thank you for sharing!
Our snow was so deep my hubby (pap) used a shovel and made a path for the grandkids to sled. Then he made another path for them to walk back up the hill. It was way over their boots otherwise. It’s not a giant hill beside our house, but it’s big enough for fun rides. It was like a bobsled track with the girls sliding up the banks of the sled path and back down, bobbing back and forth on the way down. He made a snowbank ramp at the bottom so they wouldn’t go out in the road. Pap also helped them make a big fort in the yard. They had a blast, and so did us older folks. We are expecting 6-10 more inches tomorrow. I forecast more sledding ahead. Like everyone else on here, it’s been so cold that it isn’t melting at all. Stay warm and safe everyone and have a wonderful rest of your day.
Tipper, I watched you and Matt hiking through the woods and was so glad you got to go. It was a beautiful video with the pine needles covered in snow and the sound of running water. The only thing missing was the animal tracks I was helping to search for. The heavy snow and ice we got on the 5th and 10th are still hanging around. I sure hope the old saying about waiting for more is wrong. We are supposed to warm up by the weekend and get heavy rain before the temperature takes a drive and ushers in the coldest weather of the year next week. It’s 6 degrees right now. I freeze if it’s below 75 degrees so a few degrees less than the current 6 won’t make me feel any colder than I already am.
God bless Tipper with healing and health in Jesus name, we got two to three inches of snow, and ice on top of that, praise God it is nearly gone, I hope it don’t come back
The very first set of matching photos took me right back home. That is lower end of Needmore as I know it. Rapids in the Little Tennessee can be seen on both sides of the horseshoe in the older picture. If the photographer had his arms outstretched in opposite directions his right hand would be pointing toward Bryson City and his left toward Franklin roughly. Looking ahead and slightly right he would be overlooking Stiles Gap, Maple Springs and Almond. Farther on, where the bigger mountains rise is Watai, Panther Creek and Stecoah.
I could answer a million questions about this area but nobody is asking them!
Loved the then and now pics. I am so happy that you had your snow! I’m also glad that people were there to help Chitter!
We didn’t get snow but that may be because we are in South Florida
Those pictures are outstanding-so interesting and to see some buildings are still there! Well done
Always enjoy old photos. Interesting to see the “then and now ” views.
We still have snow, but after the chaos of the last few days, my dad fell and had a brain bleed from hitting his head, I’m ready for it to melt off this go around. Dad was outside sweeping off his ramp that had ice on it, he’s 88 and stubborn as a mule, so he slipped and down he went. We are so thankful it was no worse than it was and it was a serious fall, but he’s now home after spending 3 days in the hospital and he still has healing to do. Our temps this morning is 2 degrees, cold, cold, cold!
Be safe everyone when on the ice, I don’t want you to go through what our last few days have been.
Denise-I’m so sorry he fell. I will pray for him.
Yes, melting just around the edges. The llamas and alpacas are browsers and grazers. Not much to “browse” this time of year, but they are trying to graze “around the edges.” Blessed with great hay again this year. And second cutting was short or even non-existent for some here. So they’ve been “woofing” down the hay. Hard to believe January is already half gone. But that means there is still half AHEAD. This year is looking FORWARD, striving, keeping my eye on the prize- JESUS! A friend spoke at church Sunday and what I caught is, I am a thirsty sheep.
Our family still says “The snow is laying around for another one.” and most of the time it was true. Also I absolutely loved the pictures that was posted by the photographer.
We didn’t get much snow – just ice. The ice is still hanging around due to the cold temps. I fell (in the house) yesterday and spent about 6 hours in the ER to learn no breaks but lots of bruises and strained muscles. I’ll probably be inside resting for the next week so I won’t be playing in any snow that comes this weekend.
Jackie-sorry you fell. I hope you heal up quick from the soreness and bruises.
Love that you used a sled to get your packages down. We still have many inches of snow and a sheet of ice underneath in the shady parts. Our roads are clear though. It’s 2 degrees out there right now and I’m not looking forward to getting out there this morning! Thankfully I just have to open up the coop and then I can come back in and snuggle up to read books to the kids! My husband’s granny always used to say the day of the month you got your first snow is how many snows you would get that year.
That is a great project to make “now”pictures to compare with the “then” pictures. Lots of change in some areas and not so much in others. Can anyone identify the make of tractor Mr. Ferguson is using?
You still have a lot of snow!!!
Lenora, I can’t say with any certainty the brand of tractor, but I would guess at it being made in the. 1920’s or maybe early 30’s. Some of the tractor companies back then could have been Ford, Ferguson, or Case. There were some other early brands. John Deere made some real early tractors but I am pretty sure it is not a John Deere. I don’t know about Farmall, I do know they were beginning to make more modern tricycle front end tractors in the 30’s such as the F20 and F30. Some of this may not be entirely correct. I loved driving my father in laws 1939 JD model A. It was hand cranked by turning the flywheel. Not many people of today would know the procedure for cranking it. I would think the plow he is pulling would be 2 bottom turn plow, it looked to be doing a good job.
I don’t know the maker but if it’s not a Massey-Ferguson it ought to be.
Ed, Massey-Ferguson came from about from merger of Massey Harris and Ferguson in 50’s. I think. They would not have been made until the 50’s. I love tractors and have read a lot of history about the different companies. I don’t remember a lot of what I read anymore. We own a B F Avery bought new by my Daddy in 1946 and only made for only a few years in the 40’s before being bought out Minneapolis Moline. I didn’t see as many Massey Ferguson in my area as JD, Farmall/International, AC and some Case. Now it is mostly JD and Kubota. I don’t even know of a Massey Ferguson dealer anywhere around here. There are severThe same is true for Case/International.
Since writing my other reply, I have been thinking, I would guess at the tractor being a Fordson. At that time I think that was the name Ford were using for their tractor. At one time Ford and Ferguson were together but split up later on.
We got a little more snow than y’all did. It was about 5 inches and a lot of it is still hanging around. The roads are clear for the most part. Sometimes Winter can be a struggle, but Spring is coming.
Going by the picture you got a lot more snow than we did. We got less than an inch and then freezing rain. Despite less snow, I still saw a few spots of snow or ice in shady spots in my yard yesterday. The nighttime temps have been in the 20’s since the snow but the daytime temps are in the low 50’s. Last night’s forecast calls for nighttime temperatures to be in teens and low 20’s next week and the daytime temperature for a couple of days to be around 32 degrees. There is a chance of snow/wintery mix next Wednesday. The temperatures I mentioned were said be 20 degrees below average for my neck of the woods, Southern Greenville County, SC. I have most often heard if snow was around for three days it was waiting on more. I have also read , this has been the coldest January for us in at least 15 years.