April? Where are You?

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We had instantly-melting snow last night, so I didn’t expect to see anything unusual today. The mountains are trying to teach me to take nothing for granted. We set out for Tennessee on the interstate highway. There was rime ice on some of the steeper mountains. It was a bit late in the season to see it, but you can’t argue with wind, moisture, and low temperatures.

We easily found the church in Sevierville that John had discovered on line. We were skipping church in Asheville in cheerful protest. They were having a bluegrass concert instead of a formal worship service. We heard the group last year, and it was excellent. Our complaint was not against the band, but about calling a service “liturgical worship” when there was no liturgy. We were welcomed as we walked in. Glancing at the bulletin, we could see that every part of the service was there. Most surprising was hearing the pastor and congregation chant it. Wow! What a reward for our drive over there!

Neighbor Marla, who used to live in that area, suggested several restaurants we might like. She knows we prefer locally-owned eateries. Holston’s Kitchen was excellent. We ate leisurely and headed home on the back roads through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This was now mid-afternoon, when you’d expect all traces of yesterday’s weather to be erased. We could see whiteness on a distant mountain, wreathed in clouds.

040818 (1) Ice at higher elevations.JPG

As we drove upwards, ice from the trees began falling on the car.

040818 (2) Ice began hitting our car.JPG

Traffic came to a halt, and we soon saw there were three small bears playing in the woods. Every car paused as a hand extended, holding a cell phone. John dutifully waited for me to aim my camera. Although I had zoomed in, you can’t really distinguish bears from the black spot in the picture. They were very cute, paying not a bit of attention to the big disruption on the road.

040818 (3) Traffic halted for three black bears_LI.jpg

We were heading for Newfound Gap. John drove into a pull-off area so that I could get a photo of the wintry scene. Icicles were hanging from the road sign.

040818 (4) Icicles on sign.JPG

The last picture was taken from our moving car, showing more of the ice and snow.

040818 (5) Ice on trees.JPG

We had not expected a winter’s drive on the 8th of April, but we enjoyed the beauty all around us. As we came to lower ground, we saw little white wild flowers by the road and clumps of lavender blooms at the edge of the woods. Soon we were again surrounded by blooming red bud trees, tulips, and late daffodils. Spring is coming, as the weather takes two steps forward and one step back.

Published by Anne Mehrling

I'm a retiree who loves to write about life in the mountains of North Carolina.

Published

38 thoughts on “April? Where are You?”

  1. This weather is just incredible Anne. We have a dilemma on one of the expressways in the northern suburbs. There is a walkway overhead of this expressway at each mile road and they have signs on the walkway with a metal track to fasten it to the enclosure (they are all enclosed since people like to throw rocks at the cars if they are not enclosed with fencing). Anyway, big icicles are still forming in the tracks … they collect water and then drip down. Lethal-sized icicles so they have a crew every morning chopping them down. It was frigid out this morning and there was icy puddles at the Park and places where there was still little piles of snow. Glad you made it there and back safely. (John is a trooper – went to Tennessee twice this weekend!)

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  4. Sounds like a wonderful trip Anne. Yesterday was also very nice here. No rain for a change and no snow for almost a week. The sun shone even though it remained a bit cool. The flowers are coming out now so they accept Spring is finally here.
    xxx Hugs Galore xxx

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  7. We woke up to snow this morning and I am bummed. Our outside looks like the photos you took yesterday. ‘Tis bleak. I’m pleased to know that your church adventure was a good one. You never know what you’ll get into when you set foot inside a new-to-you church.

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    2. Churches — a gamble. John is very good at reading between the lines on church web sites. This one went beyond his expectations. It was delightful. We have joined the church in Asheville, so we won’t be wandering to others very often.

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  8. We woke up to snow too this morning. Supposed to turn to rain midday. Hurry up spring! Your drive turned out to be a real adventure in fickle mountain weather.

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    1. Snow was in our forecast, but we had only rain. It suited my purpose. It was too wet to walk, so I slept an extra hour. Sometimes fickle mountain weather comes in handy. Hope your snow disappears quicker than it came.

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  11. Beautiful photos! The weather here was 94F yesterday (Southern California) – too hot!! Tomorrow is supposed to be 76 – much better.

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