Winter Hangs On Around Lake Lure
With a high of 80 on March 11, to a low of 18 on March 14, winter keeps finding ways to hold on, even though the calendar says that spring is just two days away.
Otter Pond and distant Roan Horsetop Mountain welcomed the sunrise on a frigid Thursday morning.
Wolf Pen Mountain dominates the western rim of Otter Creek Valley as a cabin overlooks a recently plowed bottom land field. All of the fields must be turned to prepare the soil for planting after the last frost in May.
Lake Lure and the Hickory Nut Gorge were basking in sunshine on Saturday the 16th. The lake reflected the deep blue of a late winter sky.
Hickory Nut Gorge slices through the Eastern Blue Ridge Escarpment west of Lake Lure.
Forsythia blooms along the eastern slopes above the lake.
Iconic Chimney Rock Mountain at the entrance to the gorge shows the results of a tumultuous past in the morning sun.
On St. Patrick’s Day, the mosses of Cedar Creek Gorge were wearing their best green, while just up the mountain, rain was freezing on trees and signs. The ice increased as the day wore on.
Back at my house, Bear Gap Mountain was encrusted in ice, while the valley escaped major damage by less than half a degree,
