Autumn Colors Sweep across Otter Creek Valley

With the peak of color still a week away, Mother Nature isn’t waiting around to the last minute to show the magic she has in store for this valley along the Eastern Blue Ridge escarpment.

Otter Pond reflects the colors of sunrise.

Sunset over Horsetop Mountain frames a winding Fibber Magee Drive as it descends into the western part of the valley.

Brushy Top Mountain with a layer of mist at sunrise accentuates the arriving color.

Broomsedge Grass always turns a golden orange in early October. It gets to be four feet tall in a final growth spurt in September. It has no commercial value, but helps to hold the clay filled soil in place all year long.

Brushy Top dominates the mid-October horizon as Tulip Poplar, Dogwood, and Oak preceeds the most colorful Maples around Otter Pond.

There’s no mistaking what popular holiday is just around the corner.

On a freezing morning, Horsetop Mountain is shrouded in mist as the Sun rises toward Otter Pond.

Deep in the woods, American Beech and Hickory surround a very old Short Leaf Pine, with touches of Maple flaring up early in the morning.

Another icy morning causes clouds of fog to rise from the relatively warmer water of Otter Pond.

A panoramic of the northern line of mountains with an early morning mist shows the wilderness nature of Otter Creek Valley.

A similar view of Otter Pond has everything except the Canadian Geese who arrive this time every Fall. Make sure to download both of these wide views so you can enlarge them to get the full effect.

But worry not, they arrived right on time this year, with two more birds than last year.

• October 23, 2014
• Autumn, Blue Ridge Escarpment, High Lodges at Otter Creek, Mountain Lakes, North Carolina, Otter Creek Valley, Rutherford County
• 2 Comments