February Thaw on the Biltmore Estate

Even though Otter Creek Ollie emerged to see no shadow, the next day in the mountains brought over two inches of rain, and temps in the upper 50’s. This was after a month of lows in the teens and 20’s, a foot of snow, and high winds. Having an early appointment in Asheville Friday morning, I arrived at Biltmore’s front gate at 9 a.m. to a “balmy” 56 degrees.

I was welcomed by this happy family as I began the two mile drive to the Chateau.

Although the sky looked ominous, the rain stayed away, as did the tourists…

The main drive had been recently resurfaced, and I was the only vehicle driving through.

The Bass Lake had been half drained for repairs to the stone dam and waterfall.

The Canada Geese had left the pond along the swollen French Broad River for the grubs found in the standing rain puddles.

Here’s a short video of the Wild Turkeys checking me out. Listen for their clucks as they communicate with each other about this strange human getting a little too close. Through the woods you can see traffic on Interstate 40, which, after a drawn out process in the 1970’s, the State used the power of Imminent Domain to cut through the center of the estate..

Tags: Appalachian Mountains, Asheville, Bass Lake, Blue Ridge Mountains, Canada Geese, North Carolina, The Biltmore Estate, Wild Turkey, winter

• February 6, 2022
• The Biltmore Estate
• 1 Comment