Some spring flowers

This spring is shaping up to be the best one we've had in a long time. Already we've seen and id'd lots of beautiful wildflowers, butterflies and birds.

Here's some flowers we found Friday and yesterday evening. I've identified most of them. If I've mislabeled them or I've left some blank and you know what it is, please let me know in the comments!

Dutchman's breeches

Bloodroot

Hepatica

Twinleaf

Cut-leaf toothwort

Spring beauty

Trillium

Rue anemone

Large-flowered bellwort

Yellow Corydalis

Ground ivy or a violet

April snow

It wasn't that many days ago I sat at our patio table studying. It was sunny and warm. Who could ask for anything more in early spring?

Today was supposed to be a cool 40 degrees Fahrenheit with some rain. Now? It's snowing. Here's hoping that the saying "April showers bring May flowers" also pertains to April snow. :)

Cardinal

    

Big Bend Picnic Area, Big Walker Mountain, Wytheville, Va.

Updated: I had a plant mislabeled. See below

We've visited the Big Bend Picnic Area twice in the past couple of months. Though it's a picnic site, we didn't take a lunch with us. We were there to explore the Big Walker Mountain area.

A turk's cap lily.

A mondara, or bee balm. A friend corrected me and said this is a "wild bergamot." Oops!

Chris has lamented the lack of butterflies this year. He's almost convinced they're all hiding out here on the mountain. There are many butterflies and other insects along the dirt road by the picnic area.

The last time we visited, Chris was able to get a few good photos of butterflies, including the rare Diana fritillary.

This is a male Diana fritillary. The female is brown with blue. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

Other areas to check out while you're on Big Walker includes the country store and Monster Rock Trail, which has a trail head located behind the store.

There's also Seven Sisters Trail and the Stony Fork Campground, which are both located at the foot of the mountain. The Seven Sisters Trail winds 4.8 miles up the mountain to the campground.

Big Survey Wildlife Management Area, Wytheville, Va.

A few weeks ago, we checked out Big Survey Wildlife Management Area, which is a fairly new addition to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries' land. It's located of Interstates 77/81 near Wytheville, Va.

We parked at the trail head of High Rocks Trail and hiked about 1.5 miles to the top of a hill, which overlooks Wytheville.

The trail has a fairly moderate incline. I was proud of myself, as a person with asthma, for making it up the trail without having to pause for breath.

The top of the trail had an awesome view.

Beware, though, the trail is covered with big rocks, so it is easy to lose your footing. It reminded me of walking in the middle of a intermittent spring. Luckily, it had not rained recently so the moss and rocks were not wet.

Though the rocks didn't get me on the way up, I did fall on the way down!

So, if you've got little ones, I'd think twice about taking them on this trail. There was a man with a little boy (maybe 8-years-old) on the trail when we were there, but the kid was well-behaved and didn't attempt to run ahead. They took their time picking among the rocks and made it to the top in time to enjoy a nice picnic lunch around noon.

Here's some photos from the trip:

A blueberry bush.

A bench to rest on at the end of the trail.

Where to shop: Main Street, Abindon, Va.

We went to Abingon, Va., last Saturday to walk the Virginia Creeper Trail. While we were there, we also checked out Main Street and some local businesses.

First off, we ate a quick lunch at the famous Martha Washington Hotel and Spa's Market Deli (there's two links: hotel and the deli). This hotel is gorgeously decorated and would be a very pleasant place to stay. I'd love to check out a cabaret and get a massage at the spa.

Chris had a reuben with chips and I had 1/2 a turkey sandwich with Italian Wedding soup and chips. Very delicious.

After the walk, we stopped by A Likely Yarn, a local yarn shop on Pecan Street just below the Creeper's trail head.

The business is one of the largest, locally-owned stores I'd been in. A knitting class was taking place in a small room to the left as we walked in and several ladies were browsing books and yarn in the large shop area to the right.

There was a large collection of books, a lot separated by category, such as socks, crochet or knitting. There was also a rack that had "Handknit Heros," a comic book of needle welding crime fighters.

I was very impressed with the large selection of crochet and knitting books at A Likely Yarn.

The yarn selection was pretty nice too. Prices were comparable to other shops I'd been in and there was a wide variety of brands.

I think I just about picked up every skein of yarn along this wall.

I signed up for the shop's e-newsletters and the lady tending the shop told me about an upcoming retreat in February.

Next we walked around Main Street and stopped in several antique shops, including Abingdon Mercantile and Frames. We were on the hunt for Rookwood Pottery (Chris' parents collect it) and a dress form (I want one so much!).

We also stopped at The Arts Depot to check out some artists' studios. I really liked some fabric hats and paintings, such as those by Jackie Dolpp and Joyce Samuel. The artists' collaborative is a one block off Main Street on Depot Square.

Before heading home, we grabbed coffee at Zazzy'z Coffee House.



While in Abingdon, you should also check out  Barter Theater, A House on Main, The Tavern, and other antique, clothing and gift shops along Main Street.

Virginia Creeper Trail, Abingdon, Va.

This weekend was absolutely lovely! If you were in the N.C./Va. area, I hope you got outside to enjoy the sunny, warm days.

We took a day trip to Abingdon, Va. on Saturday to walk the Virginia Creeper Trail and to check out Main Street.

This is the trail head off of Pecan Street, Abingdon, Va.

Chris and I had visited Abingdon together before, but it was just a quick evening trip. I'd also been with friends to see "Miracle on 34th Street" at the Barter Theater and to the federal court house to cover a drug trial for work.

So this trip was a special treat.

The Virginia Creeper is off of Pecan Street, which is just down the street from the Martha Washington Hotel and Spa.

The 33-plus mile trail starts (or ends) in Abingdon and heads south to Whitetop, Va., which is in Grayson County and is the state's highest peak. Lots of people ride bikes from Whitetop to Damascus -- all straight down hill. A shuttle in Damascus will carry you up the mountain so you can ride back down.

In Abingdon, the trail is pretty much flat and goes by cow pastures and suburbia, including a large golf course community.

Here's some shots:

Lots of people were out on the muddy trail Saturday.

This end of the trail is perfect for a good, simple hike, bike ride or stroll. I was glad to see so many people using it.

I'll write about the businesses in a future post.

Claytor Lake

On a recent night on the town, we headed to Christiansburg. On the way there, we stopped at Claytor Lake to walk the pup.

A lot of people were out at the park for the day. Boating and fishing, biking and hiking. There were some people camping or staying over in cabins too.

I wasn't feeling too inspired as far as photos go. I think the next time we stop (we've been a total of 3 times already) we should explore the longest trail — Claytor Lake Trail, which is 1.6 miles.

There are 3 miles of trails and we've been on most of them and part of the Claytor Lake Trail.

Most of the trails are very easy walking and appropriate for most people. Those people with wheelchairs, strollers or walkers may want to stitch with the Lake Shore Trail, which is paved and runs along the parks roads, serving as a sort of sidewalk. The rest of the trails are dirt.

Here's some photos:

Wild basil, maybe?

The lake.

Look, the lake! Again. :)

One of the trails we took — Poplar Leaf Trail. There are 3 miles of trails at the park.

Mount Airy's (N.C.) Emily B. Taylor Greenway

My husband, Chris, often says, "Everybody wants a trail nowadays." And it seems like that's true.

Seems like every town is discussing ways to become more walkable and offer passive recreation to residents.

That's a good thing, in my opinion. I don't think I ever want to live in a place that doesn't have miles of trails. I've gotten quite spoiled with the wide variety of trails in Southwest Virginia since moving here five years ago.

One of the trails we frequent is the Emily B. Taylor Greenway, located in nearby Mount Airy, N.C. It's proved useful during the past couple of months since we're still covered in snow here in Virginia.

This trail is paved, which must contribute to how quickly the snow disappeared on most of the trail, allowing walkers and bikers to take advantage of it during the winter weather. Most of our trails in Hillsville are mulched, dirt or gravel and are still holding onto snow.

Of course, we've gotten more snow so that's most likely the cause. We haven't seen the grass in our yard, except for a week last month, since before Christmas.

Anyway, back to the greenway. The Emily B. Taylor Greenway is 2 3/8 miles of a paved trail that follows along a creek and U.S. 52 from Worth Street to West Lebanon Street.

Each quarter mile is marked with a granite marker, courtesy of Mount Airy Granite.

Although the photos above are nice areas of the trail, most of the scenery is the highway, industrial buildings and restaurants. And it's visited by a lot of people. So it's not that peaceful.

But that doesn't mean you won't see wildlife. Below are two pictures I took on a recent walk. On the left is a belted kingfisher and the right is, of course, a white-tailed deer.

Sorry for the quality of the photos. If I had taken Chris' camera and zoom lens I might have been able to snap closer, clearer and better pictures. Actually, I'm surprised these turned out as well as they did.

We also often see robins, blue birds and sparrows.

Occasionally we've seen a heron (I think a great blue). On a walk last year, a friend swore she heard a yellow warbler, which she said is hard to spot and hear because the bird is usually very shy.

Chestnut Creek School of the Arts opens

Chestnut Creek School of the Arts, Galax, Va., is now open and registering students for classes.

Most classes last a week or take place once a week for four or so weeks.

The school, in downtown Galax, was created to preserve and promote the heritage of Southwest Virginia, located in the Appalachian Mountains.

Here's pdfs to the Chestnut Creek School of the Arts' flyer: front page and back page.

I'm interested in Todd Price's drawing classes in February and March and guitar or banjo lessons in February, March or June.

There's also classes in pastels, basket weaving, woodcarving, creative writing, jewelry making, pottery and Appalachian dance.

I hope in the future they'll include photography and canning/home preserving among the offerings.