2017-11-03 - Friday - Coyotes

I almost missed this one since it was misfiled in the wrong date.

Friday night when we got to the Mountain Brook Cottages in Sylva we were sitting quietly reading and suddenly the coyotes went crazy somewhere out on the mountain. I ran out on the front porch and only caught the end of the ruckus when they were moving away from us. It was much louder in the beginning of the episode.

Turn your sound up.

.

2017-11-04 - Saturday - Cabins, pottery, and mansions

Friday night we went to the Asheville Ceramics Gallery. One of the reasons we went was to meet Martha Grover and see her work in person. She was in town for the opening because she was going to be teaching the following week at Penland. 

The artists that make up the co-op are all very talented and it was fun to see everyone's style. We hung out with Joey Sheehan for a while and then it was off to Sylva.

In Sylva, we stayed in the Mountain Brook Cottages, as we have several other times.

Then it was off to Dillsboro for the WNC Pottery Festival. We parked in a business parking lot and waited for the shuttle.

Waiting for the shuttle...

 The show was great. There were 40 potters there with a wide range of work.

Ed and Kate Coleman.

Ron Philbeck demoing.

Ron Philbeck.

Joey Sheehan.

We went to the Haywood Smokehouse for lunch.

Matt Hellgeth demoing.

Later, we had dinner reservations at the Stable Cafe at the Biltmore House. After dinner we went on the candlelight holiday tour of the mansion.

The Stable Cafe.

The largest single-family dwelling in the U.S.

Decorations on the front lawn.

.

2017-07-17 - Monday - Butterflies and pottery

Monday it was time to leave Sylva, after a nice breakfast.

Before leaving, I noticed this dish on the coffee table in Eva's cabin. It's an interesting piece with an interesting surface.

Every time we left the cabins we encountered groups of butterflies on the driveway. They were so involved I had to get out and shoo them away with my foot to make them move.

I thought they were mating, but a friend on Facebook told me they were licking minerals from the ground.

Here's one of the labels on the water bottles from the wedding. Karen ordered a bunch of them.

.

2016-09-24 - Saturday - Back in the mountains

Saturday we were back in the NC mountains in Sylva to look for wedding venues. Stephanie and Brett are planning on getting married in July of 2017 and the wedding will be in Sylva near where they met.

View from the library on the hill.

Stephanie and Brett in front of the library on the hill.

We had supper at Haywood Smokehouse
and I got a kick out of the sauce descriptions.

This was parked outside of our hotel
and I felt sure it would transform into a robot.

.