I endured another night and left the house again on Tuesday, and the property manager herself came up to check it out. Bless her heart, SHE found the source! Apparently a family of mice had nested in a rolled up carpet in the attic. And then with the rain we've been having and a new leak that had developed in the roof, the smell was being enhanced with moisture and heat. So my new hero, Leah of Appalachian Vacations, dragged the whole mess out and bleached out the attic. And the nose-dead maintenance guy is supposed to come back next time it rains to see about the leak. The smell isn't completely gone yet, but it is MUCH better, and I'm hopeful that a couple more days of open windows will take care of it.
So while I needed to be away from the house, I took the opportunity to do a couple of other things that were much more pleasant....photos below.
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| On Monday when I left the house, I had no plan - just had to get away from the smell. So I drove out a different route away from the house and ended up in Waynesville, NC. It was a cute and quaint little restored mountain town/Main Street USA kind of place. My most fantastic experience was of the chocolate shop there - salted caramel dark chocolate, key lime white chocolate, and jalapeno dark chocolate! There was public art throughout the revitalized area, most of it made from recycled materials. The guys above were my favorites; they were huge! I think the standing "musician" is about 10 feet tall. |
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| On Tuesday, I had a plan. I spent the day in Asheville, with a quick stop at Barnes & Noble, and then on to The Botanical Gardens at Asheville. It is a very small, 10 acre, urban preserve adjacent to the campus of UNC Asheville. But they have over 600 native plant species, so it was a great opportunity to see some of the wildflowers and native trees in bloom. My southern heart LOVES dogwood trees, and I was happy to see many in bloom at the Garden. |
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| There were several "oddities" at the Garden, and none had explanations I could see. This was a huge rock face along one of the paths. I am beyond amazed at the curving of the layers of rock! I can't imagine what kind of force caused that. |
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| Another beautifully unusual sight - the exposed roots of a huge tree growing beside Reed Creek that runs through the property. I'm always amazed to see what is usually unseen about trees, and I have a whole philosophy about people that is related. |
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| And I have a grande latte for anyone who can explain this unusual thing to me! There were a couple of shrubs that had leaves that looked like this. No other blooms or anything else unusual. It was like these little bud things were supposed to grow from the underside of the leaves and pierce through to the top side. Maybe it was a "gall" or disease or something? Freaky looking! I wanted to stop back at the education building and ask someone, but they had closed by the time I left. |
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| This eye-catching "structure" was along one of the paths right next to some of the campus dorms. I have a feeling it is one of those student-inspired ongoing projects that just sort of happens. It looked like a ceremonial shelter of some kind, but I imagine the students find all sorts of uses for it. |
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| Okay, back to more normal things. This is a Yellow Lady Slipper - first one I've seen here. I'm still looking for a Jack-in-the-Pulpit. |
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| Part of the Garden is meadow-like. This was a beautiful section filled with wildflowers that are very common in the area. |
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| Again, another lovely place to spend an afternoon safely walking in and among nature. It was great to experience the warmth and humidity of spring without the unpleasant odors! And mindfully meandering the paths and trails once again restored my soul. |
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