Leaf peepers

I've noticed that there are a lot of trees dropping leaves in the past week or so because of the drought (especially poplars and maples). I wonder what this is going to do to this year's leaf watching season. If it keeps up, there may not be any leaves left by fall.

Here's the fall foliage forecast from Western North Carolina University: Western North Carolina leaf color could be spectacular -- or not.

Here are a few excerpts:

A long spell of dry weather during the spring and summer could provide some of the most brilliant colors seen in several years for leaf-lookers headed to the mountains of western North Carolina this autumn.

The key word is “could,” said Katherine Mathews, Western Carolina University’s fearless fall foliage forecaster and an assistant professor of biology specializing in plant systematics. Typically, drier weather during the spring and early summer results in a colorful fall leaf season beginning in October, said Mathews.

But below-freezing temperatures in early April – with a severe frost that damaged tender, young vegetation across the mountains – make this year’s fall color prediction trickier than ever, said Mathews.

Trees that could have been damaged:

Several nights of hard freeze around Easter weekend killed the new leaves and flower buds on early-emerging hardwood tree species, including the tulip poplars and fruit trees such as apples and pears. The later-emerging species such as oaks were not adversely affected, but the frost delayed the ‘greening up’ of the mountains overall. It’s hard to predict how the response of our deciduous trees will play out this fall.

The overall prediction:

The killing freeze was preceded by below-average rainfall in March and followed by severe drought in April and May, which is the prime growing season in WNC, Mathews said. “History has shown that fall leaf color is best in years with spring or early summer drought, when plant growth is stunted by a lack of sufficient water,” she said. “Depending upon the impact of the late frost on mountain foliage, we may see spectacular color throughout the mountains this fall.”

If temperatures in September and October cooperate and cool down, we should expect to see some brilliant fall colors this year, Mathews said.

That is, if they don't turn brown and die first.

In case there is a leaf season this year, here are peak dates:

• October 5-15: Highest elevations north of Asheville above 5,000 feet show the most color, especially at Mount Mitchell, Craggy Gardens and Grandfather Mountain.
• October 13-22: Color will increase in elevations greater than 4,000 feet, including the Mount Pisgah and Cold Mountain area, southwest of Asheville on the Blue Ridge Parkway including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
• October 19-28: Many of the surrounding mountains around Asheville should show plenty of color this week, especially in the 3,000-4,000 foot elevation range. Take the Parkway north or south from Asheville in the Pisgah National Forest.
• October 24-November 3: The city of Asheville (2,000 foot elevation) and Biltmore Estate shows the brightest colors this week, along with areas around Hendersonville and Brevard. This would be the perfect week for a waterfall hike in Dupont State Forest.
• October 29-November 8: The color show will conclude in the Chimney Rock area (elevation of 1,300 feet). Ride to the top of Chimney Rock or take a boat tour on Lake Lure to enjoy the colors.

The color show begins in the higher elevations of the northwestern sections of North Carolina, typically in early October, and progress southward and down slopes through mid-October and early November. Yellow birches, red sourwoods, red and yellow maples, yellow pin cherries and yellow poplars will be the first colors to show. Yellows, though, may not be as brilliant, according to a forecaster, because of leaf browning in tulip poplars. They will be followed by the yellow and red of oaks and sweet gums, yellow of hickories, yellow and brown of beeches, and a variety of other color shades in the vines, shrubs and smaller trees beneath the forest canopy. Peak fall color should arrive five to 10 days after the first frost at any particular location, according to the forecaster.

Molly the mule

Here's Molly the mule before her bandage change.

Bandaging the mule

Bandaging the mule's leg

Summer cold

I don't get sick often, but it seems like my newly acquired summer cold is sticking around for the long haul. I have some serious congestion and a sore throat and I've been blowing my nose like crazy. Here's hoping it goes away soon.

Anybody else sick?

Lunch box

When I first moved out onto my own, my mother gave me a bunch of things she'd saved of mine - including a metal 1980s Strawberry Shortcake lunch box with Thermos intact.

Evidently a lot of other moms saved them, because there are lots of vintage ones up for bids on eBay. While Strawberry Shortcake boxes are fairly common on there - going for between $7 and $15 - there are other, more rare ones selling for $250 to $600. Those are for a VW bug box, Star Wars, Star Trek, The Beatles and Kiss boxes. Other boxes include Popples, Flintstones, Sesame Street, Peanuts, Scooby Doo and more.

What kind of lunch box did you have? Share in the comments section.

Crying foul and holy cow

I visited my family in Hickory on Monday and Tuesday and had quite the farm experience...

We debated which cow would have her calf first... The key is to see which one has the most swollen udders. If the udders are so full they're sticking out sideways, it'll be soon.

There's a mule with a hurt foot. Her leg has to be wrapped every day to keep it from getting infected. She's an absolute doll, even though she's sweaty. She has to be tranquilized every time her bandage is changed, which is interesting... she gets all woozy... it's funny... but changing the bandages is challenging because you have to catch her as she goes to sleep and hold her head so she doesn't try to get back up before they're changed. I volunteered for head holder duty the other night.. and quickly learned why no one else volunteered. Eau de mule isn't the sexy scent of the year.

But the most exciting farm happening was by far the wild goose - er - guinea chase.

In case you don't know what guineas are, here's a link to a site with pictures and info. on the birds.

We moved 47 guinea chicks to a different pen late Monday night. Tuesday afternoon my sister called in hysterics. While she was working on the guinea cage the entire door fell off... and out hopped/flew the entire cage full of guineas. They immediately scattered. Some went running, others flew up into trees.

The guinea rescue started shortly thereafter.

My sister and some of my family members tried tracking down the birds on the lam. They caught a few near the pen by scaring them out from their hiding places in the brush and trees nearby. They rounded up a few of the easy ones, then started looking for the more clever ones that had gone off further.

Shortly before dark, fewer than 15 out of the original 47 escapees had been found. That's when we started getting clever (and desperate). We teamed up - one person with a dog, one person with a fishing net... and one person per team to laugh hysterically while the others crashed through the woods behind the chicken lot. As it turns out, my aunt's dog is really good at finding them (a newly discovered talent), and we were able to capture another six.

I took some cell phone video footage that I'm going to try to upload... it might (and might not) work. Just in case it doesn't, I pulled some videos off YouTube so you'll know what kind of animals we were up against.

Here's what a guinea sounds like:


Here's what they do:

Ban on Crocs?

This story came from our wire service... From what I can tell, this seems to be a nationwide trend. Anyone know if the hospital here allows them? What do you think of this hospital's policy?

Pa. hospital bans rubbery clog-like Crocs for workers, calling them a safety hazard
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Crocs, the rubbery, clog-like shoes, have been deemed inappropriate footwear for workers in patient-care areas at a hospital.
Holes that ventilate the shoes pose a safety hazard, said Sharon Krystofiak, Mercy Hospital’s infection control manager.
“If there’s a chance you could drop something like a syringe in one of them, we want to avoid that,” Krystofiak said. “Some of those holes are relatively large, almost like a dime.”
Mercy nurse Kara Depasquale, 23, was wearing Crocs on Monday, when the policy went into effect. She called it ridiculous.
“I mean, I can get a needle stuck in my arm or my leg,” Depasquale said. “I work 12-hour shifts, and I’m constantly on my feet.”
Crocs, based in Niwot, Colo., about 30 miles north of Denver, sells shoes in at least 80 countries.

Got tatt?

I'm working on a story about tattoos this week - went to the tattoo parlor and to a tattoo removal place. I found out that a good tattoo from a professional will run you about $60 and up, depending on how long it takes the tattoo artist. It takes more than that to get one taken off.

I'm going to wait a week or two before I run the full story, along with video of someone getting a tattoo and video of the laser process for removing them.

I did, however, want to offer people the chance to show off theirs.

Got one you'd like to share? Is it in a place that's OK for kids and adults alike to see?

If so, share a photo of your tattoo on shelbystar.com, or rate the one you think is best between now and August 15. To upload yours, click on "Share your stuff" on the red bar at the top of the homepage, or follow this link.

Some photos will be published in The Star.

Going gray

My mom's going to kill me for this blog... well, really for the picture... but I'm doing it anyway... (that won't be much of a surprise to her, though)...

I'm working on a story about going gray and how a lot of baby boomers are choosing to go gray instead of hitting the bottles... of dye, that is. My mom and two of her sisters are proof that this trend is here.

Here the three graying beauties are... My mother is on the left.

Look for the story in Sunday's Star on the Life page.

Are you going gray? Tell us about your graying experiences in the comments section.

Sales tax holiday

I read through the list of sales tax exempt items on The Star's list... some items made sense... school supplies and such... but then there were a few that threw me off a little... SCUBA gear? rubber pants? wedding apparel? I had to giggle a little.