March Flowers and Spring Sunshine

Spring has come early to Cloudland Station, and green is creeping up Lookout Mountain to hide its winter gray.  Forget April showers bringing May flowers--we have March flowers in the woods around the house!  Here are some that my granddaughter and I found last week.

Creeping or Mountain Bluet

A Trillium whose color remains to be seen.

Glade Violet

Wood Violet

Rue Anemone

Fine-leafed Toothwort

Morning sunshine glows through the trees around Wishing Bridge Pond, warming the deck of the ferry.

Maples around the Covered Bridge glow pink and red in the afternoon sun.  The beauty of Creation proclaims God's handiwork every day in this special place.

Our Wet Weather Creek

One of the reasons we fell in love with our lot is because of the little wet weather creek behind it.  It's been running all winter, but it's in full spate with all the rain we've had lately.

Looking to the right, the creek rushes toward the town center,

Directly behind the house is a rushing waterfall instead of the usual gentle trickle.

The other little waterfall in the distance drew me on . . .

. . . for a closer look . . .

. . . and on even farther until the creek's meandering bends disappeared upstream.

I'm ready for spring and plenty of green, but winter is the best time to really appreciate the creek.

As The Mill Wheel Turns

The end of January we got a lot of rain.  I stopped at the Sweet Shop next to the Mill, and the sound of running water drew me around the back of the Mill.

 To my delight, water was coming through the millrace . . .

. . . and pouring onto the mill wheel.

I climbed up the hill to see where the water ran into the millrace.

It headed gently downhill toward the mill.

The millrace resembles an aqueduct, carrying the water across the road to the mill.

The water trickled into the top of the millwheel, and as the top bucket filled, the weight of the water turned the wheel with a gentle creak.  In a few seconds, the water emptied with a splash into the millpond.

It was mesmerizing to watch and peaceful to listen to--trickle, creak, splash, trickle, creak, splash.

Hiking and Caving at Cloudland Station

My nephews and niece were up for some adventure during their New Year visit, and we found it at Cloudland Station.  We hiked to Peacock Falls, a fairly easy hike, even for me.

The intrepid adventurers setting off.

After the recent rains, the creek was a rushing torrent.  Most of the usual stepping stones were covered with water, but luckily there are log bridges for the few creek crossings.

We were rewarded by this sight of Peacock Falls' beauty.

It's bigger than it looks!

The trail to the cave goes straight up this steep hill.  It, too, is bigger than it looks!  

At the top we were able to look down onto the top of Peacock Falls.

The next part of the trail required multiple creek crossings.  This was the trickiest one, but we made it across . . . 

 . . . two bounding across on their feet, one crawling on their knees, and one of us scootching across on our seat!

After a brisk hike, we arrived at Peacock Cave.  There was plenty of cold water swirling in the cave entrance, but the intrepid explorers were not to be deterred.  

Helmets and headlamps on, we headed into the cave.  At first we had to bend over . . .

. . . but before long, we could stand up.

About that time we waded into the ankle-deep water, which wasn't as cold as we thought it would be.  We could still see daylight behind us.

A little farther on, our only light was our headlamps and phones.  The water was knee-deep with more up ahead as far as we could see, so we decided this was a good stopping place. 

We didn't go very deep into the cave, but we had a great time.  We agreed that we want to come back in the summer when there's less water and see how far we can get.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Leahaven at Cloudland!  This is how the house looked on December 31, 2015.  It may not look much different outside than the last photo we posted, but it's beginning to look more like a house inside.  All working systems are in place and insulation is done, so the next step is sheetrock.  I think we can safely say that 2016 will be the inaugural year for the new Leahaven house.

Meanwhile, we wish you and yours a very blessed beginning to 2016, and we hope to see you later this year.