This was posted on Reddit. I have tried to look up where it came from originally. But, all I can find are reposts over the last year. I have no idea who took the picture. I wish I could give credit for it.
This explains both names, Blue Ridge and Smokies.
After we “harvested” the wheat, some wildflowers decided to show up. I’m curious to see how this continues. There were supposed to be 17 types of wildflowers in this collection of seeds. They aren’t full and lush. Neither are they dead. Next summer will be interesting.
There was some butterfly sex going on out there, too. But, I decided to allow them some privacy.
This is the view from my kitchen door.
Eastern redbud on the left. Half dead rosemary behind and to the right of it. Fugazi sculpture by William Moore in front of that. Hazelnut copse on the right with a bench made by Riley Foster in front of it. Crab apple crowding an Arkansas Black apple tree in the far back. Lavender in front of the wheat. Turk’s-cap lilies coming up on the right of it. Peonies and yarrow in front of those.
Solo stove fire pit by the patio. Catnip to the left of it. Salvia to the right. Lilies behind it. Squash and beans in the raised beds.
Better view of Fugazi and the rosemary. Patch of lilies in front. Chuck’s Thelma and Louise on a bench at the edge of the trees. More lilies behind the wheat and more asparagus behind the rosemary.
See? It really is wheat.
And the asparagus is truly persistant. The little tree behind it is a gingko we thought had died but is resurrecting.
The wheat is so tall you can’t see this calla lily from the house. Yes, the false dandelion is everywhere and there is a redbud coming up in the middle of it.
This is what’s growing to the left of the stoop. Blooming gardenia. Hydrangea looking like it needs some water. Feral dill between them. Compost bin. Herb bed with oregano on the left and invisible parsley seedlings on the right. Tomato plant peeking in on the far right. Autumn fern in the pot in front of the raised beds. Butterfly bush below the bag of mulch. Japanese painted fern and lilies-ofthe-valley at the bottom edge of the picture.
Bears live from the mountains to the sea in North Carolina. They are occasionally reported around Hillsborough. Not annually, but, sometimes.
Here’s one site that identifies wildlife according to their scat. And here’s another one.
When Hurricane Michael blew through NC in October of 2018, it took out a persimmon tree in our front yard. When we went out to admire the damage a couple of days after the deluge (when the yard wasn’t as waterlogged), we spotted bear poop. The wood worker who came to take the trunk of the tree agreed that was what it was.
This morning, there was a poop in our back yard.
(I uploaded this picture after emails had been sent so that people didn’t get a shit picture in their inbox. But, could look later if they wanted to.)
Looks like bear to me.
In our fenced back yard.
It would have either had to walk across the patio or climbed the fence to be there.
And it looked fairly fresh at 10:30 am.
That might explain why the cat didn’t go out right after breakfast.
We have seen deer. We have seen rabbits. We have seen foxes trotting across our yard. Neither of us has ever actually spotted a bear.
I’m not sure what my reaction would be if I did.
I am the Audience 