Last April Hodgepodge

If you're looking for my final post for the A-Z Blogging Challenge, click HERE.

1. April showers bring May flowers or so the saying goes. Are you blooming where you're planted as we begin the month of May?
Are you kidding me?  It's almost the end of the school year (12 1/2 more school days!).

2. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being no big deal, and 10 being full scale panic, rank your fear of spiders.
3.  I'm not fond of them, but I don't mind stepping in them/killing them if I need to.  I do admire the beauty of a spiderweb, though...as long as I'm not walking through it.

3. May is National Salad Month (who knew???)...besides lettuce, what are two must-have ingredients in your favorite salad?
Mushrooms & cheese.

4. I mentioned on my blog last week that my Daughter1 will be moving to Washington State after she is married. Of the following sites in the Northwest, which would you most like to see in person-Crater Lake (Oregon), Seattle (Washington), Vancouver (British Columbia), San Juan Islands (Washington),  Mt. Rainer (Washington) Oregon Coast (Oregon), Mt. St. Helens (Washington), or Olympic National Park (Washington)
All of those sound wonderful!  I'd really like to go to Banff, especially after seeing CH's pictures from his trip to Alaska a few years ago.

5. This coming weekend marks the 140th running of the Kentucky Derby...when did you last race (literally or figuratively) to cross a finish line?
At the risk of sounding like a broken record...it's the end of the school year.  I've been racing all year long!

6. What is something little you love?
My Ally-ba.  This sweetie is really showing her age, and is having trouble walking.  Her legs will just all of a sudden give out on her, and she'll be on her belly on the floor.

7. Would you say you are more of a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner? Elaborate.
Definitely kinesthetic.  I learn best by doing.  Don't tell me or show me how to do something, walk me through it.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
I made it through the A-Z Blog Challenge!  YAY!!!  It's been fun rediscovering places in the Great Smoky Mountains that I haven't thought about in a loooong time, and discovering new places to go.  
It's also the end of "Autism Awareness Month", and the beginning of "Better Hearing and Speech Month".  Oh, and the end of the school year is coming up (12 .5 more school days, but who's counting?).  

Zodiac

If you're looking for the Wednesday Hodgepodge, click HERE.

You may be wondering what in the world "Zodiac" has to do with the Great Smoky Mountains.  As I was looking over things for previous posts, I came across the fact that the farmers in the mountains used to use the zodiac and the phases of the moon to know when to plant their crops.
According to the National Park Service website, "each of the 12 astrological signs is associated with a part of the body and each day of the month is dominated by one of the signs."  For example:  Scorpio, Pisces, Taurus, and Cancer (signs associated with the neck, loins, feet, or breast) indicated that planting should occur.
I've heard that there are certain times when you should get your hair cut, and supposedly it works for cutting the lawn as well.  I know it sounds strange, but there are people out there who swear by it.

I can't believe how easy this challenge turned out to be!  Thank you for joining me on this journey to areas of "my mountains":  The Great Smoky Mountains National Park.    

The "Y"

 

Although many people think of this place as "The Y", it is actually "The Wye".  It is actually a "Y" in the road coming out of Townsend:  if you take the right arm, you go into Cades Cove, if you go left, you go toward Gatlinburg or Cherokee (and go through Newfound Gap).  

Just to the left of the road, you can see the river.  In the summer, it is covered with people enjoying the cold water on a hot summer day.  You can also see people tubing here.  Growing up, we were never allowed to swim there due to the undercurrent.  There have been several drownings at that particular spot in the river.

There is a parking lot, but during the summer it stays full. The picture below makes it look pretty peaceful and calm, but there are sections that can get a little "hairy", especially after we get some rain.

(For photo credit, click on picture)

The science teacher at one of my schools took this picture of the Wye partially frozen this winter, after we have several very cold days:

The  Y (or "Wye") is yet another place the locals go to cool off on hot summer days!