Wintry Sunday Drive

Took some free time this mid-Sunday to drive up to the White Level, Hickory Rock area in the northeastern part of the county. I took the dog along for the ride to meet a fellow advertising seasoned firewood on Craig's List; I desperately needed to restock our depleted supply for the rest of the Winter. The last two days have been the coldest in years - the temperature didn't get above freezing Friday or Saturday, but luckily no precipitation. Only today did weather improve enough to unblanket the horses and attempt to spend some time outdoors. However, while the temperature did warm to tolerable, the sky spit snow and sleet mixed rain most of the afternoon. This collection of pictures is my effort to represent the sparsely populated and beautiful area that Emmylou and I took in from the warm confines of the cab of the truck (with a few stops for closer looks) before and after loading up with some nice hardwood logs. Thanks Jeff for the wood, the help loading and the conversation. Above is the green winter field and collection of farm buildings at the intersection White Level Road and NC Highway 56.















Further north and east, we got a quick look at a wide spot in the road named Possum Track (above) from the vantage point of a country store with very welcomed hot coffee. Finally (for this post anyway), the last picture is up Hickory Rock Road a little more and I couldn't resist the bright blue of the horse blankets against the cold gray sky and gray barn - this one will always remind me how raw it was this afternoon. This is the Franklin County, the North Carolina that I love and feel at home in; scenes like these along quiet country roads bring me peace and hopeful confidence that we will find a way to preserve the views and lives of rural North Carolina.