Fire on the Mountain ~ Blacksmithing Festival, Spruce Pine, NC {J. Commons Photography}

Recently the husband decided to take up the art of blacksmithing.  He has taken the time to research and build his own forge.  It's pretty impressive.  He hasn't gotten to the point of firing up the forge and making something, but he is so close!  Last month, we ventured to Spruce Pine, NC for the Fire on the Mountain Blacksmithing Festival.  He hoped to learn some tricks and maybe purchase a few things.  It was fascinating to watch the different blacksmiths work.

This guy was a hoot!  He lives and works out of Arizona and enjoys making flamingos because, "It's funny."

goatnhammer Blacksmithing school from Atlanta, GA

Amateur competition.  Fifteen amateurs signed up to try their hand at making snakes from garden spikes.

Three of the entries.  They all look pretty good!

"My chick bad.  My chick hood.  My chick do stuff that your chick wish she could." - Ludacris

Okay, sorry for the Luda song lyrics, but all I kept thinking watching these women work the forges was how badass they were!

We ended up not buying anything at the festival, except some amazingly delicious NC pulled pork barbecue, but still had a great time.  There were some amazing pieces, including knives, jewelry, home decor, garden decor, and wind chimes.  Mike did manage to purchase a small anvil at the antique shop near our house later that day!

Roan Mountain Spring 2016 {J. Commons Photography - Roan Mountain, TN}

Last Monday, Deanna and I were in the mood to do some exploring.  I was excited to see what spring had sprung up on Roan Mountain.  Unfortunately, the rhododendron loop wasn't open yet.  Apparently, it doesn't open until Memorial Day.  Duly noted.  It turned out to be a good thing because neither of us were in the hiking mood that we had proposed!  And spring was a bit further behind in the upper country than I had expected.  We settled for exploring around the Miller Family Farmstead.  Thankfully, most of the spring flowers were in bloom and happy bees and birds were buzzing and fluttering about.  It wasn't the Hummingbird Display of September's walk, but it was still beautiful.

I stalked this very bee for about five minutes before I was able to get a clear picture of it!  I love how the wings came out.

It was hard to keep up with this male Goldfinch.  He blended with the daisies so well!

Root cellar or Hobbit house?

This tree has some unique style.  It reminded me of something out of a 1960s horror flick!

After the farmstead, we stopped at one my favorite water spots.  We explored the trail on the back side of the river and were treated to a magical, fairy forest.  All around us was green and in bloom of colors white, yellow, purple, and red.  We also stumbled upon Trilliums.  Didn't really mean much to us, but a woman at the farmstead was hunting for them.

Trillium

Red Trillium