Collage of Ashe County

Ashe county legends

here to be told
So many painted
Too many sold

Christmas tree orchards

on hills in straight lines
Barns full of 'bacca
Old ways in decline

New River canoeing

Tubing in drought
Slick salamanders
Fly-fishing  trout

Three top and Phoenix

Blankets of snow
Blazing warm bonfires
Pot-bellied stoves

Country ham biscuits

Bright quilted barns
Pileated woodpeckers
Blueberry farms

Bucks heavy-headed

Lumbering bear
Red foxes hiding
Bobcats beware

Chinquapins, buckeyes

Lightning-rod locusts
Walnuts and hickories
Acorns from oaks

Goats eating roses

Lambs nibbling grass
Cows grazing pastures
Mules growing fat

Rabbits in lettuces

Groundhogs in beans
Deer tasting flowers
drinking from springs

Farmers at market

Neighbors who share
Healing Springs water
Fresh apples and pears

Guinea hens ticking

Moths round a light
Fireflies at gloaming
A clear starry night

Trucks kicking gravel

Dogs splashing mud
Broom straw on hillsides
Dry spells with dust

Banjos and fiddles

Fine hand-made guitars
Singing and picking
In old country stores

Kingfishers, herons

Hawks soaring bold
Bluebirds and hummers
Finches of gold

Amphibolite Mountains

Dozens of creeks
Hand-woven baskets
Wild raspberry picks

Bikers in summer

Christmas in July
Goldenrod autumns
Hiking up high

Pig pickin' parties

Artist salons
Book lovers' festivals
Gallery crawls

Wide sprawling cornfields

Pumpkins and gourds
Tall wieldy scarecrows
Indian lore

Bogs, frogs and turtles

Cedars that sway
Churches with frescoes
Fields of rolled hay

East and West Jefferson

Crafts and fine art
Friendly small businesses
Communities apart

Horses in meadows

Black snake on a fence
Sweet mountain laurel
Rhododendron and mint

Blackheart cherries

Lichen on logs
Glossy red Fire Pinks
Blue Ridge in fog

Ashe county seasons

Storm to rainbow
Plenty of reasons
Lucky to know.