This winter was also unusual with huge ice bergs littering the river side. After a series of river freezes that normally occur when the temperatures dip down into the single digits or lower for a string of days, warm, rainy weather broke up the ice and cast it aside, creating huge ice sculptures on the banks. Most of the ice is gone now in the lower elevations, except for a few north-facing coves. Storm damage was also the worst in many years. Trail crews have been working hard to clear all the blow-downs on the Appalachian Trail, and parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville and Mount Mitchell will be closed until May. None of the trees are leafing out yet, but weeping willow will be the first, soon. A friend reported seeing white hepatica on the Virginia Creeper Trail near Abingdon. Daffodils are blooming and any other earlier bulbs that the deer did not eat. They ate all mine.
Early Signs of Spring in the New River Valley
This winter was also unusual with huge ice bergs littering the river side. After a series of river freezes that normally occur when the temperatures dip down into the single digits or lower for a string of days, warm, rainy weather broke up the ice and cast it aside, creating huge ice sculptures on the banks. Most of the ice is gone now in the lower elevations, except for a few north-facing coves. Storm damage was also the worst in many years. Trail crews have been working hard to clear all the blow-downs on the Appalachian Trail, and parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville and Mount Mitchell will be closed until May. None of the trees are leafing out yet, but weeping willow will be the first, soon. A friend reported seeing white hepatica on the Virginia Creeper Trail near Abingdon. Daffodils are blooming and any other earlier bulbs that the deer did not eat. They ate all mine.