Asheville Herb Festival

Today my housemate and I went out to the Asheville Herb Festival. It was beautiful! So many colors and smells! There were so many people selling lovely plants that I didn't know where to start! Luckily we knew our friend Shannon Haun would be at the festival with her shop House of Herbs. It was great to see her and she was having an amazing time.
 
We wondered around the open air area of the Market checking out wares from so many different vendors that I lost count. Flowers, trees, seedlings, herbs, fresh veggies and fruit. These people are serious about their plants and you can tell. Even though its a little early, many people where selling strawberries and they smelled heavenly in the warm afternoon sun.

 We made our way up the hill to the main part of the WNC Farmers Market and took a look at the things that are there 7 days a week.  This part of the farmers market is a long, closed-in building, with most any type of local good you can think of in it!

There are so many things that I will be coming back for! This is just one half of the inside of the Farmers Market.  I could have spent hours wondering this place! We stopped to check out the local ASHE cheese vendor, yum! I got to try cheese curd and Jalapeno Cheddar!

Then we passed through a stall with all types of jams, jellies, pickled goods, and butters! The sun was shining in and it all looked so lovely! 

 I was pretty tuckered out after the three hours we spent there, time flies when you're having fun! We stopped by one last time to see Shannon and then headed home to enjoy some of the goodies we picked up today!

Fuchsia Flower

April showers bring photos on sunny days!!

This past weekend I had a Fantasy shoot at my house. I just really wanted to let spring in and fill some new photos with lots of color and smiles! Here's a taste of what we got:

Charlotte Murphy - Model/Costume/Hair

Charlotte lives locally in West Asheville and is a hair stylist at a local salon downtown. She created most of the costumes that you will see in this shoot! Thank you so much for your help, Charlotte!!

 Liz Hughes - Model

Liz also brought out a wedding dress that she picked up for $5 at the Goodwill Thrift Store and we had lots of fun with that:

Liz in her wedding dress

It was a long day but totally worth it! The shoot lasted about 5 hours throughout the day! If you want to see more from this session, you can check out my Flickr account, and there are MANY more images there.

The View is Different Up Here

North Carolina Sunset

I recently moved to the mountains of Western North Carolina from the swamplands of Eastern Virginia. The change of experiencing a new landscape is amazing!

Everywhere I look there is a new plant or tree to learn about, and I haven't even spent my first spring here yet. I arrived here in fall and watched the woods on the surrounding mountainsides gradually shift from a vibrant green to a deep rust, fiery red and vibrant yellows. Something as simple as watching the leaves shift somehow has a new feeling to it in this place.  I have enjoyed watching many Septembers turn into a carpet of autumnal colors, but some how the mountains make it all feel more pronounced and meaningful.

Fall Tree's near Maggie Valley, NC

I had inquired with both locals and our friends that have migrated to this neck of the woods about the winters here. I was assured that anything more than a couple inches of snow is not common around here, but we received over 14" of cold, sticky snow right around Christmas. That was a fun first mountain winter experience, as we were snowed in with no power for 48 hours! I really do love the peace and quiet of having no electricity, but eventually my tech-driven side wants my computer to work!

Winter 2009 Candler NC

I can't wait till spring comes and I can go camping and explore the Blue Ridge parkway! Exploring the dark under the trees, finding waterfalls with friends and sleeping under the stars sounds wonderful.

It's also been great to see the strength of the local organic scene! There are impressive collections of local goods: Veggies, Mushrooms, Honey, and all sorts of yummy things!! 

Late Spring 2009 Candler, NC

• Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project: Guide to local farm markets and Appalachian-grown and produced products, support and resources for farmers

• French Broad Co-op: The local, wonderful food co-op in downtown Asheville
• List of Farm Markets from Explore Asheville       

Snowing

Picture: Snow 2009 Dec

Photographer: Sarah Thomas

It started snowing here today around 2pm. This will be the second heavy snow of the winter for us. Our little cove is completely covered in white. Its so strange to look out and see how the landscape has changed in a matter of hours.  Everything has become soft sparkling hills, drifting into all the nooks and crannies.  It was still coming down the last time I looked.  I cant wait to see what the morning brings! Hopefully the power will still be on.