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Winter is a special time to visit the Mountains of Western North Carolina. The autumn leaves have all fallen and their handiwork creates a colorful patchwork quilt that decorates the forest floor.
The gifts that autumn bestows upon us are many. Cooler temperatures allow us to sport about in the fashionable new sweaters and jackets we received last Christmas. On a beautiful 50-degree day, a lengthy bike ride or a vigorous hike can be undertaken without the serious threat of dehydration and with all the trees vacant of their foliage, the view goes on forever! Unobstructed panoramic vistas now appear where previously a lush jade curtain had hung. On a recent drive to Columbus for pizza, the fading light of day ignited thousands of glistening lights, the evidence of distant cities and towns — a view you might have only experienced from an airplane in flight.
During the recent lunar eclipse, we watched from the lawn as the shadow of the earth stretched out across the silver moon. For the brief time the moon and its glow were blotted out from the sky, we stood breathless beneath an explosion of brilliant stars. The absence of leaves above us and the lack of city lights provide us the perfect view of the heavens above.
Saluda, and the mountains that surround us, are in a constant metamorphosis with every seasonal change. This wintry visitor has brought us intense blue skies by day and an abundance of constellations by night
A recent guest pointed out the first signs of an impending spring. Tiny shoots waking from their winter nap, dreaming of the summer days ahead. Fall and winter are a concert of sights, sounds, smells and tastes. A time to rest and renew. A time to rediscover the beauty of our surroundings and beauty of ones own self.
We remember each of the guests and friends that have traveled here to share this time and place. And we look forward to sharing all this with the friends we have yet to meet.
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