Pittsboro, NC

 At Mom's house they have a lot of white squirrels - we looked them up - not albino - just a mutation of genetics for a regular grey squirrel.  Fun to watch as they are very visible.

A quick pose with Mom before we headed back east.

Back to Pittsboro....it's turned off chilly here.  BRRRRR.  Wearing long pants.

Hendersonville, Asheville, Swannanoa, NC

 My mom asked me to drive her to her hometown of Swannanoa - about 27 miles away.  Swannanoa was one of the hardest hit areas from Hurricane Helene.  Never fear - we did not obstruct any cleanup crews or first responders.  Traffic was actually flowing pretty well and we didn't stop the car to take any of these photos either.

I'm just going to upload a few dozen photos without much comment.  They speak for themselves about the power of nature.  We started in the Biltmore area and drove to Swannanoa.  Most roads were open but there were several that had cops or rescue personnel monitoring traffic.  We did not go down any of those streets.  If you see a car in a photo, it was likely completely underwater during the storm.  I'm sure there are worse areas but this is pretty bad!  

This is the Biltmore area of Asheville near the entrance to the Biltmore House.

 

We drove by where my mom grew up - formerly my Grandmother's house in Swannanoa.  It is on high ground so was not apparently harmed.

Then we drove out on some side roads in the Buckeye community where she know a lot of folks growing up.  Fall just starting to turn the leaves.....little damage here except fallen trees in places and washed-out creeks.

The rest of the photos are from Swannanoa proper.

Hendersonville, NC

 Back up a day since we were too busy yesterday for me to put up a post!  The Craigslist ad for free firewood worked like a charm.  A couple answered and hauled 2 pickup loads away.  They use wood as their sole heat source so we were happy that they answered.

Then we packed up all of Granny's stuff and got ready to head back to the moutains.  Power/water/internet/cell service is all restored at her house in Hendersonville now.

On I-40 heading west.  A good bit of traffic but this part of I-40 was not harmed.  We did, of course, see lots of trees down and muddy washout areas beside the interstate highway.

Lots of road signs warning of Limited Resources....

 

She's all settled back in at home now.  Beautiful Carolina sky.

Pittsboro, NC

 Started the day early - it was "free mulch day" at the Chatham county recycle center.  Duane borrowed the nice dump-bed trailer from our neighbor.

 

First of four loads.

That project took up most of the morning as the pickup point is about 15 minutes away.

Spreading out the mulch will be a project for a different day.  I heard the chainsaw going at the front of the house.  There is a beautiful pin-oak there that is part of the "sidewalk issue".  The root from the oak is pushing up part of the sidewalk....even though it's a beautiful tree that was just a sapling when we moved in 30 yrs ago....if you look close you can see Duane in the blue shirt cutting the notches to make sure it doesn't fall towards the house.

Here's a zoomed-in view.

Lots of brush to drag away....

A couple of hours later....

We'll offer this wood up free on Craigslist for someone to come pick up...Busy day!

Pittsboro, NC

 It's time to do some house cleaning!  Like, the entire outside of the house.  Various areas are more prone to mold - mostly the north facing surfaces.  But the entire house had a coating of dust/dirt on the siding and needed to be washed.  I can't remember, but I don't think we washed it last year....

 

Much better after some soap and bleach!  I won't bore you with details but it was just rinse & repeat.  Really brightened things up.

 

Next was the decking....it had gotten a thin layer of black mold and looked forlorn.

I tried a bit of bleach but it really didn't touch it.  So Duane brought up the handy/dandy floor polisher with a stiff brush attachment.

That really did the trick!!  Nice to have lots of time to address some of these house issues.  (photo looks a little odd because of the shadow later in the day, but you get the idea).

Pittsboro, NC

 Miranda stopped by to pick up her Tracker!  I was not prepared for a photo op....I was at the house applying bleach and washing the siding, hence, the ragged clothes....

 

We had stored the Tracker in the hangar all last year while she got settled in her new apartment.  She now has a garage at her apartment so she finally got it tagged and ready to drive.  A little sad to see it go!!!  But nice to have a short visit and an added plus, she got to visit with Granny a bit too.