Category Archives: florae
Happy Mother’s Day to the Mother of God!
Today is very dark, very rainy. Did I mention it was very dark… and very rainy? It. is. so. dark. It. is. so. rainy. But certain things shine in the darkness, like the majestic goodness and kindness of Mary’s Son. If I … Continue reading
Filed under florae, Immaculate Conception
Food for the Holy Souls Hermitage bear?
Dunno what the properties of these mushrooms are. Outside of Chicken of the Woods mushrooms (super delicious), I just figure that anything with bright colors is ultra poisonous. But perhaps bears like them.
More beautiful by the dozen – Lady Slippers for our Lady – aliens from outer space
Count at least a dozen. Click the picture to enlarge. Hint: look for the stems. Then you’ll find the flowers. If you’ve forgotten what they look like up close, here’s one which looks like a green headed alien from outer-space. … Continue reading
Filed under florae
Florae for Our Lady (the camera is working nicely)
Just as a by the way, when’s the last time you stopped to pick or get a bouquet of flowers for our Lady, placing them before a statue of her in your local parish church? I’m asking you priests and … Continue reading
Filed under florae
Yikes! Baby bear given to HSH! No 50 cal. pistol needed!
O.K. The irony couldn’t possibly be more intense. LOL. O.K., so, no 50cal. pistols needed. Hah!
Mary, Mother of God, Mother of Priests, Benefactors, Important Books, Florae (of sorts)
Thanks to E.R., who sent in a totally unsolicited financial contribution to the Hermitage. But that was the least of it. Also included was a picture of Mary, Mother of God, Mother of Priests, above. But there is much more. … Continue reading
Filed under Benefactors, books, florae
O.K. I’m TOTALLY humiliated. What an embarrassment. “Bears are our buddies!” Sigh…
Sigh. I’ve gotten quite a number of emails with incredibly wonderful and detailed advice about guns and dogs and all the blood and guts that goes along with all that. I’m remembering all the stories at “BEAR ARMS” shooting range … Continue reading
Picture diary: benefactors, brakes, grapes, florae, faunae…
What the brake line should have looked like (above) but didn’t (below)… Driving with no brakes wakes one up pretty quickly, but the brakes are now fixed, so I’ll depend on the coffee sent in by C.W. Thanks for that! … Continue reading
Filed under Benefactors, faunae, florae
Chickens at the beach. Trilliums by the trilliums. A fern. Ireland gone to hell. No seal of confession.
Even if this is a rain-forest in the registry of world rain-forests, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a bit of sun now and again. It is up in the mountains, but that doesn’t mean one can’t pretend to be … Continue reading
UPDATE: Killer-snake! Killer-snake-eating ninja chicken! Killer vines! (update)
Philip warned me never to pick up a baby copperhead, since they don’t know how to let go, and so inject all the venom they have. I couldn’t resist. Unlike last year, I thought I might see what the chickens … Continue reading
More on Holy Souls Hermitage defenses! Killer vines!
The vines in this picture, taken from the steps of Holy Souls Hermitage, can grow to the tops of the tall trees or spread out at any height horizontally. They have no leaves or flowers that I know about. They … Continue reading
Filed under florae
Traps everywhere on Holy Souls Mountain. Your knees will be broken…
What you’re looking at is one of the hundreds of natural traps set up everywhere on Holy Souls Mountain. What you see here is what you’ll see after the trap has consumed it’s victim. It consists of a hole just … Continue reading
Jordan = Precipitous (That would be me)
Looking “ad orientem” from within Holy Souls Hermitage. This picture gives you a bit of perspective. If you look through the precipitously descending trees, you’ll find that you’re looking over the top of the clouds pouring through the valley between … Continue reading
Benefactors! Grape vines for wine for Mass and the Roman Breviary
What confusion! O.K. So, yes, the grape vines finally arrived! Perhaps it was just addressed to “George David” instead of “George David Byers”. Yikes! The idea is to plant these with the end of making wine for Holy Mass. Very, … Continue reading
Filed under Benefactors, florae
Lady Slippers on the March in honor of the Immaculate Conception
From the above perspective of Holy Souls Hermitage, these Lady Slippers were seen marching along the forest in honor of the Immaculate Conception: Again, I just wonder… In the days after our Lord Passion and Death and Resurrection, did He, … Continue reading
Filed under Catholic, florae, Immaculate Conception
Update: Just sooooooooo dead (Now alive – Yikes!)
It’s been warm during the day, edging toward the 70s. In the evening, the temps can drop 20-30 degrees within minutes, and then drop below freezing. Bees caught out in the late afternoon like this fellow will be just sooooooooooo … Continue reading
Freezing temps and a parable from the HSH wood pile
Worse than early morning frosts, we’ve been getting early morning dry freezes, deadly not only for garden variety plants, but even for bushes and trees at this particular time of year, when things are very tender, new, able to be … Continue reading
Filed under florae, Spiritual Life
camo / on the march
Can you spot the barred rock camo rooster? And then, there’s this: Lady slippers on the march in honor of our Lady.
Forest canopy, above and below
Forest canopy above and forest floor below. I love it.
Flowers of pure Easter joy for the Immaculate Conception
When’s the last time you picked some flowers and gave them to your mother? When’s the last time you picked some flowers and brought them (with permission) to place before a statue or image of our Lady in your local … Continue reading
Filed under florae, Immaculate Conception
of roosters and lady slippers
Standing guard while the ladies forage in the forest… Meanwhile, the ladyslippers are coming up thick as grass in honor of the Immaculate Conception…
Road danger on Holy Souls Mountain!
This log smashed down on the road from the cliff above. Heads up when driving on this road! More Fall colors…
Wow… Florescent Fall Colors…
This picture was taken last evening, here in the rain forest, just as it was getting dark and rainy. Such florae are always a delight, because the colors stand out so much as to be a light and guide in … Continue reading
Filed under florae
Fall colors and a bit of hermitage progress
Florescent green/yellow The boards on the lower left protect the chicken “nestes” as the locals call them. The boards were donated by the neighbor, who had these donated to him about 25 years ago. They’ve survived just enough to be … Continue reading
Benefactors, chicken wire weaving, Fall colors
There are still some trees with leaves and colors, although the leaves have pretty much fallen and the leaf lookers lurking for leaves are pretty much gone until next year. I’ll be traveling to the Charlotte area in the next … Continue reading
Filed under Benefactors, Chickens, florae
Un-thawed out camera early in the morning
The lens got a bit frosty! I’m sure that our Lady, in my having “picked” this for her, won’t object too strongly!
Filed under florae
Fall colors on fire!
Some of the leaves are down now. What’s really cool is that anything that was yellow is now turning into orange and then deep red. Here it looks like splotches of fire up the mountainside. Very cool, in many ways!
Filed under florae
fall colors
How obedient nature is! to the greater honor and glory of God!
A wee flower for the Immaculate Conception
I wasn’t quite sure how to categorize this picture. “Florae” seems the obvious choice. But what about the spider web, and the flying beast there on the petal to the right? Not sure what that is, btw. BTW! When’s the … Continue reading
The hemlock and woolly adelgid on Holy Souls Mountain
Water hemlock is poisonous. That’s what silly Socrates drank. Mountain hemlock, a huge tree, instead makes the smoothes most lemony sweet tea you’ve ever ever had. But, they are all dying. All of them. Everywhere. It’s the woolly adelgid plague. … Continue reading
Filed under florae
A trip much higher up the mountain: submitting to the devil’s courthouse
Didn’t have my “camera” with me, so I used my zero resolution phone camera, taking pictures of the cheap phone screen since I’m too penny pinching at the moment to spend the money to send them to myself over the … Continue reading
Filed under florae
Accompany me, Father George David Byers, S.S.L., S.T.D., as I begin life as a Catholic Priest-Hermit by choice. Holy Souls Hermitage is dedicated to the sanctification of my fellow priests, bishops & seminarians going through the purgatory of this life or the next. I pray for benefactors daily, offering Holy Mass for their intentions about once a month. You'll have to force me to take your donations, though. Scroll down for an explanation.
