When we do a hike that takes more than two hours and it is as warm as it has been, Abner gets to have some down time in a cool spot where he gets water and treats. This is one of his favorites on the verandah of the Visitors Center at the NC Arboretum. The tile is always cool.

The Arboretum has a native azalea repository that has been closed for two years. It was damaged by the flooding of Bent Creek that occurred in September or 2004 when one of the Gulf of Mexico hurricanes dumped prodigious amounts of rain on Asheville. It reopened this winter and we are now starting to see what it looks like. Many of the native azaleas are later bloomers and escapted the 3 nights of freezing weather in early April that wiped out most of the early blooming flowers.