The first sighting of a Writing Spider (Argiope Aurantia) can be a bit unnerving. The body alone is more than an inch long. Yet despite their intimidating size and threatening appearance, they’re actually quite harmless …and with a healthy appetite for grasshoppers and other garden pests, they’re nice to have around your tomato plants.

The female, pictured here, spins a nearly-invisible web — except for the characteristic white zigzag pattern at the center. According to legend, if the writing spider spells your name in her web, your days are numbered.

This spider was photographed on the porch of a Bryson City cabin, but they can be found in temperate climates worldwide.

It’s no surprise that visitation to the Smokies rises and falls with the temperatures. Most people simply prefer the warmer months with the wealth of outdoor activities available from March thru October. But the hardy individuals that weather the cooler temperatures are treated to an entirely different and equally beautiful Smoky Mountains landscape. The colors are more subtle, even monochromatic. And with the leaves on the ground, they can see much deeper into the woods revealing a striking array of patterns and textures …like the crosshatch pattern of Poplar trees and shadows in this week’s Postcard.

As the colors change, everyone enjoys the grand panoramic vistas. Yet the most brilliant colors are often viewed up close, especially when the afternoon sun is backlighting the scene, as photographer J.R. vanLienden captured in this week’s Postcard From The Smokies.

It’s the question of the month from callers to the Bryson City Chamber of Commerce. And the answer is “You can see fall color just about anytime from early October through early November. You just may have to drive to see it.” That’s because the arrival of peak color varies with the elevation, which ranges from 2000 to more than 6000 feet in Swain County.

Autumn’s annual color show is already making its way down from highest elevations of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where the climate is more like New England’s. And over the next three weeks, the above display will be repeated throughout the the Smoky Mountain landscape with the grand finale coming around the end of the month. The only spoiler could be a heavy thunderstorm, which could bring down the curtain early.

But right now, it’s shaping up to be quite a show.

Photo by J.R.VanLienden

This centipede is just one of thousands of species present in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Park is known for its biological diversity with over 10,000 documented species of plants and animals. The Smokies have such a great diversity because of the range in altitude, the abundant rainfall and glaciers that invaded the continent over 10,000 years ago. These glaciers didn’t reach as far south as the Smoky Mountains, and many species from farther north found refuge here.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has been designated an International Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations.

Photo by Aaron Morgan

The three Elks wandered out of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for an impromptu tour of the new Cherokee Central School scheduled to open in September. Architect Scott Donald of Padgett and Freeman took the photo while the animals were checking out the new football stadium.

Scott said “someone left the gate open and I and two other folks corralled them all over the field to various open gates, but they only wanted to go out the gate they came in …scoring 7 points on the way out, with the extra point, of course.”

Scott and associate Maggie Carnevale designed the state-of-the art facility which will consolidate all of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ schools into a single 473,000 square-foot Pre-K – 12 campus. It includes a new elementary, middle, and high school, as well as a 1000-seat performing arts facility and the 3500-seat football stadium. For more about the new school, visit the Padgett and Freeman web site.

Over the past week, the valleys around Bryson City have turned lush green and the Spring color is just beginning to creep up the hillsides, providing stark contrast with the still-wintry mountains above. It will be a few more weeks before the “greening up” of the mountains reaches the highest peaks of the Great Smokies.

This makes the next few weeks a fascinating time to drive in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park or along the Blue Ridge Parkway. You can literally watch the seasons change with each change in elevation.

In the mid-1980s, when Bryson City abandoned its Lands Creek reservoir and turned to Deep Creek for the town’s water supply, many questioned the future of the 750-acre Lands Creek tract. Bordering the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Lands Creek property was understandably attractive to private developers.

In 2006, rather than opening up the land to development, Bryson City established a conservation easement that protects the land and makes it available for recreational activities like camping, hiking, fishing and hunting.

Today, only the concrete dam remains, and mother nature is well on her way to reclaiming Lands Creek. Photo by Faye Bumgarner

Best wishes for a safe and happy holiday season from the Swain County Chamber of Commerce.

Autumn 2008 in the Great Smoky Mountains has seen one of the most colorful Fall leaf seasons in recent memory. Even now in early November, with much of the Fall foliage laying on the ground, the golds still glow brightly in the afternoon sun.

At Cherokee’s Island Park, the shoals of the Oconaluftee River are as popular with the wild ducks and geese as they are with visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains. Above, South Carolina visitors Sherri and Mitchell McCutcheon enjoy the geese on an early Fall afternoon.