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Gardening + Outdoors

Fall In The Blue Ridge: A Packing List For Hiking

Posted on October 3, 2023January 23, 2026 by Emily

Are you planning a fall getaway to the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains? Then you’ll want to make sure that you’ve packed all the essentials. From clothing and hiking gear to snacks and electronics, this packing list will help you make sure you’ve got everything you need for a successful trip.

With this guide, you can rest assured that you’ll be fully prepared to explore the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains this fall.

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The Structuring of a Garden’s Bones

Posted on September 29, 2023January 22, 2026 by Emily

When discussing the “bones” of a garden, gardeners are not speaking literally about skeletal remains. Instead, they are referring to the structural components that define and unify a garden’s aesthetic design. These features become particularly apparent during fall and winter when trees shed their leaves and the flowers and plants that once provided vibrancy and color wither and decay.

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Hiking Lake Waccamaw On the Way to Surf City – Saturday, June 3rd

Posted on September 10, 2023January 23, 2026 by Emily

After hearing how much fun we had during our April trip to Surf City and Topsail Island, my husband decided that he now wanted to go in June to celebrate turning the big 4-0. So we packed up the children and started on the 5-hour drive down to the beach.

One of the activities that we like to do as a family is hiking – we are diligently working our way through the NC State Parks Passport book, checking off all the state parks we visit. The southeastern part of the state has been a dead zone for us – lots of parks but not a lot of opportunity to visit them – so we decided to take advantage of our trip to check some off.

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3 Medicinal Plants of the Joara Archeological Site

Posted on September 8, 2023January 17, 2026 by Emily

While riding around one Saturday to pick up some geese, my husband drove me by one destination in particular that stood out to me from researching this area before moving here – an archeological site dubbed the “Berry” site. Named for the family who owned the property, it is the location of the 16th-century Native American town of Joara where a Spanish fort was built.

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Putting Your Garden to Rest During Autumn

Posted on January 30, 2022January 22, 2026 by Emily Elliott

Autumn is here, in all of her splendor, and it is a sight to behold. The cooler weather creeps closer and closer as the length of daylight decreases, the leaves turning their decadent shades of orange, red, yellow, and brown before flooding the ground beneath the trees. The lushness of our summer gardens has faded, leaving us with the skeleton of our plants and the remnants of our waning harvest.

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Hi, I’m Emily — the creator behind Nothing to Do - Hickory.

My family and I moved to Western North Carolina in 2021 from the coast, drawn here by the mountains, the slower pace, and the feeling that this was a place meant to be lived in — not just passed through. We now call a six-acre patch of land home between Lenoir, Morganton, and Hickory, where we’re slowly building a life surrounded by gardens, animals, and a deep appreciation for the seasons.

Nothing to Do - Hickory began as a way to explore our new home, but it’s grown into something more: a love letter to Western North Carolina and the everyday beauty of life here.

This is a place to celebrate backroads and small towns, gardens and trails, local food and community gatherings — the simple, meaningful things that make this region feel like home. My hope is to help both locals and visitors fall in love with where they live (or where they’re visiting), and to see Western North Carolina not just as a destination, but as a way of life.

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