Saturday, May 28, 2022

Unique Beauty

 When we are here in the mountains at the SWAG, every day is unique and different.  As we go to breakfast each morning, we always take a picture from the same place on the porch.  Now two days are ever alike.


Sometimes the clouds are below us and just the surrounding mountain tops stick up to be seen.



Sometimes the clouds are above us and we hang beneath them. But on other days, there seems to be no description as clouds, land, and light create a picture we have never seen before.








Thursday, May 26, 2022

Back in the Mountains

 This week Trish and I are back near Waynesville at the SWAG, the Great Country Inn of the Smokies, where I tell stories and we lead hikes each day.  This is the land of my childhood and the memories here are rich indeed.


Spring has arrived here and we seem to be alternating days of rain and sunshine.  The rhododendrons are spectacular and the grass is green.


On one of our clear days we had a beautiful hike up to Hemphill Bald where we overlook Cataloochee Ranch and Ski Area.  The Ranch has recently been purchased by the SWAG owners and is being remodeled as a family resort area.  The day was clear and the views were long.


Walking in the other direction we saw a small wren fly out from under a root beside the trail.  We discovered that she had built her nest under that root and there were four beautiful eggs in the nest.  Maybe they will hatch before we have to leave at the end of the week.

Monday, May 23, 2022

Shoals Festival

 Trish and I just finished the Shoals Storytelling Festival in Florence, Alabama.


Held in the great old Shoals art-deco era movie theatre, I was joined by Dolores Hydock, Bil Lepp, and Elizabeth Ellis, as well as several musicians.


The whole event started on Thursday evening with Dolores, accompanied by musician Bobby Horton, performing her historical story of Sallie Independence Foster based on the intact diary of that child who kept a personal daily diary from 1861 to 1887.  Sallie Foster lived in a big house that still stands at the head of Court Street (the Main Street) of Florence just above the Shoals Theatre.  This gave us a wonderful local history beginning place.


The festival concluded with local musicians on Saturday evening.

A Hard Springtime

 This year the storms of springtime have been especially hard on the island.  We seem to have another high tide storm every week or so.  The...