We went to the Ocoee over the weekend, and saw thousands of folks, rafting down the river.  

 

I'm not sure how long the season lasts,  but it's only watered on the weekends.  It is great fun to watch all the activity.  We park in the first big rafting area you come to, pay our $3 parking fee, and stay as long as we like.  There are picnic grounds, hiking trails, lots of people, and lots of water.  

 

The Ocoee was the site for the canoe slalom for the 1996 Summer Olympics. You can go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocoee_Whitewater_Center?wprov=sfti1 and read more about it.  Very interesting, and right in our backyard.

 

Or if you'd just like to take a day trip to the Ocoee, go to Ranger and turn left.  It's about an hour away.  

 

HAPPY SEPTEMBER!!!

 

 

How bout this for pretty?  

 

We made this quiche using onions, chanterelle mushrooms and roasted peppers from the garden.  

 

Jon loves making pie crusts, and he's gotten really good at it.  And the rest of the recipe is from Nanny Barb.  You can find it in the recipe section under main dishes:  Nanny Barb's Onion Pie.  It's a great recipe, and easy.

 

This quiche will make 4 meals for the two of us.  So there's dinner for this week.  

 

HAPPY COOKING!!!

 

 

I don't know if you have seen this map, but it is quite interesting.  I just found it when I was searching the site for something else.  Mark posted it years ago, but it's still accurate for the most part.  The big lot that was annexed isn't numbered, but the rest is pretty accurate.

 

Here's a bit of fun:  Orient yourself to the map, and then find your lot by its number.  

 

Looks different in 2D doesn't it?  If you go to Googlemaps you can see a satellite picture of our mountain. That's fun too.

 

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

 

The very same day that we saw the Carolina lily, we saw this thing growing right in the center of the hiking trail.  

 

We knew what this was.  We've seen it before in our neighborhood.  It is Jack-o-lantern mushroom.  POISONOUS!!!

 

The mushroom field guide says it is a look-alike for Chanterelles.  Not even!!  Except they are both some shade of orange.  Chanterelles look gentle and sweet, and this thing just looks nasty.  To me, it even screams "DON'T EAT ME!!!"  And what nerve:  growing in the middle of the path.

 

We saw lots of mushrooms that day, none of which we brought home for supper.  We are very selective when it comes to mushrooms.  I don't even trust Seek completely when it comes to mushrooms.  I look them up in the field guides, then look on the internet for back up information.  

 

Can't be too careful.  

 

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

 

 

 

Look how beautiful our world is, even after the storms.  We've had thunderstorms nearly every day this last week, and this is what we get when it's over.

 

We just sit out on the porch and enjoy the rain, then the aftermath.

 

Just thought you'd like to see our little piece of heaven.

 

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

 

 

 

I know I've shown you this before, but today is monumental.  I just went over 1000 articles!!!  A few of them repeat the subject, but no two are exactly the same.  No cutting and pasting.  Well, I have reused a couple pix, but all the articles are unique.

 

Mark made this sign for me a few years ago, and bestowed on me this Master's degree:  Master of Bloggery!  I feel like I just earned it.  

 

THANKS FOR READING!!!

 

On Tuesday as we were walking up Stonebriar, we stopped to pick a few blackberries.  Jon picked a handful, then moved his foot a little to the left and we heard a bleat.  We turned to see a baby deer standing up in the ditch, not 20 feet away.  We had just walked right past her.  

 

Momma was way up the hill, but definitely within earshot.  She started stomping and huffing, and running around crazy.  We moved on to give her some peace, thinking she might come hustle the baby off to a safer spot.  

 

We got to the top of the road and turned around heading home, and the baby was settled back down in the same ditch.  I tried to take a video, but she was so well camouflaged that I took a video of some rocks just beside the fawn.  I did get this picture though, when I realized she was settled back down.  

 

Be sure to slow down and be on the lookout.  It is fawning season in Five Forks.

 

HAPPY JULY!!!

 

 

 

 

Photo from the Farmers Almanac 

 

Happy Fourth of July.  Here's a link to the Farmers Almanac for a bit of history.  Always interesting.

 

 

HAPPY EVERY DAY!!!

 

Hey!  Have you ever noticed the man made drill holes in the big rocks on our roads?  

 

We just saw them on our walk recently, and realized that they are where the road builders used dynamite to cut through the big slabs of rock.  We have seen similar evidence on some of our hikes through the mountains, here and in Virginia. 

 

One time when Momma was visiting, we took a little detour through Grape Thicket Road, and there were county workers back there getting ready to blast through the rock.  We asked the guy what they were doing, and he told us they were getting ready to "Pull a shot."  I guess that's shop talk for blasting through rock.  

 

Next time you are on a walk down Stonebriar, or the Wagon Train Trail up by Brasstown Bald, be sure to notice them.  Very interesting.

 

HAPPY HIKING!!!

 

We spent the day deer-proofing our front flower bed, and in the evening when we went out to the garden we saw this baby.

 

Of course we went "Awww."  Then thought about all the time and effort we have spent fixing what they destroy.  

 

Life is a dichotomy.  Love it, hate it.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!