'What day is it?' asked Pooh. 'It's today,' squeaked Piglet. 'My favorite day,' said Pooh. Monday and Tuesday were so raw and blustery that my body craved decedent dark chocolate cake with two inches of rich fluffy frosting. Temperatures struggled to reach the high thirties. After the 70-degree tease a few weekends ago, we removed the kindling and starter wood from the hearth and carried the stacked logs from the porch back down to the wood pile below. Monday and Tuesday gusts of heavy snow followed by calm blue sky and sunshine interrupted by more gusts of snow made us wonder if spring is being delayed. What does Punxsutawney Phil know anyhow? Yesterday I put two hummingbird feeders out in anticipation of our returning hummingbirds. The site I use to track their journey here posted hummingbird sightings on March 25 at the Tennessee/Alabama border and in north Georgia. They could arrive anytime or those traveling to a more northern destinat...
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I've never been witness to a small creature of the wild taking its last breath. This morning while washing out my coffee pot at the kitchen sink, the ailing sparrow chose the pie plate feeder where it was safe from predators to gently lie down and take the last breath. I've decided that when my time comes, there is no better way to bid adieu than being surrounded by people and things that bring comfort and pleasure. I don't want to choke to death, but a picturesque winery surround by oak barrels of aging wine, a long-stemmed glass with a mellow Cabernet in my right hand, Gouda cheese, homemade bread, and family should be my last hurrah........................
Signs of spring.................... ..............traffic picking up on the 4-lane (tourist season returns), motorcycles heading to "The Dragon" (318 curves in 11 minutes) or the gently winding road that with curves through the Nantahala Forest, hummingbird feeders popping up on the shelves at local hardware stores, while yellow and white daffodils and jonquils burst open along the road and throughout the forest. I've been checking the hummingbird reporting site to follow their progress up the Florida panhandle toward western NC. Not many reported sightings yet but my feeders are clean and ready to nourish those weary little visitors when they arrive. This is Gerry Atric. It visits our feeders daily, especially this make-shift pie-tin feeder that hangs at my kitchen window. This old sparrow looks disheveled. It doesn't preen itself. Feathers go every which way and it's always puffed up with a very poor posture. The old bird sits for hou...
Last week we found we had a four-day window on the South Carolina coast that appeared to be showing pleasant weather, sunny and in the high 50's. Originally, we had planned to visit Panama City, Florida and leave the dreary gloomy wet weather behind for a few days, walk the beach, and eat seafood. But many of the rain systems were coming up from the Gulf Coast, over the Florida panhandle, straight to East Tennessee/Western North Carolina. Cliff is enrolled in continuing education classes for his medical responder so when we found a window of sunny clear weather and no classes, we packed suitcases and headed out route 26 to the South Carolina Coast. The day before, I had the very important task of researching some restaurants that we might want to try and some sights to see. I listed about a dozen with various foods from Greek cuisines to Irish Pubs. At the hotel, any restaurant brochure that included a $5 off coupon was a winner. ...