Tuesday, October 14, 2025

An Abundant Life

This time, last week I was on a birding excursion, or walk as Alina called it. While we did walk, and we did see a few birds, we mostly listened to her and wondered if she were making things up. Skepticism has no place in birding, because others are sure of what they saw, so maybe it was just me who was breaking the unwritten rule of not being a skeptic. 

That would be our neighbor Becky in the bright pink shirt who was much better than I was using her binoculars. With my glasses I really struggle.  Not far from this location we did see a sweet little Downy Woodpecker; much easier for me to identify through my camera lens.

Not long thereafter a super exciting spotting occurred:

It was a across the river and while I wish it were me that spotted them, it was not. Further down the river they blended in so well, I imagine we might have missed them had we not been following them so closely.

Along the same stretch we did spot a  male Kingfisher. And how do I know it is a male you ask? Alina told me so! 

At the confluence of the two rivers, I left the group to head home. With the quiet and the tree canopy much lower I did finally spot a few birds. Do you see the little Tufted Titmouse?

Now you get the notion that it is darn hard to find tiny birds when they are forty feet in the air and flitting from branch to branch. I have to warn you that this post is going to be loaded with photos so I hesitate to add this, but what the heck, here goes. Where's the bird?

Indeed.

Another day Bruce was mowing at the cemetery and since he left his phone at home I walked over to give it to him. Not that he was going to be chatting or anything, but we have been waiting on a call from yet another electrician. 

Naturally I could not resist putting my camera to use and so when I spotted this bit of color well, I did what I do.

Not really paying much attention to the marker so much as the photo composition at the time, it pleased me to no end to see that it was the gravesite of the Fain family. What's up with that you ask? Well, just the week before we bought a print from a local artist named Annie Fain who is part of a family of creative people. These folks were her great-great grandparents! 

It may have been that same day that we did a little thrifting and when we walked into one of them, I spotted a framed art piece and thought the frame just might be the ticket. And so, for $8.00 and a little work from Mr. Fix Everything,  it is.

Michelle, in advance of their trip asked me if our town decorated for the season and my answer was yes; folks, businesses, and churches most certainly do.  

I had to chuckle because on that day, as I walked into town, all two blocks, I believe I saw more birds than I did on my birding walk!

I am including the photo below for posterity because we will want to remember how far the town came when all the parks are completed. Everyone is anxiously awaiting the completion.

Another soccer game! The team looked very good while playing Andrews. I believe I mentioned how Grayson's coach relies on him to put the ball in play.

There are several girls on the Andrews team and while you probably won't notice it, I could relate to the girls in the picture as they are grimacing as the ball is coming at them.

I was just getting over a silver-dollar-sized bruise on my left forearm and then I got a new tag about the same size just yesterday. So, yes, I do grimace quite a bit! 

At the last minute they made it 4-0.

The day we had been  anxiously awaiting finally arrived and that was last Friday when the Libers offered to take us on a very scenic drive.  

As a motorcycle enthusiast, David has traveled all over the mountain roads so a driving trip is right up his alley.; not to mention he knows where to go. 

Before getting on the road to the Cherohala Skyway we stopped at the Tellico Plains visitor center in Tennessee.

Followed by a delicious lunch here:

The food was so good in part because all the bread, baked goods, and pizza dough are made on premises. 

Having a restaurant builder in the family we are always noticing what makes a place feel inviting and while the brick walls are good, and the abundant use of wood works, it was the blue curtains that did it for me.

A super tiny town it once boasted more industry than it does now, as is the case with so many of the mountain towns. Across the street is a darling coffee shop.

Super cute on the outside, and super cute on the inside.

I am really puzzled by the sign on the swinging kitchen door. Any ideas?

What it does have is tourism, especially at this time of year because it is the gateway to a road called the Cherohala Skyway, our destination as it were. About two years ago a friend told me for the best color go to the skyway and it had not happened yet until this day and I could not have been any happier.

Onward to the skyway, which if you didn't already click on the link above, you might want to now.  About six miles off the skyway, David wanted to show us the Bald River Falls, and who can blame him?  When you love showing beautiful things off, you want to share, right? May I present the Pecks!

Some of the photos I have seen show it with lots more water but I suspect the lack of rain for the last few weeks diminishes the output.  In our view it was fantastic! D'Anna squealed with delight seeing as there was a rocky path down to the bottom that his old lady said, you go ahead without me. Fortunately David was not as reluctant.

At this lower altitude there were some changing leaves, but not a whole lot yet.

Because we have been here in beautiful Western North Carolina for more than two years now, we have seen our fair share of rivers with rocks. The boulders on this river outdid them all. Some of them nearly the size of my MINI Cooper! 

Not far from this location was a campground we checked out with a lovely lake.

D'Anna and I get along so well because we share great enthusiasm for just about everything!  Continuing the drive we kept going further up in altitude, seeing mostly motorcyclists along the way. 

As we neared the top, 5,560 feet for those who are interested, we were enveloped in a cloud. 

As you might note from the previous photo we had been looking at blue skies. Within a few minutes, the clouds began to open a wee bit,

followed by a wee bit more.

Mountains and clouds as far as the eye could see! 

Unfortunately, as we traversed the road down, the leaves were brilliant albeit behind us with no pull offs! David is not easily dissuaded, so he told us he knew of another spot reached by a little walk. Great!

Once we arrived at the look-out platform our hopes were dashed as the trees were so thick as to block the view. Nonetheless, it was good to stretch our legs and enjoy the forest scenery.

On the road again, Lake Santeetlah is gorgeous. 

From what we have been reading we are about two weeks until this is filled with brilliant colors of yellow, red, and orange. 

Because of his vast experience, David had one more spot in mind for us to have a clear view that many folks aren't aware of. I absolutely love how the clouds seem to be suspended in air leaving their mark in the form of shadows. Wait, they always are suspended aren't they?

You might wonder how we have made so many friends here in Murphy and in some regards, I can't imagine it either, but somehow we have, and what a blessing it has been. Between town friends, pickleball friends and church friends, life is very sweet for us. Sometimes I am overwhelmed with gratitude because while it seems as if we are footloose and fancy free, which is true now, it has not always been this way. Raising four children, Bruce traveling most weeks for nearly 25 years, me holding down the fort, that was our life before. Because we married so young it was a long time ago. Not that the work was not satisfying, and Lord knows, we would not change having four sons for anything in the world, it took a lot to get to this place. When you read about these adventures, keep that in mind. Having a beautiful happy family and a new grandson is not the icing on the cake, it is the cake! All four have given us their blessing to live into our mantra, "doing all that we can, while we can." 

Whew, heavy stuff right? I will close with a photo of some friends from way back who have their own happy ending. Talk about marrying young and making it all work out. Oh my goodness, what a life they have led.

Happily they got in touch as they were not too far away on a little vacation. Arriving just as we returned from pickleball, after a visit at the house we walked with their dogs to the nearby Murphy Chophouse where we enjoyed lunch. They did get a kick out of seeing our Mayor and a small entourage, including Laura walk down the hill beside us. So while I have said it was our friend Karen who first introduced us to Murphy, in reality it was Mike and Nancy who asked me about 16 years ago to photograph their cabin for a vacation rental site, in what we learned yesterday was nearby Andrews. Holy Cow, I still have the album of photos I took!  Some years later they sold it, but the happy memories remain.  It took a little sleuthing to find that album in my blog, but while doing so I came across something really special from another post at that time about an incident that I recently told someone about.  My second ever published photo!   Talk about some sweet and challenging memories!!

your friend,

Gail

p.s. Should you have missed last week's post, here it is

Tuesday, October 7, 2025

From the Top of a Mountain

 ...to bird watching and so much more!!

It will surprise no one that the week has been full here at the house on Campbell Street. We did visit the top of a mountain in Georgia, the highest spot in GA for that matter,

on that same day that we did a drive-by of a local alpaca farm that Michelle wants to visit during their time here.

And a whole bunch more, so let's get to it, shall we?

How many amongst you have had erroneous activity on Amazon? Now we have. I spent so much time on the line with Amazon over the last three days that I want to scream. Has it been sorted out yet? The latest representative claims it has so we shall see in a few hours. Bruce tried to order something only to discover our account had been frozen. Hmmm.....what can that mean?  Fortunately it had not gone through the bank yet but I assured them I had not purchased a $400 Apple gift card for anyone I know. Come to think of it, maybe I did try to buy one over a month ago and it would not go through? No, they are just messing with me! Oh my goodness, the perils and pleasure of being digitally connected!! 

The kitchen is done!! I made some Heath Bar cookies for Soul Table and when I took the photo realized it showed off the new paint at the same time. 

As I mentioned I am trying to put some of the fixed elements together in a design sense so the new paint is a step in the right direction. The ivory colored dishwasher does not match but darn if it does not work so well that I really hesitate to replace it having had experience with new appliances that, while they look good, are not nearly as reliable as the pictured one. Third world problems, right?

As I recall, I spent time sewing last week and the result is that I now have the entire top put together and am still puzzling about the backing fabric. After some additional thought my original idea for backing is not going to work out. I am still trying to use only what I have on hand, so we shall see.

One evening I went to join the Chimney Swift observers and counters. Walking down our street this happened!

It happened so fast that the shot above is the only one I got, thus I have no clue what kind of birds these are.

I am far too slow to use a counter, but Alina seemed to think there were about 315 birds that went into the chimney that night.

Not a single photograph of the bird action was kept, however, this view of the alleyway and the nearly full moon remains was a keeper.

On Friday we missed pickleball to go on a recognizance mission looking ahead to when David and Michelle visit later in the month. Before we left the house though, Bruce filled the pantry after waiting a whole week for the paint to cure.

It is beautifully organized at the moment, but for how long before I mess it up, remains to be seen.

We drove to an area called Hanging Dog to check out the route to the alpaca farm and what a lovely nine miles it was. The day was beautiful as was the scenery.

There are pockets of changing leaves but the best is yet to come.  Booking our tour just today we all have something fun to look forward to! 

We got a sandwich at the Hanging Dog General Store. Before you ask me where the name came from I am not exactly sure but I believe it is from a Cherokee legend.

One of the young women that worked there asked me where I was from and I said Murphy. "Before that?" Apparently, my accent gave me away as an invader! Folks around here are of two minds. Some realize that growth and outside money can help the town, whereas others are fine with things the way they have always been. Sound familiar to you? Locals everywhere get it for sure.

Following that we drove a few miles beyong Blairsville to Brasstown Bald, as mentioned earlier, the highest point in GA. 

From the parking lot you would never know how high we were at 4.784 feet above sea level. The shuttle pictured took us that last leg although there are hardy souls who hike it.

Earlier in the day the skies were crystal clear and blue as can be, but by the time we made it to the top, clouds were moving in.  The provided link above has some very interesting facts to learn about the place. After having had several people recommend we take our family there, we decided to check it out first. The viewing platforms afford views of Tennessee, Georgia (below),

and both North and South Carolina. In a few weeks those green trees will all be various shades of goodness!

That night was the monthly art walk downtown and in spite of the ongoing renovations a good crowd turned out.

Next year when I post this same angle, there will be a park in the foreground and one across the street as well. 

The big event for the weekend though was the festival at the folk school, in fact the biggest event of the year. Traffic, something we are no longer accustomed to makes it is easier to get a little impatient as was the case in the parking lot with some folks. Cars as far as the eye could see.

Perfect fall festival weather...check! Big crowds....check! Artists having sales.....check!

Students stay on campus, having most of their meals prepared from this garden that was looking so pretty.

And how do I know artists had sales you ask? John had his double booth with furniture and especially Saturday, when Bruce sat with him a good part of the afternoon while I helped in our ladies group's booth selling water, snacks, popcorn and apples.

My post was standing next to Robin, pictured below.

Sarah June drove to the orchard in Blue Ridge to buy the apples and they were scrumptious. Crimson Crisp was the variety and I did my best to sell them at the low price of $1.00 each. This lady bit.

We had some lively entertainment across from us.

We arrived only two hours before my shift so I did not see nearly as much as I did. last year. For instance, the booth below was jam packed with goodies.

How does one not photograph this?

None of my buddies had ever been in a booth before and when I was telling Jonathan about it later, he said, they don't realize what a pro they had in their midst! Ten years! 

As we left the parking area looked like this, a far cry from seven hours earlier! 

The money raised goes to helping the children here in Cherokee County with all manner of things including school clothes and shoes. 

Bruce finished up the hand rail he made up for the stone steps out back. While we could navigate them fine, having a hand rail is always the best course of action.

Yesterday we went to Grayson's home soccer game.  Although we missed some away games, but since it is so close, why not? He's easy to spot now that he has some new blue cleats.

As you can see Grayson is not only one of the tallest boys on the team but one of the most athletic as well. We discovered that when he was learning to play pickleball and picked it up in an instant.

One of his coaches is not only a father of one of his team mates, but he is also the son of a family in town who once owned a very popular restaurant in town called Perrone's. It was just a block or so away from our house here on Campbell Stree,t but when they decided to close someone else took that location. Apparently they missed it so I think it is tomorrow that a new, highly anticipated, Perrone's is opening in a new location downtown. 

That is the thing about living in a small town, there are so many connections. I will be writing about a few things in my next post how that is so true, even for us who have been here for only two years. Two years already!

your friend,

Gail 

p.s. Should you have missed last week's post, here is a link. 

An Abundant Life