A Photographer's Life

 Well, this photographer anyway! 

This morning when we arrived at the courts it was not only chilly, 52 degrees chilly, but there were a multitude of spider webs wet with dew on the fences. After playing my first game, well, you can guess what I did can't you? Should you have guessed that I retrieved my camera from the car you would have been spot on. 

Very few folks at the courts know anything about this blog aside from one Miss Nancy who learned of it from a Florida friend. If you can imagine, the woman whose name escapes me, asked Nancy if she was playing pickleball with me in Murphy to which Nancy replied, Gail who? Said friend claimed that I was a famous Orlando blogger which was quite the surprise to me! Anyway, thank you to whomever you are! Nonetheless, several of the players expressed surprise, probably from seeing anyone with a real camera in their hands and wondering how in the world I was going to photograph the webs. 

I guess, try? 

One of the ladies insisted I take it with her back to the fence which turned out pretty cool, didn't it?

It is simply amazing how intricate webs are.  Sounds a bit like something we all are very familiar with and that would be the world wide web which indeed snares us and sometimes won't let go!

There were dozens of others but even I know when to quit! There are a bunch of ladies that not only play pickleball, but quilt as well, so the reference to spiral quilting after seeing the above rang true.

As you can well imagine, I take more photographs than is strictly necessary, but sometimes I just love the light and can't resist.

Of course I will want to remember this sweet bouquet of zinnias Laura gave us from her garden. She, of the recent Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year fame, Laura. Yup, somehow we have found ourselves well connected in this sweet little town. I have said it before, but it bears repeating many times over, how lucky we feel to have found this darling house and these lovely neighbors. Not one iota of drama which soothes my soul. Having so many wonderful things to photograph right outside the door, well literally right outside the door,

has added hundreds, well let's be real, thousands of new photographs to my overflowing library! 

While I typed that there was no drama around here, it depends on what one calls drama. In our case, every single deer spotting makes for drama for these Floridians. Sure there are deer in Florida, but I could count on both hands and still maybe have a digit or two to spare, the amount of deer I have seen in the wild. I spotted this sweet fawn on the front lawn this past Saturday morning. 

Taken through the screen, I was so happy even if it does give it a fuzzy appearance. I wanted to call out to Bruce but at the same time I wanted the fawn to stay where it was. Oh the conundrums we face!! The doe was some feet away and over time the fawn thought I might just as well go and join my mother, scampering off.  WELL, looking in the other direction I was freaking out as three, count them, three bucks appeared out of the trees!!!

Unreal I tell you! Fortunately by then Bruce had joined me on the porch, making us very happy indeed. One thing that we noticed and I have now confirmed it with a bit of research, is that the deer lose their tawny brown color as winter approaches and turn gray.

Sometimes I neglect to look at all of the photos I have taken and that would be the case with this mantis because I can assure you, had I seen this before, I would have used it in my bug post!

I can hardly believe I took it, but I assure you I did. As you may have already noticed this post is going all over the map with photos and stories of things that interest me or I think might interest you. So, allow me one more shot of the mantis on the newly installed very dark brown mulch.

From that same garden bed, lots of plants were trimmed including these neat ones that I am leaving out to dry.

I will admit that my feelings were slightly hurt that no one seemed very interested in my exciting Robin photo so let me try again for a response!

Let us go to the kitchen now. A visit to the farmer's market on Saturday was very successful resulting in these local goodies. (not my messy tea bag birdie!)

How does one resist a dozen which includes a green egg? One doesn't. Interestingly enough, the egg adjacent to the green one turned out to be a double yolk!! Both of us agreed they were very tasty indeed. When buying them we got a little lesson regarding eggs and their storage. Turns out these organic eggs can be left on the counter for weeks. As well, she claimed my baked goods would see an improvement so testing it out I just had to make this oatmeal cake, an old recipe from Bruce's mom.

So yes to the eggs, and a double yes to the okra. Roasting it with cajun seasoning was a winner.

The best part of the okra was that there was no slime. NO SLIME! Don't you just love that cloth napkin Nancy gave us for our anniversary?

Gosh, there is just so much to report. Like how the river is diminishing. Note the water level on the rock. I suppose the water line is a clue too. :)

John had told us that what we were seeing when we arrived was considered a lake and in September it would go back to being a river, but at the time we just didn't get it. Now we have seen it for ourselves, although I can't say that I get it yet!

What is so interesting is that before it looked muddy but the truth was that it was an illusion due to the brown bottom and rocks. That reminds me when we visited Blue Ridge last week, stopping by a small park on the Toccoa River, we could not resist standing in the cool clear water.

That would be one of the two jeans skirts Nancy brought here for me, both of which are getting plenty of wear. Although not today as it is quite chilly this morning and gasp (!), I have put on a light pair of pants! Gasp because I hate both pants, and shorts, but will probably have to get used to them sooner or later.

It might have been on our way back from Blue Ridge that we stopped for a brief time at a roadside cemetery. Wandering cemeteries is a pass time that I enjoy, imagining what life was like for those I see memorialized. What do you think could have happened here? 

Did Wade die of a broken heart? How sad the two of them must have been when this happened in their married life.

Can you read it? Enlarge if not. Losing not one, but two infants? 

I will admit to scanning the cemetery for mushrooms, something I seem to be doing everywhere we go since I discovered how interesting they can be. 

Quite the pile of them right? It is a type which I have now forgotten the name of as there are dozens and dozens of them to be found here in North Carolina. 

Last week, our field trip did not take us too far away. John, who is an Energizer bunny btw, rides his mountain bike on the Piney Knob trail system just outside town. He had been encouraging us to give one of the hikes a try and so we did. Bruce kept reminding me that at the rate we were going it was going to take all day to go only a few miles. And why might that be, you ask? Blame it on the mushrooms that were begging to be photographed!

By the time I spotted these Bruce was a ways ahead of me as he knew that I would eventually have to catch up. I think I did have to call him back when I spotted movement in the leaves and saw this creature which I am calling a toad due to lack of knowledge about what it really is. The camouflage is amazing!

I have become accustomed to my iPhone identifying plants and flowers, bugs too, but as for mushrooms, it is a no-go. Amphibians as well. Perhaps it is this?

On our way to Blue Ridge we stopped at a super weird place which I will show you in more detail another day, but this sure caught my eye while we were there. I love seeing weird stuff like this.

Peer out the window for a preview of the place!

Remember we stopped at the vineyard that was closed? The one with the Palominos across the street? 

The owner was quite chatty and suggested, in spite of us being there while they were not open, that I head down a few rows for grapes that were soon to be harvested. Each row had the grapes covered with a mesh to protect them from the hungry birds. 

That color, right? 

Well here is something to celebrate! 

The doors are wide open; let Autumn begin!!

So, a glimpse into this photographer's everyday life. Stuff just begs me to take a picture.  As soon as I typed that sentence it reminded me of a funny incident in our family's past. Our twins were on an episode of the show called "Get the Picture" on Nickelodeon and it was quite the experience. Those were the days!

your friend,

Gail

p.s. It does really take the two of us, but how to work that into a title, I really don't know how.

Tomato Fest and More

As a veteran of farmer's market vending, I know that it can be quite the struggle to grow a market. A town with a small population makes that task all the more difficult, however, they are doing their best here in Murphy to get the town folks to visit the market. The most recent event was dubbed, Tomato Fest  with a Bloody Mary contest, games and activities for children, live entertainment, as well as chef demonstrations. Sounds good, right?  While we had a wonderful time, there was definitely room for improvement when it came to attendance. Nevertheless, I will show you what I saw beginning with this crazy fancy BM from a restaurant in nearby Hayesville.

Pretty elaborate is one way to put it. There were tastings, however, only the judges were permitted the added alcohol. Which reminds me of something I learned only recently and that is that Murphy was a dry county until very recently. According to this blog post I found, it wasn't until 2016 that full liquor sales were approved. It never occurred to me, but then again, it didn't occur to me that at noon the national anthem, along with a prayer and the singing of another patriotic song, would be playing on the local radio. One person I've talked to claimed that the town is in no hurry to change and likes things the way that they are and who am I to argue with that notion?  After two weeks with no local news, we are finally learning what is happening around us by reading the Cherokee Scout. Have I already mentioned this? Forgive me if that is the case. At any rate, it is a gold mine of news stories, obituaries and letters to the editor. An example of the letters to the editor this week were two expressing thanks to their fellow citizens for helping them through recent deaths of family members. How sweet is that? Another amazing article appeared this week outlining how the city commissioners are going to vote next month as to whether pool tables should be allowed in restaurants. Apparently there are memories of bad brawls at the local pool halls in the past. I will keep you posted! 

Okay, back to theTomato Fest....check out this little cutie who, according to this chef who is a neighbor,

as soon as she heard about the festival, ordering the costume was a must.

So fun! As to the attention she caused, it looked like she was loving every minute of it. 

There were two demonstrations, one of which was for stuffed cherry tomatoes with a filling of goat cheese among other ingredients, but the one that stuck with me was the one that she is demonstrating in the photo above the tomato girl. She showed off a really neat way to cut peppers which I have now tried at home as well as how to core a tomato efficiently which I have also tried at home.

Both worked quite nicely. Although I have been cooking for most all of my life, I really have never been taught how to cook. When you think about that, how many other things in life could we actually pull off for decades with no real training? Probably not very many! One of the items I brought from home was the neat blender Alissa gave me for Christmas which worked quite nicely in batches.

By golly it was delicious!

Back to the market, here is another set up for the contest. All of this is held in the old depot where many things are since the trains quit coming to town. 

All of the floral arrangements pictured above are grown locally. Here is the outside of the market where you might notice the caboose in the photo.

I guess the caboose isn't all that visible, so here's another look with the man of the house pictured.

Astute readers will also notice the banner tied to said caboose advertising the model railroad club which we had read about in the "Scout." As we were the only folks visiting, we had plenty of time to chat with the two remaining members of the club.

Sadly their third member just passed away. Bruce told the gentleman that I was a blogger and would be sure to include in my narrative that they are searching for new members! Note the Henn Theatre in nearby Andrews.

May I presume that you remember there is a second location here in Murphy? How presumptuous of  me! 

It's really cute as can be and has taken countless hours of work. Here comes the train!

Not only have countless hours been spent on putting it all together, countless dollars have as well, which is one reason they need more members to help pay to keep the lights on.

The above would be the square in downtown Murphy which is presumably going to become a roundabout in the near future. Again I am being presumptuous, but I wrote this post after our first week here and reported that not everyone is thrilled with the idea. :)

Back outside here is Ann or maybe Anne, we are not really on those terms just yet such that I can ask the spelling. Nevertheless, we have been visiting her booth for the last few weeks picking up baked goods at alarmingly inexpensive prices. She claims she is good and would rather not come home with anything, thus the low prices. Last week we had a lesson on the Cornish pasties and the miners in Cornwall. What part of England she is from remains a mystery for now.

She has an unusual method of covering her various bins with shower caps. Furthermore she uses any old container to send you home with your scrumptious treats, including cottage cheese containers, as well as berry containers. I am all for recycling, but those berry containers with the holes are not my favorite as they do tend to speed up the staling process. Is staling a word? Let me see. Aha...seems to be.

About two blocks from the market is our sweet church which looks like this. Super photogenic!

In my last post, I told you we were going to play bingo and so we did. It takes about ten minutes to get to church btw, as there are only a handful of cars on the streets. Anyway was it ever fun!!

Mr. Peck won the first round and doggonit, he won another round later on. We were asked to bring wrapped little items, which we really didn't know what that meant, but we soon found out. Bruce's first prize? A can of tuna fish!! When my numbers came up though, it was two knitted caps!

We began the evening singing the doxology led by Priest Maggie, (in the pink) who is a real dynamo.

Another dynamo was the young man who called the numbers, a great grandson of one of the parishioners. Relishing every minute of it, this eight year old boy loved his time in the spotlight.

Here's a funny story we only learned about yesterday at church: when Bruce won for the second time he picked up the gift that looked similar to his tuna can because he figured we could make two sandwiches. Instead, Maggie suggested he take something else. By then I had gotten up to help with the clean-up from the meal we had shared, so I may have this wrong, but essentially the lady pictured in the foreground went home with a similarly wrapped gift which she assumed was tuna fish. Nope, cat food! So plenty of silly fun. What is troubling though is the same thing that ails the train club, not enough young people. With so many people not attending church anymore, these beautiful places of worship have very uncertain futures or so it seems to me. 

Speaking of dying out, I have now visited all three in-town cemeteries, this being the smallest of the three.

The one by the river walk is large and called the Sunset Cemetery because it is high upon a hill with sweeping views of the mountains. We drove through there to better understand what I was seeing from the path below.

On Church street behind our church, not to mention the Cherokee Scout offices, is a large cemetery begun by the Methodists with graves dating to the 1840's. It is also the site of the Harshaw Chapel completed in 1869.

There is a lot of history associated with this cemetery, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. What I will say about it is that there are some very interesting graves including this one.

Such a sweet sentiment. So many people are choosing cremation these days so, like most anything around today, who knows what the future holds for cemeteries? 

I hate going off topic, but it does remind me to mention how cash is king around these parts. Just saying.

A simple headstone for the young girl and some big time markers for the adults.

This has been kind of fun, right, learning how the other half lives? I cannot tell you the number of people who have said they were so happy to have found this place. But, then again, the ones who weren't so happy aren't here to tell me that are they? For us we are thrilled with no traffic and this very simple life. The shopping opportunities, not so much!

your friend,

Gail