Elk, Cookies, Birds and More

 Have you ever wondered what a female elk looks like up close? Wonder no more my dear readers.

Feel free to return the stare.

I took this through the trees, thus the shadow, but I am happy to have gotten the moist snout and the bright eye. And, where pray tell did I take this. Read on!

Ever since I became aware that elks were present in Cherokee, NC, I have been dying to go and see them. Like for five months or so. Woo hoo, we went last week and it was not only beautiful weather, but a glorious day, that is until I smashed my thumb. I have every confidence that you will be happy to know that while it still hurts, I am managing. We are back to playing and practicing pickleball which is making both of us very happy indeed. 

So let's go to Cherokee, shall we? The day began frosty as we made our way through Andrews, the part of the drive that you already know I love so much.

The mountains on both sides, the fog, the fields framing the road, trees, crossing the river several times, what pray tell is not to like?

Then you get to the foggy parts,

not to mention windy! Bruce is doing such a great job driving us on all of these unfamiliar roads, but one thing that still bothers him is the notion that he might be going slower than the locals. That said, his confidence is increasing which each road trip.

Coming into Bryson City it was still foggy and overcast.

Although we spent no time there, one thing really caught my eye, necessitating a turn-around-the block and stop situation.

Not only was the mural super sweet and fun, but when I looked in the shop window I was dying over a displayed dress that was so cute, but so unavailable because they were closed. Not just because it was a little bit early, but because they have winter hours and are only open a few days a week, something we have discovered is not uncommon around these parts. Maybe another day we will return when I can go into the shop and perhaps come out with the Madison Look!

The Great Smoky Mountain Railway begins in Bryson City, helping the local economy immensely.  Perhaps folks that come to ride it stay here?

This is our first time being in a touristy area so things looked quite different as we approached the entrance to the GSM National Park. Lots of old-school motels along the way with super great signage.

The sign reads vacancy and indeed there were no people, but holy cow was there a lot of junk in front of it!

The Pink Motel! Love it!!

I was getting more and more excited as we got closer, as was Bruce, however, we were disappointed as we made our way through Cherokee because it is SO touristy!! For my Orlando readers think International Drive with mountains surrounding it! 

Before leaving the cottage I called the visitor center to see if elk were present on that day to which the employee replied that "yes they were but how far away are you?" When I told her Murphy she said, well then, I can't guarantee that they will be here when you arrive to which I replied, "I guess we will just take our chances." Although it is about 60 miles away it is most certainly not an hour away due to mountain driving! Lo and behold, look what we came across as we were approaching the center. Yeah, we were not pickled! Oh wait, this isn't pickleball! That term means that your opponents score 11 while your score is 0.

This was our first view of the herd, albeit from afar.

The visitor center is to the left of the image, as is the old farmstead, a group of buildings culled from throughout the park that were moved to make this exhibit.

Here is the man of the house as we are walking back from the river walk. 

Well look here..it is the Pecks having fun in the crisp weather!

Selfies are not usually our thing, but it was too pretty of a day to not document our visit. We went on the river walk because the elk were gathered at the tree line on the other side of the walk which, while a little challenging through said trees, gave us a little closer look.

We learned from a lovely older couple that what you are seeing is the bull of the herd who has forty gals in his harem!! When we first arrived we had seen him from the back and wondered about there being any more males.

There was one more with a broken antler who mixed in with the ladies.  Bruce kept reminding me of the signs which said to say at least 50 feet away which was not all that easy to do on that walk! Oh my the river was pretty!

The farm exhibit was great as well. I took this photo to demonstrate how every part is built on the stacking principle. Pretty neat, huh?

I was very interested as well in these purple martin houses made out of gourds as they would have been done back in the day.

As we were leaving, one more appeared along the roadway, something that apparently occurs with frequency. Well heck, we saw one on our way in as you might recall.

It was an awesome visit to the gateway of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The drive home was fairly straightforward, but unfortunately we missed our turn so went on a crazy winding road to hook up with our original route. There was this lovely view which will be impossible in a few months time because of the kudzu. We are really puzzled as to why they don't do more to rip it all out in the winter, but what do we know? Someone has a reason, or perhaps it is lack of employees, but in any case between the trees and the kudzu we would have seen not much. Instead, a glorious view on a glorious February day.

And then I shut my thumb in the car door in Franklin marring what up till then was a perfect field trip. We were vacillating about getting lunch and then wondered if we had some crackers or the like in the back seat of the car. That was the mission that went awry. What saved me, aside from it not bleeding what with me being on blood thinners and all, was, when I could speak again, I said I needed ice quickly. Turns out within two or so blocks there was a McDonalds where we did get something to eat and ice for my thumb. It still hurts like a son of a gun, but I suspect it will for a while. I am managing. 

I've been meaning to show you this beautiful cake that was part of the church luncheon a week or so ago. So pretty and it was delicious too. 

Let's talk about baking and I mean in my own kitchen. Here's a question for you--have you ever wondered what would happen if you used the wrong leavening agent while baking cookies? Probably not. I shall spare you the experiment because I've discovered the answer purely by accident. Or, maybe I should say stupidity? At any rate, I had not baked cookies since Christmas, so when Bruce was asked whether or not he would like come chocolate chip cookies, well you can guess what his response was can't you? Never in all of my years of baking cookies have I ever used baking powder when the recipe calls for baking soda but now I have and here's what the cookies look like with that ingredient swap.

Generally I only bake one batch at a time so when the first batch came out looking like the above I wanted to blame it on the oven. So I adjusted the temperature which was high so I was sure that was the problem. Nope. Next I moved the oven rack and again I had cookies with a ring around them and very soft centers. Not to mention pretty tiny, but still I had no clue. Finally, after they were all nearly baked, I looked in my fabulous Joy of Cooking cookbook and upon reading their recipe, it hit me right away! I still wasn't willing to take the blame and went so far as to have Bruce get the empty chip bag out of the garbage, all the while hoping they had printed it wrong. Fat chance! 

So not only did I have the thumb accident, baked the cookies wrong and, here's a funny one. On our field trip I discovered that I had put my leggings on inside out!! I fixed it at the park bathroom and in my defense they are black on both sides, but still. What next? I wish I were not so clumsy or stupid but one needs to call a spade a spade when one sees one!

Oh wait, here's another crazy thing. I ordered a new muffin pan and did not check the proper delivery option so it went to Orlando along with a new jigsaw puzzle from Amazon. Not wanting to bother with returning it from afar, nor bothering friends, I ordered another one and let me tell you it is a winner and worth every penny. Get this...no greasing the cups required! 

The pop right out and a little water in the hot pan softens any remnants. Perfection!

The puzzle I ordered to replace the one that is in Orlando was a beauty and although I got off to a great start, I had to bring in the calvary. Unlike me, Bruce sorts the pieces in a tidy fashion.

Together we finished it and isn't it just so pretty? Gallison is the manufacturer. 

I know there are those amongst you that can complete a puzzle of 1,000 pieces, without even looking at the picture I might add, however, this couple is sticking with 500 which is challenging enough for us!

While many folks have thought we should have returned to Florida for part of the winter, as has been repeated a number of times, I am enjoying the winter and Bruce is growing to like it as well. (note big smile in our selfie!) We considered coming home for a few weeks, but why quit in the middle of an experiment? What if it snows and we miss it? Although it has been unseasonably warm here, cold weather is still very much a possibility. And then there is this:

The garden you have now become familiar with because of the feeders and hot tub has multiple groups of sprouts and I can hardly wait to see what happens next. I am beginning to appreciate how much having seasons changes ones life and seemingly, in many ways, for the better. It gives a person something to look forward to and I don't mean the end of greater summer and beginning of lesser summer like it has always been for me in Florida. The days are lengthening and it now feels sort of weird for it to be light after 6pm. Are you feeling the same? 

And in the last of today's exciting news, look what happened last week.

You would think I was some sort of scientist or something what with the amount of time I spend watching the birds come and go. In spite of all of that time I have not seen my couple again since I took the above late last week. My gut tells me they will return when they are good and ready, but I am hoping it will be sooner rather than later. I caught them eying out the property that day so I know they are interested.

Here's a little something though....who knows what prompted me to do so but I have been keeping a list of birds that have come to the feeders or the ground below, which btw, we had a new guest this week in the form of a Hermit Thrush, but anyway, I went through my photo albums and discovered that I have photographed a lot of different species in my days. To the tune of 135! I agree that with 10,000 species in the world it is a mere drop in the bucket but I am excited nonetheless.

Well folks, that's all the news that is fit for print from Charlotte's Cottage. Never fear, there will be more.

your friend,

Gail

Memories from Murphy

As Christmas is but days away, I wanted to stick close to home today. We've been asked numerous times about going home for Christmas, but although it has only happened once before when we were in Vancouver, our Orlando family is okay with us not being there. Of course it helps that we have sons who have wives with families which, let's be honest, should take precedent over ours! Happy wife, happy life and all that jazz!

Where shall I start?? Maybe reporting that the prints are in the store? As far as I know, only one has sold and that was to Jenn our friend with the wine bar. She wanted to be the first to buy something of mine. Now how sweet was that? Would you look at that...a birdhouse! There is quite a bit of competition around here, so I am keeping my expectations low.

Christmas cookies! Nothing new, been making them since 1977, but for some odd reason, this year they turned out crazy good with perfect size and delicious taste. It's funny how some years that happens isn't it? 

You might note something striped in the background and that would be two potholders made with the fabric Nancy sent me as part of our Christmas gift. I suppose I mentioned that I brought the sewing machine this trip?  As well, I made some Christmas napkins along with a decorative placemat for the island.

Perhaps I mentioned that while in Asheville we popped into JoAnne fabrics and these are the results of that shopping excursion. I brought almost nothing Christmassy with us, in spite of knowing we would be here for Christmas, but I did bring placemats, something we use daily. It made me happy to get them out of the cabinet in early December.

Laura made us some lovely Swedish Christmas bread featuring cardamon that her family has been making for generations. 

It was light and yummy! Fantastic as French toast too!  

A funny thing happened a few weeks ago that might amuse/interest you. Atop the living room bookcases here, there was a huge metal bucket with an emblem of some sort imprinted into the metal.  I thought to myself, "self" why don't you gather some pinecones and fill that up with them as part of our decorations. Going down to the property edge, I gathered what I could find, pinecones unlike any I've ever seen before.

Before we could put said pinecones in the bucket, which btw, I had nowhere near enough, Laura got in touch asking if she could come pick something up from the cottage. Well, duh! It's your house, so yes indeed! The bucket, she wanted the bucket to use for letting the dough rise. Perhaps I'm imagining this, but it seems to me that she said she would be making 50 loaves!!! Honoring her families traditions, which if you have watched any Hallmark movies, and it must be said, the litany of other companies who've gotten into the Christmas movie act, she would be in good company. Last week we were treated to a small gathering at their home for other Swedish fare including her recipe for spiced wine in the Swedish tradition. If I could make the symbols on my computer to type the name I would. 

There is so much of Charlotte here at the cottage that she helped design and lived in for five years or so. For one thing, there is Huckleberry, her cat, who is still roaming around today. Oftentimes he loves perching on John's truck,

and on these winter afternoons he is often to be found sunning himself on our front steps. How he stands the cold is beyond me! And it has been cold to the tune of 23 degrees the other morning, although we are now in a mini warming trend. An 80% chance of rain is the Christmas forecast with no mention of anything white! 

One of the things I periodically come across are recipes that Charlotte printed out in 2002, one of which was for focaccia and I thought, what the heck, I'll try it.  We'd had it at the restaurant and it was delicious so here we go.

It was far better than it looks!! I will definitely try it again, and as for the holes, Bruce did them for me because my attention span is so abysmal, I would begin doing them in a row and then before long, well you know how I am. Next time I will not flatten it as much and we will make the holes deeper. As to olive oil, I think it could use more. 

While we are still in the kitchen, setting up my sewing machine on our dining table, the ironing board is in the kitchen with plenty of room to move around. Continuing our thrift store goodies, this iron! Would you believe $2.00? You should.

Lastly in the kitchen, let's talk fresh eggs. I bought the eggs at the last farmer's market and they were left on the kitchen counter per their instructions. When we returned from Asheville I wondered, had I let them get stale? Contacting the folks via facebook, she told me about the water test, meaning if the eggs floated they were bad. If they stayed on the bottom and laid on their side they were still good but not as fresh and if they were on one end, you are golden. I gave it a try.

Oh boy I almost forgot. There is a chicken coop next door that has gone unused for some years, however, John is now set on strengthening it so the coyotes can't get to the chickens and get this, we are to be part owners of said chickens! That's the plan anyway. Holy cow, this is getting interesting!

Oh my, the winter sky with a sliver of a moon and the beginning of sunset. For those of you wondering, if you love taking sunset photos, go for it now as winter sunsets are the absolute best!

The shadows are great as well. 

As mentioned earlier, it has been cold but it has not kept us from playing pb. Layered up for sure. My side is nearly 100% thankfully. As has become my custom, I go out on the porch when it gets light in the morning to see how cold it feels.  I was freaking out on this morning as I looked to the end of the driveway just before daybreak.

Putting on shoes immediately, as well as a coat of course, I grabbed my camera hoping they would not take off before I made my way down the driveway. This little guy walked right to me!

The light was dim, the lens was wrong, but I did manage to get eight of them in this shot. Look closely!

And you better believe I hightailed into the warm and cozy house when they ran off! 

The river walk continues to provide entertainment in unexpected ways. Honestly, when I came across the Eastern Bluebird action, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Well maybe a wee bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea.

This was taken last Saturday and I am sad to report I've not seen any action there again! You can well imagine that I will keep trying. Exiting the official walk, I landed in front of a darling house that I may have pictured before with Corgi Christmas decorations out front. Does that ring a bell? Well, on this afternoon, I was greeted by the real thing.

And one more!

Ordinarily I might not even include these, but because I want to remember the encounter, here they are. Watching someone pick up dog poop is not my favorite pass time, but on this occasion I did so with interest because the picker-upper person was the lovely young woman who owns the beautiful Corgis. Boy did she have a story to tell! Blood cancer at 40 followed by horrible chemotherapy that caused irreparable damage to her hips! In January she had both hips replaced because she lacked blood supply to her joints. Plus, it took multiple visits to different doctors who all dismissed her complaints before she was diagnosed. That sort of thing makes my blood boil! After a horrible couple of years, she finally thinks she can get out a little bit and I emphasize little. Her husband wanted to go to Iceland, but he agreed to go to Fort Wilderness campground instead. Quite the trade-off huh? She explained that she is not quite ready for a big trip. I hope that when I left, it lifted her spirits just a little bit, knowing someone was willing to listen and empathize with her story. The corgis...our darling former neighbor Regina, who turned 87 btw, has one who is aging and whose heart will break if Argyle does not hang on longer than she! Come to think of it, Regina did act like a queen!

Winter, you have just begun, by the calendar anyway. 

I was bundled up as sunset was nearing on the Valley River. Usually we play pickleball until around lunch time and that is because we are starting later rather, like 9:30 or so when the temperature is maybe above freezing, we have lunch, followed by a little rest for the man of the house, and then we head back to town when he works on his aging bodybuilder stuff and I roam. Then it is dark and then we head home to the fireplace and our cozy surroundings. Should you be curious. :)

Friends, the birds are having a heyday at our feeders! 

Gosh if you only knew how many photos I have of the sweet things. One morning it was particularly exciting as there were so many, including two Cardinals who kept chasing one another. This photo is big and the birds are small, but it shows what they were up to.

Do you see them??? If only you were reading a blog post by a better photographer! Nevertheless, it was quite entertaining seeing them go at one another. John told us that some of the leaves stay on the trees until the new ones push the old ones off. I'm thinking what you are seeing is what he meant.

In spite of all the local festivities, it is still hard for me to imagine Christmas is but days away. Some folks we know who are from Florida are planning to go out to eat but in a first, I plan to make a Prime Rib. When I saw Ingles had them on sale, I thought to myself, "why not?". Hopefully, we will have fun cooking something new. Through the magic of Facetime we will stay connected with our beloved family. One thing to note is that last Christmas in Murphy, the temperatures plunged and folks, including Hank, had frozen pipes. Apparently it was very, very cold. It won't be like that Monday, but whatever it is, we will make the best of it!!

Merry Christmas dear friends from,

your friend,

Gail