Faith, Folklore, and Friends

We were in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg for a few days last week to enjoy all the Christmas festivities there.  On Thursday night, the Weather Channel said there was zero percent chance of precipitation.  The local news said maybe a dusting of snow.  When we got up on Friday morning, it had started to snow, and it snowed all day.  The temperature stayed around 32-34 degrees, so there was none on the roads.  It was a rare treat for us to be in and out of the snow, which was sometimes blowing like a blizzard. All these photos were taken early Saturday morning. The photos above were taken from our balcony at Mountain Loft resort in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  The ones below were taken on the road going from Gatlinburg to Pigeon Forge.  You can see in some of the ones below that the sun was breaking through the clouds. We have been blessed to enjoy Christmas in the Smokies many times, bu...

  Not my photo; source unknown March 5 brings us the Full Worm Moon, the full moon before the spring equinox.   This full moon is also known as the Full Sap Moon, the Lenten Moon, and according to the Dakota Sioux, the Moon When Eyes are Sore from the Bright Snow. It is thought the name Full Worm Moon comes from the Algonquin tribes who lived from New England to Lake Superior.  At this time of year, the earth warms enough for earth worms to appear and start digesting dirt.  This worm activity naturally brings robins looking for their breakfast.  We see the robins and know that spring can't be far away.   As I am writing this at 6:05 on March 5, the ground is covered with a layer of ice and it is still falling from the sky.  Our roads are skating rinks, and our temperatures will probably not rise above freezing today.  If a robin finds a worm today, it may be like eating a little icicle. Still, hope springs eternal, and I am thinking t...

~Florence Main Street photo                           I do not like the cold North breeze or temps low enough to freeze the pipes, the plants, and the parts of motor cars that make them start. I do not like the freezing rain that makes the roads a major pain to try to get to work and school. I do not like it, and I’m no fool. I do not like the mushy snow. It doesn’t set my heart aglow. Instead, it just makes me mean as I pine for something green. I do not like the low, gray sky. Sometimes, it makes me want to cry when I think of all the blue skies gone and weeks of winter yet to come. I do like the summer, humid and hot; long lazy days and temps that do not fall below seventy, even at night! Hurry up, Summer! It’s nowhere in sight. ~ Wanda Stricklin Robertson