Faith, Folklore, and Friends

Just off the Roaring Fork Trail in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Bud Ogle was able to build a home and scratch out a living.  It is hard to see where his corn fields were, because the forest has taken over most of the land he cleared. The area is full of rhododendrons and many other wildflowers, attracting bees and butterflies. The Park Service recently put a new roof on the cabin, using wood shingles like the original roof. I think the roof on the barn is  original .      I'm grateful that this home place has been preserved for us to see. Roaring Fork is not as popular as Cades Cove, and it is not as crowded.  Check it out the next time you are in Gatlinburg!

Last Saturday, Hub, my lil' ole Sister, and I attended the 22nd annual Townsend, Tennessee Fall Heritage Festival and Old Timers Day. There was a lot going on, and thousands of people there to enjoy a perfect fall day. We had heard about this festival for years, but this was the first time we have been able to attend.  It did not disappoint. Mr. Allen Collins was doing a little whittling while he is taking a break from picking. This booth had farm animals, and the kids loved it.  They had several baby goats and a hungry baby pig. She was not kissing this one.  It was squealing and she was trying to calm it down. The people in front of the stage were clogging. We encountered some long food lines, but it was worth the wait. There was a good arts and crafts show, but all we carried home were some ideas and a four pound bag of fresh ground yellow corn meal.  I see muffins in our future. There were groups playing o

B ut ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,  a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should  shew forth the praises of him who hath called you  out  of darkness into his marvelous light. . . ~1 Peter 2:9

We never know when we leave the house what we might see before we get home.  Around here, it can be anything from a coyote to rusty water tanks to a mansion on a hill.  We just need to keep the camera handy for whatever is waiting around the curve or over the next hill.  Here are some examples of very odd fowl that we have spotted while driving down the road, minding our own business. This is an excellent weekend for grabbing your camera and seeing what you can find!

  Summer ends, and Autumn comes, and he who would have it otherwise would have high tide always and a full moon every night; and thus he would never know the rhythms that are at the heart of life.  ~Hal Borland