Fun Weekend in the Smokies!

This weekend we went out into the Smoky Mountains to go camping and for a mini vacation with some close friends.

I'll be blogging on that later, and on all the fun and activities, but here are a few nature shots for the mean-time.

For the first time, outside of a zoo, I saw a Hellbender. These are an amazing, ancient and primitive creature. It was crawling out in the water about 8-9 feet from us and I noticed it and grabbed my camera. It was about 2+feet long! I swear this might be the biggest moment of the weekend for me!


Here are a few other photos of the beauty of the Smokies.

Praying for the hurricane...

Yup. Sad but true, we are praying for the hurricane to "stick together" enough to produce a LOT of rain here in WNC.

Things are progressively getting worse in the water/drought department in our area. We are over 2 inches behind on rainfall this month alone. If I am not mistaken, that is 18 inches behind in rainfall for the year. It is so dry that the ground is literally cracking and breaking apart. Gardens are dying, lakes are drying up, river releases are halted b/c of the lack of water to let out of the damns... All of this effects the economy of WNC as well as the quality of life for those of us living here.

It is scary to think that the real ramifications are. Soon we will be into dealing with the wild fires like we did last year, but it will be worse, we are even dryer than were were at that time... the apple crops will be smaller and less quality... WNC produce is not as big or even as appealing as it has been in years past... the farmers are raising prices b/c of smaller crops... The rafting industry, which is a HUGE part of the tourist economy here, is suffering b/c there is no longer water to release from the damns, less people rafting/visiting means less money stimulating the local economy which means higher prices for those of us living here.

The leaves have already started to fall. They aren't turning colors, just drying up and falling off the trees... this too means less visitors for the fall colors in the mountains b/c we aren't going to have the beautiful reds and yellows and oranges of years past. There isn't enough water for the trees to keep the leaves... heck, even the trees are dying.

All of this coupled with the higher gas prices, and people not being able to afford to travel/spend means that our little mountain towns will be suffering for years to come. Playing catch-up is hard enough... but when there is no end in sight, it is near impossible (and I am talking about the rain and the economy).


Our personal garden hasn't made it. We have gotten almost no produce. Even the sun flowers didn't survive. Our beans, tomatoes, broccoli, radishes, cucumbers, carrots, onions, and garlic all just didn't fare well with the extreme heat and lack of water. We had about 3 radishes, 10-20 beans total, and no cucumbers that actually made it. (The cucumbers turned orange before they were even 2 inches long.)

We did however get our first zucchini and squash yesterday. Not too shabby, I just wish we had been able to get enough produce to make it through the summer without buying. I can't believe how long it took these to produce, we planted in April.

We actually had 2 zucchini but we ate one for dinner before I got to take a photo of it. The squash is fairly small, but the zucchini is HUGE! I hope that the plants continue to survive and give us more to eat...

Please join us in praying for rain, and lots of it.

On a Kick...

I am on a purging kick.

I want to try to purge about half of our household belongings. I realize that in all honestly, I will probably only be able to shed 1/3... but half is a great goal. I have already started packing and marking items for next year's consignment sale.

I am thinking that I want to be out of debt in 5 years. Totally out of debt, that way Carl and I will be able to build the house of our dreams and live self sufficiently. The hardest part is going to be cutting out ALL extras. But, I know it is better in the long run and that we will be happier not being under anyone's thumb.

That being said, the first room I decided to "purge" (including clothing, and toys) was the boys room.

We also were able to get their "new"beds together and they are incredibly excited about the change! (So is mom b/c it gave us a lot more room). Carl and I stained and poly-ed the bunk-beds. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

The Way Kids Think...

This morning, Carl and I were chatting in the car. I was telling him how excited and privileged I feel for being invited to attend the birth of a good friend of mine. We turned the conversation to the "husband" roll in the birth, and to home-birth.

Our entire family was a part of Canyon's birth. Rory and Carl both had "jobs" and Arden was there to experience it too. Rory chose to tell us what the gender of the baby was, and he chose to "help" mom cut the cord.

Rory was a part of Canyon's home-birth. He was a participant in bringing his brother into the world, and he (unlike Arden) is old enough to remember this, and to see it as the "norm" and natural. To me it really makes me smile to know that when he grows up, that he will encourage his partner to have a home birth and maybe even advocate for the natural birth process.

While we were talking about this, I turned to Rory in the back seat and asked him, "Rory, when you grow up and get married, will you have your babies at home?"

His reply was fast and sure... "NO!"

I asked "Where are you going to have the baby? At the hospital?"

And in typical 4YO fashion, he taught me something about semantics... "But mom... I am a BOY, I can't have babies!"

Amazing how the mind of a child works isn't it?

3 Months and Growing Strong...

Carl went to Charlotte today, and after I ran the morning chores, I decided to take a few 3-month photos of Canyon...






I can't believe my baby is 3 months old already... it is going by too fast.

The "Wettest Drought I Have Ever Seen"

Water has been a concern here in WNC for 2 years now. We haven't seen a drop of water at our house in almost a month. Our garden is not producing anything. We have gotten about 10-20 beans total, and nothing else has yielded any produce.

When we started to have issues with our well, I decided to google around and see if other folks were experiencing water shortages. I found a lot of interesting things while doing my research.

*If Western NC doesn't get 13 WEEKS of straight rain above our average, we will be out of water in a year. Our water sheds will be completely dry. Sounds unbelievable doesn't it?

*One of Marshal's 3 wells has gone dry and they expect the other three to follow suit in a few weeks.

*The French Broad River is at its lowest levels since river levels and weather records were started in the 1800's.

*Combined with last year we are almost 30 inches below our average rainfall since January 2007.

But there was one thing that I found that just completely blew my mind. I came across an online chat discussing the weather and drought conditions here in WNC. A lady was posting how she didn't believe there is a drought. That she is getting rain every day, and the rivers and streams have plenty of water. She called it "The wettest drought I have ever seen".

I am appalled and amazed at both her ignorance and her lack of common sense when people tried to tell her about the issues with rain and water sources.

What really got me thinking about this today was that we decided to go to the "Ledges Park" on the French Broad. As I posted before, the water is the lowest it has ever been. Literally, there are no records showing it at these levels. As I drove down to the park I gasped. I hadn't been down in a month or so (you can find my last post from it) and when I saw the lack of water and the yellowing grass and trees, I was dismayed.


The boys and I waded in the shallow pools while Carl and Rhett paddled down stream for what may be the last time this summer, or even longer.



The water level is dropping so quickly that soon he won't be able to get down the river, today was close.


While Carl and I were talking about the amazing sight of the river and rocks, he really put it in perspective for me. We are looking at rocks and fossils that no one who is alive has ever seen.


No one has ever seen these rocks that are jetting out of the water and mud.


No one has ever seen the pot-holes that have been caused by millions of years of water rushing over a loose stone.



No one has walked on these cobblestones.


But then again, we are in the wettest drought I have ever seen.

Life back to "normal"

Today, life is back to normal (or something that resembles it) for us. We have water, although tonight the color is so bad that it looks like sweet tea, we are overcoming the nasties we have had, and we fixed the tires on the mower.

I was able to do wash:


The boys played in the sandbox:


Under the sprinkler:


On the swing set:


And rested in the yard:


All while dad mowed the yard:


Then Dad convinced everyone it was fun to weed the garden:


Which someone thought meant pick mom's tea roses by hand:


Last week we were lucky enough to watch a HUGE poplar tree be taken down by Timber Tiger Tree Service. They ARE licensed and insured. These guys showed up on time this morning at 9am (I was waiting for them for my neighbor).


They were very sweet and kind. We had asked if they would please leave us some trunk sections for "seats" at our fire ring, they went a step ahead and made me CHAIRS!!!! With backs! When I offered to tip them (actually was handing them a $20bill), they declined the money.



They joked, were funny, and entertained my kids well!

Now... I also wanted to add... they aren't bad to look at :D The two boys that came out were super cute! LOL! I most definitely enjoyed watching my neighbor's tree being removed ;o)

Anyhow, if you need tree services, they do rock, and are reasonably priced and insured.

Something to Laugh About...

I just wanted to have some photos of the day for you guys, I will blog on the day later.

Enjoy the laughs and funny faces. Click the pics for the enlargements.


Arden can't squeeze the trigger on his own...

Carl runs through the sprinkler while mowing

Rory licks the mud/water running down his face


Canyon has something hanging... do you see it?

Geeze, they should all be super models. HAHAHAHAHA

Baby MoHawk...

So for almost 2.5 years now, Rory has had a MoHawk by choice.

Just recently (like in the last 2-3 days) we have begun to see a new family member with a mohawk... and no, it isn't the A-man...





It seems that Canyon has officially began to get rid of his baby hair. Carl went to CO last week and the baby had a full head, he got back home on Monday night to a balding little boy...

Boy are they growing up fast.