the fence

The cedar fence around our backyard was built 19 years ago. The cedar boards were holding out pretty well, but the posts were the worse for wear. During an icy time a few winters ago our neighbor pulled out of her garage and slid into our fence. Ever since then the fence has become more and more wobbly on that side. On the other side our basketball/football-playing neighbors have smashed into our fence more than a few times, so it was wobbly as well. This became the year that a new fence made it into our budget. We shopped around for the best price, best quality combination and a new cedar fence now encircles our backyard.

The fence-builders told us they would haul all the old boards away for an additional $150.00. My wife and I rejected that plan, since our town has curbside pickup for building materials. Well the fence-builders took the old fence down in sections and carried whole sections to the curb. It felt like we were living inside a fort as we looked out our front door and saw mountains of fence sections on our sidewalk. Curbside pickup is Thursdays, so we could hardly wait until Thursday. Thursday came and the sections were not picked up. I called the city. They apologized and scheduled a pickup for the next day. The sections weren't picked up. We decided we could wait until the next Thursday. Thursday came and no pickup. I called again. Again they apologized and said the boards would be picked up the next week. Thursday came and no pickup, but this time when I called I got another worker on the line. When I told her my name, her response was "oh you're the one with the fence boards on your sidewalk, hold on a minute." I held on and the city engineer came on the line to tell me they couldn't pick up our boards. "If you didn't build the fence completely yourself then we can't pick it up."

So I called the landfill and was told the cost would be $20.00 per pickup load. I knew that I would have 4 or 5 loads if I left the sections intact so Friday night my wife and I started deconstructing the sections... knocking the boards off the runners and posts, and bending all the exposed nails so we wouldn't impale ourselves on them as we moved the boards around, loading and unloading. I have a little pickup so I put out an email plea to friends asking if anyone had a trailer [with a truck attached] that they would be willing to loan me. That way I could get all the boards to the landfill in one load.

This being Memorial Day weekend, I got several positive responses but all of them were out of town for the holiday. I continued deconstructing Saturday. About three fourths of the way through my task a lady and her teenage daughter pulled up beside me and asked what my plans were for this old fence. I told her and she asked if she could have it. I asked how much of it. She said all of it. She lives 50 miles from our house and she said she and her husband would come back on Sunday with a trailer and get all 280+ boards and all the runners and the posts. The more I thought about it after she drove away the more I thought that this would be the last I saw of her. You know how sometimes at a garage sale or yard sale you see something you're interested in and tell the seller you'll be back for it. Chances are you won't. So Sunday my wife and I went to church, came home, worked in the yard... no lady. We had to make an errand run in the late afternoon and when we turned the last corner before arriving back at our house, we saw it. NO BOARDS! The lady held true to her word. She came back and took every last board and post. The sidewalk is clean. We are old-fence free! Yay!

garter snake along the river

On a recent visit to the wetlands, I saw this beautiful, little garter snake basking in the sun between the trail and the river. He wasn't concerned with me at all. He was just happy to be out of hibernation and soaking in the warmth. I have seen very few woodland creatures in the wetlands this spring. I'm just waiting for that close-up look at a blue heron or a great white egret.

what lies ahead

Sometimes this trail can seem a little ominous, especially in the late afternoon as the sun is beginning to sink low in the sky. There have been days that I have hiked this trail [8 or more miles] and never encountered another person. It is relaxing and quiet, but it can be a little bit spooky. I like to know that I'm not the only one on the trail. And then there are times I don't even think about how many people are on the trail... perhaps a mid-day hike or a rainy day hike.

The section of trail where this image was taken survived the recent storms and flooding surprisingly intact, but there are entire sections of the trail on the southern loop that are gone... sheared off and dropped into the river. It will be months before the trail can be rerouted and made accessible to bikers and horses again. And there is also the issue of mosquitoes. The flooding created a breeding ground for thousands [perhaps millions] of new mosquitoes that would not have otherwise developed in this area. Hiking this wilderness area is not as much fun this year as it has been in springs past... but that's OK.

tsalagi

My Native American ancestors [East Band Cherokee of North Carolina] lived off the land. They hunted the mountains of Western North Carolina, fished the streams of the Great Smokies, farmed the hillsides of the Appalachian Mountains. They built houses, developed the first Native American written language, educated their young, lived simple, productive lives.

For thousands of years the Cherokee [Tsalagi] lived and thrived in the southeastern United States, before intiial contact with European settlers in the 1500's. In the 1830's gold was discovered in north Georgia. Settlers rushed into the area, wanting the land that the Tsalagi inhabited. In 1838, thousands of Cherokee men, women and children were rounded up and forced to walk a thousand miles to Indian Territory, today known as the state of Oklahoma. Thousands died on the trail, and many more died after their arrival in Indian Territory. This relocation of the Cherokee is known as The Trail of Tears.

Today there are more than 200,000 Cherokee people in the United States. Over 70,000 of them still live in Oklahoma. My ancestors still reside in Western North Carolina.

9952

shake it up

William B Clark Nature Preserve
Nature Conservancy
Rossville, Tennessee

drying out from the rain

The trails are finally back. The waters have receded. And things are drying out a bit. It's time to get back into springtime.

flooded trails

Here are a few images from the flooded trails along the Wolf River.

William B Clark Nature Preserve
Rossville, Tennessee

The Blue Trail
Lucius Burch Natural Area South
Memphis, Tennessee

The Red Trail
Lucius Burch Natural Area South
Memphis, Tennessee

tulip poplars in our backyard

My wife and I were supposed to have a booth set up at the Fair on the Square today... but instead we are home. So are all the other vendors for the fair. It is raining... major weather today. In the past 18 hours our area has received around 11 inches of rain. The streets are flooded. There are tornado watches and warnings all over the area. Only one tornado has touched down so far. If there is good news, then that is it. We've been watching local weather off and on all day and so far only one tornado on the ground and no major damage. It is supposed to rain throughout the night and off and on all day tomorrow.

I think we are going to try to set up our booth in the morning. I crack geodes at our booth. Sherri has jewelry, rocks and minerals.