Hill Country

Photo by Kevin Wright on Unsplash

I sat on the front porch this morning with coffee, just watching birds at the feeders, enjoying their breakfast. Bright yellow goldfinches are migrating through, and indigo buntings. It rained last night and the leaves still sagged with water, sparkling in the AM sun. Out on the road a group of cyclists pedaled by, bantering with each other and laughing.

Another day in the mountains.

Around here, there’s always something that needs to be done, but usually nothing that needs to be done right now. A person can put it off a day or two, take their time, think about it a little more. Just my style really. We do need some mulch, for all these new plantings Johnna has put in the ground. Roses, hostas, blueberry bushes. More rain is expected this afternoon, so the two of us hook up the trailer and drive into town for a load, before it starts. And, as long as we’re there anyway, eat some good Cuban food at Rum Cake Lady. 

Photograph by James Wofford

Along the way we make a stop at Walmart, the general mercantile of rural America. We’re camping on the lake next week, and have to gear up. A flashlight, some fishing tackle, odds and ends. Most of the needed equipment I have already, from years of camping and hiking, but with three children some of it has dispersed further afield, on loan for their own adventures. I’ve put the word out to them though, and it has all been trickling back in, a tent here, a couple of sleeping bags there.  A hammock.

After Walmart and Cuban sandwiches we stop at the nursery for mulch. The young man working is knowledgeable and pretty good with a front end loader. He gets two cubic yards of hardwood mulch on the trailer, packs it down nice and neat and, surprise, we have room left for more plants. Just our luck, canna lilies are on sale! Primarily a sub tropical plant, we saw these beauties all over Central America, where they grow tall, lush, and green, with vibrant bright orange flowers. A landscaping friend has told us they will grow here, but need full sun. So, canna lilies loaded, I get a tarp strapped down over everything and we’re good to go. 

It’s a nice drive back out to the house. The road winds up into the hills toward the Cohutta Wilderness, and we cross Fightingtown Creek at about the halfway mark. The creek is up a little from the rain but still bell clear. Below the bridge a couple of rainbow trout are holding in a rocky pool. I make a note of it, to come back later and float a dry fly through there.

Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash

Later, as the sun begins to drop behind Sally Ann Mountain, we sit out on the back deck, listening to Chris Stapleton and his plaintive, classic, outlaw country voice. Orange and yellow clouds spiral across the sky, changing colors with the sunset. A pair of hummingbirds have found the fresh sugar water in their feeder, and are strafing in like helicopters. Horses graze in the pasture and I take a cup of sweet feed down to the fence where they amble over for their evening treat. They jostle for position, and I’m careful to make sure they all get equal shares, and to not get nipped by the bay filly, who can be pushy. 

The rain has held off, chores are done, and it’s been another good day. A blessing. Productive but relaxed. As usual, hard not to be relaxed here. Tomorrow? We’ll see what the weather brings.