A rare sunny period, over Cullowhee, NC, Balsam Gap in the distance. 

A little history

Fort Loudon, TN. The fort was built by British forces to repel French advances on Cherokee Indian territory in the mid-18th century. 

Overlooking Tellico Lake where the Little Tennessee and Tellico Rivers join; even the snail darter couldn't stop the damming of the rivers in the late 1960s. Several historic Cherokee villages are covered with water now. 

The fort is a reconstruction; the original fort is buried 17 feet below the surface where it would have been flooded when the lake filled. 

You can just barely see the Great Smokey Mountains in the distance thru the haze... 

On the 4th of July

Downtown Murphy NC: slow moving muddy Valley River after the rains, people picnicing on the 4th of July. 

Military display in the park. 

Hiwassee gorge just below downtown Murphy. 

Lilies. 

Mountain rodeo

The Snowbird mountains overlooking Andrews, NC. 

Saturday night at the rodeo in Andrews. 

Lots of action. 

A good chance to get a close up look at the animals... 

...and the cowboys. 

Dog days

The hot days of summer are upon us and the sun, of course, setting 'way to the north... 

It's our first summer in the house, so my first attempts at planting flowers are starting to show some promise... 

Dahlia. 

Cosmos. 

Sunflower. 

There'll be blueberry pancakes this weekend...