What's That...What's Going On?!

It's been awhile, about 30 days, since I've posted, which is getting to be about par for the course.  So, I thought I would bring those interested up to date, and maybe prove the point, that retirement is loads of fun!

True, the fun is often broken by a low spot, like the last prostrate laser surgery, but boy, has it ever helped.  If you listen at the door, you would think a young horse was relieving himself!  I mean...even when I was young I never had a stream like the one I'd proudly show off now!

Anyway, I'm back to feeling myself (not literally), and having fun.

Dennis Tufano, Stevie G, and Steve Jarrell

I guess the first great adventure I had following the outpatient procedure was the "Dennis Tufano" concert Princess Productions put on down at the Princess Theatre.  He has lost little in his voice, the original voice of the Buckinghams, and his back up band, The Rockerz, with lead singer and guitarist Stevie G, did a bang up job.  The vintage ladies in the audience were screaming like they were 16 again and the boys on stage loved it!

I'll have to put in a plug for Michael "Crawdaddy" Crawley too.  He warmed up the crowd with his box of harps and his gravelly bluesy sounding voice.  He and went outside at break and took a few snaps of the Princess.

Bill Landry, Elizabeth Rose, Sam Venable, and Jim Claborn

They all loved our Princess, and I sure hope this gets things rolling downtown.  We plan on bringing in a quartet of storytellers next.  They are quite a crew, and well known to East Tennessee.  They spin yarns of Appalachia, country folklore, and even a golf and fishing tale might come out.  I had a recent promo photo shoot with them and they keep me rolling the entire afternoon and into the evening over a brew!

Judy and I are still out hiking when we can, even though the wildflowers came early, we still enjoy a walk down a wooded path by a mountain stream.  There just something about the woods that brings the child out in me again.  Being raised essentially an only child, being ten years older than my brother, I found solace from loneliness among the quietness of Tennessee forests.  I did my best thinking out there and discovered a lot about my self and the world there.

It's like the bear we recently came upon in Cades Cove, or the deer in the front yard.  They are my kind of people!  The only animal we came across that I don't consider "good people, was the grey snake at John Cable's mill!

Even the horses in the fields I see almost everyday take me back to a time when I got to be a kind of country cowboy, riding through the woods with my cousin Larry.  

Or the time Richard Lacher and I sneaked into a "walking horse" barn near our trailer park in Florence.  There we met the devil, and his name was "Midnight Sun", a Tennessee Walker of some renown.  

He saw us before anyone and wanted to kill us immediately, although "walkers" are generally gentle!  Came right up to us, trying to break through the steel gate, snorting like the wild thing he wanted to be again!  Probably was all that anger in having to wear those cruel weighted shoes, "stacks" (stacked pads), or weighted chains his trainer made him wear.

I discovered from the embedded web link that he was born in 1940 and accumulated quite record over his career, being a world champion in 1945 and 1946.

Last weekend I shot the "Cruisin' Harriman" car show downtown, which occurs the second Saturday of each month, April - August.  That's always a hoot, and I love community events, and the history that comes alive because of them.  Take this Saturday, it's the seventh annual WWII reenactment at the Secret City Festival in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.  I can't wait to see all those tanks, half-tracks, and American and German reenactors running amidst all that smoke and gunfire!  Talk about a hoot and a feast for a photographer!

Photo actually by Kaitlyn Russell

I missed a great feast last week by being too old to tackle Bonnaroo!  The only shot I got was from my granddaughters iPhone...the arch as you enter the rock'n playground for wannabe hippies!  Alas, it's as close as I'll ever get, but I just want to give her credit for sticking it out!  She almost gave it up after the first day of heat, and being ignored, but sucked it up and stuck it out for the full "right of passage" tour!

I'll stick to my hikes, waterfalls, old barns, lotus ponds, and visits to the strange "world's tallest tree house" in Crossville!  That's about as far out as I want to get these days.  That's my element at this stage in my life.

So, I'll sign off by telling you that I'm bushed...we had a big thunderstorm last evening, with the power going off at 9PM and not coming back on until 5AM.  I don't sleep well in the dark...pitch darkness, that is, or in quietness so still I can hear my heart beating.  At this age you think the next beat might be the last one, and you just don't want to hear that last one.  I run an air filter in my room to mask all the static noise...heart beats, squeaks from house expansion and expansion, crickets outside, the refrigerator running, or Judy snoring!  Without, I'm wide awake!

The rain and hail came down in buckets, and I was still there clicking away.  I made these HDR renditions of it all, even catching that spooky orange glow that comes in some storms.  

So with that...see ya next time...maybe sooner than 30 days...IF I got got shots during the war games!

TIMBER! SNAKES!

Sometime during the high winds and light snow Sunday night and Monday, this huge oak tree (center of photo) was pushed almost to a 45 degree angle. The soil around the base of the 24” tree had been disturbed a couple of years back when a tree growing next to it toppled, and this year’s 12” surplus of rain weakened the grip the roots had on the ground. One of the nearly 50 mph gusts that passed through the area shoved it against several smaller trees that prevented it from falling into the house next door to my vacant lot.

My neighbors were concerned that if it went the full distance it would strike the end of their house, and with the additional length the supporting trees would have added, it would have slapped heavily against their home. Therefore, since it was my tree, we decided to have the tree cut and split the cost*.

The first guy my neighbor called, who will remain nameless, was a certifiable nut! Instead of business, he talked the entire time about some one he knew at his church committing suicide. He stopped once to interject that he would not cut the tree unless it was supported by a crane!

The dollar signs rolled up in both our eyes. We glanced at each other, one saying, “We’ll get back with ya,” while I gave her the silent “call me” sign! The man left, still talking mostly to himself, and I went back to my house.

When my neighbor called I told her that I was calling “Blanks Tree Work” (Roane County, Tennessee). She agreed and soon I was calling her back telling her that Greg Blanks was on his way out.

Long story short, Greg sized up the job, noting that it would be tricky, (but no crane) but that they should have no problem. He then gave us a very fair price…we shook hands and he left promising to be there the next morning.

The crew arrived just after 8:30 and had the tree on the ground in about 3 hours. However, as I write this, I can still hear them cleaning up the debris. So, the job took about 4 and a 1/2 hours.

The tree was hung up in several smaller trees, with one medium sized gum holding most of the weight. The trick was to cut the tree from the top down without messing with the limbs supporting the weight. The tallest section was roped off to one side, which eventually caused it to fall well clear of the house. One large limb was finally left near the middle of the tree, just at the end of the heaviest part, while they cut the base and applied weight to the single limb (see red arrow). Suddenly it cracked and down she came in a big huff and a cloud of flying twigs that shook the ground where I stood snapping away!

My neighbors can sleep in peace tonight without worrying about their house, and I can stop worry about every little imaginary detail.

Last night I dreamed about snakes…snakes were everywhere under me. Strangely I was walking on my hands through the snakes! I’m sure they just represented all the possible things that could have gone wrong today. As usual, nothing did. Greg Blanks took care of me once again.

*The law on a tree from your yard falling on your neighbor is that HIS homeowner’s policy is supposed to pay. The trick there is…HE must have insurance. If not, then you have to get involved. In this case, I decided to do the right thing.