Country Roads - Mountain Streams

Country road to my oldest son's house.

Do you ever get that feeling of peace, that moment of total muscle relaxation, of deja vu when you go on a trip and you know that this place is in your genes. Some primeval place that generations have passed on to you? Well, for me the mountains are that place.

North Carolina is blessed with the Atlantic Ocean, the coastal plains, the river basins, the foothills and the oldest Mountains of North America - the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains. When I go to visit my friends and family in the mountains there is this one point where you have left the coastal plain behind and you enter the foothills - here my stomach and my psyche just sort of have this overwhelming feeling of relaxation.

I thought I might share a few of my photos from my most recent trip with you. They are just a few, so bare with me.

progress has taken it's toil

One of those beautiful scenes. The farmers and ranchers in North Carolina are using at least two donkeys in each field with their herds now. It is to combat the coyotes that are making their presence known here. They are filling a predator spot that the wolves left open. Apparently the donkeys are quite aggressive and will stomp anything that tries to come into their pasture. This group of cattle have their two donkeys watching over them.

Hay cut and rolled, waiting to be stored. The field smelled so good and was steamy from being cut.

The swimming hole in my son's neighborhood. I take his pups here to swim. It is so much fun.

On weekends the locals like to hangout on his rock. It is quite deep here and very quiet. My youngest son and I found a bunch of snake eggs here after a good rain.

Much of the creek is lined with these gorgeous rock formations. I am always amazed to see trees growing out of the rock.