"ONCE UPON A MIDNIGHT DREARY..."

Ah, yes, Edgar said it so well...he must have been referring to me as I paint on these dark, dismal winter days (and nights)!!  It's snowed here in East Tennessee, now for several days...some days with accumulation, some days, just a dusting, but EVERY day, COLD and dreary!  Okay, back to the beginning of this post...I wanted to post a picture of my latest crow/raven piece!  I love the look and pose of this one and I will be adding several others to Ebay soon!  Y'all stay warm and let's all look for bluebirds and daffodils soon!!

BLIZZARD in East Tennessee!!

Well, it is for us!!  January 29. 2010, it started snowing about 11:00 AM and by dark, we had about 6 inches!!  Of course, we made our run to the store for milk, bread and Little Debbies, sandwich meat, "caught up water" - in case the power went off, got all the clothes washed, dried and folded, had fresh batteries on standby, and made sure everyone had extra quilts handy, if they got cold during the night...well, it's now after noon on January 30th and we haven't lost power, yet!  It started raining last night and now, we still have snow on the ground, and it's a whole lot messier, but with ham sandwiches, honey buns for dessert, clean clothes, and new batteries, (just in case), what more do you need??? 
Don't forget to enter my giveaway...scroll down for the details!!  Everyone stay safe and warm!!

Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest

Well, Thanksgiving was two days ago and here at AWESOME ASS ACRES, we're still recovering from turkey, pecan pie and deviled eggs!  I hope everyone enjoyed the day as much as we did!  We had a full house with our friends and family, the food was excellent, and the memories are many!!  Our friend, Jimmy Martin drove over from Etheridge, TN, on Monday, then on Tuesday, he, another friend, Bonnie Broughton, Larry and I, decided to visit the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, in Graham County, North Carolina.  It was a beautiful drive over on the Cherohala Skyway and an amazing hike through some of the largest trees I've ever seen!  The forest hosts the largest virgin stand of timber in the Eastern United States, with some of the trees dating back 400 years.  Some of the enormous yellow poplars are 20 feet in diameter and stand over 100 feet tall.  Joyce Kilmer is known for his poem "TREES" and this is such a fitting memorial to him.

TREES
By: Joyce Kilmer -- 1886-1918

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

                                                  Jimmy and Larry

                                                    Jimmy Martin

                                                Neat shot looking up

Jimmy and Bonnie

What a great sight to visit, if you're ever in the area!  For more info, click on site below:

http://main.nc.us/graham/hiking/joycekil.html

I have so much to be thankful for...my sweet husband, my healthy, smart, wonderful children, my family, my friends, my animals, the blessing of being able to retire here in the beautiful mountains of Tennessee...the list is endless. 

In fact, this year I've decided that there's NOTHING that I'm not thankful for, because every day, every joy, every heartache, every hardship, makes up this wonderful thing called life and I'm so glad to be part of it!! 

I hope each and every one of you finds joy and happiness in every day, not just during the holidays!  Take care and stop by again!! 

CATCHING UP!

Wonderful rain here in East Tennessee!  After the last 2 years of drought conditions, we've finally had plenty of rain this year...it's been great for our garden, flowers, hay production and of course, look what else it leaves behind!!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

I've been wanting to post some pics, (not been able to catch any of that white fawn, but still trying) so, I've "captured" Jerry, our little male kitten from several posts back. 

He was soooo small then, but he's really turning into a BIG cat!!  He hasn't made his appointment for the "male procedure", but that's next! 

Well, time's counting down for our big trip!  We're sooo excited!  We'll be camping every night and we LOVE to camp, so that's going to be fun, in itself!  We're both wide eyed and adventurous, so to go, see and do things, we've never done is going to be a memorable time...not to mention, we're down home, stay home, deep South Johnny Rebs and we don't know what to expect past the Kentucky line!!  I'm just hoping that folks can understand what we say and visa-versa! 

We had our farrier out yesterday and I've got to brag on our little yearling filly mule, ChaCha!  This was her second trimming and she was perfect both times!!  Jeremy, (farrier) couldn't believe her manners.  She's laid back and gentle and very smart.  Of course, her mom, Minnie (Haflinger) is the same way.  Nothing bothers her and she's there to please you!  When we return from our trip, my round pen's going to be in use...I hope to have ChaCha ground driving by spring!   I can't help but think about her 1/2 brother (Tango) that we lost last year (3 days old) due to a vet's misdiagnosis...he matched her EXACTLY and would've been just as sweet, I'm sure. 

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to leave a word or two, to let me know you were here!! 

MULES & MORE!

Alot of you know by now, that we operate a small farm (AWESOME ASS ACRES) in East Tennessee, near the beautiful Smoky Mountains. We have an assortment of animals, and we love all of them, but we have a farm because of our horses and mules! I decided to post some pictures of them today on this dreary, wet Sunday!! The dark sorrel/bay is Maude, the spotted App mule, is the holder of my heart, King Solomon and the young light sorrel is our yearling, Cha-Cha. The dark chocolate is Minnie, Cha-Cha's mom and a Haflinger cross and the beauty with the blonde locks is Dolly, a full Haflinger...we ride the mules and the horses are our wagon team. Some of you have asked about our animals and I thought I'd re-introduce them!! Take care from AAA!!