Spending Christmas 2018 away from home was both a risk and an adventure. We weren’t sure if giving up a tree, exchanging presents, baking cookies and the cold weather up north would also leave the Christmas spirit behind. Our AirBnB house, however, had a beautifully decorated tree and being together was gift enough to make the time extra special.
Jack Frost Nipping at Your Nose
We woke on our first morning to a magical scene with frost on all the trees and fog settling in like a cloud.
This male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was visiting one of the trees on the property. I have seen one at my winter feeder for a month or so but I believe he must be passing through. Kentucky on south to Panama is their normal wintering home. Can you see the Yellow? Not much is it!
Land of Cedars
We scouted out the nearest place to hike and drove to Long Hunter State Park. There was a 2-mile trail around Hunter Lake which was an easy loop.
Cedars, like the ones we saw around the lake, are prolific in this southern area, most common in the U.S. hardiness zones 7-9. They seem to thrive on low lying areas near water, the rockier the soil the better. In Europe and the Middle East, the warm hilly areas along the Mediterranean shore also provide ideal areas for cedars. Perhaps you’ve heard of the giant Cedars of Lebanon mentioned in the Bible. Both King David and his son, Solomon, used cedar in building their palaces and Solomon used it in constructing the Temple. The bark of these younger trees was quite interesting ~ rough to the touch and peeling off in tiny, long pieces. If you were in a wilderness survival situation, this shredding bark would make great tinder to start a fire.
The elevation of the lake seemed to be very low. We wondered if that was done on purpose preparing for the spring rains or if the South had gone through a drought. It did not detract from the beauty of the place, but instead exposed the rocky shore that caught our attention.
A gaggle of turkeys?
Most of you know that a male turkey is a “tom” and a female is a “hen.” But what is a group of turkeys called??? Below is a “rafter” of turkeys! We counted 20+ and I’ll bet they are glad to escape holiday season intact!
This rafter of turkeys were quite content to forage for dinner on this lawn but if you spook them, they can run up to 25 mph and they are quite the hilarious thing to watch! Turkeys are pretty much all across the US, except NV, most of WY and northern half of UT.
Second Hike
Three of us took a second hike on the trails along the J Percy Priest Reservoir. It started out in the low lying cedars like our 1st hike . . . .
and quickly changed to the hardwood forest we are used to up north.
This almost felt like our home terrain until . . .
rocks and boulders appeared everywhere! If I were a homesteader in the 1800’s traveling west through TN looking for land, I would’ve moved on. This was a very different landscape to us but we liked the ruggedness of it.
The cedars showed up again once we headed down toward the shore of the Reservoir. I would love to set up camp here, wouldn’t you?
It’s sedimentary my dear Watson!
I found the rocks along shore so unique. Layered, eroded with curves and holes, generally flat on top. It was a challenge to walk here because most rocks had mini canyons and holes the size of my foot!
If you like frog legs, come dine with a heron.
My daughter was having fun with my camera when she spotted this Great Blue Heron along the shore. He was dining on the local seafood and giving us a good show. Herons love to eat frogs, fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, and insects, basically anything within striking distance. Somehow it all flows down that crooked neck.
I’m guessing this is a juvenile because he doesn’t have the head plume yet that flows off the back of his head. Great Blues are almost as common as mallards. We have them up north along creek beds and ponds as well as larger open bodies of water. I’ve heard they can congregate in colonies of hundreds but never witnessed that myself. Wouldn’t that be a site!
Time to head home
We really enjoyed our adventure down to Tennessee. The temperatures were warming up to the mid-50’s by the time we had to leave ~ definitely a nice relief from the cold we normally have this time of year. The people were friendly, the landscape beautiful and history fascinating. But it was time to get out of town ~ the buses of fans were arriving for the Music City Bowl game, Purdue vs Auburn.
Oh, by the way, when we returned home, one of our adult children found 3′ of water under their house in the crawl space. Broken pipe. 5 days of work digging ditches, pumping water out, repairing pipes, backfilling and all is back to normal. Yes, even coming home can be an adventure!
Till next time,
Carolyn
Enjoyed more of your adventure! Would you please share the location & contact info of your AirB&B place? Thanks!
Thank you! Sent you an email on the house!