Misty Mornings

The sun is sleeping in later and later. Sunrise today is 7:03. And the sun goes to bed much sooner. Tonight's sunset will be at 7:59. It has been a while since the sun set before 8:00.

Morning mist and fog is very common in the mountains during spring and fall and it lingers much longer as the sun rises later and later. A common phrase around here is "I'll be there as soon as the sun burns off the fog a little."

The mist and fog give us new views of our common sights. Here a mother and her twins have breakfast in the grass by the roadside in the early morning mist.

Quite accustomed to people, the deer stand and stare at the camera.

Finally the mother decides to lead her little ones away. The disobedient one ran into the woods while the good little fawn follows Mom's footsteps.

If the later sunrise weren't sign enough, look at the leaves behind the woodpecker. They are all becoming dusky and some of them are beginning to show a little hint of fall color.

Yes, fall is approaching. Already the "experts" are predicting the extent and peak times of fall color. Some say the leaf season will be shorter than usual; some longer. Some predict the color will be duller than usual; others say it will be spectacular. Some say it will be sooner than usual; others later. They all have sound reasons for their predictions. About the only things that we know are true...the leaves will indeed turn and the tourists will flock to the mountains to view them. And we who live here will enjoy them every bit as much as the tourists.

Fridays are Golden

I do not expect a great deal from local television news (or any TV news, for that matter). This week, however, they hit a new low. The reporter was standing on the banks of the French Broad River. A fisherman was beside her. Here's how the report went:

Reporter: "The French Broad River and basin has reached its lowest level in recorded history. Records began in 1895, and this is the lowest on record." The reporter then turned to the fisherman and asked, "Have you ever seen the river this low?"
Fisherman: "No, I've lived here for 25 years and this is the worst I've seen."

I was so hoping the fisherman might have responded, "NO, you idiot. If the river hasn't been this low since 1895, how in the world could I have seen it lower?"

The following picture shows just how low the French Broad River is today. Normally, NONE of the rocks would be visible. The river should extend to the shore lines. There should be rafts and canoes, and tubing all along the river.

(Photograph from the Asheville Citizen-Times)

We now resume our regular "Fridays are Golden" post. I took the girls out for a new photo. I put them at a "Sit/Stay" which usually means Lucy will tense up and look goofy while Ellie will look directly at the camera and smile her award-winning smile.

Surprise! Lucy (on the left) is giving me a big smile, while Ellie (on the right) seems distracted.

I took another shot. This time Lucy is almost laughing, while Ellie is still not even looking at me.

My husband, who was with us at the time, told me quietly to be ready with the camera and turn around slowly. I did, and was surprised to see a doe and her twin fawns going down the hill, not 50 feet away from the dogs. No wonder Ellie was a bit distracted. But she had been told to sit and stay, and sit and stay she did. I can assure you that Lucy did not see the deer. While she might not have run after them, she certainly would not have remained sitting.

You may note that the girls are wearing "prong" collars. We don't use these all the time, mainly for walking on the streets and for visits to the veterinarian, etc. And when we use the prong, they don't usually have their regular collars on. They had just been for a "potty break" so we simply put the training collars on in addition to their regular ones. A lot of controversy surrounds the use of various "correction" collars. Our trainer was a firm believer and it works very well for us. The collars look barbaric, but they are far better than a standard "choke" collar. (If you put one around your leg and pull on it, you will see that it is not painful at all and it does not choke the dog.)

Lucy rarely needs correction, and Ellie never does. But we are firm believers that dog owners must have total control of their dogs when they are around other people. Their everyday collars are not restraining collars and they are fairly large dogs. The most important benefit of the collar is that Lucy and Ellie know the collar means, "Be at your best. We're not kidding." We taught our children good manners. Why would be do less for our dogs?

Here's wishing everyone a wonderful weekend filled with joy and happiness. (And for us, a bit of rain would be much appreciated.)