Walking in Tennessee
One of the many nice things about Tennessee is the mild winter. During this time of year, sunshine and blue sky days far outnumber rainy or snowy days, and the temperature often falls between 40-60ËšF. This means that you can be outside nearly year round, and I am trying my best to take advantage of it by taking walks as often as I can. The first week I got here, I left the house not knowing where I would go or how long I’d be gone, and I ended up finding a great route that is about 5 miles long and takes just over an hour. All of the roads are small 2-lane low-speed country roads that wind through the hills and along streams. Every one that drives by waves, and all of the dogs call out with a bark as I pass and some even join me for 1/2 a mile or so. I absolutely love it out here, so I thought I should share!!
The wind chime that used to hang on my grandfather's back porch, but now hangs on my parents'. It has the best ring and does so at the tiniest gust. I love it.
Hay bails at the farm next door.
It is supposed to be 5ËšF today in Tennessee, but I don't think we're going to make it since it's 50ËšF right now. Regardless, the water from heavy rains last week is still frozen and make it look cold!
Do you ever wonder if a double wide could be cool? I think they could.
The Sweetgum seed pod, nature's version of the Christmas ornament.
It kind-of looks like that could be a normal size house, but it's not. It's more the size of a large bird house.
Americana at its best.
Another house, this one has a old rusted plow in the front. I love these little bits of the country in moderation.
I think this is an old canning shed...or bomb shelter.
A lot of tobacco is grown in Tennessee, and this is the side of a barn used to fire-cure the tobacco leaves which produces pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco and snuff. Fire Curing is a process that dries tobacco by hanging it in a large barn, and then a low hardwood fire is kept burning continuously for up to 10 weeks. I was here a couple years ago during the curing time, and it was amazing. As we drove down Hwy 25 we would smell the hardwood fire first, then we would see these huge red barns covered with green ivy smoking to the high heavens. I am not a fan of tobacco smoking or chewing, but the curing process is pretty phenomenal.
This is my childhood dog, Copper (Fox and the Hound reference), brought back to life. She sneaks up on me every time I walk down her road and simply nudges my hand begging for recognition.
Horse fences
A fallen log that happens to be the perfect bridge over a small stream.
And of course, the Cows. There are probably 30 cows that graze in the land across the street from my parents' house, and when I was behind the trees they were all sitting in the shade on the other side. When they heard me, every single one of them stood up and ran away to a more comfortable distance, then they watched in fear as I took their photo. I guess they're not as used to pedestrians as the ones in India.
So this is how I’ve been spending my days. Pretty nice.
Great blog! Your words and photos are beautiful… I was hoping you’d like to contribute a story to my site. Give it a look and let me know if you’d like to share a story.
Happy travels,
Grant
http://www.vagabondstory.com