Red Dawn

Field of Flowers

Peach Lily

I didn't know lilies came in peach.

Sylva Fireworks Preview

I'll have more tomorrow. I am a beet red (from too much sun), cranky, and tired Scots-Irishman...so I better go to bed before I type something I might regret (more than ordinary, I mean).

Cloudy Day

Another unseasonably cool day in western North Carolina.

Thunderhead

Ever since I moved into a secluded valley in the early 90's...I can't see storms approaching until they are right on top of me, or sliding by the south of me...as this one is.

On The Road Again

After The Rain

I had a rainy weekend...how about you?

2008 A Taste of Scotland Slide Show 1

Here is my first Slide Show of the A Taste of Scotland festival in Franklin over the weekend. It is the first of three.



My laptop crashed and I lost everything on it, so I will be later than I thought posting images and video from the festival.

MAMA Sighting

My house lies under the flight path the the MAMA (Mountain Area Medical Airlift) Helicopters use to travel between Franklin, NC and Asheville, NC.

I was setting up to capture a time-lapse sequence of clouds when the helicopter flew overhead.

Nikwasi Celebration Slide Shows

I have posted a couple of Slide Shows from photos I took Saturday at the Nikwasi Celebration over at Thunder Pig.

Dedication of Cherokee Heritage Trail Marker

I attended the Nikwasi Celebration in Franklin, NC today, and it was a good event.
Gordon Mercer, of the Public Policy Institute, was the Master of Ceremonies and Cherokee Chief Michell Hicks the Featured Speaker.

There were more speakers, songs, dances, craft demonstrations, Cherokee food, and a stickball exhibition game that was quite intense.

I have a lot of video to edit my way through, and since I lost my MP3 player, my options are limited, as I was using it to catch audio when I had to change memory cards in my camera and when I changed batteries. I plan on having an hour and a half to two hour show out of it by Tuesday afternoon.


Here is what is inscribed on the main marker beside the mound:

NIKWASI MOUND

You are standing on land that has been part of a town for about three thousand years. This mound was the spiritual, political, and physical center of the Cherokee town of Nikwasi. A council house or town house on top of the mound held the sacred fire, and everyone gathered there to hear news, make decisions, dance, and participate in ceremonies. Surrounding the mound were about one hundred houses, a field for playing stickball, and a dance ground, as well as hundreds of acres of crops, orhards, and gardens.

The Cherokee dominated the southern Appalachians for thousands of years. When Alexander Cuming visited Nikwasi in 1730, the Cherokees had men and women leaders in autonomous towns that functioned democratically. Cuming called a council here that was attended by more than two thousand representatives from Cherokee towns. Cuming chose an Emperor, and took a Cherokee delegation to London. In 1761 the British, former allies of the Cherokee, destroyed Nikwasi. After theCherokees rebuilt, the Americans destroyed it in 1776. The Cherokees rebuilt again and lived here until this area was taken by the Treaty of 1819.

A Cherokee legend tells that spirit warriors came out of the mound to help defend the Cherokee against an attack when the Cherokee men were away hunting. The legend goes on to say thst the spirit warriors also saved the town of Franklin from destruction during the Civil War.

The Nikwasi mound is one of the largest surviving mounds in the original Cherokee territory of 140,000 square miles. In 1946, the schoolchildren of Macon County saved their pennies and bought the mound through the Macon County Historical Society to save it from development. It is now owned by the Town of Franklin.

And here are some pictures to look at until tomorrow:

Primary Day Slide Show

I visited a few precincts in Jackson County today, and had a good time visiting with people, speaking with the poll workers, and was impressed with the enthusiasm of the Ron Paul sign wavers at the Cullowhee voting precinct. I spoke with Obama sign wavers, and even a couple of Hillary Supporters. No one was actively campaigning for McCain that I saw in my very unscientific visual poll.

Poll workers reported turnout was either even with past Presidential Primaries, or ahead...sometimes as much as 50% greater (or in the ball park), with most of the increase coming from early voting.

Here is a brief slide show of some of the images I took, and I may have video collection of people I gave a chance to campaign on video for their candidate sometime tomorrow:

Primary Day Report: Savannah Precinct in Jackson County

As of a quarter to 7 this morning in the Savannah Precinct in Jackson County, 10 people had voted (not county 43 in early voting to Thursday evening), and people were coming in as people were leaving.

Here are a few photos I snapped:



Polling Place

Candidate Corner

Signs and Cars

Voters

Decision Time

Bradford Pears at Dawn

Weightless

Fountain, Downtown Sylva, NC

Stalking Cat

Dogwood Blooms

Dogwoods in Cullowhee, NC

Macon County Courthouse

Fire Ridge

Signs of Spring

Saturday Night: A chance of rain showers, mixing with snow after 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 34. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Sunday: A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Sunday Night: A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Monday: A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 45. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Monday Night: A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Tuesday: A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 50. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 29.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 55.

Source: NWS

Here are a few photos I shot on the road yesterday to remind you during the upcoming cold spell that spring is indeed here...