May 2003 Archived Columns

5/19/2003

After the recent earthquake, high winds, and near-flooding, it seemed rather uneventful in the mountains last week. The weather was warm and rainy in spots, with Saturday being nicer than Sunday. The rhododendron (which the local people call “mountain laurel”) is in beautiful bloom, and the young geese are about the size of a grouse. The blackberries are about the size of a small pea, and with all the rain, it should be a very good year for them.

Unfortunately, it’s shaping up to be a banner year for ticks, too. I don’t know whether it is because of all the rain, but I’ve seen a lot of ticks while walking property in the past few weeks. The ones I’m seeing are the larger, more familiar dog ticks (brown). I haven’t seen any of the smaller (sesame seed-sized) deer ticks that carry Lyme disease. It helps some to spray socks and trousers with repellent, and to avoid high grass. But the best thing is to take your clothes off and examine them immediately upon coming in from the field. If you have to pull them out of your skin, be gentle and try not to break off the head. It’s probably best not to use tweezers, because they have a tendency to break off the head. They can only be killed by burning them with a match or dropping them in a can of gasoline. Naturally, they are very apt to get on your dogs, and it may be worthwhile to treat them with one of the products that kills both ticks and fleas.

I spent most of last week playing one of my favorite games, “In Search of the Lost Lot.” The game starts when somebody wants to sell their property, but no longer knows how to find it. Some agents take the attitude “if they can’t tell me where it is I can’t list it” but I feel that lacks a certain spirit of adventure. After visits to the county deed room and the map room, I set forth with pith helmet, compass, and topo, often to spend a half-day fossicking around in a subdivision where the sunny optimism expressed by the developer and illustrated in the plat, with its visions of cleverly-named roads, recreational improvements, and common access areas, gives way to the realization that most of that never happened.

Last week, I was in several old subdivisions that seemed almost forgotten by time. I think my most amazing discovery was a confirmed sighting of the house on the island in the upper Toccoa, which I had heard about, but never seen. Sometime previously, I located the famous “Hoot & Holler,” a cabin off Flat Creek Circle on the far side of the river, accessible only by fording the river. Like the cabin at the confluence of the Jacks and the Consauga, where you have to drive 150 yards up the Jacks, dodging boulders twice the size of your head, you wonder who built these places and where the EPA was when it was all happening. I hope that someone, someday will somehow write the social history of second home development in the north Georgia mountains (I hope John Inscoe’s ambitious doctoral students at UGA are listening). Until then, it’s going to have to be an oral history, and I hope we get it soon, because many of the original second home pioneers – who came here before the McDonald’s and whose aesthetic was somewhat more hunting camp than tongue & groove with pickled pine interior and antler chandelier – are probably fixing to leave the county forever.

Be sure to check my calendar listing (on the “Local Info” button) for fun things to do this weekend. Don’t forget this weekend is Arts in the Park, a major event in Blue Ridge. A good time is usually had by mostly all, and there are some good opportunities for cabin decorations.

5/12/2003

The weather last week was rainy, and we’re starting off Monday clear and cool. Last Monday, about 4:00 PM, we had very high winds, and some beautiful, old trees are down. Thursday morning, the streams were very close to flood stage, and there was some flooding. Cutcane Creek flooded a bit, closing Lowery Road, and there were some other places in the county that were very damp. Fortunately, the rain backed off, because if we’d had any more, we would probably have had very bad flooding.

I’m still seeing lots of native wildflowers, and the rhododendron (mountain laurel) is starting to flower. We’re hearing lots of reports of bear sightings, so it is a good time to remind everyone that they are mostly attracted to garbage, and that your dog is no match for them. Some misguided people think it is fun to feed them, but that usually results in their becoming nuisances, and then they have to be destroyed. I think it’s great to have so many bears in the county, but they can be dangerous, especially to dogs.

The Cinco de Mayo Festival in McCaysville/Copperhill was a rainout last Monday, so it has been rescheduled for today, 5:00-7:00 PM, at the old iron bridge.

This is the time for mountain doings and festivals. Be sure to check my calendar listings (on the “Local Info” button) for fun things to do all week long.

The Georgia Mountain Classics Car Show in Blue Ridge last Saturday at the downtown park was very well attended. For me, the hit of the show was an original Cord, but I also saw several Shelby Cobras, and lots of beautifully restored pickup trucks. The fifties, sixties, and seventies were probably the best represented, but there were some older cars, like a Model T pickup truck.

The 17th Annual Blue Ridge Lake Cleanup will commence at 10:00 AM at Morganton Point on Saturday the 17th. All volunteers will be provided gloves and garbage bags, and the first fifty will receive a free T-shirt.

5/5/2003

The weather continued nice last week, with a little rain, and Sunday was a beautiful day. Today (Monday), we’re having thunderstorms and quite a bit of rain. At this point, most of the trees are fully in leaf, young, beautifully green leaves. The native lilies have been up for a week or more, and I’ve seen many Trillium and Lady Slippers in the quiet parts of the woods.

For those of you who haven’t been up this week, last week’s earthquake apparently caused very little damage in Fannin County. Diligent investigation by the News Observer revealed only one resident who complained of a cracked foundation. I slept through the whole thing, although it was apparently worse in other parts of the county. One of the people in our office who lives on the river said she awoke to a sound she thought was that of a hovercraft driving up the river. It might be a good idea for cabin owners to check their foundations and make sure there are no water leaks.

Today is Cinco de Mayo, and Copperhill is celebrating the event with its Fifth Cinco de Mayo festival at the old iron bridge, downtown Copperhill, 5:00 – 7:00 PM.

One of the big news stories of the past few weeks was that the plasma torch proposal was rejected in court, although an appeal has been filed. The plasma torch is a high-temperature technology used to burn solid and medical waste, and the county was being sued by an individual who had requested a permit to establish a facility on 515, near Loving Road (six miles east of Blue Ridge, near the entrance to the My Mountain development). This is a new technology, which is apparently in operation at only one location, in Japan. The lawsuit turned on whether Fannin has a land use ordinance sufficient to deny permitting. Profitable operation of the facility would apparently require the importation of considerable tonnages of medical waste into Fannin County.

Another environmental issue is being faced by the town of Copperhill. Over a year ago, all sulphuric acid production ceased at the old copper plant, and the last train rolled from the yard across from the plant. The CSX was persuaded to sell the rail line, which includes the historic and scenic Farner loop, by an organization named “The Old Line Coalition.” The Glenn Springs Holding Company made a low-interest loan of about $1.6 million for the purchase, which was made by the Tennessee Overhill organization. Ownership will pass to a rail authority when it is formed, but funding has not yet materialized. There has been a proposal, however, from an operator who will defray costs by restarting sulphuric acid production at the plant. Many residents of Copperhill, as well as those who have seen the transformation of Copperhill over the past few years, are opposed to this proposal because of the possible environmental consequences.

Next Saturday, May 10, the Georgia Mountain Classics Car Show will take place at the Downtown Park in Blue Ridge. The show starts at 9:00 and judging is at 4:00. Over 50 cars and trucks are expected.

The 17th Annual Blue Ridge Lake Cleanup will commence at 10:00 AM at Morganton Point on Saturday the 17th. All volunteers will be provided gloves and garbage bags, and the first fifty will receive a free T-shirt.

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