Cades Cove Preservation Society

The Cades Cove Preservation Association is celebrating their 10th anniversary with a day long celebration at the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center in Townsend, TN, on Saturday October 22nd, from 10am to 4pm.  The featured speaker is Dwight McCarter, a retired ranger from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Mountain Folk Reunion and Mountain Gap are providing the music.  There will be door prizes every hour, horse and buggy rides, and old time toy demonstrations and games for the kids.  You can get your photo taken with Cades Cove pioneers.  For more information, contact Stephen Weber at sgw9309@earthlink.net .

The mission of the Cades Cove Preservation Association (CCPA) is to help preserve the heritage of Cades Cove located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  The majority of the members are descendants of the Cove and many were born and lived there as children.  There are others, like Kathy and Dave Rudd, who have joined out of a love for the Cove. Non-natives, such as the Rudds, Kathy says, as she agreed to be interviewed, have been warmly embraced by those who have deep roots in the community.  It’s an enjoyable group of those who work to preserve both their history and some of the early history of our nation.

A One on One Tour of the Thompson Brown House

Members participate in several events throughout the year to educate the public on the Cove’s history and share their experiences and memories of living there.  Some members have published books. In addition to monthly meetings, they also have several ongoing projects during the year, such as maintaining the cemeteries, clearing trails to old home sites, etc. One project, in the summer of 2010, was cleaning up the Caughron barn that was destroyed by winds late last year to salvage the materials for the Park to use in restoring the other buildings of the Cove.

In Maryville, is the Thompson Brown House that houses many Cove artifacts and is staffed by CCPA members.  My nephew and I stopped there recently and were warmly greeted by a volunteer who gave Kane a behind the scenes tour.  Currently older descendants of the Cove are being interviewed, videotaped and recorded as a way to preserve their stories.  My hat is off to those volunteering their time.

PS, I read one of Dwight McCarter's books, Lost, several years ago.  Since then I have never hiked without a whistle.  Furthermore, my guests hike with whistles.  Period.  If you are too macho to wear a whistle, I send you to Pigeon Forge to shop instead of giving you an overview and map of trails in the Park. After a day in Pigeon Forge, you will happily wear a whistle.  Over time,  I have populated the entire eastern seaboard with at least a gross of Wal-Mart whistles that my guests have taken home in their glove boxes,  dreaming of orange and yellow leaves against the blue skies, rivers and mountains of the Smokies.  Blessings, mizkathleen@ Gracehill Bed and Breakfast

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Smoky Mountain Highland Games

A year ago I wrote about the Gatlinburg Scottish Festival held in Gatlinburg.  For many reasons including space, they moved this year to Maryville College, re-branded themselves as the Smoky Mountain Highland Games, and there is no looking back.  Attendance last year was between 2,500-2,700; celebrating this year, for the 30^th annual time, the Maryville, TN inaugural event had over 6,000 in attendance.

The Daily Times, our local paper, certainly gave it a whopping amount of space.  Their calendar of events, headline and side stories may have helped create interest, but certainly the additional space and 2 to 3 times the tent space helped.  Of course, what better place than Maryville College, home of the “Fighting Scots?” One person was overheard saying it was redundant to call a Scot a Fighting Scot!

30th Annual Games held for the 1st time at Maryville College, Home of the Fighting Scots

This year’s honored guest was Lord Hugh Montgomerie, a chieftain of his clan and heir to his father the 18^th Earl of Eglinton and 6^th Earl of Winton!  Finding out more about your own clan is an important part of the festival but you certainly, don’t have to be Scottish to partake of the festivities.  Food: Scottish eggs, meat pies and haggis to name a few of the traditional offerings, were almost as popular as the beer tent.  For the activities, it really helps to go with the Times pre-printed schedule.  Friday kicked off with the Knoxville Pipes and Drums parade and a reception at the Clayton Center.  Saturday 8am-8pm and Sunday 8:30pm to 5pm was nonstop competitive events, music, shopping and demonstrations.  mizkathleen@ Gracehill Bed and Breakfast

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Father and Son Hobby

Most beekeepers are in it for the honey, although others maintain colonies of bees to pollinate crops, or for the beeswax, propolis, pollen or royal jelly.  My brother Mike and his son Kane started beekeeping four years ago, primarily for the pollen and propolis, and secondarily for the honey.

I talked to my nephew first.  To quote an eight year old, he likes beekeeping.  Opening the hive is cool.  They fly and crawl all over you.  I asked him if he wore protective clothing?  He said yes, an astronaut’s suit!  Can you describe it?  Hat with a screen, gloves, long socks, boots and an all white suit.  I asked him if he knew why the suit was white? He didn’t know. (I had spent an hour reading Wikipedi before calling him.)  I told him that natural predators of beehives were bears and skunks that were black and furry, so the suit by being white and slick, was as different as we could make it. So his mother may call him a skunk, but the bees could tell that he really wasn’t one.  He was not impressed.  I asked him what else he did. He said he pulled the tray out the bottom and checked the pollen.  He said it was NOT COOL if there were beetles in the pollen cause they eat it, so his dad would clean it out.  I asked him what he did with the pollen and he said he ate it, which he thinks is gross, but his dad thinks is good for him.  Other than hearing what colors their pollen was, the fact that the queen bee had a blue dot on her, and honey was good on bread, bagels, and by itself, I had pretty well sucked this hive dry.

On to my brother. He has one hive.  He says pollen is one of nature’s whole foods in and of itself.  Says you could live a good while just on pollen.  It has a complete string of vitamins and amino acids.  He said it also acclimates you to a lot of pollen allergies in the area.  He also collects the propolis, which is a tree resin the bees use to sterilize and seal off the hive.  Mike says you can make an extract with it by diluting it in pure grain alcohol, and it is good to use on canker sores, sealing wounds, etc.  He bottles the honey and shares with family and friends and our Smoky Mountain Bed and Breakfast, praise be!

In Pursuit of a Little Honey for Breakfast

So Auntie Kathy here would have to say, I’m leaning with my nephew.  I like the honey the best.  Mom makes a loaf of fresh baked bread and I pop a slice in the toaster, slather on some butter and honey and feel like the Queen Bee.  I think I could live a good while just on that, and I wouldn’t be inclined to kill the male drones when cold weather approaches!  Who else is there, other than the male drones, to put up the Christmas lights?  mizkathleen@ Gracehill Bed and Breakfast

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The day started at 7AM at Tremont with a walk lead by retired NPS Ranger Carey Jones featuring "Birds of the Smokies." Afternoon wildflower rambles and hikes were on Chestnut Top Trail ("What's in Bloom") and Spruce Flats Falls ("Wildflowers on Rocks").

The two most heavily attended classes were held at the Visitor Center. A 9AM lecture by Dr. Patricia Cox of TVA Natural Heritage on "Spring Flowers and Ferns of the Smokies" had an attendance of about 40 along with the 10:30AM lecture by NPS Ranger Adrian Mayor on "Wildflowers Pollinators- Bees and More." Afternoon lectures were on "Exotic and Invasive Plants" and a "Blount Friendly Landscaping Gardening Class." Perfect weather for the perfect Townsend style festival! mizkathleen@ Gracehill Bed and Breakfast

Katie Gamble with Overhill Gardens, Vonore, TN

Susan Chattin with The Lily Barn, Townsend, TN

Sara Berry owner of Trillium Cove Home and Garden, Townsend, TN

Trout Fest, Townsend, TN 2011

This photo shows a fraction of the tents set up at the 8th annual TroutFest 2011, held in Townsend, TN.  A rousing success, as always, the festival is one of the largest of its kind in the country and the biggest in the Southeast.  It's hosted by the Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited to benefit trout stream preservation and restoration.  Last year they netted $45,000 that was donated to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Fisheries Department.  This year, the festival had around 4,000 attendees including the guests staying at Gracehill Bed and Breakfast, our Smoky Mountain Inn.  Although the sport of fly fishing is enjoyed by men and women alike,  I'm here to say I have never seen so many solo men in the 30 to 60 age bracket, gathered in one spot  in my life.  Their minds however, were on 6 legged insect nymphs as in the "#12 George Nymph," rather than the 2 legged nymphs of the goddess variety!

Top fly fishing vendors in the nation were represented along with some of the best known headliners like Lefty Kreh, Joe Humphreys, Bob Clouser, Zach Matthews and Tom Rosenbauer of Orvis.   This year heralded the premier issue of the TroutFest Journal which was clutched to bosoms like my grannie's Bible on a Sunday morning.  Friday night had a reservation only banquet, and Saturday & Sunday was chock full of clinics, demonstrations, and heavy duty shopping.  Maybe the most fun was the Kid's Casting Clinic, but the most original was the brain child of Paula Begley of Little River Outfitters.  She calls it a  "6 hole course," that was a casting competition at six different stations with paper mache rocks, waterfalls, rhododendron  bushes and other assorted obstacles.  She hopes to do a 9 hole course next year, and I plan on spending more time scoping it out.  mizkathleen@ Gracehill Bed and Breakfast

The Orvis Booth at TroutFest

Ian Rutter at the R&R Fly Fishing Booth

It's a dance, but no doubt about the outcome!

Fiber Arts Festival, Townsend Visitor Center, Townsend, TN

Sue Mason Finishing Off a Weaving Project

The Fiber Arts Festival was held this past weekend at the Townsend Visitor Center amid beautiful spring weather. This is one of the smaller Townsend, TN festivals, but the attendees make up for the smaller numbers with enthusiasm and there is nothing like parking only 50 feet away from activities for guests at our Smoky Mountain Lodging!

While the Visitor Center grounds held exhibits, demonstrations, a few vendors, sheep shearing and Border collie sheep-herding, the Townsend Elementary School held a marketplace of vendors selling their wares. Fish Lady and Friends Gallery also had exhibits and a Friday evening reception.

The Border collie sheep-herding was amazing. This is not your neighborhood dog chasing a flock of geese! While the handler gave commands by blowing on a whistle, man’s best friend did exactly what his owner wanted him to do quietly and swiftly. That pooch had those sheep weaving around posts, hither and yon, and right into the pen. We were told that each dog reacts to the sound of his owner/handler blowing on their whistle not necessarily to someone else, like their spouse blowing on their whistle to their dog.

As much as I enjoyed the Border collie’s working, I have to say the sheep shearing was my favorite. You just have to wonder if that sheep felt like I do getting a pedicure cause it kind of just laid back like a blob with it’s eyes shut most of the time. You come at most four legged creatures with a buzzing razor and it is not going to be a pretty sight so either Dean Fritz of Murfreesboro, TN really is at the top of his game or sheep really like “getting a load off their backs”!

Snoozing in the Sunlight

You could watch folks spinning the wool into yarn, weaving, and all manner of “fiber” crafts. Sue Mason of Maryville was kind enough to give me written directions for getting the fleece, wool shorn from the sheep, to the ball of yarn stage. It’s a time consuming process and gives me a new respect for woolen garments whether they be knitted, crochet or woven. Blessings, mizkathleen@ Gracehill

2006- Little River Railroad Museum, Townsend, Tennessee

 In 2008, shortly after the economy tanked, again, I was trying to think of an activity I could do with my nephew, age five, that was on the cheap.  Decided to take him to Sam Houston Schoolhouse and Museum.  While there, I found an out of print copy of the Blount County Historic Tour Guide that became our map on a three-year long odyssey.  It shows 30+ stops depicting the history of Blount County.  I have lived here for 25 years and had only been to four places on the list.  Kane had been to the Little River Railroad Museum in Townsend with me two years earlier. 

Sometimes it was more the journey than the destination.  I used the word “map” loosely.  The brochure designer had his heart in the right spot, but the dots showing the buildings could be off by a block or two or ….  One day, with no address other than Big Springs Road, we tried to find the “Old Stone House”, the oldest house in the county, built in the late 1700’s.  Never did locate it that day.  Called the Visitor Center.  They gave me some tips.  Didn’t work out on the second try.  Called the Historical Society.  He made a call, and gave me some pointers.  Nope.  When we spent a morning at the Thompson Brown House getting a behind-the-scenes tour by a wonderfully accommodating woman, she gave me directions. She did a lot of hand waving to no effect.  I am actually rather good at following a map, so after stopping at a gas station for further advice, and still coming up short, I did a U turn in the middle of the road and hopped out to talk to a Department of Transportation worker cutting grass on the right of way.  He was clueless until I said this home had been in three states and a territory, North Carolina, the Lost State of Franklin, territory South of the River Ohio and our own lovely State of Tennessee.  Bingo!  “EVERYONE knows where THAT place is!”  My suggestion is, when we pull out of the recession, maybe by 2020, the county pops for a marker.

I took Kane’s picture at each place but one.  The Mead Haven/Cox House in Friendsville, had three very big dogs in the yard which was posted with some kind of electric doggie fence sign. I would open the car door, the dogs would stand up.  I’d shut the car door, they sat down.  Open the car door; put foot on ground, they advanced 50 feet.  “Kane buddy,” I said, “time for your photo.”  He shook his head.  His momma didn’t raise no dummy.  I bought a big piece of black foam core board and glued on the brochure and all our photos.  Twenty-nine photos of Kane, and one of three very big dogs. We took the last tour today, Alcoa Aluminum Plant and the fountain they built for their workers in Springbrook Park.  Actually talked about and saw the whole concept of a planned unit development.  Many of the four-room houses are still standing with the original slate roofs from 80 years ago.

2011- TaDa! The Last Stop, Alcoa's Springbrook Park Fountain

 I am a list person, and while it was wonderful to finish our journey before Kane enters college and I start collecting Medicare, it’s kind of sad.  Where do we go from here?  History tour of Knoxville? Washington D.C.?  The pyramids?  Scratch the pyramids.  We came back to our Smoky Mountain Bed and Breakfast and practiced making potato pancakes with stir fried apples.  We listened to the news about Egypt and Libya while he grated potatoes and stirred the apples in the pan.  For eight years old, he has an amazing grasp of world events and a memory like a steel trap.  Wonder who learned more?  Maybe the question should be, who will remember more! mizkathleen@ Gracehill

Abrams Falls, a 5 mile round trip hike, in Cades Cove, photo taken by guest Mike Malagold

Before Mom and I moved to Tennessee 25 years ago, we left Illinois in a motor home with a motorcycle and scooter hanging off the front and back. My goal was to see every national park in the United States, and Canada from Victoria to St. John’s, Newfoundland.  We were able to do that, over the course of 17 months, and even better, was the decision to settle in Townsend, TN just outside the Cades Cove Loop Road entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Of all the beautiful places on the North American continent, there is nowhere I would rather live.

I have been in the tourist/hospitality industry ever since, with the last 10 years as the owner/operator of Gracehill Bed and Breakfast.  During that time, I have sent and given directions to thousands of people looking for the Cove.  Furthermore, if you only have two nights, one full day in the Smokies, I say a drive around Cades Cove with a little hiking on its many trails,  needs to be at the top of the list.

The Great Smokies is the most visited National Park in the U.S. and Cades Cove the most visited “attraction” in it.   It is a pioneer settlement from the late 1800’s, early 1900’s, in a bowl depression surrounded by lofty mountains.  (Think spacious skies and purple mountain majesties…) It’s filled with log cabins, churches, cemeteries, a gristmill and my favorite, the barns.

It helps to know some things about the Cove.  It features a newly paved 11-mile, single lane, one-way loop road.  It opens at sunrise, closes at dark, and those are the two times you will see the most wildlife.  If you are the type to take home a pic of every deer, pull over so the car behind you can pass.   It is closed to vehicular traffic on Saturday and Wednesday mornings till 10am, May through September, for bicycle and foot traffic.  You can rent bikes at the entrance or bring your own.  In the winter or early spring, with no stops, the drive can take an hour and 15 minutes.  Weekends in the summer plan on a couple of hours.  In October, arrive very early and preferably during the week.  I’ll pack you a picnic breakfast to go.  Bring your camera and tripod for the mist rising off the water shots.  A Saturday afternoon in October, could take four hours.  Make sure you have enough gas.  The last gas station at the Townsend entrance is the Marathon at the KOA Campground.  If you make it out of the Cove on fumes, you can just about coast the nine miles back into Townsend.  The only tricky spot is the stop sign at the “Wye.”  I tried coasting once.  Was probably a little irritating to the driver behind me, but what the heck, I was in pursuit of empirical knowledge!

Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church

There are two gravel roads that bisect the Cove going in both directions.  If you start going through sugar withdrawal, hang a left on Sparks or Hyatt Lane and it will shorten the trip.  A little more than half way around, by the Cable Mill, is a visitor center and restroom facilities.  The last 1/3 of the drive is more heavily wooded, but my favorite.  Everything is closer to the road and most of the barns are there.

Books have been written about Cades Cove and the history of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, many of them here on the library table. You can Google Cades Cove and come up with 100s of articles from many different perspectives.  The Park puts out a good brochure with numbered stops.  You can pick it up at the entrance for $1, or I have multiple copies here, if you want to read it before you go. My intent was to write an article on the Cades Cove Preservation Association, with a little history of the Cove first.  Hmmm.  Next installment another day.  Blessings, mizkathleen@ Gracehill

Orange Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Strawberries and Whipped Cream

Award Winning Pound Cake

From left to right- Elvis Presley's Favorite Pound Cake, Paula Deen's, and Joy of Baking Orange Cream Cheese Pound Cake

For the fourth year in a row, the  Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center had a Blue Ribbon Country Fair on the same weekend as Old Timers Day in Cades Cove, the Nawger Nob Arts and Crafts Show, and the Fall Festival at the Townsend Visitor Center. Saying it is an action packed weekend is an understatement! Just about everyone in our small town is volunteering (or attending) somewhere, and it is tough choosing when they are on both Friends of the Library (food booth at the Fall Festival), Hearts and Hands Scholarship Fund, (Fall Festival), or the Guild at the Heritage Center (Country Fair) etc. etc.

Since September 1st, I have been steady every day with guests; I emptied out today for a few days, in time to get my act together for OCTOBER. The leaves are still green, but today we got some much needed rain and the temps dropped dramatically. I am sitting here with the doors open listening to the rain considering putting on a pair of socks! Life is good. The fall display is up and I have been blessed with business and blue ribbons.

Last year in preparation for the Fair, I worked on my blueberry almond pound cake for the entire year. Must have made it 20 times, 20 different ways. Won 3rd place. This year I waited till three days before the Fair, and started searching on the web for a perfect perfectly plain pound cake. Eccch! Wednesday morning, I made Paula Deen's and served it to guests. Wednesday night, I made an orange cream cheese pound cake from the Joy of Baking, but was the only one still up to taste it warm out of the oven. Thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Six hours later I was up and made another one for breakfast, reportedly Elvis Presley's favorite from the Epicurious.com website. I tasted it warm and thought it was the perfect plain pound cake. Had my guests taste all three and it was evenly divided between Elvis's and the orange. (Dear Paula, you can't win them all...)  On my way into town, I had the neighbors try them and all the folks at the Sunshine Chiropractic office. At room temp, hands down, the orange cream cheese won the vote. It's a good thing I ran it by a few people because I probably would have gone with Elvis's, thinking plain would be better this time around. What makes his recipe unusual is it contains whip cream and you put it in a cold oven, then turn it on!

At any rate, I made another orange pound cake Friday morning for the Fair. We had a funeral Saturday morning, and the bake sale at the Fall Festival, so four pound cakes went the way of the gooney bird! We won win a blue ribbon, thank you, Joy of Baking. Don't know if they are related to Joy of Cooking or not; that has always been my recipe bible. Click here for the link to the recipe. We also won a blue ribbon for my mom's apricot bread. Again I made three loaves in two days, changing the recipe each time while Mom and I bickered back and forth.   Her pumpkin pie recipe got a 2nd place finish. I am not much for pumpkin pie, but after winning a ribbon guess we better make it this year at Thanksgiving! I did mess around with that recipe also, tried to attach some cut out pastry leaves to the sides of the crust and added pecans to the bottom of the crust. The leaves sank and the pecans floated to the surface! Blessings, mizkathleen @ Gracehill Bed and Breakfast

Mom's Pumpkin Pie, 2nd Place Ribbon

Blue Ribbon Apricot Walnut Bread

Laurel Valley Golf Course & Country Club, Townsend, TN

If you need to feel righteous about golfing while your beloved "makes do” with a massage and a half-day shopping the Pigeon Forge outlets, this is the event for you.  For the eleventh year, Friends of the Mary E. Tippitt Memorial Library are hosting their Golf Tournament Benefit on Friday, April 23^rd, 2010 at the Laurel Valley Golf Course in Townsend, Tennessee. 

Proceeds from the tournament benefit the Library by helping fund the services that the Library provides to the community. (See below for the love story.)  Registration for the golf tournament starts at 11:30 a.m., with lunch provided for the participants.  The tournament starts at 1:00 p.m.  Entry fee for players is $80, with an available $20 mulligan package.  You can pick up forms at the Mary E. Tippitt Memorial Library, 120 Tiger Dr, Townsend, TN, at the Townsend Visitor Center on Highway 321, and the Laurel Valley Country Club.

In the past, a dozen or more teams of four players have enjoyed playing 18 holes at this beautiful mountain course.  Cash prizes are awarded to the best team, closest to the hole, longest drive, and longest putt.  This year a special plaque, which will be on display at the clubhouse, honors the winning team.  Numerous door prizes and a new car, for a hole-in-one add to the day’s excitement.  For more information call Mike Roach at (865) 448-8282.  For hole sponsorship contact Judy Krueger at (865) 448-6501.

Don’t you just hate the e-mails you receive that say “You have to read to the end”? Well, I’m glad you did.  In 1997, Charles Tippitt opened the Townsend library from scratch as a memorial tribute to his first wife Mary.  He rented the space and filled it with 5000 books for adults and children.  Over the years it has more than quadrupled in size and grown to a new location, and for a town our size, it is a marvel of information and activity including public access to computers and various children’s programs.  Later Charles married Ms. Sue Ann Schlosser, a librarian from Sikeston, Missouri.  Sikeston’s loss was our gain when Sue Ann relocated here.  Our community has been doubly blessed.  mizkathleen@ Gracehill Bed and Breakfast

At the Library and open to all, at 10 a.m. the third Thursday of each month is B.E.A.R. (Be Excited About Reading) Facts Book Club!

Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail in early spring

Keri and Tim Meeker on an ATV break at the top of Bluff Mountain in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Keri and Tim Meeker, here at Gracehill Bed and Breakfast for four days on their 1^st anniversary, ran the gamut of what Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Townsend, TN have to offer with one new activity, to me at any rate!  They went ATV four wheeling with Bluff Mountain Adventures in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Bluff Mountain offers guided ATV Trail Rides at Walden Lodge on Bluff Mountain.  Guests sign in at the ticket office on the parkway in Pigeon Forge, and then proceed down Wears Valley Road to Walden Creek and the site where they pick up their ATV.  Keri and Tim did the hour and half tour that took them up the mountain, crossing streams, to get to the top of Bluff Mountain at 2300 feet.  They said the company not only went out of their way to provide a safe yet scenic tour, they were very conscientious about the strengths and weaknesses of the group and tailor made the ride for them.  Definitely an activity worth repeating as the Meeker’s gave it two thumbs up.  The hot tub was waiting for them when they returned to the B&B.    mizkathleen@ Gracehill

Fall Display 2009

Sunday October 25^th is the last day of Gatlinburg’s Craftsmen Fair at the Convention Center.  One guest said it was a step above most fairs of its kind; she is in retail and should know!  What is even more important, they made a lot of purchases for the holidays…

How do you go from the beginning of blueberry picking season to the middle of fall color without blogging about what is happening?  Guess I was too much in the thick of it to stop and write about it, but okay no excuses.  The good news is we have been incredibly busy.  It has been a roller coaster of a year, but concerning occupancy we had our best July ever, came within two nights of breaking the August record, and this October is the best month we have had since we opened ten years ago.

Fall color is a little late this year which is good if you want to stay in my empty rooms this November!  Had a long rainy season at the beginning and middle of October with cold temps.  Warmed up the last few days with some sunshine, and the colors are just starting to snap.  I’ll post a picture in the next couple of days taken from the top front veranda.

Cheese Enchiladas in Spinach Wraps

Have tried a number of new recipes in the last two months and have posted most of them on the recipe page of my website.  Have added photos to 20 or more of the 40 some recipes.  One of my new favorites is Cheese Enchiladas.  A real pain in the neck to make but oh my  gosh is it good.

Doing some more design work on my website, should be finished in a couple of days, hopefully.   Mizkathleen

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Blueberry Almond Pound Cake

A year ago we won Best Pie in the Cove at the Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center’s Blue Ribbon County Fair, so, I was a little excited about entering the fair this fall.  Two of our recipes won ribbons, a third place finish in the pound cake division and surprisingly, a second place finish in the yeast bread category.  I experimented on a Blueberry Almond Pound Cake for a year and my church is probably happy the fair is over because I must have brought it a half a dozen times to various potlucks.  They’d ask, “What version is this?”

Rosemary Feta Cheese Bread

The Rosemary Feta Cheese Bread was a take off from a recipe in Southern Living.  Originally it was made as a loaf of French bread but rules said I had to put it in a loaf pan so I made some more modifications.  I wish I could have tasted every entry and picked the brains of the winners.

So, while we are on food… at the prompting of several guests, I took Mom to see Julie, Julia.  Actually it was more along the lines of I can't believe you haven't seen this movie.  What a wonderful film.  Meryl Streep is just the absolute best.  Walked out of the show and wanted to do some serious cooking.  Thank you Julie Powell for perserverance.  Mizkathleen

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Lemon, Goat Cheese, Blueberry Pancakes

Maxine and Robert Falls Blueberry Farm is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday 6:30am to 8:30pm at 111 Harmon Road, Maryville, TN (865) 982-3457.  Directions: Proceed two miles past Blount Memorial Hospital on Hwy 321 going towards Townsend, turn right onto Harmon Road just before the second BP Station you come to after the hospital.  Once on Harmon they are the first driveway on the left.  Park on the grass.  You can just see the bushes behind the BP Station from the highway.

Kane Picking

All right, here is the blueberry story. About seven years ago a dear friend, Deanna Wietholter, asked me if I wanted to go blueberry picking with her and her husband Bob the next morning at 6:30am.  I said no.  No hesitation there. “For crying out loud Deanna, I have a life.  I work.  As a matter of fact I will be knee deep rolling out scones and preparing breakfast for guests tomorrow at that time!”  The next afternoon she showed up with a gallon of little blue dots.  I felt pretty bad.  Said thank you very much.  Mom and I made a few recipes with them and froze a few berries.

Fast-forward one year.  Deanna calls.  Do you want to go blueberry picking?  Well I didn’t want to go anymore than I did the year before, but what could I say?  I went, and two other times that year.  Froze about 8 gallons and started collecting blueberry recipes.  The next year Deanna calls and I said sure.  Went once with her and the rest of the time by myself.  Picked and froze 55.5 pounds that year.  The next year I didn’t wait for the phone call, and I froze 62-1/8 pounds.  The next year the crop was wiped out by a freeze and I sent Maxine and Robert Falls at the blueberry farm a condolence card.  I wanted to cry.  The next year there was a drought and I prayed over each bush I picked from that year.

First berry of the season, mouth or bucket?

Blueberry picking is the best therapy I have ever experienced.  I usually go late afternoon or early evening, by myself, and zone out. Pick, pick, pick.  Took my nephew a couple of times.  Sing a few hymns.  Pick, pick, pick.  Listen to parents converse with their kids who are eating as many as they put in the jug.  Pick, pick, pick.  I’ve found in the last couple of years I have slowed down a little in the quantity I can pick in the same amount of time (pick,  p i c k,    p   i   c   k)  but I froze 80 pounds last year.  Some I picked and some I paid Maxine’s helper to pick.  I wanted enough to really be able to start experimenting with recipes.

Two summers ago I won an honorable mention in a pancake contest with Bed and Breakfast.com.  The recipe was Lemon, Goat Cheese, Blueberry pancakes. This summer I’d like to enter a contest with a recipe I have been working on for a year changing it here and there.  I went blueberry picking for the first time this year, today.  I want to see how the final product changes when I use fresh blueberries instead of frozen ones.  I’ll share the recipe after the contest. For tips on how to freeze blueberries click on the recipe link above.

Bob and Deanna moved back to Indiana two summers ago to be closer to their kids because Bob was in ill health.  Last summer Deanna passed away unexpectedly.  Mom and I missed the funeral, held on a day when I was full with guests.  We drove up to see Bob a few weeks later and took about 10 pounds of blueberries with us. I would give anything for the phone to ring and have Deanna ask if I wanted to go picking.  Thanks for the blue memories sweetie.  Mizkathleen @Gracehill

A portion of the silent auction presented by the Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center Guild

2009 A Heritage Happening: Landmarks of our Heritage

The Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center

The Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center Guild presented the 6th annual Heritage Happening: Landmarks of our Heritage, on Saturday May 30th, 2009, at the Heritage Center in Townsend, Tennessee.  This annual event is the biggest fund raiser the museum has each year.  1,770 invitations were sent out with a near capacity crowd of 325 people.  There is both a silent auction with 9 different categories, and a live auction which is, yes, always lively!  The event grossed around $90,000 with the auction bringing in $54,040 of that.   The live auction items that brought the most attention this year all had to do with food, no surprise: an evening boat ride for 12 complete with a gourmet dinner, a progressive dinner in Laural Valley, and the like.  Besides paid help, it takes roughly 30 volunteers to pull this off each year.  Of course you have the one night a year volunteers like me, and then there are the "a hundred++ hours a year" volunteers like some of my friends.  It's a lot of fun, particularly when it is over.    Thanks to Cam King, Doris Gorman, and Betty Jones for letting me pick their brains, and the photo's taken and provided by Louise Presley.   mizkathleen @Gracehill

Smoky Mountain Kayaking on Abrams Creek

Tony Barbarette, the owner/operator, of  Smoky Mountain Kayaking and I met today.  He is a retired Army Intelligence Officer.  He recently took a hobby he was passionate about, and turned it into what is becoming a full-time business.  There are a handful of white water kayaking/tubing businesses within a two-hour drive of Gracehill Bed and Breakfast; Tony's, is for the most part, the only lake kayaking and tours on flat water.  He is based out of Maryville, Tennessee.  Tony does tours on Douglas, Tellico, Chilhowee, Norris, and Calderwood Lakes, in the Fontana Dam and Abrams Creek area, and the Tennessee and Little Tennessee Rivers.  One of the trips, if the water level is correct, you can kayak through an old train tunnel, or take a history tour of Fort Loudon State Historical Area.  See the Sequoyah Birth Place Museum where Sequoyah invented the Cherokee Alphabet, and the Chota Memorial and Oconostota Burial Site.

Kousa Dogwood and the reddish foliage in the background is a Flowering Plum Tree

Mom and I drove to Buckhorn Inn today located in the Arts and Crafts Community of Gatlinburg for our monthly B&B association meeting.  Lee provided a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach!  Main topic of conversation was: link policies to the Smoky Mountain Bed and Breakfast website, what we are all paying for credit cards fees, and the definition of a bed and breakfast/inn (not easy).  Sterling and Rick from Wahoo Zip Lines were our guests.  They claim you can be as young as 5 and they have had folks do this who are in their 80's and 90's.  Surely as creaky as I am at 55, I can give it a shot with my 6-year-old nephew.

The mountain laurel is blooming all along our driveway.  The photo was taken coming up the drive of a Kousa Dogwood with some flowering plums as the reddish foliage in the background.  Kousa Dogwoods are not native like the dogwood photo in my May 4^th blog of Cornus florida, but they have a later and longer bloom period with virtually no disease or pest problems. It's common for me to still have this tree still blooming at the Fourth of July and one year they lasted almost all summer.  Amazing.  mizkathleen @Gracehill

Drive along Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, near Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Drove to Gatlinburg's Arts and Craft Community today to pick up some of the mugs I have made for Gracehill at Buie Pottery.  This started a few years ago when my cousin came to visit with his significant other, now wife.  They bought me some of Buie's pottery wine glasses.  One thing led to another and I use her stemware and accessory's with a lot of  the different place settings I switch out each morning.  She wanted me to try selling Gracehill mugs.  I wasn't interested.  She insisted.  She was correct in insisting.  Be that as it may.......

I hopped on Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail while in the area.  It is about the prettiest drive in the park. A six to eight mile (depending on who's verision you read) one way loop road covered in wildflowers this time of  year.  The last 3 miles you are following streams, crossing bridges, passing waterfalls etc.  Driving that road is about as good as getting a massage!  mizkathleen @Gracehill