My NC Mountain Mood

…”there once was an inn, a merry old inn beneath an old grey hill”…for all of you Tolkien fans, you will remember Frodo’s song began with this line as he danced his rear-end into trouble in Bree.

I am reciting the lines to “hey diddle diddle” because it brings to mind a sweet spot in my heart, Little Switzerland, NC. It is home to the Switzerland Inn that sits atop the continental divide. Somewhere in the center between Mount Mitchell and Roan Mountain, this beautifully quiet retreat is modern enough to make you feel comfortably at home but rustic enough to allow you to feel like you have escaped the 21st century.

For more than 20 years, I have been calling this place my home away from home because the folks that live there have always made me feel like part of their family.

No matter the season, the mountains and valleys with their whispering pines, the hardwoods tranquil silence and the babbling brooks are salve for the soul.

In the spring, the mountains slowly wake from the long winters sleep. Wild flowers and budding hardwoods color the landscape. Mayflies take to the air and life begins anew.

Summer has the trees and greenery fully leafed providing welcomed shade from the afternoon sun, a place for the breeze to bring the scent of hemlock and cedar to the resting wanderer. The free stone streams still cold from the runoff and hidden springs welcoming the hot, tired feet.

Autumn finds the hardwoods ablaze once again in golds, reds and orange. With the warm days and cold night, deer and other animals prepare once again for the long, slow drag of winter. Brook and Brown trout in their brilliant colors of spawn readily feeding on almost any fly properly presented in the thinning waters.

Winter finds my mountain home deep in slumber once again. Trees are bare, the air is unforgiving and cold, a reflective time.

A cycle of life beautiful and consistent, I cannot wait to go back home.

Charleston Artist Market

....so starting next weekend, I'll be setup selling the woodcarvings at the Charleston market. The city has an evening market for the local artists every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It is designed to showcase the local artist and their work. So I'll be able to sell the carvings there. I'm pretty excited about it. I'm also excited that a few of the local shops are wanting to sell my work through their stores as well....I'm supposed to get a spot in the next issue of Azalea Magazine...I'll keep ya posted!

Web Site Update...

Ok so finished the linkage to the sites and the Paypal is working...so far everything seems to be moving forward...I have a new series I started working on today called the Off Shore Slam. It features a Marlin, Sailfish, and Dolphin (fish not porpoise). This series will be available in the pin. necklace, magnet or gift tag/ornament.

Can't wait to show them to ya'll....

Tight Lines!

New Web Site Up and Running!

So after enough hours to surpass a second full time job, the new web site is up and running. I want to thank everyone for their encouragement and help (and dare I say patience) in helping me get this done.

I want to use this blog to keep everyone informed of whats going on, new products and services or just some fish stories. I will also do some product evaluations so that maybe I can help ya'll in your pursuits of the angling arts.

Please take a minute and look at the site and let me know what you think, Samuel and I would appreciate it!

Tight Lines!

Progress

Seems to take forever to get any of these pieces ready to go to market! But I don't want to put anything out that I don't feel 100% comfortable with so I fine tune til I drive myself nuts....and that is not a very long drive these days!

So, I am enlisting help and trying to get a full blown webpage established to get this thing going. I've had requests for price lists and ways to order and pay. Its all in the works and coming soon. As I stated earlier on the site, if there is anything special that you want done or if you want to buy something, send me an email and we can go from there.

Tight Lines!