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Showing posts from March 12, 2006

Back to the "Deep South" in Duluth GA

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I get a kick out of hearing the term "Deep South" in 2026. It is a crazy incredibly outdated label. I think maybe I should start saying the "Deep Northeast". I am a Yankee. My family came over on the Mayflower and moved to Upstate NY via Connecticut. Terms used in the revolutionary and Civil war days are generally inappropriate. My family is all but totally out of NY State now. I find the term "deep south" to be of the same thinking that the movie "Heidi" is what contemporary Europe is like. It is a long drive between Berkshire, NY and Duluth, GA. Most of the 35K miles on the truck were spent in between. I drove the truck about 3k miles in 2-1/2 weeks. It was great to spend time on the farm. It was good to make some progress on needed repairs and improvements. I also felt good about making some new friends up there. I will be back up there in August.
I am in Florida this week. It is good to see my Brother and Sister since they both live in Florida. The traffic seems to be an issue here as the state experiences such high growth in development. I compare my role on the county planning board in NY to what planners have to do in Florida and there (believe it or not) some comparisons. There are great leasons to apply back in NY, anticipating growth (or not) and applying the values of what the community wants and does not want. The weather is nice in Tampa in March compared to back home. I often think that people up north mistakening think that it is "Summer" all year round. It gets hot down here, really hot. I don't mind the cold too much. Occasionally, it is a nuscience when you are scraping the car and you have a cold and you aren't dressed right, but overall it is ok. I will be canoeing sometime in the next couple of days.
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It appears to becoming spring on the farm. Yesterday it must have been in the 60s. Today (early) it is 40. I got a jeep load of wood yesterday. I disassembled and carried a fallen ash up the embankment in the woods. It was a good workout. What I like to do it cut the tree in about 6 foot sections (shorter or longer depending on diameter) and then tip it up on my shoulder and back. I can effectively carry quite a bit of wood that way. In a word; It was fantastic. There is nothing quite like the woods. I saw some nice sized turkey tracks. Dennis is coming down May 1st. We are going to bag some. Sound is important for the movies. The first pic is one of many springs on the property. It is not flowing a lot at the moment, but it will. It is sort of like a peat bog. I heard a story of someone getting trapped in a peat bog and they couldn't find him. But the next spring there was peculiar spot that looked like it was warmer than the rest of the bog. Click pic for video Click pic...