A.G.E's Joint

 Dandelion salad you say? As long as the leaves are picked small and are well washed, I'll eat it. The thing about dandelions is they are the cockroach of plants. Once they are established in a landscape, nothing short of nuclear warfare will get rid of them. They are amongst the first plants to grow after a controlled burn. And because puffball seed heads, a plant's prodigy can spring up several miles from its origin.  I learned a lot about Dandelions and other foraging plants from a teacher named Snow Bear. He is an old Hippie who adopted many of the old Cherokee ways. He taught which were medicine and which made good seasoning. He also taught me which woods are good for fire and which were toxic to burn (Rhododendron and Azalea). Over the years, I've taken a dozen of his classes and each time I come away with something new about the nature and woods around me.  I'm not going to be able to attend, but he is doing classes at  EarthSkills  in October. Maybe in t...

 Cue Nina Simone: It's always the go-to when I want to walk with earbuds on. Which I don't to real often, earbuds that is, because it is a safety hazard. It is always better to be aware of your surroundings or you will miss the Doe staring at you in the woods.  There is something about keeping moving that lightens my mood.  I'll keep doing it until I can't do it anymore. 

  A Walk at the Farm Enjoy

 It's Friday and I was at a loss on how to handle the topic this week. Yesterday, I was scrolling around, trying to avoid the subject when a Facebook notification came up for an exhibit called "Tiny Parks Atlanta", which is on display now until Sunday afternoon (10/18/2020). A group called Livable Buckhead organized it to promote green space, they set up the project along   Path400 near Lenox Square. It's a short distance from home and I'd rather spend my day in the sunshine than listening to the political bullshit hitting me from all directions.  The weather was glorious. I found a place to park and spent a minute chatting with the organizers. They explained the concept and how I might vote for my favorite. I made my way up the hill towards Lenox Rd.  42 dioramas were scattered on either side of the path. The theme was to envision the ideal park environment on a small scale. It got its idea from another project called Tiny Doors Atlanta ( #tinydoorsatl ), whe...

Cold Water Going down Staving off thirst. Watching eagles wings Riding updrafts out of dark cloudy canyons. A path Once followed long ago , I pause. Cows graze contentedly in the valley. The sun is hanging low to the rim. The power overwhelms me This is as good a place As any to make camp. Pulling out the tent . I drive stakes To secure Night. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Topic- Dave Coon Pic- Dahlia Ramone Pic Guesses: Eagles wings (in blog), flight, updraft (in blog), On the wing, Canyons (in blog), Spirit, America,

A random post. Did a trip in the Lullwater Preserve. Wonderful.

Writer’s choice this week? Since I want to hit #atlbeltline and do a bit of #urbanhiking while dodging kamikaze E-scooters, I’ll do something a little bit different. Since I’m between contracts, I’ve been doing most of the cooking in the house. It’s fun as long as I don’t have to do the shopping. I leave that part to the wife. She gets off on a price war. She determines the objective, researches the prices, adds the coupons and we all “cheer” her victories over the profits of Kroger. No, I don’t. I just roll my eyes when the phrase “what are we having for dinner this week” comes up. We’ve had this same conversation for 34 years. What do you want? I don’t know, chicken? If I have that again, I’ll sprout feathers...etc.etc. So, what is for dinner? Earlier this week, I fixed Pork Chops in Wine. Are you on a budget and can only afford trashy end pieces? This stew will soften them up quick. The recipe comes from a old Junior League cookbook we were given at our wedding. You know t...

The sky was milky with streaks of silver. The weather said the storm risk at 60% with high humidity and temps in the low 90’s. The bacon is frying and coffee is made. Yeah, I still want to do this. My idea of summertime fun and play involves sweat and sights. I quickly eat breakfast and head out. It’s not every day I go to the southside without the wife. Cochran Mill Park is an 800 acre plot of creeks and waterfalls 20 miles southwest of Atlanta. It has been praised for it’s beauty by the Atlanta hiking community. This past weekend, I got the chance to enjoy it. Inside the park is a forest that is fairly old, consisting of 75 to 100 year old beech and sweet-gum trees, with a few larger oaks scattered here and there. The understory is mostly wild azaleas, and fast growing vines, with lots of poison ivy. So going off-trail is not recommended. Main Falls There are 18 miles of well maintained trails scattered over four loops. For my first trip, I chose the two shorter...

Late night, busy day. Five miles- paved trail never walked. It was disappointing. Warehouses, not trees. Very commercial. Ancient spirits guiding me. Not the political stuff No texting, virtual signaling No covers for hiding behind the reality Of the powerful abusing the powerless. Cabernet in front of me easing sore muscles Tomorrow hopes we’ve learned Something from yesterday But on review... We haven’t. Bottoms up. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Topic- Colleen Keller Breuning Pic- Michael Todd Pic guesses: Head over heels, Flip out, jump for joy, boardwalk,

Interesting timing of this week’s topic. I was packing to leave for East Tennessee for the week when it was posted. It wasn’t a vacation abroad , but it certainly was good to get out of town. The highlight (for me) was a day at Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains National Park and a decent woods hike. The cove is a wide mountain ringed valley first settled by Europeans in the early 1820’s. It has a number of well preserved log cabins and structures. Missionary Baptist Church And from the inside. The church here is one of the newer structures. It apparently was built in the late 1800’s. There are several log cabins that date from almost the earliest settlement. Along the way, we saw a juvenile bear playing in a meadow (he’s in the cover photo). We were about 400 feet way. That was close enough. I didn’t see a Mama, but she could have been in the woods right behind him. He goofed around for about 15 minutes and then dipped into the treeline. So we moved on. Soon we...

I like to hike. Let me rephrase that: I like to hike the unusual places. To find the little pockets of heaven stuck in the pits of hell. They are out there. All you have to do is look. A good example is the  South Peachtree Creek Trail . Tucked between two busy roads near Emory University, it runs in a old growth oak forest that makes you forget the world. I recently did another trail fitting this description:  Doll's Head Trail . It is located in Constitution Lakes Park, created from some abandoned industrial land in a somewhat desolate area of Southeast Atlanta. The park itself is a mix of low wetlands and fairly new growth forest tucked along 1/4 mile of railroad. The Doll's Head Loop is part of a longer trail called Rail Ridge. It is an art project begun in 2011, using discarded toys and building materials to make you stop and think. As the sign says, there is poison ivy and other nasty invasive plants here, so bushwhack at your peril. Most of the display...