A.G.E's Joint

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...

Rrrrrnng! I look down at my cellphone. A number I don’t recognize. DECLINE! Turtle, remind me to block the number. Aye! Aye! Captain! Rrrrrnng!! Again? Oh...Kathryn. “Yeah. I think I’m about done...Got the two trail loops done I wanted. I’m deciding now if I want to hit the beach for some more shots...what’s that? Can’t get the TV show to work? You’re going to blow our data limits doing that. Besides, it isn’t what we came to the beach for...I should be back in an hour or so...Yeah, I should be all right on water until I get back. See you in a bit.” Used to be one could take a walk like this with no interruptions. Now, of course, we have to be tethered to the shepherd 24/7 with our exact locations. It makes me want to breakaway . I can see it now. “Runaway retired sheep lost in the marsh! Couldn’t take the surveillance!” Gotta remember the new phone goes into the pocket screen out. I’ve already butt-dialed two people this morning. Maybe that belt clip would be...

I was looking at the prompts this week and I thought about doing a WOFT segment, with Harry doing a Surf Music retrospective with the Ventures. But Christine Wichman , beat me to the punch. And really, there wasn’t anything Harry hadn’t covered before out there to work with. I briefly considered a Devil’s Quill bit, using the “devil’s music” to draw the suckers in, but that didn’t really fly, either. Then it occurred to me, Walk, Don’t Run perfectly sums up my fitness protocol. Due to a minor electrical/valve defect, I can’t run more than half a mile before my heart hits 200 beats per minute. But if I keep the speed to less than 4 mph (a good power walk pace), I can go all day long. And for us...uh, older...folks, it is much less stressful on the joints. Do I do this in a gym? No. Those are meet markets down the street, where the boys and girls watch each other eat, when they only want to watch each other sleep. I’d like my scenery to change as I go. Hence my hobby o...

Moon drifts over Cranberry Gap Disappearing into the valley mist Blanketing whispers of cicadas and frogs Gossip of Ceilidh sound impossible to miss At the top of the mountain. Pipers marching across the field As the athletes open the games To toss caber and hammer To test the shepherd dogs Celebrating the gathering Clans one more time. Thistle and Laurel grow thick and rich And a bit of the fragrance clings to the hand That gives the flowers to the victors. Reels and jigs to the harps And whistles of the band. And as soon as it has started It runs away back into the valley mist On the far side of Cranberry Gap. Living in the dreams of the Scots at heart Until we meet again.    (c) Christopher Mitchell 2009, 2011, 2013

A new season and a new meet and greet.  I'm going to be lazy and post the link to last years post. So, Who Am I? Which gives a fairly good background, but let me update. My name still Christopher Mitchell and my Internet Handle still is Another Government Employee, but since last year I have changed jobs.  I have started a new position as a contract employee with a large government contractor.  For the past month, I have immersed myself in their paperwork and methods.  And they are just about as convoluted as the agency I used to work for.  Nothing involving government is logical and is designed to quiet the loudest constituencies only.  If you watch the news, you probably already know that. One really nice thing about my new office is it is located between two of my favorite hiking trails and I can spend the early mornings here: The pictures are worth a thousand words.  Fun and peace along the river I know so well.  These two w...