August 4th, 2011 FYI ...  As you probably have surmised, we have not been to the Lake as much this year.   My Dad passed away on April 13th. at 93 years old.  His wish was to be buried on the family plot just a few miles from the old farm homestead in Maine. So, I will be leaving for Maine this Saturday and will be flying back on Tuesday, August 9th. 

July 14th, 2011:  Summer just isn't Summer without tomatoes.  Cindy loves gardening and has two green thumbs. Check out this huge tomato plant she grew.... 9 feet, 2 inches tall.

May 5, 2011:  Well, after all the pictures last Winter with the Lake drained for upgrading the dam ... Guess what? 

Now the hydro station is now out of service and can't pass water downstream. Runoff from recent rains has caused the lake to flood and it is now 1" from spilling over the Dam spillways.  But, before the water flows over the spillways, this picture shows what happens to the shoreline roads at the Lake.  Word is that the hydro station won't be fixed until sometime in June ... see the next photo.

In spite of all the water, we're fine and can get out on the boat whenever we want.   Our favorite boat ride is always over to the nesting Eagles who had two chicks this year.  Here is our most recent photo ...

Enough talk about the chicks, how about a little Garden talk?  Cindy is the love of my life, and the best Gardener I've ever known.   One isn't enough, so she has three gardens this year.  Not huge, but enough to have fresh greens at home and at the Lake.    Here is an early season photo of her gardening efforts.

This last photo for  the week shows her cabbage that is coming along pretty good for the first week of May.  

That's it for this week ... as usual, I will see you on Friday's Stock Market Update.
Regards and my personal appreciation to all of you,
Marty

April - 2011:  Finally, the Lake is back up.   Our recent storm with 3 inch hail brought the Lake up four feet in one day.   The bass are once again running up river to spawn.  

The water's back, and the mountains are as majestic as ever ...

2010 Photos are below ...

Fall haying down by the Lake ...

Haying over by the College in Morganton ...

This is the Upper Falls at South Mountain ...

One of our visitors at the Lake ...

This picture of Linville Gorge show's its beauty.

Early morning ... overlooking Lake James from the Pinnacle.

Another early morning picture from the Pinnacle.

The next photo is from a day time hike to the Pinnacle ...

These next picture is of a hike up Hawksbill mountain.   It has a fabulous, 360 degree view at the top. 

This is a picture of a sunset while we were on the Lake ...

This last picture is just a reminder that hiking can be dangerous if you don't keep your eyes open.  This is a two foot long Copperhead snake ... definitely poisonous.   Have a great day, we will see you tomorrow. 

________________________________________________________________