The Dormant Flower

In the flowerbed, surrounded by weeds
Seemingly unnoticed, the poor heart bleeds
A world of color and beauty locked up inside
While shriveling in darkness and dreams denied

Longing for the sunlight 'slive giving rays
To free the prisoner from the stifling malaise
To break the chains of the stone cold tomb
And let the dormant flower bring forth its bloom

City Rain

Sheets of water poured from the hovering grey canvas

That was stretched across the dome of sky

Misty, foggy air hung like a watery veil

Over the city streets and monolithic skyscrapers

That spiraled upward towards the heavens, whose tops were lost in the vaporous mist

The rain, the rain, the rain, shrouding my city in her liquid clothes

Dampening her heart and soul, entrancing her into a soothing melancholy trance

As the rain drops tap out the rhythm to the rainy melody sang from my misty saturated city

Inebriated, yet liberated by the liquor from above

Pour down on me, run down these streets

Saturate me fully, quench this heat

Wash away yesterday’s filth

Cleanse me once again

Pour down on me, oh precious rain.

Sticky slathering of air pressing against body longing for a cool breeze of refreshment on steamy August night.

The heat of the night is joined by the fire burning within my soul, the fire of confusion, dreams unfulfilled, promises broken and the haunting realization of time slipping away.

Basking in my hot room, feeling like I am burning down from without and within, I am reminded of another fire, an ancient fire from the far reaches of eternity.

The consuming fire of the Creator God

A fire that some have tried to quench

Still it burns

A fire that consumes and cleanses the receptive souls

Yet a fire that devours those who want no part of it

Sitting in the heat, my body begging for cool relief

My soul burning down

I am waiting for the fire of God to ignite my heart with the consuming flame of His Spirit

City Rain

Sheets of water poured from the hovering grey canvas

That was stretched across the dome of sky

Misty, foggy air hung like a watery veil

Over the city streets and monolithic skyscrapers

That spiraled upward towards the heavens, whose tops were lost in the vaporous mist

The rain, the rain, the rain, shrouding my city in her liquid clothes

Dampening her heart and soul, entrancing her into a soothing melancholy trance

As the rain drops tap out the rhythm to the rainy melody sang from my misty saturated city

Inebriated, yet liberated by the liquor from above

Pour down on me, run down these streets

Saturate me fully, quench this heat

Wash away yesterday’s filth

Cleanse me once again

Pour down on me, oh precious rain.

Sticky slathering of air pressing against body longing for a cool breeze of refreshment on steamy August night.

The heat of the night is joined by the fire burning within my soul, the fire of confusion, dreams unfulfilled, promises broken and the haunting realization of time slipping away.

Basking in my hot room, feeling like I am burning down from without and within, I am reminded of another fire, an ancient fire from the far reaches of eternity.

The consuming fire of the Creator God

A fire that some have tried to quench

Still it burns

A fire that consumes and cleanses the receptive souls

Yet a fire that devours those who want no part of it

Sitting in the heat, my body begging for cool relief

My soul burning down

I am waiting for the fire of God to ignite my heart with the consuming flame of His Spirit

How to Make a Mermaid Tail Fin

Fresh Water Mermaid Tale(fiction)

Mermaids on Blue Ridge Lake

The Beginning

Jim eased his 10 ft john boat into the greenish-blue water of Blue Ridge lake, ready for a full night of fishing. It was around 10:15 when he put in at the Green Creek boat launch on Dry Branch road. The unusually warm spring air and the hollering of the storm frogs lightened Jim's heart and brought a smile to his dark leathery face, a face that had years of exposure to the sun as he spent his summers fishing Blue Ridge lake and other bodies of water close by.

Moving his boat out into the middle of the channel, Jim tossed out his line and kicked back in his boat, enjoying the sounds of the spring night, the splash of a fish surfacing, the croak of a bull frog in the distance and the sound of girls singing somewhere out on the water. At first Jim dismissed this as crickets chirping in harmony, but soon realized that this was female voices singing a beautiful song that made him cry and laugh at the same time. Soon Jim was reeling in his line and cranking up his trolling motor, he had to find the source of the singing. Jim was being drawn towards the singing, he was under the spell of the water borne melody whose melodic notes hovered just above the surface of the lake and filled the night air with mesmerising strains and notes like nothing Jim had ever heard.........

Jim slowly eased his boat toward the sound of the voices, not having a clue as to what to expect, only knowing that he wanted to find the source of beautiful melody  floating on the light mist above the cool lake waters. By the sound of the singing, Jim envisioned a choir of beautiful young ladies that perhaps were out on a boat or maybe over on the shore close at hand. In order to see the source of the singing, Jim turned on the spotlight on the front of his boat. To his surprise, in the water out in front of the boat were a group of girls treading water, singing in unison.

Jim was perplexed as he stared into their fire-red eyes that were all fixed on him. The singing stopped, followed by cachophony of school girl giggles as Jim stopped his boat a few feet away from watery choir.

"What you girls doing out here in the middle of the lake this time of night?"

Jim's question brought more giggles but no answer. "Well, what are y'all doing out here in the water?"
Jim had come across some strange things out on Blue Ridge Lake but this beat them all.

One of the girls stopped giggling long enough to give an answer."We have come to the top water to dance on the moon beams, like this." With that, she flipped backward into the green water, surfacing a few moments later into moonlight that lay across the lake. She came totally out of the water and was moving across the silvery moonlight bathed water in a rhythmic dance. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful thought Jim as he watched her glide across the surface of the lake. Her long green/gold hair cascaded over sleek shoulders and ended at the small of her back and in the front framed  a bathing suit top that glimmered like fish scales in the moonlight that upheld her small but well-formed breasts. Below her waist it appeared to Jim that she was wearing a tight body-hugging gown made out of the same material as her top that tapered in tight at the bottom. Jim was so taken by the girl's beauty and her movement on the top of the water that he did not notice that what he thought was a gown ended in a mono-fin or fluke.

After a few cheers and giggles from her companions in the water, the fluke tailed girl ended her water dance by going from her dance on the surface into a beautiful dive that barely made a ripple in the water. Her comapnions leaped out of the water like a dolphin at Sea World and dove head first into the depths of Blue Ridge Lake. Jim noticed that they all had outfits that had flukes at the bottom. Jim rubbed his eyes, thought for a few minutes about why a bunch of girls would hang out in the lake at night wearing outfits that had a fin at the bottom, and then cast his fishing line out into the water.



Check back later for more.

How to Make a Mono-fin

Do you like mermaids? Have you ever thought about making your own mermaid tail? One of the key parts of a mermaid tail the fin at the bottom, or what we will refer to as the Mono-fin. Making your own mono-fin is easy and inexpensive,



Things you will need are…



Plastic

Scissors

Stapler

Duck tape

Slippers or crocks

1. Cut the plastic into to parts and put the slippers in the position you want them in.



2. Staple the ends right next to the slippers and cut into the shape of a fin.



3. Take extra pieces of plastic and apply duck tape to form the heel. Connect the heelpiece to the mono-fin and make sure it is secure.



4. Take the slippers out of the fin and put your feet into it and make sure it fits. If it is too loose or does not fit, staple or duck tape sections together and see if that helps.

Warning: Swimming with a mono-fin can be dangerous. Always have adult supervision when using mono-fin and do not attempt swimming with mono-fin unless you are an avid swimmer. A DIY mono-fin may not be as good for swimming as one that is manufactured for swimming. Home-made mono-fins are most suitable for dressing up as a mermaid and not a replacement for manufactured mono-fins made for swimming.

IN and Around Blue Ridge, Georgia

Good Hamburgers in Blue Ridge, Ga

If you are looking for a good hamburger in Blue Ridge, Ga,, check out the Village Restaurant  in the Valley Village parking lot next to Fannin Lanes Bowling Alley. If it is a big fat hamburger you are desiring, they have a half-pound burger known as the Robert Burger. I love hamburgers and I have to rate this burger as above average for eating establishments in the Blue Ridge area or any place for that matter. The price for the Village Restaurant's half-pound burger was very reasonable. I got the half-pound burger and fries and a soft drink for under $10 which I considered a good deal for the quality of the food.

Visiting Blue Ridge and craving a hamburger, go to the Village Restaurant on old Hwy 76 next to Fannin Lanes in the old Valley Village parking lot and ask for the Robert Burger.

BACK TO SCHOOL SHOPPING

Things to Do in Blue Ridge, Georgia

So you have decided to spend a few days in the quaint little town of Blue Ridge, Ga., a town nestled in the beautiful North Georgia Mountains, and you are wondering how you are going to spend your time. Dependent upon your likes and dislikes there several different activities that you may choose.

1. Take a stroll down the old Downtown District of Blue Ridge. Being a native of the Blue Ridge area, this is something that I personally probably would not choose, but every weekend the Downtown area is full of people who seem to be enjoying themselves. There are numerous shops, eateries, and even a gem mining and miniature golf place. Some of the eateries have bars with karaoke and live music.
2. Ride the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway. During certain times of the year you can take a train that takes you to the twin cities of McCaysville, Georgia and Copperhill, Tennessee. The Blue Ridge Scenic Railway follows the Toccoa River on the rails that have run beside the river for decades.
3. Go tubing down the Toccoa River. There are a few different outfits that offer tubes and shuttle services for tubing down the Toccoa River.
4. Enjoy the Lake. Blue Ridge Lake is just a few miles from Blue Ridge and has swimming areas, boat launch sites and a marina. Blue Ridge Lake is also suitable for fishing.
5. Hike the trails. There are many trails to hike in the mountains surrounding Blue Ridge. You can hike part of the famous Appalachian Trail, Benton-MacKaye Trail along with other lesser known trails.
6. Trout Fishing. There are many trout streams in close proximity to Blue Ridge, Georgia. Some of the streams are stocked with trout and others are teeming with native trout.

This is not a comprehensive list of things to do in Blue Ridge but is a good starting point if you are visiting our area for the first time. Have a good time and enjoy your stay in Blue Ridge, Georgia.

Olive Oil Store in Downtown Blue Ridge

I drove down main street in Blue Ridge the other day and seen a store an unique store, the Blue Ridge Olive Oil Company. That was a new one on me, an Olive Oil Company in Downtown Blue Ridge, Ga. When I was a kid growing up in Blue Ridge, Ga main street was the place we went to shop for clothes, shoes, guns, ammo, haircuts, oil changes, insurance, jewelry, and everyday needs and wants. Now you go to downtown Blue Ridge to get your fill of Olive Oil. My how things have changed.

 

Best Priced Emergency Room in Blue Ridge. Ga Area

I posted a while back about the high price of an emergency room visit my wife made earlier this year at Fannin Regional Hospital. The cost of the visit was $982, I thought a bit expensive for just looking at my wife and saying she was okay, no x-rays, lab-work or anything invasive, just got looked at by an ER doctor. Now compare the price that Fannin Regional charged with an emergency room visit at the Copper Basin Medical Center; I took my daughter a few weeks ago to the ER at the Copper Basin Medical Center and they charged me under $500. 

Unlike the visit my wife made to Fannin Regional, the nurses and doctors done for my little girl than just look at her, they had to perform a routine procedure that kept us at the hospital for over an hour. Even after the procedure and dose of medicine they gave my daughter the bill was around half the cost of Fannin's Emergency room charges. Why the price difference? I don't know, maybe Fannin Regional has a good answer. 

If you have to use a hospital's emergency room and it is not a life and death situation I highly recommend Copper Basin Medical Center. Even if it is life or death you might do just as well at Copper Basin, who knows. Besides being lower in price, the staff and doctor we seen at Copper Basin Medical Center were very nice and prompt.

Looking for a hospital in the Blue Ridge, area, you should give Copper Basin Medical Center some strong consideration. 

Copper Basin Medical Center is located on Hwy 68, outside of Copperhill, Tennessee right before you get to Ducktown.  

Walmart Coming to Blue Ridge, Ga

I am not much into spreading rumors but I heard from what I consider to be a reliable source that Walmart is coming to Blue Ridge, Ga. Walmart could be a real blessings to many of the people in the Blue Ridge area. Walmart could benefit the area through lower prices on consumer goods and by providing additional jobs for the area. Walmart may also attract more businesses to Blue Ridge, Ga, which will mean more jobs added. Some folks criticize Walmart, but in my opinion Walmart is great for the common man. In these tough economic times the common man can use all the help he can get.

Surrender at Morganton Music Park

The Christian rock band Surrender ministered at the Morganton Music Park on Sunday night, Oct 28. The Christian band comprised primarily by Ricky and Randy Beach ministered to the audience through rocking rhythms and inspired lyrics spreading the good news of Jesus Christ.

Making Christian music is nothing new to the Beach brothers who have been playing Christian rock music for at least two decades if not three. Randy Beach is one of the finest, if not the best guitarist in the Blue Ridge area and his brother Ricky does a fine job on the bass as well.

The group played some original compositions as well as covers of popular contemporary Christian songs. What I liked best about their performance tonight was that the performance did not seem to be about them but about Jesus, I believe they sincerely tried to lift high the name of Jesus. That is what matters the most.

In my opinion, Surrender is a professional grade Christian rock band that is not just making good music but is seeking to honor our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Delayed Trout Fishing for Georgia

The Toccoa river is included in the delayed trout fishing that runs between November 1 and May 14. If you can brave the cold water, this could be a great time to fish the Toccoa river and try your hand at trout fishing.

Source: the telegraph

 

Harvest Sale in Blue Ridge, Ga

The annual Mountain Harvest sale at the Farmers Market will take place again this coming weekend. The annual festival will be on Satuday, October 27 and Sunday October 26. This event is held at the Blue Ridge Famers Market off old Hwy 76 next to the Swan Drive in theatre. Free parking.

 

Autumn Leaves in Blue Ridge, Ga

The Autumn leaves are beautiful in Blue Ridge, Ga and the surrounding areas. The leaves are absolutely gorgeous as you drive up the 515 corridor that passes through Jasper, Ellijay, Blue Ridge and on up passed Blairsville, Georgia.

The leaves are pretty between Jasper and Ellijay in the White Stone area but they will knock you out as you travel 515 North towards Blue Ridge, Ga. Once you get this far north you can just take your pick of any number of side roads to take to enjoy looking at the fall colors. The north Georgia leaves are really a feast for the eyes and we should all thank God for such a beautiful creation that He has provided for His children to dwell in.

I was in North Carolina today and the leaves near Murphy, NC are equally as beautiful as well. Murphy is just a short distance from Blue Ridge, Ga.

If you are wanting to enjoy the leaves of  the Blue Ridge, Georgia area, I would not procrastiante, there will probably be only a few more weeks before the leaves begin to fade and lose their lustre and drop from the trees. Here are a few pictures I took recently of the leaves around my house and in North Carolina.

Used Saxophone eBay Bundy Tenor sax

Dust Cloud Over Blue Ridge Area

Yesterday did not look like your typical fall day in Blue Ridge, Ga, instead it looked like one of the hazy days of summer. The sky was not blue; it was almost white and the mountains off in the distance where shrouded in a white haze. Friday had a surreal feeling as the haze was an eerie white that reminded me of the sky in one of those science fiction movies where the world was about to be obliterated by a solar flare or a huge asteroid. Come to find out it was just a huge dust cloud that had drifted into the area.