FALL FLOWERS & other stuff

I finished up on Cherokee Lake around 1 PM this afternoon and loaded up the pups for a trip to the wildlife management area (WMA) for a little exercise.  The Fall colors are lacking so far this year but, I was surprised to see a bevy of gorgeous flowers growing on the edge of a field.  Don't ask me what they are because I have no clue.  All I can say is that they are unique and beautiful.

Happy's postcard picture

These are the strangest flowers I've ever seen but, they are "WOW" flowers.

The next one down is my favorite

Is that not the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen?

If I had an interest in writing a story I think I'd sit in the middle of all these flowers on a log and write away.

Just a couple more shots.

Well, I have Chestnut and Happy here with me.  Now, where's Shade.  There isn't any water holes up here so she can't be swimming or rolling in a creek.  A short walk to the edge of the woods told the story.  "Oh Shade!  Oh Shade!  What have you done?"  I didn't know about that mud hole, or should I say mud pond.  Good Grief!

That is mucky, sticky mud she's in down there.  I never said a word.  She's having fun so what the heck?  What else could I expect from a water dog who spends 75% of her life in the house and the rest of it on the deck of a boat?  It's nothing that won't wash off and besides - she's having a great time.

All I had to do was say her name, "Shade" in a normal voice and she instantly got up and walked out of the mess and returned to me.  What a dog!

It was only a two hour visit to the WMA but well worth the effort to get them all some woods time.  Chestnut hound ran and ran while Happy researched the fields of flowers and found something dead and stinking to roll in.  She'll get a bath when we get home for sure.  

I threw some shots of Cherokee Lake below.  The water level is dropping and the muddy, ugly shorelines are prominent.  She's proof that beauty is only skin deep but, ugly is all the way to the bone.  There's only one lake that is uglier than Cherokee and that is Douglas Lake.  I'll be on that mud ditch all next year.  At least there are eagles down there.

The nose knows!

It happens every year.  The water is let out of the dam by The Tennessee Valley Water Authority in preparation for any flood waters that may arrive in the Winter and Spring. In doing so, the lake is transformed into a vision of mud and rock covered with shallow water.  It's an amazing transformation that creates an ugly aura around the lake.

Cherokee is a pretty lake when it's full of water but a rocky, muddy mess throughout the winter when it is reduced to low pool.

Cherokee Lake is a money lake.  It's all about flood control and the most important hydroelectric power operations conducted by TVA.  Beauty is the last concern.  I can't see how anyone would want to live on this chameleon.

We stopped on a shoreline for fifteen minutes to wolf down a peanut butter sandwich and half a dog biscuit.  Shade appreciated the break.  We had been on the water for six hours.

"Hey dad - you commin?"

"No - you go ahead Gramaw.  I'll wait here for you."

We were back on the water in no time and the end of the shift came quickly.   Shade is the best company imaginable and I'm thankful for her dedication and devotion to me.

And, so ends another hair raising, adventure filled day.  Hope you enjoyed the danger and excitement.  Later ---