NATCHES TRACE PHOTOS 1

Somewhere near the Trace, a Great Pyrenees guards his flock. Janet says that these dogs will protect any animal they are raised with. Coyotes are prevelent in this area and the dog has his work cut out to thwart those raiders. Always with a smile. She is demonstrating the layered look. Clothing layered on in this fashion guarantees warmpth. Well, sometimes..... Ah, yes. What better place to warm ones feet than on the engine of a $23000 motorcycle. Crafty girl this..... Janet was a trooper. Here we see her near totally frozen, employing the age old trick of lying on prewarmed concrete to absorbe the warmpth. Tricky lady. At the Trace on the Harley Davidson Ultra

NATCHES TRACE PHOTOS

Meriwether Lewis Story At the North end of the Trace Ozone Falls in Tennessee.

NATCHES TRACE

Took a little motorcycle ride to the Natches Trace which runs from Natches, Mississippi to just South of Nashville, Tennessee. The Trace, as it is affectionately called, is an old indian path used by indians in the late seventeen hundreds. Later, it was used to transport trade goods across country from South to North. During the Creek Indian War, General Andrew Jackson traversed the trace with units of his army. And even Davy Crockett used the trace while in the employ of General Jackson during the war. But the Trace is most remembered for the place where Merriweather Lewis, of Lewis and Clark fame, met his death. He was found in a cabin with a bullet wound to the head. It was considered a suicide. His body lies under a memorial on the spot of his death. Those were the days when men were men and women were women. Pioneer people and frontiersmen crafted from the fabric of the earth and confronted by the perils of the wilderness. We, Janet and I, however, were thwarted by cold weather and threat of rain. Our ride South ended at the Lewis memorial on the Trace. We headed home from there. A cold ride it was.

Outdoor Wanderings

Outdoor Wanderings I have been really busy completing the next step in my life here in Tennessee. Selling a house and revovating a warehouse as a residence has kept me absolutely going nuts for the past six weeks. Work doesn't help either. But I'm finally getting caught up. Leaf season is coming on fast and I will be on the lakes in the boat and over the road on Big Red. Adventures will soon be starting again and the blog will be more active. New animal rescues have been a common occurrance lately as the cold weather comes in. Seems that pet owners simply do not want their companions when it gets cold. Those little animal friends need a break. Help em out when you see one along the road. He or she's not there through their own desire. Starvation isn't pleasant to see. So thanks for being patient and I'll have more "stuff" up here soon.

UPDATE ON SWEETIE

Remember the little dog I found wandering down the center of the highway in East Tennessee? Well, after vaccination, rabies and kennel cough shots and antibiotics for tick bites and a lot of food and care, she is now in a foster home. The foster mother is a caring person who specializes in small dogs. She loves them. Sweetie, (re-named Bonnie), has been spayed and tested for heart worm. But the heart worm tests came up positive. Bonnie is now undergoing treatment for this dispicable desease. She has a mild case and the treatment is expected to work. Bonnie is exhausted most of the time and lethargic. But the prognosis is very good. We hope soon she will be bouncing about carefree. I will keep this situation updated as I know many of you are deeply interested in the outcome. It is wonderful to know that costs of treatment seem not to be an issue for her well being. Her sweet life deserves to be comfortable and care free. It certainly has been hell on earth for her up until now. Upon a total recovery, Bonnie will be placed in a permanent home by Great Dog Rescue Of Knoxville.

TOUCHED A SENSITIVE SPOT

Wow, the last blog entry, below, has evidently touched on sensitive feelings of some folks. I received some diversified responses. I'll just say this: animals do not make war on themselves, or acquire property and destroy habitat, or create global warming, or refuse to accept death by creating medicine through experimentation with their own kind, and they do not exterminate any humans who encroach onto their living spaces like humans do them. When the animals are all finally gone and there is nothing more in nature to look at or enjoy, and when the tree line evolves into a concrete littered skyline, and when the lake and river shoreline contains only houses and boat docks; what is left to destroy? Why, the oxygen we breathe of course. But I forgot. We're already working on that trick. We may be more intelligent----- maybe. Smarter--------- I think not.

IS THERE ANY LOGIC TO IT?

I didn't mean to poke fun at war in the last blog entry below. I meant that entry to portray my idea of leaving the social climate entirely for a while and forget that I am a member of the human race occassionally. At times I am ashamed to be one of those things called human. It seems humans just can't get along with nature, animals, ecology or even themselves. Humans are unique in that way. Its amazing the planet has allowed them to exhist this long. Actually I think Mother Nature is letting us humans think we have it all figured out. Then she will drop the hammer to show us who's really the boss. Guess its because the human brain is so much better than the animal brain. I mean, animals can't canive and be deceitful to their fellow animals. They simply march along to the drum beat of nature. How boring! Humans on the other hand have the ability to destroy anything they want to and even themselves. Why, they even have a God they can blame it all on. War; "its Gods way of trying to accomplish something". Don't try to figure it out cause God moves in mysterious ways. Animals on the other hand simply die and are absorbed back into the natural flow of things. Humans refuse to accept death. They seem to cling tenatiously to life, even after death. They even have to be cut open and filled with fluids to preserve them forever. Seems they can't accept death. They just won't let go. Embalming fluid is the last maneuver to maintain the stay on earth. Oh, humans are capable of doing good things. They make efforts to get along and preserve nature. That is until the almighty dollar presents itself on the scene. Then its ok to clear cut that five hundred acres, or shoot the beaver and drain that wet land for the housing project. Why I even heard that humans will take property from fellow humans by force in the name of "its for the good of the community". Wonder if the dollar is involved in that? Animals just try to co exist with humans. They are always the losers in any battle for habitat because those battles are dollar driven. Animals have no need for dollars so they simply move on. Getting difficult for animals to move on anymore. The dollar has been on both sides of the stream and both sides of the forest. Move on to where. Guess the animals will just have to go-----------somewhere else. Ya, humans come in all forms. Theres the haves and the have nots and the wannabes and the can't be's. Then you have the rich and the poor and the successes and the failures, the religious and the athiest and even a kind of person who can't quite figure anything out for sure called a agnostic. Why, hell, there have been more people killed and maimed on this planet over religion than for any other reason. Humans are greed oriented. They want and take. The have nots want and the haves want more. It will never end. One thing is for certain. Religious or not. Thief or sumaritan. Rich or poor. We are all going to die. Every last one. Why do we rush the occurrance? Why do we struggle so hard to kill one and other. Why, when there is so many things to live for and learn? Breath deep the fresh air faned off the lake and feel the air change from hot to cool as evening approaches, drink in the sunset and cherish the sunrise and behold the innocent creatures that can be seen all about ....learn from them. Are we so much smarter? Well, are we??? At any rate, I am just rambling. I do that sometimes.