A HAPPY LAB AND SOFT LIGHT ON THE MUD

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Train trestle across Douglas Dam at Leadville

I haven't taken Shade out with me much lately as I have been doing a lot of driving while searching for boat ramps on Douglas Lake.  I didn't think she would be very happy spending the day cooped up in the truck on the front seat.  But, I took her today, Thursday,  because I would be working at a lake access area, on the boat ramp and she could do what she wanted to all morning long.

You can see where she went as soon as the truck door opened up. That water is about 45 degrees and she doesn't even care.  Actually, she has under fir that protects her skin from the cold water.  It's a walk in the park for her.  Shade has grown in stature over the past year and has made a transition from a big goofy black dog to a well behaved, fantastic woodland and water dog.  She has bonded very tightly with me and will follow me into any situation no matter how demanding it might be.  She responds instantly to every command I make and most times all I do is point in the direction I want her to go and she responds instantly. I really can not explain her evolution from just a great dog, to the greatest dog and friend I have.  Just can't explain it!

Her job is to keep the lake free of floating wood

Shade is swimming in some pretty fast current.  She is a very powerful swimmer.  Her legs and shoulders feel rock solid to the touch.  Just the same; I kept a close watch but, there was not really any danger or I wouldn't allow her to get near the water.  She's having a blast.

Good girl!

Shaking off the water

I wonder why dogs always seek out the places that have the wettest, softest mud?  Shade loves those places.  The river bank was bare and comprised of sopping wet, soft mud.  Normally those areas are submerged but, in the winter the water level of  Douglas, like Cherokee, is lowered drastically exposing much of the river bank that is normally under water.  She ran straight across the muddy banks as fast as she could and never slowed down when she came to a vertical bank.

Her feet are really large and she has web between her toes for swimming.  This webbing also gives her the ability to run over this soft mud and gain excellent purchase.  She is flying!

She is still running fast in the shot above.

She ran straight up that vertical wall as if it wasn't there

Over the top and never broke stride.  Look at her fly!

Shade is the happiest dog in the world in the above picture.  She is literally chasing the wind.
She ran non stop to the lake and ran back to repeat the same performance again.  I found myself saying out loud;  "look at her go.  Wow.  Look at her.!"

She's magnificent!

Look at the size of that log she has.  She's running full speed carrying that thing.

When it was time to go I took some sticks down to the lake at the bottom of the boat ramp and had Shade retrieve them from the water.  The result was an instant bath.  All the mud was washed off.  I then said "truck" to her and she ran top speed up the ramp and sat down beside the driver's side door of the truck.  Just amazing.  I put these shots on this blog so I could find them if needed.  I enjoy reviewing my dog photos and they will be easy to find here.  I have over 37000 photos on my computer and sometimes it takes me much searching to come up with what I'm looking for.  I hope you enjoyed watching Shade being a free dog and enjoying the life that I wish all dogs could enjoy.

I was working with the state boat on Muddy Creek today, a tributary that feeds into Douglas Lake, and I noticed that the colors of the muddy banks of the river appeared as if they were painted with a brush.  The sky was overcast and the soft light of late afternoon was not present.  But, the muddy banks actually were pretty.  I still don't understand what caused that look.  I probably can't recreate it in this little camera but I'll try.  It's unusual for me to comment on anything beautiful or pretty on Douglas Lake so, you can bet something unusual was going on and it had to do with diffused light.  So, the following shots are those muddy banks and their unique reflections in the water.

It's a river bank

I hope I don't bore you with all these shots.  Oh well;  you can always change the channel.

The two shots above were manipulated.  The rest are straight out of the camera.  I like to play.

I've done these reflective shots in the Fall when the colors bounce off the smooth water surface but, never have I caught the reflections of entire beach areas.   I just have to get a panoramic lens for the big camera.

I found a great cove that will be a good place to stop for lunch breaks when in the boat.  I named it Shade's Cove.

Shade's Cove

The light got better and better later in the afternoon.

I turned the contrast adjustment up about 4 clicks to achieve the crispness noted in these photos.

The sun is dropping pretty fast and it's time I get this boat out of the water.  I hope the pretty pictures made you feel good.  After all;  that's what they're for.  See ya.

TWO SCONA LODGE ICONS

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Irwin School House

The above picture of the old school house has absolutely nothing to do with the content of this post.  I like old buildings and this old place has character.  It stands alone and defiant, it seems, against social change.  I like that.

The stone work is beautiful to look at and remains as solid as it was when new.  It's a cinch the builders didn't run down to Home Depot for the materials needed to build this old girl.

Old buildings like this weren't just built.  They were crafted into existence.












The Scona Lodge story is slowly coming together.  There are bits and pieces of the puzzle missing however, and I doubt the missing information will ever come to the forefront.  I believe the information I have on hand is enough to describe the history of the lodge in a "fairly" accurate manner.  Unanswered questions still exist and probably will remain unanswered, as many principle players surrounding the birth and death of Scona Lodge have themselves passed into history and have taken a good deal of information with them.  The shame in their passing is that they didn't put their memories of Scona on paper for others to read, enjoy and understand.
I want to recognize a couple of people who's input fueled my already passionate intentions to find out about the scattered ruins I discovered in the forest eight years ago;  the bones of Scona Lodge.

The first is Anne Hutchison who grew up in the town of Calderwood located just below Calderwood Dam.  The community of Calderwood was created to house the families and workers employed by The Alcoa Company in the construction of Calderwood Dam.  It was located directly across the Little Tennessee River from Scona Lodge.  More about Calderwood when I present the Scona Lodge entry here on this blog.  Anne spent her teen years at Scona Lodge and will be a major part of the blog presentation about Scona.  Her parents worked at Scona Lodge so you can imagine her interest in this project.  She found my blog while searching the internet for Scona Lodge information, of which there is nothing, and found my mention of the lodge in a blog entry.  Eventually we became connected and have been conversing and emailing ever since.  Anne resides in the state of California.

Anne's daughter Colleen, Anne and Cody

I am probably out of my league trying to put the story of Scona into print.  I somehow feel unqualified to undertake the task.  The story of this marvelous place is not just about a magic palace created from stone and wood but, it's the story of people's lives and memories.  It's a place where Anne gathered her information about life from her wonderful parents.  When she left Scona Lodge;  she left part of herself behind.  Her discovery of the demise of Scona awakened precious memories;  memories that now were more precious than ever.  Scona Lodge was and is Anne's heritage and I hope I can help her find the closure she seeks with the information I present, with her help.  The blog entry will contain many of her memories presented in very short statements that, I hope, are visualized as tiny snapshots from a 12 year old girl's past by the reader.  Anne has supplied photographs taken during her teen years at Scona Lodge, many of which contain family members.  It is with her permission that I use them.

The patio across from the building that was home to the butlers and maids.  It's all that's left of Scona Lodge

The second major source of information is a gracious gentleman who managed the grounds operations at Scona from 1977 through 1988.  He not only managed but he did the technical work on the grounds as well as the not so technical work.  His name is Harold Lyninger.  Mr. Lyninger was kind enough to supply more photographs of Scona Lodge for the blog entry.  Pictures of the lodge are few in number and impossible, it seems, to get.  Folks of that era didn't have digital cameras that tucked nicely away on the belt.  Film cameras simply weren't handy to use and were brought into play for special occasions;  not on daily work days.  I only have a few photographs but hopefully enough to let the reader get a flavor of the place.  I met Harold Lyninger through my friend Paul Shaw.  Paul also works for TWRA and performs the same tasks for the agency that I do, only on a different lake.  It seems that Harold is a life long fishing addict and the two of them met while both were on the lake years ago.  It is an amazing coincidence that I had a friend who was the friend of a man who spent 11 years working at the place I was trying to find information about.

Harold as a younger man in the old days enjoying his passion

Paul and I visited Harold on the 18th of this month.  We arrived mid morning and slammed the car doors shut in the drive way.  A voice was heard; "come on in and eat before it gets cold!"
Mr. Lyninger, Harold from now on, was holding the front door open on the porch for us, urgently imploring us to get inside and start eating.
He was genuinely excited to see us and hustled Paul and I to the table that was covered with smoked ham, eggs, home made jelly's, fresh baked biscuits and Harold's pride and joy, personally made sorghum syrup.  I'm not much for jelly and syrup.  I never had a sweet tooth but, when I took a bite of a biscuit covered with Harold's sorghum syrup;  my mouth salivated.  Man, that was good!

The old photo album full of fishing pictures

 We sat and talked;  mostly about fishing.  I was able to insert a question here and there about the lodge and quickly jotted the answer down while it was fresh in my mind.  It seemed that fishing was the primary objective of the conversation and I enjoyed the dialog.  Harold is a mechanical genius.  In the later years of Scona Lodge;  Harold designed and built the water filtration system for the lodge.  He did the same for the septic system, complete with a grinder that he designed.  All wiring and plumbing was accomplished through his capable efforts.  Harold even repaired the ferry that shuttled cars across the river to Scona.

I hope Harold enjoyed our visit as much as we did.  He is a gracious gentleman who extended a true, old Southern Tennessee style hospitality to Paul and me.

In my mind, I can visualize Harold working at Scona Lodge in the old days..  I see a highly intelligent, competent, motivated, creative mechanical genius performing the tasks he loves at the fairy tale lodge across the river.  His inventive creations are many and his fishing stories even more in number.  Harold is 81 years old and we wish him many more birthdays.  It was a memorable visit.

Both Anne and Harold have impacted my life, not only as Scona Lodge residence but, by being the kind of people I am very proud to call my friends.  Their honesty and integrity are beyond reproach and their kindness, accomplishments and passion for life are an inspiration to me.  I thank them both.

The story of Scona Lodge will be told very soon, with the help of a little 14 year old girl who lived there.  Until then;  thanks for looking in.  Check out the photo below. Yep;  its a Shell Gas Station.

Well;  Tennessee's like that sometimes.

Below is a picture of a young Harold Lyninger while fishing, his favorite pastime.  It is with sorrow that I must report the passing of Harold since this article was written.  I will miss the opportunity to meet with him again and to listen to his stories about the good days and times and about his life at Scona Lodge.  You are missed Harold...

ACTION DOGS

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Chestnut;  what a goofball!

Today was very overcast and sprinkles of rain occurred here and there.  The kids have been lounging around for a couple weeks doing nothing as I haven't had the opportunity to get them out.  Today was their day.  Their eyes lit up when I said "wanna go?"  They're sharp dogs.  I took them to the usual place, the wildlife management area (WMA) at Buffalo Springs.  There really isn't any other place to take them that is close to where we live.  That's a sad thing.
The Buffalo Springs Trout Hatchery is adjacent to the WMA and the forest is crisscrossed with trails that lead to and from meadows, woods and the hatchery.  It's a great place to hike around at but, week after week is boring for me.  The dogs don't seem to care just as long as they're going somewhere.  I really don't mind sacrificing my time to assure they enjoy their lives.

Little Chestnut

Chestnut, the hound, has been very docile and meek with not much self esteem ever since she was born.  She has bonded tightly to me and trusts me at all times.  This has helped with her self confidence.  She's withdrawn in the house but, when she gets to the woods and meadows;  she comes alive and is a joy to watch..  She is fast and runs across the meadows at top speed unleashing all that pent up energy from lounging around the house for a week at a time.  She, like Happy and Shade, never lose sight of me.  She's unique in that regard as hounds usually travel to the beat of their own drummer when in the wilds.  One whistle from me and Chestnut instantly comes running.

She is pure sugar sweet

I brought the long lens today in case a critter decided to let me photograph it.  No luck.  So, I just played with the camera and got some pictures of my little family.  Nothing spectacular;  just pictures that will jog my memory years from now about today's time with my kids.  I'll just paste the shots up here without much comment.

Ah; freezing water.  That's where it's at.

Sometimes Happy is quicker to get to the stick than Shade

Shade has become the most obedient dog I've had in the family yet.  She's not really photogenic but, she's my girl.

Little Happy the Terrier.  She is as fast as greased lightning.  I saw her out run a coyote that was after her eight years ago.  I've carried a gun on our outings ever since that day.  I'll let nothing threaten or harm my kids;  man nor beast.

"Come on Hap!  Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"Don't look so intense Hap.  It's no big deal.  Just get over here."

Of course, everyone else has to come in with Happy.

"You're slowing down some old girl.  Well;  guess I am too."

I sat down in some soft leaves and leaned back against a big fallen tree and watched them have a great time.  I was surrounded with sticks and I made good use of them.

Chestnut becomes very bold when out here in the woods.  She is a super retriever and if the other dogs weren't near;  she would bring the sticks right up to me.  She is playing hard today.

It's hard to believe but, Happy is the dominant dog of the family.  She'll lock onto the stick and Shade will attempt to hold it but will release it to Happy after a short struggle.  I've seen Happy between Shade and the golden boy Douglas when those two leviathans would slam against each other playing with a large stick and Happy would latch on to it and steal it away easy as pie.

She's big and intimidating but, what a sugar muffin!  A more devoted, loving dog never graced this earth.

Remember the happiness of the dogs you are seeing here now the next time you see a dog on a chain staked to a dog house or one running back and forth between a dog house and a tree with a cable attached to his collar.   A chained dog has had his spirit broken and his mind focuses on one thing every day of his life.  Escape!  Period,.   Hell of a way to live...

None of these dogs came to me by choice really.  Happy sort of did.  I found Shade on an island on Chilhowee Lake eight years ago abandoned.  Happy is a dog I saw in a pen when she was not much more than a puppy.  Smaller puppies were driving her nuts.  I felt sorry for her and she kept looking at me.  Chestnut was born in my room at the old warehouse where I used to live back West of here.  She and one of her brothers were the last two to become adopted.  Her brother went first.  No one wanted Chestnut do to her withdrawn personality.  She was considered not adoptable.  She would hide from strangers and cringe around other dogs.  Just look at her now.  A finer little hound there is none.

Look at the shape of Chestnut.  Her chest is very, very deep and tapers back to a narrow rear half.  That's health and power.  She's a fast little girl and has great endurance.

It's been a wonderful day.  An overcast day was saved by being in the company of the best friends I ever had.  I wasn't going to put this entry on the blog but I had time this evening.  Please keep watching the blog as the final Scona Lodge entry is coming up.  It should prove to be an interesting read about a piece of East Tennessee history that isn't on the internet anyplace, or anywhere else for that matter.  I am absolutely dying to do a camp out down at Chilhowee or Calderwood, whichever comes first.  You won't want to miss that one.  I guarantee gorgeous photographs of country not seen by a lot of folks.  Thanks for looking in and help out a dog if you see it alone and lost.  Put yourself in his place and think about the constant terror of the unknown he is enduring while he slowly starves to death alone.
Douglas;  I missed you today son