I was sitting on the back deck on Choctaw Ridge on Friday evening. Yes, the same deck where Booboo the bear came calling a month ago. We have taken to putting the bird feeder out again, but only in daylight and when we are in the house. Not because we want to attract bears – that could be a very unfortunate thing. Not merely because bears can be a scary thing. But because if a bear becomes fixated on finding food around people’ homes, that bear becomes a real danger – “A fed bear is a dead bear”. What we want to achieve is a constant flow of birds in view and we have had some success merely be scattering a handful of bird seed about regularly. But putting put the bird feeder has even more potential.
So, here I am, very relaxed, with a glass of locally produced chardonnay from The Cottage winery, reading my Guardian Weekly and looking up at the blue blue sky, surrounded by the immense aged hemlock trees which are starting to show signs of lime green buds that will eventually become pinecones (or hemlock cones, to be more precise).
The hemlocks look very scruffy and unkempt, with the stumps of broken off branches all the way up the trunk. I don’t know if this is a natural thing for hemlock trees, or perhaps they are being killed by the unpleasant insect of Chinese extraction which is devastating hemlocks up and down Eastern USA. Another example of a destructive import is kudzu – “the plant that ate the South”. This creeping plant was imported (also from China) in the mistaken belief that it would make a fast-growing cattle fodder. In reality, American cows turned their noses up and kudzu transmogrified into a rampant tree-strangling vine destroying the countryside. In a way, this is a tale comparable to the famous plane trees lining the Canal du Midi in the South of France dying at an alarming rate. The culprit this time is a fungus, believed to have come to Europe from USA in World War 2 on the ammunition boxes used by American troops. It all goes to show that the shrinking of the globe has made the transmission of what are fairly innocuous animals, insects, diseases and plants in their own environment into terrifying destructive forces elsewhere if there are none of their natural predators to provide a check
Anyway, these hundred foot tall hemlocks surrounding me have been around here for centuries – probably before Europeans came to Georgia. They sway alarmingly when strong winds blow (and one coming down on our rented house would do a lot more than just make a hole in the roof). But they have been swaying and surviving for a very long time – so maybe they will still be upright when we move out. Anyway, all in all it is a lovely relaxing evening – one of the things we came to USA to be able to enjoy at our leisure. This weekend is the annual Bear on the Square festival in Dahlonega. We went down to share in the fun, music and craft shows, on Saturday afternoon. Musicians gathered in small impromptu clusters around the square to jam bluegrass and country on guitars, banjos, elaborately carved mandolins, even the odd double bass. At a craft stall, Lisa spotted the potter whose work she had admired a few weeks back at the John C. Campbell School craft shop, and we bought a decorative pottery jar. The weather was perfect, more brilliant blue skies and temperatures in the mid 20s C. I was almost tempted to wear shorts for the first time this year.
On the build site
After the Brear celebrations. we drove out to the build site to collect mail (and found the sheetrock crew hard at work). So much progress this week! On the way we dropped by Cavender Creek winery for a quick glass of white wine and a chat with the winemaker – the place was very busy. The weather has been warming up, and blossoms are starting to show on our build site – we have hopes for all sorts of shrubs including mountain laurel and rhododendrons. There are already some apricot-coloured flowers on a 15 foot high native azalea.
Inside the house, there was a flurry of finishing off the rough fittings (including replacing the bath – the first one was warped and unacceptable to Bill) prior to the arrival of the dry wall crew to put up plasterboard everywhere. It seems that these specialists are treated with kid gloves by all the other crafts – they rush around the house (some on stilts) cutting up plasterboard and nailing it to the stud wall and ceiling framework. No patience with anyone getting in their way. They commenced on Wednesday and by Friday they had completed putting up the plasterboard. Now comes the dirty part of the job, covering all the joints with tape and then spreading plaster (“mud” in American parlance) over everything. Once dry, it is sanded down to a smooth coat and the process repeated twice to give a smooth smooth finish ready for paint or wallpaper. Meanwhile, the house inside is lighter from the reflected light on the off-white plasterboard and feels more like a house than a buildsite (if a little muddy).
Outside things were busy too. Alfonso has started laying the veneer of reclaimed brick around the house walls, commencing at the back. Yet another odd thing I have learned this week is all about the available ways of laying bricks – we are using the typical American running bond. The Great Wall of Dahlonega is complete apart from some backfilling needed to secure the ridge above the house.
The coming week should see lots more progress inside, and hopefully outside too. The first coat of plaster, exterior trim including tongue and groove pine ceilings for the outside decks and lots of purchasing of interior fitments.