The controlled burns over these past two days have gone well. When I met up with Lindsey this morning, he said we are on schedule to finish the final 50 acres this afternoon. I walked with him as he went to check the fire breaks and talk to his crew. They were all in high spirits and geared up to head back out. We have been fortunate that the weather has been favorable for burning this week. We are expecting rain this weekend—right on time.
I love this time of year. This morning I saw the first Indigo Bunting of the season. Our area of Tennessee is in the flight path of dozens of migratory birds. During Covid, my children and I recorded more than 60 different species of birds. They aren’t a profit center for the farm, but I…
I didn’t sleep well last night. Two years ago, while performing a controlled burn, we had the wind pick up in the evening, and our fire threatened to get away from us. I will never forget it. Though we contained the blaze, the memory is a reminder, a warning, of how quickly a controlled burn…
Coal Creek is a cattle farm and an environmental experiment, and a lifetime of memories. I am not sure which is more important, but they seem to go hand in hand…I now often remember specific locations like the spot my oldest daughter Beatriz found a special mushroom or my oldest son Sam photographed a Common…
It’s Sunday, so it’s time to go paddling. We headed out to paddle one of my favorite local rivers. We are fortunate that we live so close to the Catoosa Wildlife Area and have the skills to navigate down the Daddy’s Creek Canyon. This beautiful and exciting whitewater river is less than 30 minutes from…
After another windy night, I needed to check the fence along Glen’s Road. I rode side-by-side toward the Coal Creek Gorge. I only found a few limbs on the fence. I started at the branches using an electric chainsaw I bought last year. I am still impressed with how powerful the saw is. I could…
This morning I woke up and looked out over Coal Creek Farm and saw nothing. This isn’t true; I saw a beautiful expanse of whitish gray. At the top of the mountain where my farmhouse is, we were totally enveloped in the clouds. It’s amazing to go from being able to see the Smokie Mountains…