Thanks, Elaine. You are right. The creek is what sold the place to me, and the same for my buyers. I told my realtor at the time that I didn't care what the house was like, but I HAD to have a creek. It took me awhile to find it, but I knew that I would KNOW the minute I did find it, and that was the case. I think it will be hard for me to get to sleep for awhile after I move without the creek singing me to sleep.

Thanks so much.

Thanks, Mike. My realtor gave me the entire group that they used for the online listing. I can send you the link if you're interested. I also have a video that has the sound, that really makes my place. When I learn how to post it, I'll let you know. I know we can't post videos on the blog, but I can PM the links to people who want them, I think.

Thanks, Robert. Wordsworth's words gave me a chill they are so accurate to my home. I'll be doing one more sequel with my house, and then the fairy garden. Glad you're enjoying them.

Hey, Carol. I really am enjoying them and look forward to hearing more.

Thanks so much, Sharlee. I'm sorry to hear that Stefan's alien bug that caught him recently has now attacked you and your hubby. Take care dear friend, and eat lots of ice cream while you enjoy my pics!

Hi Carol
Oh, you are right! I forgot that Stefan was also down and out for a few days... must be where we got it! ;-) LOL!
Thank you for that sound advise dear friend - we will make sure to diligently follow that! ;-) LOL!
Sharlee (Chocolate IceCream)

Hope you're feeling better soon.

Ah, precious memories, Jessica. Yes, I will certainly miss my spring water as well. I have a well, but I'm sure it comes from the same source as the creek. I've always wanted to hike to the top of the mountain to see where the spring starts, but there are blackberries everywhere, and I hate the stickers and chiggers associated with them! There are also have snakes, and I'm not too keen on meeting up with a copperhead or rattlesnake without my trusty weedeater! Guess I could use a hoe for a walking stick, come to think of it, but don't know if I could actually hack it to pieces. I'm a bit squeamish that way! When I'm weedeating down by the creek, I always have my weedeater in front of me, just in case.

I can't even imagine all that! We don't have chiggers or ticks, or snakes! The berries don't have thorns either! Just rose buses.

I am so lucky I live here where it is easier to get our in the woods. We just have bears!

Yeah, we have bears, too. I don't feed the birds because of them. I have a friend who has a 5 pound poodle. She was on the deck with her and heard scratching on the other side of the house. Thinking it was a coon that she would scare away, she went around there to discover a bear on her deck getting into her bird feeder. I've seen tracks and scat, but not the real deal...don't want to have that close an encounter, that's for sure.

When I first moved here, I knew I couldn't put my garbage outside due to bears. I had put the bag on the porch to take it to town with me when I went to work and forgot it. When I got home, there was bits of plastic bag and remnants of my garbage scattered all over down by my storage shed, compliments of Mr. Bear. If it had been a dog, it would have made the mess right there on the deck.

Needless to say, that was the last time I forgot my trash!

I want to visit Alaska so bad. It's so gorgeous in the pics. When I get my business off the ground and am financially comfortable, that's one of the first things I want to do. My friend who died in September and I had planned to take the cruise/train trip for our 65th birthdays, but by the time they rolled around, we were both taking care of our mothers, so it never happened. But it's still on my bucket list!

I hope you get to Alaska too! The train rides are gorgeous. I have only taken the one to Seward but it is spectacular with glaciers and green, green, green mountain fields and flowers and ending at the ocean.

My husband worked on the railroad for several years.

You're right. I always thought that the curled part at the bottom looked like a mouth, and those 2 snowy areas the eyes, and that black rock the snoz! I'll bet you like to look at cloud pictures, too, don't you? I remember lying on a blanket in our front yard, and my mother and I would show each other the pics we were seeing in the clouds.

Yes, I do like cloud pictures, tee hee! I see your smiley face too!

Hadn't thought of that, but wouldn't want to spoil the natural beauty of the place! Maggie Valley has Ghost Town, which in the 50s and 60s was a very popular tourist attraction here. It's built on a mountain, and you have to get there via ski lift.

During the hightlight of the era, stars from the westerns that were popular on TV then came and participated in their gun fights and, I suppose signed autographs.

Ghost Town has been closed and in bankruptcy several times in the 20 years I've lived in Maggie. Recently we had an announcement that some people with background from Disney have bought it and plan to reopen it I believe in Sept. next year. It will be interesting to see the Disney touch in WNC. If anyone can resurrect Maggie's ghost of a theme park, it should be someone like them.

Thanks. It's not far from your home state. I'm about 35 miles from Gatlinburg, but it takes about 90 minutes due to mountain driving to get there.

I live on the quiet side of the mountain. We have tourists, and a lot of motorcycles too, but we're not overrun with the traffic they have over there!

My development backs up to Smoky Mountain National Park, and I'm about 15 miles through Soco Gap to the Cherokee reservation.

Thanks, Jerry. The first three are the professional realtor's pics that my agent so thoughtfully allowed me to use for this post. The bottom two are mine.

Yours are better. They show more life and energy.
Jerry

Thanks, Jerry! That's a real compliment, and I appreciate it. I love photography, but have no training. Have a good eye, but just point and shoot because I don't know how to do anything else.

I have am old 35 mm camera and 75-200 zoom lens that I used to use for closeups as well as distance. I love shooting close ups of flowers, etc., but have trouble with depth of field because I don't know what I'm doing.

Maybe after I get moved and settled I'll get a good digital camera (these were taken with a little Kodak that I just love, but am limited in what I can do with it.) and take a photography class. I know I would enjoy that, and maybe I could capture on film what I see in my head better!

You have a natural eye for beauty. I feel that with just a little training you will be able to market your photography. It is absolutely amazing. Great job Carol.
Jerry

Thanks so much, Jerry. I love old barns, windmills, and lighthouses. When I was a fulltime RVer, I had plans to do a series of pics for calendars, but never did it because I didn't have any idea how to market the pics. Perhaps you've just given me an idea for a new niche! Calendar photos, or how to market your photography!

Glad I could help. You could get in touch with some of the RVers that you know to get a start. Should be an interesting way to go. You could even put small photos in background for the dates.
Jerry

That's a great idea. Maybe we should team up! I'm sure I could learn a lot from you. Do you teach photography or marketing?

No. I have been in retail sales for 30 years.
Jerry