All you agents out there might wonder why I'm blogging about this horse and his surgery.   Well, in the Big South Fork area, we all have horses and follow the progress of our friends with their horses, be it problems, progress with a horse, trails we've ridden or where to get hay.  As with a sick child, your mind is always wondering how long this will take to get over.  And your time is certainly impacted by the care it takes to get through an episode like this.  Maybe it is good that most of my real estate activity right now is on the phone. Another aspect to my effort here is my hope that through the web, others with horses may stumble upon this site and see a sort of step by step progression of healing this kind of wound.  There was an extra trip to a weekend vet to check on a stitch... 07/15/2010

For the past couple of years, I have been doing the newsletter for the Spruce Creek Trails Association and, as I ride on various trails in or around Big South Fork National Park, I have been taking pictures of wildflowers and putting them in each bi-monthly issue, so other riders can look for them on those trails in those months. The camera in my BlackBerry is useful for this purpose but, after taking too many pictures of my pommel or my reins, I learned that I need to get off; my riding buddies don't even ask "What for?" now, when I leap off and say, "Hold my horse!" After one such ride, I MISTAKENLY identified as butterfly bush on Duncan Hollow Road a plant that is actually a noxious weed, considered a "nuisance plant." It is, in fact, Japanese spirea. It didn't take long for my frien... 07/13/2010

When people come to the Big South Fork National Park for the wonderful trail riding, they get "hooked" and they start thinking of how they can come more often. They may be several years from retirement, not ready or able to buy a cabin, but already committed. They decide they want to live in one of the equestrian communities abutting Big South Fork, where they can access the trail system directly from their property, so they buy a piece of land. They start with bare bones. They may have some clearing done and get up a little fencing, or put up a pipe corral. It doesn't take much to put in a gravel drive, with a pad to park a trailer on. They pay the tap fee and put in a hydrant. The electric panel is a couple hundred bucks. They'll want a firepit, for sitting around in the evening. Out ... 07/06/2010

Some horses go through life pretty much trouble free and then there are others we think of as "high maintenance."  We have 3 steady-eddies and one problem child.  Our quarter horse has some thoroughbred in his grandmother and she has passed on speed but also a few irritants such as low heel syndrome, flighty personality, nerves that make him prone to colic a lot and recently a follicular cyst in the ankle area that kept growing until it was obvious it had to come off.   We arranged with the University of Tennessee Large Animal Veterinary Clinic to have it removed surgically.  We are fortunate here in the BIG SOUTH FORK and Jamestown TN area to be only 70 to 80 miles from the Vet School.  We trailered RB down June 23rd and picked him up July 2nd.  He has a 4 inch incision horizontally ac... 07/03/2010

Not many national parks have an in-ground pool and, in fact, the Bandy Creek pool in Big South Fork is a rare amenity for a National Park Service campground. With temperatures in the 90's this past week, the pool is getting a lot of use by campers, visitors to the area and local residents, all seeking relief from the heat. Constructed in 1988 by the Army Corps of Engineers, the pool complex includes the main pool, a wading pool, restrooms, an outdoor shower, a playground with a volleyball court and a picnic shelter. Day-use passes are a very reasonable $3 for those thirteen or older, $2 for children ages six to twelve and those five years and under are free. One-time patrons receive a hand stamp while those holding season passes are issued wristbands. Up to six family members may partic... 06/30/2010

Big South Fork is horse country and there's a lot of haying going on around here at this time of year. The weather has been perfect…HOT and dry. Most horse owners use traditional square bales which, weighing about 40-60 pounds, are relatively easy to handle and stack neatly in the barn but getting them to the barn is labor intensive. Those who do not own or have access to a flatbed trailer will not want to pick up hay in the field as it is baled, but will find a supplier who will quote them a price for hay bales, "delivered and stacked." An alternative to this is the round bale, which has become increasingly popular with horse owners who will put it into a "hay ring." They may, in fact, erect a simple little open-sided structure with a roof to keep the hay dry. These round bales will ha... 06/28/2010

The picture on the left was taken on a wonderful 65-degree day last January, when my riding buddies and I packed a lunch and went for a long trail ride down the O&W. The Oneida & Western Railroad has been defunct since the 50's and the rails have long since been ripped up, but the railbed remains and it makes a lovely long ride along the river. It's straight and level as far as you can see (and then some) so it's a favorite place for riders on gaited horses to "move out." We stopped to tighten girths and give the horses a rest and there it was…is that not everyone's dream of a summertime swimmin' hole? All that's missing are a couple of eleven-year-old boys! It looks like something straight out of the 50's! A few months later, I was dismayed to see that spring rains had swollen the Nort... 06/25/2010

Once upon a time, before the advent of air conditioning, wealthy families summered in the mountains to escape the heat. In fact, it was common for the wife to take up residence in summer quarters with the children and perhaps a nanny, au pair or household help while the patriarch stayed at home to conduct business, commuting periodically. That way of life is something most only read about, but those of us who actually live in the mountains do enjoy cooler temperatures than "flatlanders" sweltering below. In fact, for every thousand feet of elevation, it gets about 3-5 degrees cooler. That's called the lapse rate which, according to The National Weather Service, is "the rate of change of an atmospheric variable, usually temperature, with height." Up here on Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau... 06/23/2010

With 125,000 acres of wilderness in Big South Fork National Park, that's a lot of tinder, waiting for a lightning strike or a careless camper to start a wildfire. Better to schedule a "controlled burn," a technique used by the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service to reduce fire hazard. Dead branches and dead leaves lying on the ground produce a very hot fire. Eliminating such fuel is a measure employed to prevent forest fires. Detailed planning is the key. Burns are usually conducted during cooler months, usually in the spring here in the Big South Fork area. In 2010, four burns were scheduled at the end of March and during the month of April. Each burn requires the presence of 20-25 firefighters and several fire engines. A total of 752 acres involving two sites in Tennesse... 06/22/2010

Do you remember the words in that Christmas carol, White Christmas… "chestnuts roasting on an open fire?" Think about it…you've probably never even seen a chestnut tree! Trail riders in the Big South Fork National Park often pass a sign on Duncan Hollow Road advising them that they are passing an "American Chestnut Field Laboratory" but most probably haven't paid any attention to it. It's a collaborative project by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, the National Park Service and the University of Tennessee. At one time, there were over three billion American chestnut trees, which comprised a quarter of the hardwoods in the Appalachians. Mature trees often grew straight and branch-free for 50-100 feet. This remarkable tree could reach heights of 200 feet, with a trunk diameter of 1... 06/14/2010

This was another time I was remiss in getting  BEFORE pictures.   Our ½ mile-long gravel driveway has required several fixes over the last 14 years, but we have learned how to institute FINAL fixes.  Everywhere we've applied the FINAL fix, it has worked and we have no more mud and gravel disappearing into the earth. I swear we have put enough gravel on this driveway for it to surface as a fine roadway somewhere in China.  We had a terrible situation where one side of the tread was almost 10 inches lower than the center of the driveway.  My husband's low clearance VW Jetta would drag the center, so he always had to "ride one tire in the middle".  This finally got too old.  So I decided to do a FINAL fix.  I don't have photos of the "before", nor the way I used the tractor and box scraper... 06/08/2010

With summer's hot, humid weather come the seasonal thunderstorms. If you're an avid trail rider, you're in a high-risk group for being a victim of a lightening strike. Savvy trail riders check the weather before setting out and usually carry a waterproof poncho because pop-up thunderstorms often occur, even when precipitation has not been forecast. These unexpected storms sometimes include high winds, hail and lightning and riders will need to take cover on the trail. How worried should you be when you're out riding and you see black clouds gather and hear the rumble of thunder… and what can you do to protect yourself and your horse? Children learn to count the seconds from the flash of lightning to the thunder's bang, to determine how close the storm is and whether it's getting closer.... 06/07/2010

This truck is parked in a field next to the National Guard Armory in Jamestown, Tennessee, south of town. Doesn't look like it's seen active duty in...quite a while! Better get a look while you can; that vine will obliterate it in no time and you'll never know there's a truck in there. 06/06/2010

There is a specie of wild magnolia in this particular part of Tennessee that you won't see in most of the state. Preferring shade, it's most often spotted deep in the woods in Big South Fork National Park, up here on the Cumberland Plateau. It likes moist conditions and, since there's usually a creek flowing in the bottoms of ravines, that's where this magnolia grows. It's hard to photograph because it's usually way up high or way far out but, when you see one, you can only stop and stare! In spring, this tree is very distinct; narrow and straight with tightly furled leaves. The bud is very distinctive, with three outer petals and three tightly curled within. When it unfolds, the six-petaled blossom is the size of a dinner plate. It's just one of the things that makes Big South Fork so ... 05/31/2010

We (husband, Brad and I) retired here in Big South Fork Country near Jamestown, Tennessee to have land for our horses, to ride the hundreds of miles of trails here, and to enjoy the fabulous beauty right outside our back door.  By-the-way...this is exactly what so many of our Real Estate customers are looking for and that's why we at Tennessee Recreational Properties are so in tune with their feelings. Now, after 14 years, our goals have been met for the most part -  we have 4 especially fine horses as our riding buddies, have ridden most of the trails and yes, the beauty is an every hour, everyday gift.  Recently, I have really wanted to focus on establishing extraordinary relationships with our horses.  I'll admit Pat and Linda Parelli are the current inspiration and the source of inf... 05/27/2010

Yesterday our Real Estate Office was audited by our Tennessee Real Estate Commission auditor.  This is stressful anytime, but this one was MY first audit experience as a relatively new Principal Broker.  Thanks to Leslie Helm, our top listing and selling agent, it couldn't have been better.  As we went through the "closed files", we found small details that were minor inconsistencies, but for the most part we were in great shape.  We ended the day with NO VIOLATIONS and Mr. Auditor went home with his paperwork. Although the process was stressful, it was also a great learning experience.  We took advantage of having a real estate expert right across the table.  Our questions were answered and we gained invaluable clarification on procedure.  Many times you just don't get that in a CE Cla... 05/26/2010

I just had four trees cut down; three that were dead and one that was alive and well, but located in an inconvenient place. The trunks were cut into sections and a load of hardwood hauled away. The sawyer spotted my "burn pile" and asked if he could just add the leftover branches to it and, while I was out trail riding in Big South Fork National Park,  my husband said, "No problem." WHOA (so to speak)! Not so fast! This is horse country and a knowledgeable horseman is always concerned about what horses ingest. In this case, my horses were in wooded turnout which has no grazing. Given free rein (no pun intended), they would have eaten until the leafy greens were gone. A few oak leaves here and there aren't all that toxic to horses and, if they have good-quality hay or pasture, they will ... 05/24/2010

Horse transport sure has changed since the days when a two-horse trailer was pulled behind a pickup truck! Gooseneck trailers found favor in the early 90's because riders could put a mattress up in the neck and sleep in the tack compartment, and those who were handy could actually retrofit the tack room with a few more amenities from Home Depot or an RV dealership. The RV industry changed traveling with horses forever because "Living Quarter" trailers were next, with an actual apartment on wheels in the forward section and horses in the rear. Slideouts added a whole new dimension. As the size and weight of the trailer increased, towing could no longer be done with a King Cab King Ranch long bed diesel dually and it became a common sight to see Freightliner or Peterbilt cabs hauling the ... 05/18/2010

Or….more accurately, you DIDN'T see it, and then you DID! I'm talking about cabins that spring up here seemingly overnight. Big South Fork National Park in Jamestown, Tennessee is horse country and many people bought land years ago, thinking that they would enjoy horse camping in the short term and would maybe build a little cabin some day. The weather is so mild here that you don't need much so they buy a lot in one of the equestrian communities like Spruce Creek and have it cleared. They probably put in a parking pad with an RV hookup, and set up some pipe corrals, maybe in a little pole barn to give the horses some shelter. That's fine for a while but then they decide they're coming up here to ride quite often and it would be nice to have a little cabin. With the cost of building mat... 05/11/2010

Given the population density of Spruce Creek Acres, an equestrian community abutting Big South Fork National Park at its western entrance, it is amazing that the development offers city water and underground utilities. The availability of public water is one of the critical pieces of infrastructure that must be in place for growth and development to occur in an area. The growth of residential subdivisions can greatly change the nature and characteristics of a rural area, and that is exactly what has happened and is happening in the vicinity of Big South Fork National Park, once a rugged and remote area. The capital cost of designing and constructing public water systems is the greatest impediment to the extension of public water service into rural areas, with the cost estimated at $50,0... 05/10/2010