Abba's Art

Tag: Great Smoky Mountains

  • Heat Wave

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    Fred D
    in

    Our area averages 34 days/year with temperatures of 90 degrees or more. Today was the 28th day this year with 90+ temps . . . this ain’t Alaska! You know it’s HOT when you’re awakened by splashing outside the bedroom at night and see Smoky cooling off in the creek. I was gonna’ throw him…

  • The Grief of “WHY?”

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    Fred D
    in

    Watching the horrendous scenes of the incomprehensible tragic devastation and loss of lives in the recent Texas floods, especially those so young, truly breaks my heart, reminding me how so undeservedly blessed I am! . . . by His Grace alone I’ve been spared the unimaginable grief of losing a child. The enemy delights using…

  • Father’s Day Visitors

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    Fred D
    in

    Hope this Father’s Day was an extraspecial one for y’all. We were blessed with a visit from a local single Mom with her two younguns’ 😊 Be Blessed, and . . . Keep Looking Up ^ … His Best is Yet to Come!

  • Flight

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    Fred D
    in

    Since childhood flight has always fascinated me. Dreams of dueling it with the Red Barron in my biplane later morphed into Top Gun in my F/A-18 Super Hornet zooming through the skies blasting enemy pilots. My pilot dreams met reality in the USMC troubleshooting electronics aboard lumbering helicopters, and being awarded hearing aids for my…

  • Slime or Divine?

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    Fred D
    in

    Slime or Divine? Confession . . . I secretly and regularly check in on what my neighbors are up to . . . Relax!!!  I’m referring to my game-cams strewn around our property. Yesterday they captured 5 different feral friends – 1 insect, 3 birds, and Bubba, a hefty male bear frequent guest. According to…

  • Sanctuary

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    Fred D
    in

    As a child each summer was spent with my mother, siblings and grandparents at their cabin in Promised Land, PA . . . and indeed it was . . . my childhood sanctuary.  From sunup to sundown I delighted roaming its forests and streams . . . and a virtual little John Muir was born…

  • Great Smoky Mountains Road Trip

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    Fred D
    in

    Blazing sunshine has pushed temps to near 80, a welcome respite from what has been an unusually cold winter here the Great Smoky Mountains. Energized, my permanent senior sidekick and I decided the day was custom made for a leisurely road trip. It quickly became obvious there were a million+ other individuals who had the…

  • Feral Family Gathering

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    Fred D
    in

    One of the joys of living in the ‘wilds’ up on the mountain – down in the ‘holler’ – by the ‘crick’ in the Great Smokies is enjoying the impromptu, ‘Stop By Anytime’ visits from the interesting menagerie of our friendly feral neighbors. “All creatures great and small, the Lord God made them all.“ We…

  • Volcanoes and Bucket Lists

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    Fred D
    in

    We’re in the midst of a several day Smoky Mountains liquid deluge. While grateful for the needed rainfall, it dampens my desire to go outside on wander woods wanders or splash around in the creek re-arranging boulders to create reflecting pools. It’s not cold enough to turn the landscape white and snap on a pair…

  • Frozen Wonder

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    Fred D
    in

    It’s been a tad ‘chilly’ here in the Smokies lately. Folks here aren’t accustomed to lotsa’ snowflakes and ‘black ice’, or even regular ice other than ice cubes when the thermometer bounces around zero . . . it’s definitely not Alaska Virginia 😊 The magnificent winter wonderland surrounding our home up here in the mountains…