In a Dreamlike State of Mind

When I first saw this photo, taken by my groovy friend, Roger Pettry, I immediately wished I had taken it. Roger retired from the same place I work a couple of years ago and evolved into a nomad of sorts, travelling to Baja in the winter and making his way back to Morganton, NC, in the spring. He took this photo on an early summer morning along the Catawba River when the air is cooler than the water temperature, causing a dreamlike fog to hover over the river.  I can imagine myself sitting in one of those pink chairs, drinking a good cup of coffee, just simply enjoying the morning before the sun rises and the day becomes hot. Or, sitting in these chairs on a cool evening down by the river with good friends and good beer shooting the breeze, laughing and chatting, listening to the tree crickets and watching the fire flies taking flight from the ground into the air providing magical amber twinkling light to make the night just right. Here's to you Roger! As I write this on a chilly February day I can only say days like the one shown in your photo cannot get here soon enough!

Photo by  Roger Pettry taken in the early morning somewhere on the Catawba River in Western NC.

The Cedars

This lovely house in Morganton, NC, is known as The Cedars because of the ancient cedar trees still standing on the lawn. Samuel Tate was the first owner of this grand place (circa 1850/59). The house, which features an octagonal tower and mansard roof, is of the Greek Revival, Second Empire. It was enlarged in 1874, the same year Tate was elected to the NC State Legislature. Tate was also active in bringing both the Western North Carolina Insane Asylum (Broughton Hospital) and NC School for the Deaf to Morganton. The house, which is now Morganton Federal Savings and Loan, is listed on the Register of Historic Places.

February Sunrise

The blush of first-light sun rising low on the eastern horizon was the first and last seen of the day on a Thursday workday morning in early February. Judging by the weatherman's promise of a wicked nor'easter it lent credence to fishermen's tales of yore: "Red clouds at night sailors' delight. Red clouds in the morning sailors take warning."