Georgia on My Mind

I spent a long weekend with my dear college friend Heather and her sister Marlies in their new home in Cumming Georgia. While Marlies lives their full time now, this will be Heather and Fred's retirement home eventually. They fell in love with this area during their many visits to see there son Chris at Georgia Tech.

Heather and Marlies really love the cows on the many farms around the area. Most of the time they play shy and turn their backs on the camera, but this little guy was curious enough to look up from his meal of tasty buttercups to pose for a quick photo.


Heather and Marlies discovered this covered bridge in one of their "let's see where this road goes" adventures. On the day we went to see it a fierce thunderstorm was kicking up and we were hiking in while everyone else was running out. I only got to spend a few minutes there before the thunder and lightning chased us away as well. There were some small waterfalls that I will have to explore more thoroughly on my next visit.

In the photo below is the view from the Wolf Mountain Winery as we ate our lunch of very thin pizzas with venison sausage, onions, and cheese. We also at fried pickles and drank a wonderful fruity white wine. It rained off and on and then the sun would come out brilliantly again.
Roses are everywhere in Georgia, climbing wildly over fence posts, dotted along the roadsides, and in most gardens.


We spent a few hours at Lake Lanier which is nestled in the foothills of the Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains. There are over 692 miles of shoreline so we only saw a very small piece. It was so quiet and peaceful with just a few fly fisherman braving the cold water in their waders.

The sweet smell of honeysuckle was encountered often during our walks. It clambers over rocks, trees, and any surface that will provide some support.

The Army Corps of Engineers created Lake Lanier in the 1950s for "for flood protection, power production, water supply, navigation, recreation and fish and wildlife management" according to the USACE website. This is Buford Dam.

We took a hike around part of the lake on a trail that was fairly steep at times. We weren't sure where we would end up, but we finally made it back out to the road and eventually to our car.


The red clay of Georgia is incredible and can be clearly seen in contrast to the deep green of the lake. The texture is surprisingly oily if you rub it between your fingers. It is so foreign to me and it seems impossible that anything could grown in it, but obviously plants and trees thrive in it.While her home is brand new, it was fun to watch the cows while enjoying a raspberry martini on her front porch.

This is a killdeer that was hanging out in Heather's backyard. They nest on the ground and whenever we walked outside she would start her "broken wing" routine and run away from the area. This is a well-known tactic of killdeers to distract a predator from the nest by acting like an injured bird.

Marlies and Heather; can you tell they're sisters?

Ya'll come back now, ya hear!