The High House

Not so much an adventure as return to familiar territory. Since we all but ran out of firewood to heat our house last winter, the push is on to replace it for this coming year and perhaps the next one also. Murry came upson a treasure trove as a house is being built next to his mountain house and he has been given rights to it.
After an active week with Liz and rising way too early to return her to Hartsfield for the return trip home to Costa Rica, we are up again before dawn to meet Murry and his friend, Barry for a wood harvesting trip. The battery on the Suburban is dead, the power steering is screaming for more fluid and it is raining cats and dogs....so we are getting started a bit later than anticipated and traveling slow as water is standing in a lot of places.But when we arrive, it is just finishing raining up there so they couldn't have started a bit sooner.
The High House is a magical place on a mountain top in Hayesville, NC overlooking Lake Chatuge with a 360 degree mountain vista and a whole lot of privacy. Although I have been here many, many times, to the extent that it feels homelike to me, this is the first trip with the laurel blooming and there is a lot of it. The blackberries are showing promise of good cobblers to come this summer.
My role this day is Galley Slave and Beer Bitch (Murray's term). They cut, split and load wood for about four hours while I walk over with an occasional libation. In between I work on my jewelry making skills for graduation gifts and read. So peaceful and quiet. A real treat. It is mostly overcast with a cool breeze blowing, perfect. Leo, the duck hunting dog extraordinaire and Pumpking, the mighty stalking cat and I take a walk. Pumpkin meows loudly when I am ahead of him but is quiet when we walk side by side. Coming back he lingers, wailing loudly that Leo and I leave him. But he soon joins us back at the house, having taken the short cut. Even my jacket is not warm enough that evening and I end up coming in sooner than the rest. I have brought swiss steak and mash some new potatoes and Gene swears it is the best meal I have ever prepared. Swiss Steak??? Really! We turn in early, they tired from working and me from the Liz trip and too many early mornings.
A good night sleep does wonders and Murray cooks us a great breakfast. I assume role of Galley Slave while they head out to work a little more. By midday, Barry and Murray are ready to head home but we decide to stay another day. Gene goes back to cut a little more, then showers and we head off to town. I walk the square, discovering three places I have not toured before and scoring fresh cinnamon rolls for breakfast. It is really, really quiet and peaceful today. with just us here. Again, we are in bed early and again up early to clean up, pack up and pull a trailer load of wood back to Covington. A great weekend in a great location.