first eagle

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"Alone with the morning sunshine, I was left sitting in the middle of a state I did not know, like a man with no home, untethered to anything other than the planet itself like Kerouac’s Sal Paradise on the road. Paraphrasing him, “the golden land lay ahead…where all kinds of unforeseen events wait lurking to surprise you and make you glad you’re alive to see.” At that moment, I could have walked away from the rented car and all I had known; followed the scrub jay’s leave and found answers to my questions; and with that perhaps even freedom...

"Another hundred yards down the track toward the north, a hawk was making itself known, obviously disturbed. Red-shouldered hawks are highly vocal. I stood, turned and had not made three dozen steps toward the ruckus when a tall stand of pines to my left erupted with life. An adult bald eagle bobbed up and down, unfurling its eight-foot wingspan prior to take off. I knew instantly that the bird had been watching me, lost in my vagabond dream. My heart raced as the majestic bird of prey took flight and swooped down over the track, dipping low not 50 feet in front of me. It climbed and sailed off to my right and since the railroad bed was raised for a time we were virtually eye to eye."

"I watched this country’s symbol — talons free of arrows or snakes or olive branches — as it flew to the east and out of sight. Anytime a moment like this unfolds, the world slows, it’s forever etched in your life’s memories."


Photo by Wayne Mallinger.

Excerpt from Natural Histories published by the University of Tennessee Press. Book available at Ijams Nature Center or from the author.

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natural histories: bald eagles

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"Eagles have a sort of play. They carry a large stick up and down a river playing keep away from one another. Every so often a second eagle will grab the stick and snatch it free, or the baton-bearer may drop it, only to dive at breakneck speed to catch it before it hits the water. They’ll play this game back and forth like kids with a ball, wild and free.

Only on rare occasions do we get to look into the heart of absolute splendor and know its naked truth; that nature is dynamic and resilient; a swirl of starts and stops and tenacious rebirths; and by all means, as fluid and swift and ever-changing as the river that flows past my Tennessee Valley home."



Excerpt from Natural Histories published by the University of Tennessee Press. Book available at Ijams Nature Center or from the author.

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natural histories: passionflower

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"Farther up the two-lane road, there’s a section of river channel that widens, revealing a sizable portion of the underlying bedrock: near vertical layers of alternating argillite and metagraywacke, two metamorphic rocks created by heat and pressure deep underground. Water has worn these exposed layers smooth and rounded, suggesting an organic life within like sleeping whales or reclining nudes. It’s difficult not being anthropomorphic in describing these forms, for they resemble the eroded human shapes created by English sculptor Henry Moore. The rock also has the most marvelous rusty-orange patina, a stain that’s created by the constant bath of iron and pyrite that flows down the mountain.

"It’s at this spot, in a river bend, that the Ocoee Whitewater Center is located. It’s also where after several hours of searching, on the back stone terrace below a sandstone bench that I found Tennessee’s forgotten State Wildflower blooming alone and inconspicuous a mere fifteen feet from the water, its roaring namesake. My journey had come, as perhaps it should, to a quiet and inauspicious end."


Excerpt from Natural Histories published by the University of Tennessee Press

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eagles return

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Bald eagles in eastern North America were once on the endangered species list but they have returned to our skies. On Saturday, March 13, at 1 p.m., I’ll revisit the last chapter in my book Natural Histories that deals with the recovery of our National Symbol. The program includes a short talk and slide show at the Visitor Center, followed by a carpool trip to Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge and the site of the first documented successful bald eagle nesting in Knox County in 2004. We may actually see an eagle on the outing! Fee: $10 for non-members, free for Ijams members. To pre-register call Sheila at 577-4717, ext. 10.

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Rose Glen

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The Rose Glen Literary Festival at Walters State Community College is this Saturday, February 27 in Sevierville. Special projects facilitator, Carroll McMahan with the Sevier Chamber of Commerce is the event creator and organizer.

All of the authors attending the 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. festival are either from Sevier County or have written books about or that take place there. I will be one of the authors on hand and the keynote speaker at the luncheon. Having been born in Sevierville and raised in Gatlinburg, I certainly qualify as a hometown boy. I've been asked to talk about writing and my book "Natural Histories."

For more information about the event go to: Author! Author! or about my book Keynote

- Photo of Walter State Community College in Sevierville

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book talk

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Special thanks to Lisa Phipps and the Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs. (Fun group!) I did a presentation about my book "Natural Histories" at their 56th annual Conservation Camp held this week.

Their meeting was at the Inn at Fall Creek Falls State Park in Van Buren and Bledsoe counties in Middle Tennessee.

The park surrounds the upper Cane Creek Gorge, an area known for its unique geological formations and scenic waterfalls. The Cane Creek Gorge is a large tree-lined gash in the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau, stretching for some 15 miles from the Cane Creek Cascades to Cane Creek's mouth along the Caney Fork River.

The park's namesake is the 256-foot Fall Creek Falls.

- Photo of Cane Creek at Fall Creek Falls State Park.

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book talk

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I will be one of the guest speakers at this weekend's Blooms Days on the ag campus of the University of Tennessee.

I'll be talking about my book, "Natural Histories: Stories from the Tennessee Valley" and autographing copies.

Location:
University of Tennessee Gardens on Neyland Drive

My talk times:
Saturday,
June 27 at 1:30 p.m.
and
Sunday,
June 28 at 1 p.m.

Stop by and say hello!


For more information go to Blooms Days.


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book signing

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Forgive me. I've been ill and away from my blog. Still shaky, but let's hope I'm back.

As part of this month's First Friday celebration, I'll be signing copies of my book, "Natural Histories: Stories from the Tennessee Valley" and the companion notecards at Woodward Books in the Old City on Friday, October 3, 5 p.m. to closing.

Woodward Books is located at 108 E. Jackson Avenue. They specialize in fine antiquarian and out of print books. If you love old books, this is the shop for you.

If you want to talk about collectible books, Tim and Jeannie will be happy to oblige!

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book discussion

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As part of the Adult Summer Reading Program, I will be doing a discussion of my book: Natural Histories: Stories from the Tennessee Valley in the Sharon Lawson Room at the Blount County Public Library next Tuesday evening, June 10 at 7 p.m. The library is located at 508 N. Cusick Street in downtown Maryville.

Please stop by and say hello!

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book signing

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As part of next month's First Friday celebration, I'll be signing copies of my book, "Natural Histories: Stories from the Tennessee Valley" at Woodward Books in the Old City on Friday, June 6, 5 p.m. to closing.

Woodward Books is located at 108 E. Jackson Avenue. They specialize in fine antiquarian and out of print books. If you love old books, this is the shop for you.

Congratulations Tim and Jeannie on your new store!