The controlled burns over these past two days have gone well. When I met up with Lindsey this morning, he said we are on schedule to finish the final 50 acres this afternoon. I walked with him as he went to check the fire breaks and talk to his crew. They were all in high spirits and geared up to head back out. We have been fortunate that the weather has been favorable for burning this week. We are expecting rain this weekend—right on time.
Yesterday was a good day for us. The weather cooperated, and the burn began as planned. Temperature levels, humidity, wind speed, and constant wind direction don’t line up as often as we would hope. So far, we couldn’t have asked for better burn conditions. Better still, the forecast is for a similar day today. I…
I love this time of year. Flowers are popping up everywhere, and our cattle seem to love the Spring weather, too. Our calves look fat and happy as they explore slightly further from their mother’s side. It makes me smile to watch them run, jumping high in the air as they go charging down the…
Sunday is a rest day, so we are ready for an exciting river outing. Today we drove around the Catoosa Wildlife area to paddle Clear Creek of the Obed River. This is a beautiful stretch of river that is the only federally protected waterway in the state of Tennessee. The water quality lives up to…
This morning I woke up and looked out over Coal Creek Farm and saw nothing. This isn’t true; I saw a beautiful expanse of whitish gray. At the top of the mountain where my farmhouse is, we were totally enveloped in the clouds. It’s amazing to go from being able to see the Smokie Mountains…
I am excited about the burn that Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency will do on Coal Creek next week. We carried out these burns ourselves for years, but having the pros involved reduces the stress factor. I hid a key for the fire crews to access the farm when they arrived. Dr. Dwayne Estes recently discovered…
Coal Creek is a cattle farm and an environmental experiment, and a lifetime of memories. I am not sure which is more important, but they seem to go hand in hand…I now often remember specific locations like the spot my oldest daughter Beatriz found a special mushroom or my oldest son Sam photographed a Common…