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…
It’s Sunday, so it’s time to go paddling. We headed out to paddle one of my favorite local rivers. We are fortunate that we live so close to the Catoosa Wildlife Area and have the skills to navigate down the Daddy’s Creek Canyon. This beautiful and exciting whitewater river is less than 30 minutes from…
I was excited to head out this morning and walk through the newly-burned fields. It’s always interesting to see the land in this charred state. Even though the fire engulfed the pre-planned areas, some shrubs and trees remain unscathed. It’s called a “patchy” burn which creates a diverse “mosaic” on the landscape. Still, much of…
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…
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 didn’t sleep well last night. Two years ago, while performing a controlled burn, we had the wind pick up in the evening, and our fire threatened to get away from us. I will never forget it. Though we contained the blaze, the memory is a reminder, a warning, of how quickly a controlled burn…
Today is an important day for us on Coal Creek Farm. Our season for burning is short but critical to provide wildlife habitat, encourage the growth of native plants, provide fodder for our cattle, and prevent future accidental fires. I met Lindsay, Fire Chief, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, leading the burn crews. We had a…
Yesterday was very wet and cloudy. I enjoyed hiking along the fence line in the rain, but my spirits were lifted this morning as I watched the sunrise and listened to the birds excited chatter. We needed to move the cattle again today as there is only so much grazing available in each field. We…
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…
We got about a half-inch of rain yesterday and expect the same today. The cows make a muddy mess when it’s wet, but the hayfields need the rain, especially as new blooms pop every day. I took the ATV to the White’s Creekside of the farm. Our five thousand acres are divided by two creeks….