The sun is bright and the morning clear and cool. Now the orange glow of dawn shines through the rows of trees and outlines the ridge above us. Before, the forest would keep the house in shadow until mid morning. The sky has opened up and so too the forest. Along the road we find homes and other structures that were previously invisible.

I have fed the dogs, cats and horses. With the pasture now at rest, I must provide oats and hay daily. The lawn growth has slowed too, but I will have to mow a time or two more. As glorious as is this homestead, I itch to get back on the road. Enough of these daily chores.

It has been some time since we have posted here. That does not mean that Sylva has become routine. Yes there is a pattern here, and there has been more sameness not only of place but also of Anne’s work and Chuck’s chores, and of being in western Carolina; but our time here has been eventful. We have largely been successful in reserving weekends for recreation, mostly hiking, birding, and paddling and also motoring, shopping, blue grass, and Cherokee events.

The summer passed quickly and now as fall begins we are short-timers. New challenges are emerging – feeding the horses and managing the household in cold weather being most significant. Autumn is usually spectacular here. At six thousand feet the birches are already yellow and dropping leaves. Even here at 2500 feet the dogwoods are already purple and the sourwoods and blackgum are starting to redden. Two cold fronts have already passed and night temperatures are into the forties and fifties even as the mid-day sunshine is warm. The days are beautiful.

We came to Cherokee with the intention that Anne would work at the Cherokee Hospital, which is owned and operated by the Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority, a creation of the Eastern Band Cherokee Indians, recognized as an Indian Nation by the federal government.

We arrived curious about the status of the Cherokee in Carolina, how the people were doing, the condition of the tribal organization, and most of all, why there remained Cherokee in North Carolina after passage of the Indian Removal Act of about 1840.

We have found that the people are doing fine, at least many of them are. Although perhaps the most “Americanized” of Indians in the early 1800’s, the people of Cherokee are proud to maintain many traditions and the Cherokee language. Otherwise they are simply a clannish community of Carolina mountain folk struggling with life’s usual issues.

How is wealth defined? My daughter thinks we are wealthy because we have savings. Half the world would consider all Americans wealthy from the way we live. A banker might say that wealth is security, but is there real security when war is possible and we all mostly die within a century of our birth?

I felt wealthy this weekend. I have never been impoverished though there were some times in my youth when loneliness made me feel empty. Still, I was more unhappy than impoverished. I certainly did not feel poor as a boy when I could snorkel along the Florida beaches and camp in the pinewoods and Everglades, even though the family budget allowed no high-class entertainment or recreation. I felt wealthy as a young man in love with a job and a new family, even when our balance sheet was in the red.

The country life continues. Elley visited early last week, and Mom and Dad Strehl arrived while she was here and stayed until today. With visitors we rafted the Nanthahala River, rode the Blue Ridge Parkway, visited Cherokee, and enjoyed watching waterfalls.

On Sunday we went to Hot Springs, NC with the Strehl's. We hiked the A.T. into town while the parents enjoyed the town itself. The hike included a descent to the French Broad River zig-zagging down the bluff. The tiny town is a back-packers haven. It is the first town that the trail passes through from the south end. A.T. plaques are part of the sidewalk all along Main Street.

Mid-summer in the mountains. It is a warm 85 degrees and the sun in intense. At dawn it was foggy and cool as usual. About nine o'clock the sun had dried out the lawn and turned the day toasty. Chuck had watered the garden areas where he planted the second crops of lettuce and beans last Friday. We are already enjoying the harvest of lettuce from the first crop and a bit of basil, coriander, and dill. The corn is already stately and thigh high. No major problems with pests. The dogs are always on patrol, but we still worry that some Peter Rabbit will elude them and find a way through the wire.

This Monday Anne worked at the clinic and Chuck mowed the lawn and took guests to the Town of Cherokee to visit the museum and shops. The work at the hospital continues to go well. The garden is growing. The corn will be knee high by the fourth of July.

On Saturday we hiked again, this time along Sassafras Creek in the Snowbird Mountains. There was still a climb, but instead of reaching a peak we passed three waterfalls. We also encountered several fly fishermen after brook trout. One told us that the stream was special because it was a large stream without the introduced brown and rainbow species. He showed his catch of lovely brookies.

We are settling in for our long stay in this lovely setting in the mountains of western Carolina. Anne started work last week and began seeing patients solo in the clinic today. The atmosphere is different in the institutional setting and with patients of a somewhat different culture. Although there are some apprehensions, she anticipates a very positive experience.

Chuck is still learning how to manage this homestead. He fed the horses yesterday for the first time. The three big dogs are now old hat, but always a bit of a challenge. He has even made friends with one of the cats. The other seems not to like men. He quickly prepared the garden last week and planted on June 1 and 2. The garden is large, about 50x50, so we should have sweet corn at the end of summer. The soil seems good, and most importantly the garden is well fenced.

You can never go home again. Our home no longer exists in York, but many fine memories do. We are engaged in a whirlwind visit to Chuck's parents, to dentist, opticians, a tire shop, and friends. All good during this lovely time of the Year in southcentral Pennsylvania.

We drove Thursday evening and all day Friday from Sylva to Princeton to visit Chuck's sister and our children.All are well. We enjoyed a beer and ice cream in artsy Lambertsville, NJ on the Delaware River with our children.

On Sunday we arrived in York after short stops for birds at Middle Creek Wildlife Mangement Area to see bobolinks, willow flycatchers, and a Pennsylvania eagle. We are enjoying a stay with Mom & Dad Strehl. This morning we will visit the Central Market House to buy some "organic" granola and fixings for a dinner or two. We drove past our old house which looks fine. We still have friends to visit and various chores to accomplish before moving on to near Gettysburg latter in the week to visit our hiking buddies. Saturday we will be returning toward Carolina. Yesterday we accomplished the necessary stop at our storage locker to obtain essentials for our stay in a house the rest of this year.

We made it! Yes, we walked 174.5 miles from the south end of Great Smoky Mountains National Park across the Fontana Dam, dozens of peaks and gaps, the border into Georgia, and past the famed Amicalola Falls to the parking lot where we had left our car 20 days ago.

We were blessed with cool to chilly spring weather, an abundance of wildflowers, good company, and good health along the way. We regreted stopping because our bodies are now wonderfully conditioned for backpacking. We hope to keep them that way through this year as we try to finish the A.T. across the Smoky Mountains and to Hot Springs.