Spring is a time for rebirth and renewal.  And that is most obvious in the North Georgia Mountains.   The Blue Ridge area is coming to life, awakening from its winter slumber.  After a long snowy winter, the rivers and streams are running strong.  The waterfalls are breathtaking and only a short hike away.  Thousands of trout will be stocked in our waters, making this a great opportunity for fly fishing.

From March through June, mountain temperatures range from chilly nights to the high 60’s during the daytime.  As the air begins to warm, you can expect to see pink cherry trees, purplish redbuds, pink and white crabapples, snowy white pear, fragrant apples and peach trees blooming all around you.  Wild azaleas start appearing in the forests and along streams.  It’s glorious!  After the trees get their new leaves, the white and pink dogwoods start blooming, looking like clouds floating in the green forests.  The white blooms of mountain laurel are profuse in May.  And by June, the massive hot pinks and white of the rhododendrons are everywhere you look.  The many shades of wildflowers run rampant along the highways, byways and meadows, attracting butterflies and hummingbirds.

As the lush new growth of flowers, ferns and leaves start appearing in the springtime, so do the wildlife babies.  It’s amazing to see a doe nudging her spotted fawns out from hiding.  The ducks and the geese have their babies trailing along behind them in a line.  And, mama bears are frolicking with their cubs.  With all this going on, the many varieties of birds are celebrating spring and serenading you from the treetops.

Come to the mountains this spring and experience a little slice of Heaven for yourself.  All of our Rainbow Cabins are tucked away in a secluded spot in nature, on rivers or streams, where you’re sure to see an abundance of wildlife and beauty.

I can’t wait for autumn.  It’s my favorite time of the year.  Spring is nice, but I’ve always preferred fall.  Seeing the leaves change color and the weather getting cooler—that’s what I’m talkin’ about.  When September rolls around, it triggers so many warm feelings in my heart.

After such a long hot summer, I can’t wait to decorate my home with scented candles, fall wreaths, gourds, pumpkins and fresh mums.  I’ve accumulated many lovely decorations over the years and I switch them out each season.   North Georgia mountain festivals are a great place to find some unique decor.

Another thing I look forward to in autumn is a change in cooking.  All summer we grill outside, keeping the menu simple.  Salads are a staple.  But, in the fall it’s time for homemade soups and stews.  There’s nothing quite like the aroma of a pot of chili, simmering on the stove, and jalapeno cornbread in the oven–unless it’s a hot fresh apple pie!

Fall heralds the start of my favorite sports.  I’m a HUGE  fan of the Georgia Dawgs, the Florida State Seminoles and the Atlanta Falcons.  Two of my grandkids will be playing soccer and I love to go to their games, cheering them on.  Mostly, however, I’m looking forward to my Atlanta Braves making it to the playoffs in October.

We’re planning one more trip to the North Georgia Mountains this summer.  We’ll be staying for a week,  right on Fightingtown Creek which is very kid-friendly.  The whole family is going and we’re all looking forward to doing our own thing.  The grandkids love splashing, floating and fishing in the water.  My daughters and I love to play Scrabble when we’re away.  My sons-in-law, no doubt, will be watching football or enjoying the gameroom.  John and I will try out the kayaks and go on another wild adventure.  There’s plenty of room for everybody  and we enjoy eating our meals  outside at the picnic table on the large shady deck.    So, I’m willing to suffer through a little more summer heat until after our vacation.  But then, I’ll be expecting some cooler weather.

This has not been a good week for me.   It started last Friday, right before the 4th of July weekend.  Both our home phone and our computer went out.  Then my 92 year-old Mother, who has Alzheimer’s, suffered a fall.  Luckily, she didn’t break anything, but every time she falls (which happens often), her Assisted Living Home has to call 911 to pick her up off the floor.  The next day she had a TIA (mini stroke–which also happens often) and I spent the weekend with her, trying to justify not sending her to the hospital.  I didn’t want to put her thru unnecessary testing and stress, when sleep was all she needed.  It’s not easy becoming the “parent” to your parent.

Our family Independence Day celebration was postponed until Monday, and that was a good thing.  But, bright and early Tuesday morning, all kinds of monstrously loud beeping equipment came rolling down our street to resurface the main drag of our large suburban subdivision.  Our property lies adjacent to that main drag, so we got all the noise, the dust and the smell of asphalt.  I would’ve left home, but I had to wait on the Cable Guy to show up and restore my services.  Of course he didn’t come that day, as scheduled.  After many calls to Comcast, working thru the maze of computerized questions and being put on hold for eternity, I was finally rewarded by a service call last night.  It took him about 10 minutes to replace a part & fix our problem.  Hallelujah!  Six days without a computer or a phone and I was a basket case.

Today, as I was stuck in rush hour traffic, the weatherman said we broke a temperature record by reaching 101 degrees.  It was hot indeed.  My trusty Explorer’s gauge said it was 103, and I tend to believe it more than some official thermometer at the Atlanta Airport.

All I can think of is how nice it would be in the mountains right now.  It’s at least 10-15 degrees cooler there, and I could be floating down the river, escaping all the problems of the city.  Just yesterday my husband, John, was counting the days until our next vacation .  We leave in  two weeks.  We’re staying at a new cabin to us–Sunset River, managed by Rainbow Cabins.  It’s right on the Toccoa River and it comes with kayaks and tubes.  I’ll tell you all about it when we get back.  In the meantime, I’ll suffer thru the heat, the noise and the traffic–dreaming of our North Georgia Mountains get-away.