We love the Smoky Mountains. Wish you were here!

Archive for August, 2011

Making hay while the sun shines

The phrase “make hay while the sun shines” means make the most of your opportunities while you have the chance. For us, that meant photographing this picturesque scene of freshly-baled hay before it’s all hauled away. Regular Postcard readers should recognize the red Whittier barn, one of our favorite motifs.

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With Their Eyes on Another Title, Swain Begins the Season With a Win

If you don’t think football is big in Bryson City and Swain County, you should have seen the turnout for Thursday’s Pep Rally and Parade. Despite the drizzle, Everett Street was lined with enthusiastic fans cheering for their home town heroes.

Favored to win the tough Smoky Mountain Conference, the Swain Maroon Devils began their season with 21–14 win at East Henderson Friday night. This week, they’ll face Smoky Mountain High for the first home game of the year.

Want to attend a Maroon Devils home game? Kickoff is at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $5. The stadium is on Fontana Road, just north of town.

SWAIN COUNTY MAROON DEVILS 2011 HOME SCHEDULE
08/26 Smoky Mountain (Sylva, NC)
09/24 Pikeville, KY
10/07 Cherokee, NC
10/14 Andrews, NC
10/28 Murphy, NC

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Unusual Barn Built For Bovine Contentment

When you drive past old barns in the Smokies, it’s not uncommon to see a silo nearby, or even attached to the barn. The tall concrete or metal towers were used to store “silage” — fermented cattle feed. Everyone knew that “contented cows” gave better milk.

In 1943, when Andrew Earl built this barn on his East Alarka farm, he enclosed his twin silos within the structure, creating one of the most unusual barns in the Smokies.

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Want fresh? Buy your fruits and veggies from a local farmer.

Farmers markets, tailgate markets and roadside stands are a long-standing tradition in the mountains — providing a practical way for rural farmers to sell their products to the general public. And today that tradition is very much alive in Bryson City. Every Friday morning through October, area farmers bring their fresh garden bounty to the Swain County Farmers Market in the Main Street parking lot next to the Old Courthouse.

Above, Murphy Hunting learns all about Mike Glover’s farm fresh brown eggs and organically-grown produce from his Sleepy Hollow Farm. Other stands included honey from Balltown Bee Farm, fresh trout from Tumbling Waters Trout Pond, and handmade jewelry by Jane Spottedbird, as well as native plants, crafts, herbal products and more vegetables.

Swain County Farmers Market
May thru October
9:00 – 1:00
Main Street, parking lot by the old courthouse, across from the Chamber of Commerce

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