Encores that bring about good times in good places make one appreciate life to the fullest and renew faith in mankind that we can find a way to coexist peacefully.
When I am where nature and its splendorous attributes prevail, I am overcome with humility and thanksgiving. Glory, glory hallelujah! Here is where the leaves are at their autumnal best. The moderate temperatures, chilly mornings, and sunny afternoons are compatible with singing “America the Beautiful.” Sleeping under a homemade comforter makes night’s sojourn one of restful gratefulness.
We have returned to the vacation home and hospitality of Carolyn and Charlie Callihan, who are Athens residents with an affinity for mountain living, where the changing of the seasons brings inspiration that rests gentle on the mind.
Charlie is never still; perpetual motion is his speed. It gains in momentum when a black bear encroaches on his homestead's tranquility, eliciting robust contempt from the Callihans’ Bernedoodles, Augie and Sophie.
A smart man, Charlie steadfastly yields to the hibernating varmints, giving them plenty of room. An average of one person dies annually from a black bear attack in North Carolina, and he has deep and abiding antipathy for becoming a sobering statistic of the Tar Heel State.
Upon arriving and unpacking the car for a short stay, Charlie even reminded his guests to “lock your car.” Yes, the cagey black bear is adept at opening car doors, but sometimes they resort to forced entry.
Charlie has a green thumb. He grows things — everything from tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers, to collards, squash, and brussels sprouts, with morel mushrooms on deck for a future dinner. He and Carolyn are a team in the kitchen, with Charlie maintaining he is the incumbent chef, to which Carolyn smiles and acquiesces.
He is a versatile carver with artifacts from his woodworking shop, including bowls, Christmas decorations, mountain furniture, and platters, with all prominently displayed throughout their rustic abode.
They enjoy entertaining their friends, cooking for them, turning dinner into a fun exercise that would exceed what you might experience if Alton Brown invited you to dinner and allowed you to watch him do his thing.
They recently cooked spaghetti for Kim and Lee Echols of Athens, along with a couple who have compiled three cookbooks and can’t cook a lick. With Charlie’s inventive and creative style, you would think he descended from the man who brought about the chuckwagon.
When the decision is to eat out, Charlie might discuss the history of the Grandy Mountain Christmas Tree Farm, which features abundant Fraser firs. Then he may suddenly bring his Ford electric truck to a stop and collect a handful of wild mushrooms for his next kitchen adventure.
He might even share with you this meaningful note that, “Christmas trees growing in the United States absorb and store 4,200 pounds of carbon every day, which is the equivalent of taking 300,000 automobiles off the road.”
In the last fortnight, there was a window one afternoon when Charlie and Bob Gaston took a tinhorn to a peaceful lake immersed among the high-end homes and forest in this part of the world for an opportunity to fish for rainbow trout, which are as plentiful as rhododendron.
They baited my hook and offered encouragement as my luck was as good as it has ever been. In less than an hour, I hooked seven trout, most of which were 20 inches in length, just right for the frying pan; except we preferred to release them to make another fisherman’s day. Catching a beautiful rainbow in this mountain setting is a rich outdoor experience. When your fly lands on the placid water, you can see trout streaking in that direction.
Look closely and you can see the fish’s intake of the bait and the hook — and then, with the most remarkable alacrity, sprint post haste across the lake.
Your line becomes taut, your forearms begin to tire, but your concentration remains intact as you tire out your quarry. Soon enough, your patience prevails as his resistance wanes. Catch and release has given a beautiful rainbow a new life and is a reminder that, if you spend time in the Great Outdoors with a fly rod, you are blessed to be a partner with nature, even for just a short weekend.