Wilderness Photography Workshop

This weekend, The Gentleman Farmer took part in a Wilderness Photography workshop sponsored by TNWild, which is an advocacy group dedicated to protecting wilderness on the Cherokee National Forest for the benefit and enjoyment of current and future generations. 

Bill and Laura Hodge are wilderness enthusiasts who love the Tellico Plains area and honored us by sharing their photography knowledge and ideas. Their assistance and encouragement were huge assets to everyone who participated in the workshop. I highly encourage all interested parties to friend TNWild on facebook and sign up for the next session. We opened with a classroom discussion on the science and art of photography and then hiked the rest of the day, practicing our hobby and enjoying each other's fellowship. 

The area we hiked is just east of Tellico Plains in the national forest, just off of the Cherohala Skyway. This area is pristine. There are ideal opportunities for camping, backpacking, hiking, scenic driving and photography.  I wasn't familiar with the Cherokee National Forest before this visit, but I will be sure to return. Many of the trails, campsites and views were similar quality experiences to the National Park up the road, but the area was much less crowded. (As an aside, Tennessee's U.S. Senators have agreed to support changing this area from National Forest to Wilderness lands, protecting it from development, encroachment and preserving its natural beauty forever. Thank you, Sens. Corker and Alexander.) 

The first thing we talked about in our workshop was the word Wilderness, with a capital W. The definition of Wilderness, as it applies to federal law is as follows: (at least skim the bold parts, mmkay) A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain. An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in this Act an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and which (1) generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's work substantially unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation; (3) has at least five thousand acres of land or is of sufficient size as to make practicable its preservation and use in an unimpaired condition; and (4) may also contain ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value.

To those of you who have emailed The Gentleman Farmer asking for updates, thank you for doing so. More photos from the farm will be coming soon. It's going to be a beautiful fall. 

Settling in nicely...

The llama and goats have gradually been getting to know each other and making the place their own. After much deliberation, the llama has been named Howard. It's been suggested that I find him a top hat and vest, and appoint him Mayor of Tennessee Renaissance Farm. Why not? Hah.

Howard was definitely the first to warm up. He's the first to allow anyone to pet him and not be (too) jumpy about it. He definitely takes his job as protector of the goats seriously. He keeps a watchful eye on the herd and is johnny-on-the-spot when a dog comes to the fence. It's very cool to know that Howard will be effective in case of predators visiting the farm to snack on my little goats.

The goats have been slower to get friendly. I think part of this is because they are smaller and generally less confident creatures, and I don't know anything about their lives before the auction barn. It's obvious that they were handled and raised as livestock and not pets.

Today was a first for the farm, also. One of the goats put his head through the fence and couldn't pull it back out. I think dislodging his head was easier than when my brother got his melon stuck in the railing of the stairs, but still traumatic for the little guy. It was the first time any of the goats ate from my hand, which seemed to calm him before I had to take him by the horns and help back his head out. It's odd how some animals will always look outside their fence when they have so much good stuff inside with them. Now I know why I count so carefully at feeding time and walk the fence a few times a day.

Dog days are early... This stuff is for the birds...

Many of you are local, and know the weather here on the Farm was really hot the past week or so. Like August hot. I'm still working on the place a little at a time. I've been able to move around some brush, and burn some off. Somehow chainsawing and dragging limbs and logs, etc, just doesn't seem picturesque to me. So I don't take pictures of that work. I've also feared for my camera, with the amount of sweat my body produces on these hot, hot days. Maybe I should invest in a watertight case for it?

It won't be long before I bring the tractor over for a day of good dirty fun. The space on top of the hill that I bush hogged this spring are about knee deep with grass and weeds. And some poison ivy, if I'm being honest. Part of the goal of clearing brush from the hill is to open up more parts of the hill for bush hogging. So I will probably put off renting the tractor as long as I can stand it.


So far this spring and early summer, I have marveled at the wildlife on Tennessee Renaissance Farm. I gave it a whole post not long ago, and that just scratches the survace. Here's another example: the woods are apparently so full of birds that they are forced to nest on my back porch, in my hammock chair. I suppose they can stay a bit. My Mom thinks they are sparrows, but I've only see the beak and eyes of their mother, so I can't say I'm sure at all what type of birds they are. These two photos were taken 3 days apart, which explains why the chickies in the first one are naked (one still hadn't hatched, at that point), and in the next photo, they have that little fine chickie fuzziness on them. Using the macro setting on my camera so far has let me get close enough without scaring Mama away.

For now, the heat has broken, and the daytime seems almost pleasant, at 92 degrees, Fahrenheit, and only 88% humidity.

A walk on The Farm

So on my day off today, I did not work outside. Two days in a row of fencing last week was enough for now. Domestic chores were calling. A couple of them got done.

This afternoon, I took a stroll around the farm and I was just amazed at the richness of nature that is already here on the farm. I spotted wild rabbits, a red squirrel, five kinds of birds, dragonflies, four wildflowers in bloom and some warm sunshine. It's overwhelming and it's gorgeous.



I just don't have the words to express the privilege of living here on this earth and at this time. I don't have much to say about the photos I'm posting today that you can't see for yourself. They are all from a walk of maybe twenty minutes this afternoon and all taken on the Farm.