Spring is just around the corner....

Although it is quite chilly this morning, there are signs of Spring everywhere.  Not only are we seeing the early Spring flowers peaking out of the ground everywhere we look, our neighbor which gets more sunlight than we do, has flowers on his daffodils.  

This morning, I heard the most beautiful song bird right outside my kitchen.  I looked outside trying to see what type of bird it was, but couldn't find it.  We have a large variety of birds on our property, often we have a wonderful nature produced concert going on.  

This past winter was colder than any we have experienced in the last few years, but it is almost over and we are looking forward to Spring.  We live in Cherokee County and this winter has brought us a lot of rain which we are very thankful for.  It  should do wonders for the watershed of North Carolina bringing great photo opportunities throughout this coming year.  We would love to hear from others throughout the mountains about what is happening in your part of the mountains.

We are in the process of updating the 2009 Events and Festivals on the Highlander, take a look at the ones we have on line and plan a trip to the mountains.  If you know of any other events or festivals that should be listed on the Highlander for all our readers to learn about, please take the time to let us know at publishers@theblueridgehighlander.com.  Thousands of readers come to the Highlander every day looking for things to do in the mountains and we would like to help them find what they are looking for.

We will be posting our latest community profile this week on Rutherford County North Carolina, home of Chimney Rock  at Chimney Rock State Park.  We found a lot of great places to explore in Rutherford County and wonderfully friendly people which made our trips there very special.  So keep in touch to read about all the great things we found in our visit.  

We have our 2009 Easter trip planned.   We are excited to be going to the Sunrise Easter Service on the top of Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park.    We are excited and really looking forward to experiencing this one of a kind event.  We are told that seeing the sun rise at the conclusion of the ceremony is awe-inspiring. We can't wait, come join the Highlander for this very special event.

Write to us publishers@theblueridgehighlander.com and let us know what you would like for us to cover this year in the Highlander, we want to be your source of the "Best the Mountains Have to Offer.

Mountains a world away from the noise

Come visit the mountains.....If we all live our lives according to what the news media is telling us, why bother living, they paint such a dismal picture of our current situation as well as the future.

To those that are in jeopardy, my heart goes out to you.  We chose not to go out on a limb and to live our lives modestly in the mountains and enjoy what we feel true life has to offer.  We have a wonderful loving family, we are all happy, healthy and wise when it comes to enjoy the important things in life, which are God, family and health.

My husband and I both grew up in Chicago, and later moved to the far western suburbs in the Fox River Valley.  Chicago is a beautiful city, and the Fox River Valley was a wonderful place to raise our daughter for the first 16 years, but we feel truly blessed to have found the opportunity to move to the mountain, and create the Highlander.  

The wonderful thing about living in the mountains is that it opens your eyes to the beauty of nature, wildlife, fresh air, a very special quality of life.  

By reading our stories you will start to see the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains through our eyes.  We look for the best the mountains have to offer and present it to you for your enjoyment.

If you want some true enjoyment, join Joshua to learn about the Appalachian Black Bears, a series of stories for your enjoyment and education.  Let us know which story is your favorite by writing to us at publishers@theblueridgehighlander.com.

Enjoy.....Mrs. Highlander