Mood:
lazyTopic: "Low Water, Slow Flow"(3)
Frodo and Sam are spending the Memorial Day weekend at Lake Lovey. Frodo has just completed his third "beach book," has hiked around the lake with Fiona and Mick, the Wonder Dog, each day, and frustrated himself in the attempt to catch a few wily largemouth bass. Sam is re-re-decorating. The weather has been beautiful, until this morning, when the smoky haze from the fires in South Georgia settled upon the mountains of East Tennessee. Seeking to escape anything and everything from the known world, a special march into the forbidden forest therefore beckoned those willing to brave the height of "tick season."
Wildflowers blossom in different locations at different times, hence their great meaning to Frodo. Ladies Tresses and Indian Pink abound in patches of sunlight in the deep deciduous forest these days, and Frodo tarryed to fully admire the color and the structure of these artistic creations. Fiona and Mick, the Wonder Dog, are Frodo's willing assistants who find undefined poop alongside the trail much more enticing than wildflowers. Their lack of attentiveness prevented them from observing a very large black snake or the water snake that skimmed the surface of Fiona's favorite creek. Frodo supposes that his able assistants probably think he was foolish for passing on the aromatic excellence which captured their attention.
Lake Lovey is down almost three feet from normal levels, and there is no overflow into the creek beds in the forest. The forest will change because it is dry, as it changes when the rains come unseasonably strong. Those who monitor the lake level screwed up and let too much escape during the Winter, assuming that rainfallwould be near normal this Spring. Lake Lovey's "bass beds" sit high and dry, meaning that there will be fewer of Frodo's prizes in months to come.
Living with the changes inherent in Mother Nature's world is something that Frodo has learned to accept, but it sure irritates him when he notes the hand of ignorance in the air, the water, and the forest. Did he mention that developers are planning "mini-horse farms" where wildflowers now grow?
