North Carolina

Harry Parsell • Jul 24, 2023

Welcome to my family get away!

Back in 1997, I had visited some parishioners from my parish, St. Bartholomew's, while seeing the Biltmore House in Asheville with my parents. They were very gracious and had a lovely A frame home here in Burnsville. After an afternoon of homemade breads and jams, beer and ice tea I could see my father's mind clicking away, and 6 months later my parents also bought property here in Burnsville at about 3500 ft. above sea level in a sort of mountains cauldron with a lake in the center. By 1998 they had their summer home built and that's when I first saw it and stayed here. They imported an authentic mid -1800's cabin from Kentucky and had it rebuilt on this site. As I am told it is the only historic log cabin in the entire region of Burnsville. 25 years later here it is.

Now that my parents are gone, the house has been the scene of multigenerational gatherings. My brother and I believe that it will continue on in the family for many years. The parents, young kids and the pets love it and its a great getaway for all. I never thought back in 1997 that we would ever live in North Carolina but it is definitely a nice change from my beloved state of Florida.

Several friends have come up and thought the area was perfect even though they preferred Florida. I told them you have to be here for a while to feel the quietness and peace because it is in the Mountains. It is very much cooler and NO HUMIDITY (unless it rains). The only time I have trouble here is when it occasionally happens-- my three most hated conditions - gray, cold, and raining! My first three days on this trip were those hated conditions. I was ready to return to Florida ASAP to escape this killer of my hoped for trip. Truth is I love the sunshine! Today, is Friday, July 21st and it became sunny and cool with beautiful blue skies and no rain. This is why many Floridians invest in this state to get out of the Florida summers and hopeful experience this Fall-like weather. I expect with all the heat in Florida and other states it is going to get quite crowded up here. Already homes are being bought up here quickly for much money. But back to my trip - here's the reason I am still here. My sister-in-law and the dogs are coming on Saturday and my brother is flying in next Friday for a few days. While all my family lives in Florida we live so far apart we never get to see each other regularly - unless its here.

Each morning if you get up early you will see wild turkeys feeding up and down the hills and out by the pond. In the evenings just about Cocktail Hour, the wild deer come out. We buy deer corn to feed them. The first evening I went down to their trough to feed them - the next nights I just poured it on the ground in front of the deck, which is a much easier walk for the drive is steep, and they came up to where you can almost touch them. Oh! Oh! Here's one of them now! Got to get more corn, see you all soon!

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A Rainy Day at the Cabin

By Harry Parsell • 28 Jul, 2023

Wow! What a beautiful week it’s been. Hate to brag but it is the truth! The sun has come up every morning from the beginning of the week up until just two days ago. The humidity has been low up until two days ago, when we got a blast from the Gulf. But I guess with what’s been happening at home and all over the Southern tier of the country. My sister-in-law Jodi arrived as I mentioned with Lucy and Leo, her two Lab dogs and she said she brought the sun. So true until Mother Nature trumped her prediction. She is working hard from here and stays busy most days except the weekends. I try and work around the place and fix some of the things that have fallen apart with age and things that pop up that need some attending. My brother, Bill, her husband, is arriving tomorrow and they will be with me until Monday when they must return to Florida for work. This morning, I was able to clean the grill that had been stored for some time. I cooked hamburgers for lunch with tomato and cucumber salad and it was just what we needed. Last evening, we had a great time with some old friends that have even known my parents, and have taken care of this place for about 20 years. Will and his wife Christine met us for dinner in Burnsville at a quaint though informal restaurant called the Snapdragon, and we had a blast. I see them every year that I come up and Will, who does our exterminating of bugs, spiders, squirrels, bats etc., will watch this place throughout the winter. He is joined by another set of friends, Fred & Betty Lyda who live down the hill and assist us as needed. Later in the afternoon the heaven’s opened up again, and the wind and rain just like in Florida pounded us with lightning for the better part of the afternoon. The lightning sounds different since it bounces between the mountains and makes booms from all around. Weird. I took some pictures of the entrance to our property, the little bridge we cross and how it looks after its been soaked. Hope you will enjoy and I have put out more food for the deer but they haven’t come yet, I guess they need to dry off before they’ll have dinner! See you soon! Say hi to Fr. Jeff for me!