July 4th

The crew came to Blackberry Ridge from Birmingham to go to the Forth of July parade at midnight in Gatlinburg.  Unfortunately we are all fair weather fans and decided to skip the parade this year with all the rain.  We did enjoy the day as we spent day in Gatlinburg going to the aquarium and the weekend at Dollywood.  The rain cooperated with our plans during the remainder of the weekend.

Jillian enjoying her first 4th of July and waiting for fireworks in Southaven, MS

Stella and Conley making their own parade in downtown Gatlinburg on July 4th.

Enjoying the penguins at the aquarium.

Dipping candles in Dollywood.

Conley enjoys meeting some characters at Dollywood.

Stella enjoying some ice cream.

Tommy and Brent having some fun at Dollywood.

Lifeway in Southaven, MS

Since the last posting we have not done much work at The Ridge.  We still have the following to finish in the stairwell.  Stain the handrail. purchase and install the iron ballasters and touch up the paint and the risers and trim.

Jillian did come by with her parents and we had a great mother's day weekend.  Since then we have gone up to Louisville, where Greg is doing his management training.  During his second week of training he did interview with a regional district manager and on June 4th, it was announced within in Lifeway, that Greg would be managing the Lifeway store in Southaven, MS, which  is a suburb of Memphis, TN, starting on July 1, 2013.  Greg and Renee are very excited about the move and the opportunity.  They will be going on a house hunting trip this weekend (June 14-16).

We continue to have daily bear sightings at the Ridge.  There are a total of seven (7) black bears that make a daily appearance at The Ridge.

Close the Door

It sure is nice to drive over to Gatlinburg from Buford without having to go through the gorge on I-40.  Our arrival at Blackbearry Ridge on Friday is one of those items that will be remembered and the story will grow each time it is told.

While unloading the car and carrying the items up to the house, Brent told Jo Lynn to "close the door" (the back hatch on the Pilot) before heading up the stairs.  Well after a few minutes up at the house and upon heading back down to get the remainder of our items, two (2) bears had climbed into the car under the watchful eye of their mom.  One of the large bear cubs had obtained a bag of candy and made his way out of the vehicle to enjoy his picnic on the side of the driveway while the other one looked for goodies.  Not finding anything else, this bear was tossing out clothes and baby related items from the vehicle in his search.

Upon seeing the items being tossed and items on the ground, Jo Lynn had made her way down the stairs to the driveway where the last bear had exited the vehicle and all three (3) where on the opposite side of the Pilot from where Jo Lynn approached.  She got inside the car and crawled to the rear and closed the back hatch.  Now she had "closed the door" and prevented the bears from getting inside, but after obtaining the candy, the bears did not want to leave but instead wanted back inside the vehicle for more goodies.  

After about 10 minutes and countless blowing the horn and making noise from the house, the mother retreated up the hill and the cubs soon followed.  Needless to say forgetting to "close the door" will not be a problem anytime soon.

Jo Lynn is staying all week at Blackbearry Ridge as Jillian will make her first visit on Thursday.  Oh yea, Renee and Greg are coming too.

The two (2) large cubs that went inside the Pilot.  All three (3) bears returned to the side yard about 30 minutes  after leaving the Pilot.  Jo Lynn has new friends.

US 441 Open

We went to Birmingham this weekend instead of heading over to Blackbearry Ridge.  In speaking with the girls this weekend, the bears are making their presence know at The Ridge.  This has been the first sighting of bears this year.

We did have a surprise on the drive over to Blackbearry Ridge the weekend of April 19th.  US 441 through the park is now open.  The repair to the road caused by the landslide has been finished and this save us about 40 minutes drive time each way.

Work on Stairway Continues

The last few weeks have been slow but steady as Brent is working on the handrail for the stairs.  We were able to get the 16 foot long piece of red oak handrail into the house by threading the handrail through an upstairs window.  Brent has mitered two (2) joints at each end to customized the handrail.  This has caused a lot of time as he as pieced the rail together but the results look great.  The handrail has been installed and removed several times during this process but this weekend we will perform a final sanding and stain the handrail.  The handrail installation nears the end.

The only major item standing in the way of completing the stairway now is the installation of the iron ballasters on the open side.  The installation of the ballasters should begin this weekend and the renovation of the stairway will near completion.