Groundhogs Day was just the other day, and it got me thinking about just how early do those people in their suits and hats start hitting the bottle anyway? I imagine you would have to be quite snockered to stick your hand in a groundhog burrow, drag him out, and parade the poor li’l critter around. If you tried that in East Tennessee, someone would be groundhog bitten— seriously! And who could blame them? I imagine if I were a groundhog, or any kind of hibernating creature, I would bite the hell out of somebody if they woke me up when there is still snow on the ground. The furry li’l varmints here didn’t even wake up, roll over, and as much as poke their noses out of their burrows–and why should they? It is still winter. There isn’t any sweet clover or acorns to eat. Go back to sleep, ‘Puxatony Phil’…
Indeed, it is still winter, and the mountains here are covered in snow right now, and a couple of days ago when I started to write this (Groundhogs Day) the clouds were so thick on the mountains that they were completely buried beneath them and I couldn’t even see the closest one. It is very scenic, however, if you can get up into the mountains, but that can be a bit of a problem; and with the intermittent melting snow waters, rain and more snow, the creeks and waterfalls are moving at a fairly high volume. With that in mind, my trail hiking buddy, ‘Rat Patrol’, wanted to hike out to a few of them and take photographs.
Dick Creek Falls