This morning, here near the Great Smoky Mountains in Western North Carolina, we all woke up to temperatures in the 40s!  We are almost at the end of June...and the temperature in Balsam was 49.  A friend on facebook was at Clingman's Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the temperature was 39.  Weather is so interesting in that a tropical storm a 1000 miles away in the Gulf of Mexico can affect our weather here.  The birds outside are going nuts and that reminded me of the Joni Mitchell song "Chelsea Morning". The song always reminds me that every morning is a new chance to do or experience something wonderful...and an opportunity to reflect on the last several mornings that have also produced wonderful things. Everyday, someone on facebook posts about how much they love ... 06/26/2017

What a great community!  I've gotten many messages of concern from so many of you over the clean up of the fallen trees and getting our property back in order...thank you so much! After I posted the photos to fb, one of my former buyers...now friend, of course...reached out and volunteered to come help me take care of the debris!  I've seen in other posts of his similar acts of generosity in his hometown when neighbors have been in this same kind of predicament. Lucky, lucky, lucky for me...this kind fellow loves the chainsaw! Have a great day...I'm headed off to try and cram three days of work into one and a half days so I can take half a day and Friday off to do yard clean up. 05/31/2017

It is certain that I'm not the only agent ever to look at the calendar and bemoan the fact that it's been at least a week since I posted. (Wow, does that transport me back to being a Catholic kid going into the confessional and making up stuff to confess).  This time I'm not making it up, there's been people locally telling me that they're so glad I started blogging again that I really do feel bad about the temporary lapse. It surely isn't because nothing is going on, there's plenty to talk about.  For example, at the elevation I live at 3400 ft, now is the time to get a number of things into the garden.  I have raised beds and for years I've been planting too early. Recently I attended the Mother Earth News Fair in Asheville, NC and sat in on Ira Wallace's seminar about raising garlic ... 05/30/2017

Yes, for bonafide real estate customers I will definitely work on the weekends.  However, if I'm not booked by Friday morning then I really look forward to the weekends.This weekend started with a little tomato harvest.  These are tiny little cherry tomatoes and we still have a number of green ones on the vine but I fear the yield will be limited since we are headed into fall.In just a few minutes, I'll head out to the raised beds armed with my therm-a-rest kneeling pad, a dish to put weeds in, a small spade to dig up the spent squash and my camera.Some gardeners just elect to leave all the dead plants in the garden and then they'll turn that debris into the dirt in the spring.  That's up to them though.  I don't want to take a chance that there might be some blight or non-beneficial in... 09/04/2015

I'm thankful to be in a profession that with the exception of actually showing properties, can be handled anywhere there is a cell signal or an internet connection.  That is a real plus for Realtors.Most of the "business hour" time, I AM in our office but occasionally there will be a weekday that I'll handle other things.  Our friend of almost 30 years (and our current MoonDancer Realty office landlord) told me that one of our neighbors in Dillsboro noticed we weren't in the office on Tuesday and hoped everything was okay.  He told them, "they're probably just bringing their garden in".He was right.We've worked, in Robin William's words "full tilt Bozo" on a good number of contracts all year and managed to get six 4x12 raised beds in and a garden planted.  As it just so happened, one of... 08/19/2015

We had an extraordinary light show in the mountains of Western North Carolina last night into the wee hours of the morning.  Facebook was crazy with local people reporting in with the storm locations. This morning the world looks like it was photoshopped in green, everything is so lush and the garden looks very happy.  Some areas had terribly high winds but here in Balsam I believe we were spared that frightening occurences. So here we are...ready to start a new week.  This song was hugely popular when I was a teenager, some younger people may think of it only as the Windex theme song but it isn't. Have a great week filled with all things positive and wonderful! 07/27/2014

It is a good feeling to spend a lot of money and feel that you got a ton of value for it.  Home owning can sometimes be expensive...there, I said it!  It's called general maintenance and sometimes to protect your asset you've got to spend money.  It isn't always something to do with plumbing, roofing or electrical...in our case, we needed to have a several towering trees removed.  We asked around and were continually directed to Western Carolina Tree Care. From the very first conversation it was evident that we would be dealing with someone extremely professional and knowledgeable.  Jeff Polson is the owner of Western Carolina Tree Care and when we called his phone number 828-226-2822 he actually answered!  We'd called several other companies and only got recorders.  Jeff agreed to meet... 07/14/2014

Funny how it takes careful planning to do what you want to do, when you want to do it when we work in real estate.  We careen from appointment to appointment but we do have the luxury of scheduling in "appointments" to take advantage of fun or necessary private time. Oh yeah sure...the cell phone still rings and the emails still come in but that's okay.  We are so fortunate to live in a time when we can keep up with what we've pledged to do for our clients and still attend to our own needs. We'll be working from Command Central at home today instead of in the office.  For years we've had very old and huge trees begging us to be released from where they stand before they simply fall down.  Finally, today is the day we'll deal with that and personally, I'd rather not have tons of tree fal... 07/13/2014

    Waiter, waiter, percolator.... An added benefit from a recent closing was the inheritance of the sellers 40 year old percolator and I've fallen in love all over again with coffee! Everything is more special with that little pot. I love the ceremony and the preparation of the drink. I love the coffee smell permeating the house. Don't get me wrong, I surely loved the commission from the sale but every time I use this coffee pot, I think of the special people who sold the house and the special people who bought the house.   I love the java jive and it loves me! Whoops Mr Moto I'm a coffee pot :-) Have a great week!   12/15/2013

   Funny how the act of doing something very simple can create a very complex chain of thoughts which causes moments to be enriched. This morning when I walked the dogs it wasn't that cold according to the thermometer, 31 degrees. Of course, the gale force winds weren't taken into consideration. It was very cold and the air was full of the "sounds like a freight train" winds. When I got done with that, I did something very simple...made a cup of hot tea and proceeded to enrich the moment.   Whenever I make the Lapsong Souchang tea it always reminds me of my father, this was HIS tea. Since it is too strong a flavor for my mother, I inherited Dad's stash of many cases of Lapsong Souchang. I would be surprised to learn if Dad ever put locally produced honey in his tea but maybe he did.   ... 11/18/2013

    With the exception of dogs that wake up early, my day never starts the same way twice and that is one of the best parts of a professional career in real estate. The adrenalin never really ever relaxes.   Today, the day started with a response to an initial email to a prospective buyer that they are looking forward to working with MoonDancer Realty. The reason I'm so excited about this couple is that they can't wait to move here. One of them has a new job here but the thrilling part for them is that they never thought they could live in the mountains of Western North Carolina until they retired. Retirement is probably 30 years away for them, they can live their dream now while they are young enough and strong enough to fully enjoy all that this area has to offer.   So today my day st... 11/04/2013

This is what I started my Monday off with. If you are doing any physical fitness in the mornings, try adding this to your playlist. When you are finished you will feel like the week is yours to conquer. Try this song with a hula hoop or stationary bike!   I've missed a couple of Monday melodies but the good news is that the new roof is finally installed and paid for! Looks great and what a relief not to worry about leaks. Having workers here on a daily basis though really messes with a routine. The dog laundry room washing machine during the same time frame quit working and the human clothes washing machine developed a leak. Now they are both repaired after some fits and starts with other repair people. I appealed to friends on facebook for some names of appliance repair people and foun... 08/04/2013

From the weather forecasts we expected to be inundated with rain for three days straight here in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Of course, that's one of the groovier aspects of mountains. Sometimes the weather is a big surprise and doesn't look anything like what the meteorologist suggested it might look like. Here in Balsam we might have fog and eight miles away in Waynesville, downpour. No matter. We got some rain yesterday and its raining now. That works out well. The pollen gets washed off the cars and other surfaces and our little sun hanger looks happy no matter what the weather is!                   Enjoy!   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 06/06/2013

  Wild cats are pretty self-reliant creatures and fearsome hunters. Domesticated cats are too...or at least they think they are.   Charlie is no exception, he still remembers his heydays of 10 years ago when he was a feral yet mellow fellow. Charlie is now an indoor cat and that's the only way we feel comfortable keeping a cat here. Lots of people take the risk of leaving their cats outdoors or making them indoor-outdoor cats and that's up to them. I hope for the best for those cats. For us, there are just too many dangers in the outside world once a cat is domesticated. They are no match for vehicles, snakes, coyote, loose dogs, fleas, ticks or mischief making humans.   Charlie loves his life, or at least that's what he tells us. He's safe and well fed. He plays with his dog buddies an... 05/04/2013

Today in our case, here in Balsam, NC April showers bring ice. That's right, a nice blanket of ice on the trees and plants. Thankfully so far, not on the driveways or roads. Funny thing is, tomorrow should be in the 60s and by Saturday we'll see 70s. Crazy.       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   04/04/2013

  Good Morning, I'm still trying to fit all of this new social media awareness into everyday living without experiencing a real live timesuck.  It isn't easy but I know it will be once I get a little more familiar with each site.  The IMSDesignation course is pretty definitive about not letting social media rule your life but instead using it as a tool and learning how to time block responsibly.   The hardest social media outlet to just "check in" on is Facebook.  It isn't anything like what I expected.  It's a chance to see and hear people I really miss seeing during day to day activities.  In many ways I am quickly learning more about people I already liked than I might ever had had the chance to otherwise. It also feels like an intensely personal way to introduce people to MoonDancer... 03/29/2013

  Ahhhh spring...one of my favorite seasons.  The birds, the blooms, the banks of snow.  Here in Balsam, we woke up to a pleasant spring morning with the temperature hovering at 22 degrees, the air full of flurries, 6-8 inches of snow and thankfully...the snowboots haven't been put away yet.  You know the littlest dogs just have to love it as they push through snow deeper than they are tall.    All I can say is at least the sun was out this morning!   03/25/2013

  Well, overnight we were graced with that "wintery mix" (phrase of vague definition) and awoke to a winter wonderland.  This time in Balsam, NC anyway "wintery mix" meant 5 inches of snow and it's still falling!     The truly amazing thing about living here in the mountains of Western North Carolina is the amount of "mix" in the winter could be totally different just 15 minutes to the west or east of us.  The elevation plays a big role in snowfall too.  The part of Balsam that we are in is at 3400 feet, Dillsboro is at 1800 feet and once we harness up the sled and horses warm up the little red Dodge Caliber, we'll inch our way out to the highway.     The major roads should be in decent shape, while the secondary road we are on may have to wait for the snowplow.  Just because the weath... 02/18/2013

  Nothing like a ballad before heading off to dream land.  The weather forecast just informed us that by morning we will have that most vague of descriptions in weather, the famous "wintery mix" visiting us overnight.  It's always a surprise since it can be anything from nothing to blizzard.  I'm pretty sure that when I was a kid the weather forecast would have been for snow, sleet, rain or something else fairly specific sounding.  Wintery mix might actually be more accurate but just sounds wishy-washy.   Guess we'll find out what it is when we wake up!   02/18/2013

  As I was checking in at the reception area at our vet's office two days ago with Floyd, the gal at the desk asked if I wanted Frontline today.  Don't get me wrong, our vet's office is much appreciated by us and we understand they need to run a business but that question flew all over me the same way it does when I'm in the drive through at a fast food place.  Nothing is more irritating than giving your order to the little speaker box and concluding it with that'll do it...thanks only to have the box reply...would you like fries with that?  Grrr, no thank you...that's all I need.  Would you like to upsize your order for a dollar?  Grrr.   Anyway, back to the vet's office.  We're on great terms with the staff at the vet's office and I know they'd rather brush with dog fur than ask me an... 02/07/2013