You hear a lot these days about lower price, lower price, and lowest price as the only way to get a house sold. Here are 9 things you can do that will make your house stand out from the crowd, appeal to more potential buyers, and probably sell faster. None of them have anything to do with cutting the price. Curb appeal, curb appeal, curb appeal! I can’t emphasize this one enough. Buyers have to be attracted to your home to want to see it. I’ve had lots of buyers say: “Let’s pass this one buy.” when we’ve pulled up to a home that was not attractive from the street. Bright, shiny, and inviting entry. Once you get buyers out of the car and walking up to your front door, you want to continue to set a good tone for your showing. Make sure your front entry is spotless, sweep away the cobwebs ... 06/29/2009

Most every fall we take one of the annual color cruises on nearby Norris Lake. Operated and narrated by a ranger from Norris Dam State Park, these cruises take you places you can only access by boat. Friends of Norris Dam State Park donated this pontoon boat for park use. This past Friday wasn't the best weather conditions for a trip on the lake. It was rainy, cold, and blustery; in other words a fairly typical fall day in east Tennessee. However the leaves were almost ready for viewing so off we went. The showy maple trees were a vibrant red and easily the star of the show. There is a lot of shoreline showing because the Tennessee Valley Authority drops most all the local lake levels in the fall to make room for runoff in the spring and for flood control downstream. The fallen trees al... 10/25/2008

OK, spring fever has finally caught up with me.For a cure, me and 2 other hiking buds took the day off this past Friday and did a nice 7.5 mile loop trail over in the Cataloochee Valley of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.The Cataloochee Valley is a fairly remote part of the park and is tougher to access than most of the rest so it's never crowded. We saw a total of 5 other people all day on the trail. When is the last time you only saw 5 people in 1 day???Here's a link to my photoblog.  Scenic overlook entering the Cataloochee Valley   Lots of delicate, Painted Trillium was in bloom along a lot of the trail. This a very abundant, springtime flower in the Smokies. 04/28/2008