A Foreign Native 11/20/2022

By: Jennifer Richardson Holt

Today’s blog probably won’t be lengthy. As I type this, I am currently in my most favorite place on this planet.  And no, I haven’t traversed the whole planet so I cannot outright promise that there is no place that I might actually find more endearing.  There may very well be somewhere but as I have not yet found that place, I am going to stand by my statement.  If you’ve been a reader of mine for a while, then you know exactly where I am.  I am currently sitting looking out French doors with a view of the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and it isn’t the chill in the air that takes my breath away.

I’ve never been here in winter before. I have now seen 3 of 4 seasons. Each has its appeal.  The autumn is probably the easiest to see.  To look out over hundreds of miles of ridges blanketed with a quilt of every color imaginable cannot possibly be adequately described in the English language. There might be some other language that can manage it but the one in which I am proficient is most assuredly not it.  There are the scarlets of sourwoods and the vivid yellows of poplars.  I don’t feel its necessary for me to continue to describe it. If you have ever experienced fall in the most minute context, you can imagine what it’s like applied to these hills.

Summer is what I have seen most.  You don’t even realize that there are that many shades of green.  Then if you time it just right you get the blooms of rhododendron and mountain laurel scattered amongst the verdant shades.  The streams and waterfalls are always cool and clear but in summer they beg for wading. Streams and rivers are frequently dotted with people floating in inflated tubes or swimming.  Families full of children out of school can find infinite refreshment be it in water or higher elevation.

And now I get to experience it for the first time in winter.  The trees are bare, but this gives the ridge after ridge a new softness that I have not seen before.  The forests are also giving up their depths no longer shrouded in leaves.  Then there is a brand-new discovery that I have had the pleasure of experiencing. All throughout this area are trickles of water coming out of rocks and now at every turn are rocks competing with the best of Christmas décor by being draped with glistening icicles.  It is an absolute wonder how beautiful frozen water can be.

Spring is the only one I haven’t seen. I can’t imagine adding brighter, fresher shades of green and even more blossoms is going to be negative.  I had questioned if I would like winter here before arriving. Really that was probably silly of me to wonder about considering I feel quite certain that it is not possible for me to dislike this place. I have been coming here for probably over 35 years and I can’t seem to get tired of it.  I’ve never lived here but everything about this place feels like home.  I might just be weird, and that’s entirely possible but for some reason everything about this place feels, whether in sunshine or snow, like it is where I belong.