First Winter Snow Dusts Mountains

  • Mountain Communities residents watched a snow front blow in from the northwest on Friday, Nov. 4. Local events held their breath, and were grateful for those who came out to particpate.

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    Mountain Communities residents watched a snow front blow in from the northwest on Friday, Nov. 4. Local events held their breath, and were grateful for those who came out to particpate.

  • A little rain and snow didn't dampen the smiles at the Green Dragon community farm harvest feast.

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    A little rain and snow didn't dampen the smiles at the Green Dragon community farm harvest feast.

  • Vivacious members of The Perfect Fifth (P-5) performed at BaseCamp in Pine Mountain Village after cooking and serving a delicious New Orleans Creole gumbo at the Wine and Art Gallery.

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    Vivacious members of The Perfect Fifth (P-5) performed at BaseCamp in Pine Mountain Village after cooking and serving a delicious New Orleans Creole gumbo at the Wine and Art Gallery.

  • The Ridge Route Communities Museum Holiday Arts and Crafts Faire looked beautiful at the Frazier Mountain Park Community Center, but traffic was light while it was raining with a sprinkle of snow on Friday, Nov. 4. On Saturday there was a steady flow of shoppers, Daisy Cuddy reported.

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    The Ridge Route Communities Museum Holiday Arts and Crafts Faire looked beautiful at the Frazier Mountain Park Community Center, but traffic was light while it was raining with a sprinkle of snow on Friday, Nov. 4. On Saturday there was a steady flow of shoppers, Daisy Cuddy reported.

By Patric Hedlund

We live in a land of impatient seasons. Pushy seasons. They fly in, rattle our windows, kick at our doors and defy expectation. Just as fall colors were beginning to paint the hills with bright orange, reds and yellows last week, a wave of wintery low pressure chill blew through the mountains on Friday, Nov. 4.

The temperature dropped to ice roads and frost rooftops with half an inch of fluffy, light snow. People changed their plans, stayed in and built warm fires in wood stoves rather than venturing out to community events.

“A lot of the older residents won’t go out if it looks like it is going to snow….People won’t go out until it melts,” the Ridge Route Museum’s Daisy Cuddy said in an interview about attendance at the Holiday Arts and Crafts Faire at the Frazier Mountain Park Community Center Friday and Saturday. Cuddy was philosophical about the museum’s fundraiser this year, though.

“The show looked beautiful. And on Friday, from 2 to 4 p.m. we had a good turnout, and by Saturday we had steady traffic throughout the day. It was a nice crowd, but we did about half as well in fundraising for the museum as we normally do,” Cuddy said. She added that the poor economy is probably as great a factor as the icy weather. “But we’re grateful for anything we can raise in times like these,” she added.

Green Dragon Farm

Just down the way, at the Green Dragon Organic Farm harvest feast “about 35 hardy farmers and friends joined us. There was sunshine, then mist, then light rain, sleet and chunky snow. But the sun came out again,” founder Linda Robredo reports. A space heater, tarp, and picnic benches were all they needed to have a great (and delicious) time.

The Perfect Fifth

Another 40 folks made it to the Sunday Creole Gumbo feast and performance by The Perfect Fifth. The vivacious group is working to raise $5,000 to participate in the Fearless Women: Visions of a New World project with Mary Ann Halpin. Stay tuned for more about this project.

This is part of the November 11, 2011 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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