Spring is finally making a halting appearance in the north Georgia foothills and Covid may soon be winding down (we hope). It is a season of mixed feelings. As eager gardeners, Karen and I could not have chosen worse soil or a less promising site for our our new home in 2000. We jokingly refer to it as “Rocky Comfort.” It is home, indeed, and every direction in the yard is up hill. Where it exists, between the rocks, all the soil is unadulterated red clay. But we have come to love the yard and committed a lot of effort into cultivating it.
Located in the woods near a stream, “Rocky Comfort” is home to many birds -including a family of Red Shouldered Hawks whose cries signal they are teaching their most recent fledgling how to hunt. Pileated Woodpeckers are currently creating a mating racket every morning with their “laughing calls.” At our backdoor birdhouse, Blue Birds have established a regular home, raising two or three broods of baby birds every year. Despite their cheerful colors, they wear a constant scowl, perhaps to to intimidate competitors. They are within ten feet of a bird feeder and a water supply. We are easy pickings.
All is peaceful in our little kingdom. With the arrival of our new Labrador Retriever pup, Emily, even the pesky squirrel population is in check. Our old lab, “Peachie” chased squirrels, but never caught them. Emily is fast and stealthy. She catches and eats them. Still, they taunt her, sitting around on our fence and making little noises to let Emily know they are watching her. Squirrels must have a death wish-they dance in the tree tops and taunt their enemies.
Covid has imposed a certain quietness around us. And, after many years, we have seen young deer crossing the road in front of our house again. They are building a new subdivision down the road that required destroying every trace of vegetation over an area of perhaps 200 acres. I suppose that will have a detrimental impact on our wildlife and increase traffic around us. It seems to be a rather high price to pay, but this could mean finally having a grocery store within ten miles of our house.
That great old Red Oak in our backyard finally had to be taken down for the sake of our neighbor’s garden shed and our wooden fencing. She was making cracking sounds and growing mushrooms on the larger limbs, said to be a sign of rot. It was sick and dropping huge limbs. Ted Kennedy came and took it down the old fashioned way. He climbed the tree and took it down from the top (starting about seventy feet up). It was an amazing display of skill and -at least to my thinking-of courage as well. Ted was taught his skills by his grandfather while growing up in Albany, New York.
The big Red Oak measured 42 inches in diameter at the base. Today was windy with tornado watches in place across the southeast and in a gust this afternoon, a Red Oak of similar size blew down across the street from our house. Somehow, that partly soothed my disappointment at cancelling our Paris Holiday in order to pay the tree surgeon. Just kidding, of course. Paris is not in our future. That is, unless my next book proposal finds a taker.
You hate to take down big oaks, but it’s better to do it now than wait for it to get hollowed out and fall at 2:00 am after a long rain has weighed it down.
Don’t ask. LOL.
Emily looks like a sweetheart.
Dan
Dan,
So glad to hear from you! Please let me know more about the Burkhalter Kitchens House, I would really enjoy it if you could send me a photo. I would love to know when the Kitchens were associated with the house (if that in fact is true). As I understand it, Glascock County was carved from Warren County in turn that part of Warren was once park of Wilkes. Please correct me if you know otherwise. I am also related to many Jefferson County families, including the Arringtons, Barrows and Wrights on my mother’s side. My regular email is gajoe42@gmail.com.
Best regards,
Joe
Hi Joe,
If you have a Facebook account you can look up Jacob Burkhalter House. Tons of picture there. There are a couple of videos on Youtube also. Search Jacob Burkhalter House.
I researched records in the county courthouse and IIRC, the Kitchens were in the house by 1900. From what I heard, the house used to sit on Main and Gibson Streets. It was damaged by a storm (probably this one http://southerngraves.net/genealogy/1875georgiatornado.html) and rebuilt as a story and a half. Was a 2-story. I don’t know for sure, but I think the Kitchens bought it after the storm, had it moved in front of a very small house in it current location, and rebuilt it. So what I think I have is a Burkhalter house as the front part of the house, and Kitchens house as the back part. If you look at an aerial view of 69 Davis Street, you will see what I mean.
The last Kitchens in the house were brother and sister George Howard “Pete” Kitchens and Mabel Louise Kitchens. They had a brother named Carlton R. Kitchens, Sr. who died in 1970. Carlton was married to Alice Gray Kitchens from Waynesboro. Carlton and Alice built a house next door, 85 Davis Street, in the 50s I think. There are still steps and a gate going from my house there to the neighbor’s.
Pete and Mabel sold their house in 1998. Alice sold her house next door in 1999.
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/augustachronicle/name/george-kitchens-obituary?pid=3478307
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/augustachronicle/name/mabel-kitchens-obituary?pid=2431942
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/montgomeryadvertiser/name/alice-kitchens-obituary?pid=156213910
Dan,
I enjoyed seeing the photos of the Kitchens-Burkhalter House and in fact this is the house where the Goergia Historical Society once stood, identifying it as where LaFayette stayed during his rerun to America.
Joe
Forgive me, meant to write “where the Georgia Historical Society’s historical marker stood.” As I mentioned earlier, I have been unable to discover why it was removed, ot the research that led to its original placement.
A thoroughly delightful “virtual visit” to “Rocky Comfort,” Joe. Thanks for posting it; your descriptive powers and humor added a needed spark to my morning!
George
George,
Thanks, glad to help out. The truth and almost nothing but the ntruth.
Joe