Life & Real Estate In & Around Athens GA. : September 2008

I enjoy a good Simon Pegg movie. Laughed a lot at Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. So, my wife and I decided to make this movie one of our Netflix selections, and, we definitely enjoyed it.

Run, Fat Boy, Run is about a man (Simon Pegg) who, on his wedding day, panics and runs away leaving his pregnant wife at the church with all the guests. Fast foward about five years and Pegg is a security guard and a woman's boutique and he can't manage to do anything right at work or with his son.

He finds out that the mother of his son, whom he still loves, is engaged to an American (Hank Azaria in a role much different from that of Agador in the Birdcage) who is also a marathoner. Somehow, Pegg's character determines that running the marathon will convince his ex that he has changed. His ne'er do well best friend and his very overweight Thai landlord become his torturers trainers and it goes on from there. Yes, it is a bit formulaic but still entertaining.

Without giving anything away, we found it to be a quite enjoyable movie but a bit different from most of Pegg's work. We gave it 4 stars out of 5. Try it, you might enjoy it also.

Faeries In Oconee County?

While traveling to work a few days ago I happened upon an arc of mushrooms that was not there the day before. A large arc of mushrooms now grew in the middle where there was only grass the day before.

Some scientists will say that it is merely the capriciousness of nature, the accidental placement of mushroom spores in the shape of a circle or an arc. But science cannot prove it. There are other theories, none of which science has yet proven.

But many believe that these rings, or arcs, are the results of creatures of myth and legend. Celtic and Scandinavian lore say that these rings are the results of faeries, or elves, or even pixies dancing. French mythology calls them ronds de sorcier,  the result of some sorcerers magic. In Germany they were known as hexenringe, or witches rings, the result of witches dancing on Walpurgis Nacht. Dutch tradition claims they are the marks of where the Devil used his milk churn and Tyrolian legend claims they are made by dragon's breath.

Almost all Faerie ring lore paint Faerie rings as dangerous places, warning that anyone entering one of them will suffer some form of harm from mild bad luck to death. However, a there are a few tales of those entering having good fortune including wealth, bountiful harvests and large families.

They have been the subject of poetry, of songs and of art. Shakespeare wrote about Faerie Rings in A Midsummer Nights Dream:

And I serve the fairy queen,

To dew her orbs upon the green

Throughout history men and women have wondered over Faerie Rings. They have looked to them for luck. They have avoided them for fear of bad luck. Many have claimed to have been trapped inside in a seemingly endless dance at the mercy of the elves and faeries.

So, are they a natural but unexplained phenomenon? Or are they the result of creatures we think of as nothing more than myth?

I don't know, I didn't see any Faeries, after all, they only come out at night. But maybe they were Pixies and able to hide under the mushroom caps and behind the stems. Maybe I needed to actually enter the ring. But if I had, I might still be there, trapped in an endless dance, at the mercy of the faeries, waiting for someone else to stumble upon the ring and take my place.

Are there Faeries to be found in Oconee County? I can only say perhaps.

Queso Fundido

I may have mentioned that my wife and I really enjoy Mexican food. Here is another recipe that, if you like Mexican cheese dip, you might like to try. It is a variation on a dish called Queso Fundido.

Ingredients:

16 oz. Mexican melting cheese              

8 oz. Chorizo

¼ cup chopped red or green onions

¼ cup chopped cilantro

¼ cup chopped pickled jalapeno peppers (more or less, according to how "hot" you like it).

Directions:

Crumble the chorizo into a frying pan. If the chorizo is in sausage form, remove it from the casing and discard the casing. Fry the chorizo completely and then drain and squeeze as much of the grease from it as possible.

Preheat your oven to 300°. Put the Mexican melting cheese in a baking dish along with the cooked and drained chorizo and the jalapenos. Stir the ingredients together. Bake this mixture in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted.

Remove the casserole from the oven and place the dish on the table using a trivet or hot pad. Serve it with corn chips or on small tortillas, as an appetizer or, if you like, as your main course.

We like to serve this dish alongside build-your-own tacos, our fresh ingredient guacamole, and, of course, margaritas or a cold Negro Modelo. Very tasty, we hope you enjoy.

Athens is well known for being the home of  the University of Georgia, Dawg-mania and the birthplace of great music with groups such as R.E.M. and the B-52's. But Athens also is a river city.

The Oconee River flows through Athens right next to "downtown," meandering through parts of the University, the suburbs and farms and into Oconee County. Most of the year the Oconee is a shallow and easily fordable stream.  The almost crystal clear water flows over rocks, creating gentle rills that can't quite be called rapids, to arrive in smooth still pools.

If you look carefully you can sometimes see the flash of a fish or even a heron wading, searching for a meal.  Often you can see kayakers along some stretches, although, in drier years, like this one, there is a lot of portaging.

Oconee is the Creek Indian word for "place of springs" and it gets its name from an old Creek settlement. The Oconee's headwaters are in Hall County. The Middle Oconee and the North Oconee join together in Athens to form the Oconee, which continues for over 100 miles to where it meets with the Ocmulgee and forms the Altamaha.

The river supports diverse wildlife; the herons mentioned earlier, other birds, frogs, turtles and a multitude of fish species. In the spring there is a large run of white bass. During that run, dozens of boaters can be found on the waters below Barnett Shoals Dam, all hoping to bring a stringer of bass home.

A greenway is being established along parts of the river, providing a quiet promenade for walkers and bike riders along its banks. You can often see turtles sunning themselves on exposed logs and rocks as you take advantage of the greenway. During the seasons different plants bloom and flourish along the river and the greenways, some wild, some cultivated, and some just gone wild after cultivation. The jasmine and beatyberry are found along the bank, wild or planted, it doesn't matter, they are beautiful.

The next time you are in Athens take some time and walk along the river. Forget, for awhile, the shopping, the clubs, the restaurants, your problems. Point out the wonders to your children. Hold hands with the person you love. Even forget, but just for a bit, that the Dawgs will be playing again soon.