Country Connections by James and Ellen Perry
It’s early autumn now, nights getting cooler, days getting shorter with cool mornings and warm afternoons. Some trees are showing color and goldenrods are bright yellow with flowers.
Goldenrods are the last honey flow for the bees before winter sets in. The reptiles are searching for underground places to overwinter in. Black bears and groundhogs are hunting food to build fat reserves for their upcoming hibernation.

After helping my mother put up our humble, four-foot artificial Christmas for a few years, the responsibility was turned over to me. I’m not sure Mother was ever really fond of putting up a Christmas tree. I had an unspoken rule that the tree was to be put up two weeks before Christmas and taken down the day after.

The annual application period for the Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program is October 1-7, 2021. New application materials are available online and at the UT Extension office.
Please note Hay Storage and Hay Equipment rotate each program year. Hay Equipment will be offered in 2021-2022. Approval notifications are scheduled to be mailed mid-December.
Program purchases can be made starting October 1, 2021, and must be completed by the program’s final reimbursement request deadline.

It was 1972 and Bill Nickle was walking the steep mountainside of Hogskin Valley when he realized that his dream was becoming reality.
A dream born in the late 1960’s was starting to come to fruition as his vision of Narrow Ridge was laying before his eyes.

Tennessee SNAP Recipients Encouraged to Assess Food Needs and Spending

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — For the first time in several decades, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is revising a guideline called the Thrifty Food Plan, which helps determine Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits nationwide.

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – The annual Northeast Tennessee Beef Expo is scheduled for October 7 at the Northeast Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center. A day of programs will educate beef producers on the latest research and practices.

After the experience of a nine-month pregnancy and delivery, few of life’s pleasures measure up to taking the new baby out to meet the world. That could be in the form of a walk, run or hike. The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) has some thoughts for you to keep in mind on how to best enjoy that experience and avoid injury.

Some people believe in them. Some don’t. No, I am not talking about aliens or
ghosts. I am referring to coincidences. Or as we say here in East Tennessee: “It just so happened.” Recently, we experienced quite a few of them in one afternoon.

I was on my way to work the other day. I was tuned in to the BBN radio station and heard a preacher tell a joke. A preacher was in the pulpit preaching his sermon. He noticed all through the sermon that a lady kept staring directly at him.
When the service ended, the lady marched up to the preacher and said, “There are frayed strings on your bow tie and they have been driving me crazy all through your sermon. Your attire is offensive to me!”

Apples make a delicious coffeecake. This recipe only takes two. What a good way to use up those two apples withering away in the fridge crisper drawer. Peel 'em and use 'em.