After I worked all day Wednesday, Phil picked me up at school and we headed to Highlands. We walked into Two Holt around 9:00 p.m., turned on the heat to get the place nice and toasty, and went to bed a little after 10:00. 
   How wonderful it is to wake up in Highlands! The hickory trees are a vibrant yellow and the red maples throughout the town are showing off, too.

The picture below shows still more hickory yellows at Two Holt. I think I know why they named this Hickory Hill Road.

   The town planning and development code official, Josh, came by to see us on Thursday and, together, we started scrambling to find the space for the new bedroom/bath and drive-in basement we are hoping to add.  Two Holt sits directly across the road from Mirror Lake and this little town surely protects its natural resources!  We are under strict watershed restrictions and can only cover 12% of our land--that includes rock paths, driveway, parking area, house, covered deck--any impervious surface.  Josh told us that the state legislature very recently decided to allow gravel to pass as a permeable surface. We can replace our parking area with gravel and gain enough of a footprint for the addition. 

    Phil and I bought new Highlands sweatshirts while shopping downtown.  I love the little shops on Main Street.  Each has its own unique storefront look.

   Friday morning after a hot breakfast of sausage gravy and biscuits, Phil went to work.  He raked and raked and raked even as the leaves kept falling...

He blew the leaves off the roof and cleaned out the gutter.

  Late that morning, Don Cook came by to bring us the plans he has been working on for Two Holt's addition.  We looked and dreamed...

  Late Friday afternoon, Phil and I set off to see the Shadow of the Bear just a few minutes from downtown Highlands.  From mid-October to early November, between 5:30 and 6:15 on sunny days, the autumn sun setting behind Whiteside Mountain causes a shadow resembling a bear to be cast over the valley.  People come from all over to see "the bear" and today was no different.  I met people from Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, and Florida today while waiting for the bear. 

   Phil and I shivered in the 38 degree cold weather and waited for the sometimes elusive bear to appear.  Around 5:30, we saw what we called "the shadow of the turtle."

   10 minutes later it morphed into what we called "the shadow of the hippo."

At 5:45...look who showed up!  The bear!

   And just to prove that we really were there and didn't just copy someone else's photograph (*wink, wink*), here's Phil, me and the bear.

   After watching the bear for a few minutes, we said goodbye to everyone there and made the short drive back up Hwy 64 to Highlands.  We stopped by a favorite little restaurant for calzones.

   We spent the evening warming up in cozy Two Holt.  And boy-oh-boy, later that night our electric blanket was much appreciated as the night time temperatures plunged to 24 degrees!
   I always sleep with the front window of our bedroom uncovered so the sun coming up over the mountain wakes me up.  I smile each morning as the soft sunshine begins to filter through and gently strokes my face.  Saturday morning we decided to use blueberries we had in the freezer to make blueberry turnovers for breakfast.  Yum!

   We ventured out long enough for a short drive and an even shorter visit to the grocery store for a few items.  We enjoyed watching the falling leaves when we returned.

   Phil and I emptied and washed the garden pots and the window box. Friday night's freeze killed all the colorful annuals which had filled the pots with color for months. We left two garden pots of hostas and one pot of brunnera which will, hopefully, return next spring.

   We decided to use more of the blueberries in the freezer and baked two cobblers.  We kept one for us and took one over to our neighbors across the street, Clem and Carolyn. Then we settled in for a night of Auburn football.   
   Sunday morning we drove into town to worship with our Highlands church family at First Baptist Church. I cannot even begin to tell you how much we love these people!

  After having blueberry cobbler for lunch and sadly packing up to head back to Alabama, we said goodbye to Two Holt.  BUT we plan to be back in two weeks! 

   Oh, how I miss Two Holt!  I took a new position with my school system which requires me to work year-round instead of having summers off.  I love the position and I'm giving it my all, but I have surely missed our little Two Holt.  We'll be going up for a 4-day weekend in October and will return twice in November including the Thanksgiving holidays, but I haven't been to our little place since early August and I'm a bit down about that.  The new position does give me the opportunity to raise my retirement income!  I have to focus on the positives!  
   Phil and I have big decisions to make.  Do I work four years and save up for the BIG two-story addition to Two Holt or do I work three years and make our addition much more simple by extending the current bedrooms and not adding the second story?  We'll be meeting with the designer in October to see his ideas and I'll be sure to post what he's drawn.  Until then I'll dream of Two Holt and mark the days off my calendar until we can head that way!  
      Happy fall, y'all...even if I AM missing my favorite season in Highlands!