Feasting in Floyd

While the rest of Floyd County was gearing up for three days of music at the Floyd Fest, Fred First invited Doug Thompson and the St Lawrences to feast on barbecued chicken and fixings at the First home on Goose Creek Run. This was our last night in Floyd and it promised to be interesting because any time you get three bloggers gathered under one roof you hear a lot of funny stories. The best ones are often told by the wives.

To get to Fred’s place, you drive way out of town and leave the paved highway and drive for miles on a winding, single lane road under a continuous canopy of foliage. It is always worth the trip and this was no exception.

We knew we were in for a good time when our hostess greeted us with a gun in her hand. She had been walking the dog and she wanted to make sure that the local black bear did not come back to tangle with the dog. For the full story of the bear, the dog and a man clad only in boxer shorts, you must visit Fragments From Floyd.

When a photographer fails to take a newsworthy photo of his dog chasing a bear, his friends will try to make him feel better by stalking the bear and getting a picture for him. Here are Doug Thompson and Fred First with a bear photo taken in Floyd this week by Doug. For a more complete story of the bear and other wildlife photography visit Doug Thompsons Blue Ridge Muse.

Gretchen and I enjoyed the incomparable First family hospitality and ended the evening in true country fashion, eating strawberry pie on the front porch while a thunderstorm built up around us and Fred’s dog Tsuga kept watch for bears.

We had a great time and drove home with the camera on hoping for a glimpse of Fred’s bear or one of the local coyotes. We saw nothing but deer, which we photograph at home in great numbers.