fannin county: Vegetable Gardens -- A "Growing" Movement - 03/23/09 01:40 PM
Spring in the North Georgia mountains is not just an intellectual exercise triggered when the calendar reads March 20.  No, the bursting tree buds and daffodils that fill the woods, yards, and roadsides herald the beginning of the season with nary a calendar in sight.
Along with the buds and blooms, you can find both the casual gardener and professional farmer alike tilling our red Georgia clay into neat rows in anticipation of the growing season. 
The National Gardening Association predicts that 43 million households will grow their own fruits, vegetables and herbs this year, up 19 percent from last year. Last week, … (6 comments)

fannin county: Boy Bands & Blue Ridge Real Estate -- A Market Analysis - 01/28/09 03:05 PM
Love 'em or hate 'em, it was hard to miss the "Boy Band" chapter in pop music that began in the late '90's.  Bands like *NSync and The Backstreet Boys dominated the music charts -- and the daydreams -- of countless 'tweens.'  
One inescapable tune was *NSync's "Bye Bye Bye," so catchy was it that even a fast-approaching middle-age gal like me couldn't help but belt out it's infectious refrain (in the privacy of my own car when I was sure no one was looking, of course.) Fast forward nine years, and as I do an analysis of Fannin County real estate for … (4 comments)

fannin county: Cheers! Fannin County Commission Opens the Door to Alcohol - 12/13/08 07:06 AM
In a journey that began 75-years ago this month when Franklin Roosevelt ratified the 21st Amendment to the Constitution that overturned Prohibition, Fannin County commissioners voted to begin the process of enacting an ordinance "to permit consumption, on specific premises, of wines and malt beverages, and to authorize farm wineries and tasting rooms within unincorporated areas of Fannin County." Allowing alcohol to be served in local restaurants has long been a contentious issue in Fannin County, becoming increasingly so as the area grew in stature as a second-home market. New residents from around the country loved the small-town country charm of the area, but were … (6 comments)

fannin county: Blue Ridge, My Lovely Little Teetotaler - 12/08/08 08:34 AM
An article in today's New York Times -- "Toasting the End of an Error" -- talks about the end of Prohibition which took place just about 75-years ago when FDR ratified the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, which did away with the 18th Amendment's ban on alcohol consumption.The article points out that there are still "dry counties" in the United States -- places where the sale of alcohol remains prohibited.  Fannin County, home to Blue Ridge, is one of those communities.  You can buy beer and wine in Fannin County -- heck, the drive-thru Beer Barn boasts "the coldest beer in town" -- but … (2 comments)

fannin county: Blue Ridge Market Report~~The One That Got Away? - 09/09/08 01:00 AM
We all have our tales to tell of "the one that got away." The fish--or the deal--that was within our grasp and we let it slip away. The current real estate market in Blue Ridge is going to generate a lot of "the one that got away" tales of woe. NOW is the time to buy. Wait at your peril! Using a year-to-date comparison, the median price of homes fell 17% compared to the same time period in 2007. (I am using median price, because a few high end sales tend to skew the average price.) However, if you compare August of … (7 comments)

fannin county: Are the Clouds Parting? A Market Analysis for Blue Ridge, GA - 07/16/08 01:52 AM
Mid-year 2008 finds the real estate industry in the North Georgia Mountains in a state of uncertainty. Agents--many of them with considerable experience--are dropping out of real estate to pursue "real" jobs. Most others are hunkering down to try to ride out the worst of the storm. Cutting out all but the most essential expenses, agents are doing some serious belt-tightening.  One needs only to pick up a current edition of The Real Estate Book--once a healthy publication that used to swell up to nearly 200 pages, now down to less than 60 pages--to see that agents are cutting back.
Is … (4 comments)

fannin county: Fairy Crosses -- A 2,000 year-old legend... - 03/30/08 01:32 PM
Two thousand years ago, so the Cherokee legend of Fairy Crosses begins, the "Yunwi Tsunsdi," or Little People, lived in the beautiful mountains of what is now North Georgia and Western North Carolina.  Shy and elusive creatures, the Little People were revered throughout the Cherokee Nation for their ability to find people lost in the thickly forested mountains of the region.
One evening, while the Little People were enjoying an enchanted celebration of dance, music and song, a foreign messenger arrived bearing the sad news of the Crucifixion of the Son of the Great Creator.  So moved were the Little People … (15 comments)

fannin county: 287 Ridgeview Rd., Blue Ridge, GA--A Great Place to Start! - 02/21/08 07:29 AM
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