EDITORIAL
MESSAGE from the EDITOR
It’ s almost winter, my most favorite season. Sure, East Tennessee offers an abundance of beauty in all seasons, like summer’ s gifts of jeweled hummingbirds or the way sweet daffodils erupt from the ground in spring. Or the way the leaves burn in reds and yellows during the fall. We are truly lucky to live in such a beautiful area.
But winter offers us something more than beauty; it offers us a chance to slow down, to nourish ourselves, and to rest, before presenting ourselves to the world again, when that first light of sweet spring lingers a little longer.
Have you heard the term“ wintering?” It’ s a lovely word that describes a process that all of nature follows in one way or another. Wintering is about retreating, resting, and looking inside yourself to heal old wounds or to pour into the joys you carry in your heart. When the light is short and the air bites with cold, we come home a little earlier, cook a little more, spend time with family, snuggle up, and wait.
Not to say that we should avoid all that the outdoors has to offer us in the winter season. I still get as excited as a child when I see fluffy snowflakes raining from the sky, and I love to get outside to relish in them. Last year, during what we called the“ snowpocalypse,” my husband and I made a snow shark in our front yard, complete with aluminum foil teeth and small sticks for gills.
Some of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring hikes I have been on were e in the dead of winter, with trees stripped bare and the whole world quiet in its limbo time. A hike earlier this year on the Alum Cave Trail turned into a fairyland as snow sprinkled down over the gentle slopes of the mountains.
In this issue, we tried to keep in the spirit of the season, with things to do in the chilly outdoors, places to mingle and be in the company of others, and ways to keep your body moving when it feels so good to stay tucked in blankets, reading a good book.
I hope this period of wintering keeps you rested and comforted, as we all wait for the light that we know is coming.
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But winter offers us something more than beauty; it offers us a chance to slow down, to nourish ourselves, and to rest, before presenting ourselves to the world again, when that first light of sweet spring lingers a little longer.
Shanon Adame
2 | BLOUNT COUNTY QUARTERLY • WINTER 2025-26