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Black Bears in Big Canoe

Living in the North Georgia Mountains I get to see and enjoy a lot of wildlife.  It is not uncommon to wake up and find deer in the front yard or hear a cackling pileated woodpecker hooting it up in the trees. Wild turkey flocks often parade up and down the street with their chicks in tow. Foxes, raccoons, owls, snakes, and even coyotes are all neighbors. But there is one king of the forest that is very elusive, only making occasional appearances, the Georgia Black Bear!

I have waited for 4 years to encounter one of Big Canoe’s famous bears. The first one I saw didn’t really count. She was running across the street and gone in 15 seconds. I would practically cover myself in honey and birdseed looking for bears to no avail, and then just last week I had the surprise of a lifetime! My kids were in the driveway having a popcorn fight when it was time to head out to the store. We were gone for about 30 minutes and upon our return we found a big old black bear in our driveway, no doubt working on the popcorn bits! Thinking I would be calm cool and collected whenever I saw a bear was a pipe dream. My eyes popped out of my head as I tried to call my husband who was only about 30 feet away from me in the house to tell him about our visitor.  After about a minute the bear looked at me and wasn’t very concerned. He took the hint and slowly ambled across the street and into the valley. My husband finally answered the phone after the bear left. He said that our dog had been barking for 15 minutes and he never bothered to look outside!  

It made me take inventory on our outdoor activities. We all agreed NOT to have any more popcorn fights!  The next morning while I sipped my coffee on the porch the dog started to go crazy again. I heard some slow heavy crunching in the back yard and caught a glimpse of a large black critter running through the woods away from the house. It was him! Two days after that we were all in the car and saw him again. This time a few streets away. He let us take plenty of pictures. Then off he went into the woods again. People often ask us if we worry about bears, and the answer is an emphatic NO.  Like any of large animal, they need to be treated with respect and given their distance.  They are truly beautiful animals, and it is a real thrill to see one outside of a zoo.   It’s been about a week since I’ve seen him but I really enjoyed the excitement of knowing that a crunch in the woods isn’t always a squirrel!

Happy Trails!  ...[Read more about this property]

Big Canoe Hosts Dekalb Symphony on the Green

Looking for some Culture in the mountains? What better way than to sit back and enjoy watching the Dekalb symphony play on the Big Canoe golf course with the beautiful mountain and lakeside back drop? We had so much fun last year entertaining all our senses. Sunday, June 7th 2009 from 7 to 9PM you are invited to pull up a blanket or beach chair and soak up all that Big Canoe has to offer on the green right by the new clubhouse. Afterwards be sure to head over to the clubhouse for a refreshing beverage.

Check my blog post from last year to read about this wonderful and free event, complete with fun pictures. Children are welcome and are often seen dancing around on the green while the symphony plays. This family event is a must see if you happen to be in or near Big Canoe, Georgia. Parking is limited so if you can then please try to carpool. Last year I brought some wine but found it way to hot to drink. I suggest something cooler, cokes, beer, or frozen beverages. Don’t forget your sunscreen. It’s sunny even at 7PM.  Hope to see you there!

And (as always!)  if you want to check out some Big Canoe homes for sale, please be sure to give me a call at (770) 655-4303!

~Karin  ...[Read more about this property]

Weekend Activities in the North Georgia Mountains

Even though there is plenty to keep you busy inside the gates of Big Canoe, the surrounding North Georgia mountains play host to a bevy of fun activities.  I love summer so much because every weekend is filled with new and fun activities for the whole family that rarely involve going to the mall.

Last weekend we took the kids to the Jasper Farmers Market on Saturday morning. We came back with fresh lettuce, spinach, radishes, garlic scapes, scented soy wax, homemade soap, and a pair of fuzzy flip-flops for my daughter. Though the market was filled with plenty of produce we discovered that the early bird gets the strawberries! We came back and the kids spent some time at the Big Canoe pool.

On Sunday we decided to search around Ballground, Marble Hill, Jasper, and Tate for fairy stones, aka staurolite which are natural crystals that form in the shape of crosses. They are fairly common in this area. Though we did not find any fairy stones, we stumbled across a community garden in Jasper, Georgia. We live in Big Canoe under a canopy of trees and have been looking for a small place to grow some tomatoes, cucumbers and basic veggies.

Now this is a typical weekend living in the North Georgia Mountains in the good old summertime. When I’m not selling homes in Big Canoe, I’m out and about with my family looking for new and interesting things to do in the North Georgia mountains.  ...[Read more about this property]

Big Canoe Fine Arts Show

While driving home yesterday, I noticed a billboard for the premier of the Big Canoe Fine Art Show.   I’m not 100% certain, but I believe the art show is being hosted by the developer’s real estate company – Big Canoe Realty.  The show is to be hosted in one of the custom-built Dan DeJiacomo homes located in the Wildcat Neighborhood.  The show is scheduled to run from June 6, 2009 to July 19, 2009 on Wednesdays through Sundays from 10-4.  Admission is free. 

I’m really looking forward to this event, and I absolutely love the work of Nnamdi Okonkwo.  Read more about his work on his website at http://www.nnamdiart.com/index.html.  And while you’re in the area, if you’re interested in looking at some Big Canoe homes for sale, feel free to give me a call!

Here are some of the artists that will be featured:

• Afro Celotto
• Orbix Hot Glass
• Bear Creek Glass
• Sedberry Pottery
• Steven Forbes-deSoule
• Charleston Forge
• CH Originals, LTD
• McCarter Gallery
• Jonas Gerard Fine Art
• Mountain Rug Mills
• Gee’s Bend Quilters
• Nnamdi Okonkwo –
• Eric Strauss
• John Smith Landscape Photography

  ...[Read more about this property]

Many Big Canoe Homes for Sale, Increase in Buyer Activity

I just wanted to give a quick update on the local Big Canoe real estate market.  While there are quite a few Big Canoe homes for sale (277 listed  on FMLS recently), there has also been a noticeable increase in people looking at homes.  I can’t speak for every agent, but we’ve had quite a few calls and inquiries from prospective home buyers.   A few of these leads were from referrals from previous clients (thank you!), but most came from our websites for North Georgia real estate.

This past weekend was very busy showing homes for sale all over Big Canoe.   The price range that most of these folks are working in is between $350,000 and $600,000.    Buyers seem to know to what they want which makes my job as a real estate agent much easier – when buyers tell me they want a mountain or lake view, it really narrows down the list of potential homes.  

I also had several interested parties for leases here in Big Canoe over the weekend.  Most of these folks were looking for a 6-12 month lease in the $1000-$2000 / month range.  While there are only a handful of advertised leases in Big Canoe and the surrounding North Georgia communities such as Bent Tree, many home sellers will entertain the possibility of leasing. 

That’s my quick summary of the late Spring early Summer real estate activity.  Hope the increased interest and activity in local real estate continues!

~Karin  ...[Read more about this property]

Big Canoe Homes for Sale? Another Blog?

Some of you reading this might recognize me from another real estate blog – Life in Big Canoe, Real Estate in the Mountains, and you’re probably wondering why in the world I have created another blog.   Other than the fact that I truly do enjoy writing about the North Georgia real estate market, and in particular Big Canoe homes for sale and real estate,  I felt that perhaps there could be some value in creating a blog dedicated to finding those homes for sale in North Georgia that really had something unique about them.

Our blog on our main IBA Mountain Homes website discusses both lifestyle in Big Canoe and real estate in North Georgia.  Covering both of those topics certainly provides enough material for one blog.  Covering great real estate deals in North Georgia and in the Big Canoe community is definitely of equal stature considering the current real estate market.  Great real estate deals are out there in great numbers right now, and we felt creating a separate blog to cover these deals could help potential buyers locate these homes.

Another angle we’ve decided to use with this blog is featuring other agent’s listings.  So, what you will see here are not necessarily only our listings.  Some of the listings may be listed by agents that we work with and know.   These agents have given us permission to place their listings on our site, and hopefully to give them some additional exposure that results in a sale.

We will always try to make sure that the listings here are interesting or have something unique or compelling about them.  It’s not limited to homes for sale.  It may be condos or  lots.  Leases and long term rentals are a possibility as well.  If it’s real estate in North Georgia that’s interesting, a great deal, or worthy of a closer look, I’ll post about it here.  ...[Read more about this property]