No, not those northern oceans next to Canada. Our beautiful Lake Keowee! Over the past couple of days I’ve spent a lot of time out on it. Let me tell you, I think this is my favorite time of the year to be out there. While jet skiing with a couple of friends on Thursday we explored most of the top half of the lake and saw two boats. Yep, two. We just about had the whole lake to ourselves. Same thing Friday morning. (Ecologist: studies the interrelationships between organisms and their environments.)

Once the kids get back in school many folks stop going to the lake making it the perfect time to enjoy it. The temperatures where in the 70’s and 80’s so still plenty warm to ski, swim, jet ski, or just loll about like a manatee. That will remain true for the next few weeks as the temperatures slowly begin to become a bit crisper. As with any time of the year, it’s the perfect time of the year to own Lake Keowee real estate. (We all need an ecologist around)

Let me tell you we are trying hard (and succeeding) in making that dream a reality for a lot of folks. We were able to put 1 house, 2 lots (with another contract being created) under contract over the past week. We also closed on two Lake Keowee lots and a house. Them’s summer time numbers! The hope is we can have a few more weekends like that before the end of 2018.

Sales should remain pretty good until November then we expect a burst of activity around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Keep your fingers crossed. We’ll be out here pushing hard and making dreams realities!

Clemson University forest ecologist Don Hagan said the 2018 fall color season will be brighter than 2017, even with the risk that Hurricane Florence posed in the region, The higher elevations will slowly move down the mountains.

By Caitlin Herrington

While Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc on trees in the Upstate and Western North Carolina last year, focing leaves to fall ahead of their annual display, Hurricane Florence doesn’t seem to have impacted the region as harshly.

Clemson University Forest Ecologist Don Hagan, who has been predicting fall foliage for six years, headed up to Devil’s Courthouse in the Pisgah National Forest last week to assess the damage.

“We didn’t see the direct impacts here along the southern Blue Ridge Parkway like we could have seen,” Hagan said.

“Had we seen a little bit more wind and a little bit more rain, we could have seen leaves getting knocked off before they ever had a chance to turn – and we just fortunately didn’t see that this year”…