About Oconee County, GA

June 2010 residential real estate sales volume in Oconee, GA showed sales flat in the 12 month sliding sales volume from May, after being basically flat from April. The volume is holding steadily higher than the same period a year ago. The average Days on Market (D.O.M.) rose slightly in the same period. The average sales price is down slightly from May while the medial price has risen slightly. Both are down from the same period in 2009.

Sales volume was up very slightly in both South and West Oconee County, as were the average and median sales prices. Watkinsville had slightly reduced volume and prices. At the end of June there were 39 pending sales of residential property in Oconee County.

The following tables show the sliding 12 month residential sales volume in Oconee County over the last 12 months through June 30, 2011:

If you would like more information on Oconee County, GA, or you are interested in buying or selling your home there, please call me at 706-207-5290. Or you can click here to email me with your inquiries. To search for homes in Oconee County please visit The Athens Real Estate Page website.

This is some of the produce from our garden. This year we tried some asparagus beans, shown above. They are climbers, and produce long, thin beans that taste, oddly, somewhat like asparagus! So far I've steamed them with a little garlic & ginger. They are also supposed to be good in stir-fry.

Does anyone have any experience with these or any ways to cook them?

There 's a whole lot goin' on in Watkinsville over the 4th of July weekend!

If you're in town on Friday, you'll want to start out by going to lunch at Miss Gail's as it is Fish Friday with fried fish and all the trimmings. (Do keep in mind that she'll be closed on Saturday and Monday because of the holiday).

Then in the evening be sure and come to First Friday downtown from 6:00-9:00. The downtown shops will be open and lots of activities for the kids - train rides, booths and a lot more.

Saturday morning at 9:00 is the "Strolls at Harris Shoals Park" hosted by artists Bob Clements and Bill Pierson. They will stop at various locations throughout the park and help you sketch what you see. The cost for adults is a $5.00 donation.

Then head on over to the Eagle Tavern on Main Street for the Oconee County Independence Day Celebration from 10:00 to 2:00. Mayor Joe Walter will be present to cut watermelon, there will be 3-legged races, watermelon eating contest, inflatables, petting zoo and live music by the James Hunter band. The Eagle Tavern (an old stage coach stop from the @1800 period) will be open for tours, there will be a blacksmith and broom maker demonstrating their skills. Children will have an opportunity to dress up in period clothing to see what kind of clothing they might have worn a couple of hundred years ago.

Just in case you get hungry, there will be bar-b-cue, popcorn, homemade peach ice cream from Thomas Orchard. And you'll surely have a chance to chat with just about everyone that you know (and some you don't)!

As if that's not enough, the Oconee Farmer's Market will also be open as usual behind the Eagle Tavern starting at 7:00 a.m. They currently have fresh blueberries along with lots of fruits, veggies, homemade cakes, pies, jams, bread, farm fresh milk & eggs and grass fed beef.

HAVE A FUN AND SAFE 4TH!

Last evening we attended the Rose of Athens Theatre production of "Much Ado About Nothing" on the lawn at Ashford Manor in Watkinsville, Ga. It was a warm and muggy evening on the beautiful lawn but the play was funny and delightful while the cast of local thespians did a great job of making Shakespeare come alive.

There are 3 more performances this week, tonight and tomorrow (June 18, 19 & 20) at 8:00 p.m., so if you have a chance to go, don't miss it!

Ashford Manor is located at #5 Harden Hill Rd. in Watkinsville. For more information, go to www.roseofathens.org.

OK, I couldn't resist blogging about a news item in the May 20 edition of the Oconee Enterprise, one of Watkinsville's weeklies. It seems that the main courtroom has been bugged - not with electronic listening devices but with - yes - CHIGGERS! Judge Lawton Stephens was complaining about being bitten while judging, so the courtroom had to be fumigated to get rid of the chiggers! The court was back in business the next day.

Anyone not familiar with chiggers: they are tiny red bugs which embed themselves in a person's skin, making for a very itchy welt. Picking blackberries, walking through fields and woods and sitting on old logs are common ways to acquire chiggers, but this is the first time I've heard of them attacking people in a courtroom