Neighborhood Infusions

These are my favorite neighborhoods,
the out-of-the way bits
guarded by ancient oaks,
and here and there, distinguished with
a friendly fence someone recently painted-
not white, but with an infusion of color: lavender
to grace the red-to-orange geraniums
in terra-cotta pots
that hang out on the other side.

I like the histories: The foot trail wide
and so well-worn
that runs along a stream
and leads back, in human-time,
to seventeen and ninety-four
to a Cherokee
who walked this way, like me,
but then it was a narrow trading path.

And if I turn my head just-so as I meander,
a Rose-Breasted Grosbeak or a
Scarlet Tanager, or a
Yellow-billed Cuckoo, or a
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, or even a
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
may call out in the same song
my fellow traveler heard so long ago
and, with this particular infusion of "color"
bridge two hundred years and more,
so we can meet.

Now the days are wrapped in bone-cold chill,
the mountain mists press down upon my rooftop.
Should others cover up in blankets or in scarves
hand-woven in grey and purple and plaid,
I will not. I have seen how muses paint
in shades of true.
I will relish the first bite of winter
bare-headed, though bald I am,
immerse myself in an array
of hues and never-ending colorful infusions.
And I shall greet each passer-by
with at nod that says,
"All's Well!"

for Jack and Ginny

~^~ jA Narrin, Wind-in-the-Feather Asheville, NC, The Spirit Ridge Collection Asheville, 2009

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Photo taken at Hickory Nut Forest,
Eco-community, as I walked the trail.

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Asheville "GREEN" Real Estate and Relocation: The Eco-Steward Firm, ALL Eco-Certified® Real Estate Consultants! Copyright © 2009 All Rights Reserved

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Asheville Real Estate Report

Search on Your Terms Try out the advanced search page on our Asheville Real Estate website. NO SIGN IN REQUIRED. You can search by subdivision, school district or make up your own search. Fill out your normal search terms and then scroll down and fill in the remarks field with foreclosure, bungalow, short sale, green built, master on main or any search term that interest you. We have now had 2 months in a row where the number of homes sold for the month increased when compared to the same month the previous year. Numbers are from WNCRMLS as of 11-18-09. October 2009 2008 %Change Homes Sold 462 426 +8.5% Dollar Volume 111,981,061 115,106,339 -9.6% Avg. List Price $260,482 $288,109 -9.6% Avg. Sale Price $239,420 $270,203 -11.4% % Diff. Sale/List 91.9% 93.8% -2.1% Days on Market 147 135 +8.9% Inventory 8979 9174 -2.1% Months of Inventory 19.4 21.5 -9.8% Oct 2009 Asheville Real Estate Reports sales_history_report- 5 year Asheville residential sales history. sales_trend_report- Asheville residential sales trend indicator. sales_medians_report_by_type- 5 year Asheville residential median price by type. active_listings_report- Asheville active listings report. percent_sold_report- Asheville Listings sold divided by listings active as of month end. sales_history_report by type- 5 year Asheville residential inventory history by type. active_listings_spreadsheet_for_October_2009 closed_listings_spreadsheet_for October_2009 North Carolina Association of REALTORS Existing Home Sales Report - this report comes out near the end of the following month. Current report is for August 2009. Search Asheville Real Estate Search Biltmore Park Search Hendersonville Real Estate Search Coventry Woods Search Biltmore Forest Real Estate Search Glen Crest Search Arden Real Estate Search Cotswolds Search Fletcher Real Estate Search Poplar Ridge Search Fairview Real Estate Search Glen Arden Heights

Jim Cottam 828-775-3288 jim@jimcottam.com www.jimcottam.com Is your Realtor providing professional Home Staging for your home? Home Staging Myths Debbie Cottam Staged Homes of Asheville 828-551-1983

Home Staging by a professional is a service that your Realtor should be providing for you. For more information about Home Staging in Asheville go to: Asheville Home Staging

Looking again at the photo I took this morning of an Asheville dawn (see below) reminded me how quickly the scene changed. You had to be ready with your camera to capture the vermillions and pinks and hints of blue. That got me philosophizing about change in general: CHANGE that is also Opportunity-

CHANGE is right here today- in our routines- in where we live-and possibly even in the way we live.

Change is one life-process with which we must deal and which we all share. Change -by the very fact that it is universally understood, is a common thread we share in the tapestry of sustainable living. It's just a fact of being in the world. And because of all this, it actually brings with it a strong sense of belonging.

A few thoughts on the SEASONS OF CHANGE in the practice of real estate

Whether that change involves moving from a family farm into the city, or relocating from another state to the Appalachians and the Greater Asheville area, our clients voluntarily are initiating four all-important "seasons"- the sweet spring of optimism, the summer of informed skepticism, the brilliant autumn of realistic expectations, and finally the clear winter of wise choices.
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janeAnne Narrin, M.A., C.S.W., poet, NAR GREEN®, ECO Certified, e-PRO, nature-lover is the founder of the ECO -Steward Real Estate Firm in Asheville, North Carolina. She loves a spirit of stewardship, and she is

__~o
-\_<,
(*)/'(*) .......... ............ on the GO 4 Sustainability: "GREEN" OPPORTUNITY. Keep on rolling into the sustainable world you can create today and tomorrow!. ....... Copyright © 2009 All Rights Reserved

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photo taken 11 15 09 at dawn at Spirit Ridge, Asheville, NC

Men Without Houses

Joe GI, retired,
rolls a smoke
from his nearly empty pouch.

He casts a very, very long shadow
on the wall,
companion to silhouettes,
too many too count,

belonging to men
without houses,
waiting for a door to open
at the local shelter.

Here is a link to Homeless Veteran's web pages where you can get information if you feel so inclined:
http://www1.va.gov/Homeless/

Asheville, YOU can help here: http://ashevillehomeless.org/

~^~jA Narrin, Wind-in-the-Feather
Asheville, 2009