Mike Saunders

Are Watkinsville home sales bottoming? Data from September shows that with a decrease of 1 sales were virtually flat with August. The sliding 12 month sales figures indicate a decrease in sales volume holding steady at just under 26% for the last two month. The average number of days the sold home is on the market is still slightly increasing but overall it is only a 6-1/2% increase since the beginning of the year.

The median sales price has continued to rise, up just over 17% since Jan. 1. The average sales price is down from the previous two months but virtually even with the beginning of the year. The median sales price is down also.

The following chart shows the sliding 12 month figures:

While still a decline from last month, the number of homes sold in Athens-Clarke County is almost flat. The sliding 12 month sales figures indicate a decrease in sales volume of just over 1/2%. The average number of days the sold home is on the market is still increasing but overall it is only a 6-1/2% increase since the beginning of the year.

The median sales price has continued to rise, up just over 7% since Jan. 1. The average sales price is still trending up although just below the high of August this year.

The following chart shows the sliding 12 month figures:

But at least they aren't down!

September shows that in Oconee County home sales volume is basically flat, a net increase of 2 over the last month, for the last two months. The number of days on the market average (D.O.M.) is still showing a slight rise.

At the same time the sliding 12 month median price went is down slightly while the average price, during the same period, went from went slightly down again to $308,707.00.

The following chart shows the sliding 12 month figures:

Faeries In Oconee County?

While traveling to work a few days ago I happened upon an arc of mushrooms that was not there the day before. A large arc of mushrooms now grew in the middle where there was only grass the day before.

Some scientists will say that it is merely the capriciousness of nature, the accidental placement of mushroom spores in the shape of a circle or an arc. But science cannot prove it. There are other theories, none of which science has yet proven.

But many believe that these rings, or arcs, are the results of creatures of myth and legend. Celtic and Scandinavian lore say that these rings are the results of faeries, or elves, or even pixies dancing. French mythology calls them ronds de sorcier, the result of some sorcerers magic. In Germany they were known as hexenringe, or witches rings, the result of witches dancing on Walpurgis Nacht. Dutch tradition claims they are the marks of where the Devil used his milk churn and Tyrolian legend claims they are made by dragon's breath.

Almost all Faerie ring lore paint Faerie rings as dangerous places, warning that anyone entering one of them will suffer some form of harm from mild bad luck to death. However, a there are a few tales of those entering having good fortune including wealth, bountiful harvests and large families.

They have been the subject of poetry, of songs and of art. Shakespeare wrote about Faerie Rings in A Midsummer Nights Dream:

And I serve the fairy queen,

To dew her orbs upon the green

Throughout history men and women have wondered over Faerie Rings. They have looked to them for luck. They have avoided them for fear of bad luck. Many have claimed to have been trapped inside in a seemingly endless dance at the mercy of the elves and faeries.

So, are they a natural but unexplained phenomenon? Or are they the result of creatures we think of as nothing more than myth?

I don't know, I didn't see any Faeries, after all, they only come out at night. But maybe they were Pixies and able to hide under the mushroom caps and behind the stems. Maybe I needed to actually enter the ring. But if I had, I might still be there, trapped in an endless dance, at the mercy of the faeries, waiting for someone else to stumble upon the ring and take my place.

Are there Faeries to be found in Oconee County? I can only say perhaps.

Athens is well known for being the home of the University of Georgia, Dawg-mania and the birthplace of great music with groups such as R.E.M. and the B-52's. But Athens also is a river city.

The Oconee River flows through Athens right next to "downtown," meandering through parts of the University, the suburbs and farms and into Oconee County. Most of the year the Oconee is a shallow and easily fordable stream. The almost crystal clear water flows over rocks, creating gentle rills that can't quite be called rapids, to arrive in smooth still pools.

If you look carefully you can sometimes see the flash of a fish or even a heron wading, searching for a meal. Often you can see kayakers along some stretches, although, in drier years, like this one, there is a lot of portaging.

Oconee is the Creek Indian word for "place of springs" and it gets its name from an old Creek settlement. The Oconee's headwaters are in Hall County. The Middle Oconee and the North Oconee join together in Athens to form the Oconee, which continues for over 100 miles to where it meets with the Ocmulgee and forms the Altamaha.

The river supports diverse wildlife; the herons mentioned earlier, other birds, frogs, turtles and a multitude of fish species. In the spring there is a large run of white bass. During that run, dozens of boaters can be found on the waters below Barnett Shoals Dam, all hoping to bring a stringer of bass home.

A greenway is being established along parts of the river, providing a quiet promenade for walkers and bike riders along its banks. You can often see turtles sunning themselves on exposed logs and rocks as you take advantage of the greenway. During the seasons different plants bloom and flourish along the river and the greenways, some wild, some cultivated, and some just gone wild after cultivation. The jasmine and beatyberry are found along the bank, wild or planted, it doesn't matter, they are beautiful.

The next time you are in Athens take some time and walk along the river. Forget, for awhile, the shopping, the clubs, the restaurants, your problems. Point out the wonders to your children. Hold hands with the person you love. Even forget, but just for a bit, that the Dawgs will be playing again soon.