The dawn of a new lake season arrives with an official kick-off around spring break each year. The fact that many schools start spring vacations annually at the end of March means the lake gets busy well before summer.  Those of us who live on Smith Lake full time have the good fortune to be able to enjoy a very calm and serene lake during the many months off-season, but the inevitable long on-season period often lasts from late March well into October, sometimes later depending on weather in a given year.  There are years when our family can remember waterskiing, kayaking or paddleboarding into early December, but it's not every year that happens.  

Early spring is a good time for all of us to reflect on how we’ll react to the rush of more people, boats and activity overall.  The words we cherish most are TOLERANCE and RESPECT.  Every single one of us has a different way that we experience lake life.  But that is not to say that we cannot appreciate the ways that others enjoy their lake experience in their short summer season of primarily late May through early August.  Everyone is doing their own thing, in their own way, and it’s all good.  We like to think that collectively, we simply make a silent pact as a community to stay drama free and tolerant of one another.  Having respect for others is the key to making sure we can keep that pact intact.
 
It’s simple, and listed below are just a few ways to exhibit respect showing basic good boating etiquette, and therefore earning tolerance from others as we all enjoy lake days in our individual ways.

​Don’t be “that guy” - get your good boating etiquette hat ON well ahead of season!

Again, these are all just some favorite community ideas collected from our surveys in the Smith Lake Community Facebook group about how to have a wonderful time on Smith Lake while being conscious of community etiquette.  

Written by The Lakeside LIfe Team
Photography by Terry Turner

Updated:  5/16/24
​Original Article Date:  3/1/19

McFee's Wodshop is the creation of Bryan and Carol McFee in Crane Hill, AL. They are both wood turners.  Carol is a "spindle" turner.  She makes bud vases, handles for bottle openers, ice cream scoops, pizza cutters, back scratchers, and similar items. The vases are all sizes, and we recently did a giveaway for a matched pair that were hard to let go.  They were small, dainty and so beautifully detailed.  We fell in love.  Bryan primarily turns bowls.  GORGEOUS bowls with veins of surprising colors in the wood grain, each one unique and precariously turned and polished to perfection.  He also makes coffee tables and end tables.  He takes special orders if it is something that he feels he can "do justice to."

They use only local hardwoods that they harvest themselves. Most of the trees that they use are dead, dying, or already on the ground. Occasionally they will remove a tree when asked to.  As the trees die, decay sets in.  In wood turner parlance this is called spalting.  It creates the beautiful colors and lines that are so prominent in their work. Bryan jokes "We throw the wood out in the front yard until it starts to grow mushrooms, then we know that the wood is ready!" This does sometimes create problems if the decay goes too far.  Then it gets "punky". This means that it is too rotten to work with.  It is always a fine line between "just right" and "too far gone."  

​They love for people to drop by and visit them in their shop.  In true southern fashion, they have a lot of extra chairs for company.  They are a beautiful couple, you will love every second of time you get with them.  Check them out on Facebook today:  @McFees Woodshop and you may contact Bryan by email:  [email protected] or phone:  205-541-0658.  

​DIRECTIONS

• Crack eggs and put contents in a microwave safe bowl.
• Mix with a fork then add milk.
• Continue to mix all together.
• Place bowl and contents in microwave and cook for about 3 and a half minutes (depending on your microwave setting) or until no longer runny.
• Place eggs in a tortilla.
• Top with shredded cheese mix and spinach leaves.

Add your choice of bacon, deli meat, or breakfast sausage for a little more protein. A couple of slices of avocado, to top it off, makes this burrito fast, wholesome and packs enough energy to get you through a hectic morning.

ENJOY  ...and see ya Lakeside!  

Subscribe to our magazine at  http://www.thelakesidelife.com/subscription.html. ​
​
​Updated 04/2020

There are quite a few holiday traditions in our household, some that are purposely done and others, like this one...just happen year after year. When the luscious Thanksgiving leftovers have lost their luster,  we find another way to continue enjoying the turkey! This recipe is sure to hit the spot! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of smoked turkey, coarsely chopped
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 2 poblano peppers, chopped
• 2 (16 oz) cans of navy beans, drained & washed
• 1 tablespoon of canola oil
• 16 oz of Italian chicken sausage, casing removed
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon of chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper
• 1 (14.5 oz) can of reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup of 2% milk
• 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 bundle of fresh cilantro

Steps:
1. Chop the turkey, onion, and peppers. Drain beans. Preheat a large stockpot on medium high for 2-3 minutes. Place oil in pot, then add peppers and onions, cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until tender. 

2. Reduce heat to medium. Remove casing from sausage and add sausage to the pot. Cook 5-6 minutes, stirring to crumble or until sausage has browned.

3. Stir in cumin, chili powder, oregano, pepper, beans, and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cook and stir for another 10-15 minutes or until thickened. 

4. Stir in turkey and milk; cook 2-3 minutes to blend flavors. 

5. Top with shredded cheddar, cilantro and serve! 

This Apple Cider Margarita is perfectly festive for a fall night. It has a wonderful taste, and is a great way to savor the last few days of fall! 

Apple Cider Margarita Recipe:

• 1 ounce Grand Marnier
• 1 1/2 ounces gold tequila
• 5 ounces sweet apple cider
• orange or apple slices
• cinnamon, cane sugar and coarse white sugar for rimming the glass
• cinnamon sticks for garnish

Combine the Grand Marnier, tequila and apple cider in a shaker. Next, in a small bowl, prepare the rim mixture by combining the cinnamon and sugars together. Dip the rim of each glass in a bowl of water, then press the rims into the sugar mixture to cling. Carefully place ice into the glasses, and pour the combined beverage, from the shaker, into the glasses over the ice.  Garnish with an apple slice and/or cinnamon stick. Enjoy lakeside by a warm fire! 

You asked and we listened! Subscriptions are now available to The Lakeside Life. Since our publication is free, your cost is essentially paying for convenience, shipping and handling - the magazines are thick and heavy, so they cost more to ship and handle than most. 

The Lakeside Life is presently published tri-annually - Spring, Summer and Fall/Winter.  Pre-COVID we released traditional quarterly style - in Spring, Summer, Fall & Winter. We may eventually return to a 4-times-a-year conventional quarterly magazine, but honestly we've enjoyed the larger 3 issues a year, so who knows?  3 does kind of fit our brand after all (i.e. - triangle logo).  Anyway, to subscribe, simply click here. 

See you lakeside,
The Lakeside Life Team 

Article originally dated 11/6/2017, updated 4/6/2023.