In his award winning book, The Education of Little Tree, writer Forest Carter writes of life with his Cherokee grandparents.  He tells of sitting with his grandfather watching the morning sun rise over a mountain one winter morning.

"... we watched the mountain while we ate.  The sun hit the top like an explosion, sending showers of glitter and sparkle into the air.  The sparkling of the icy trees hurt the eyes to look, and it moved down the mountain like a wave as the sun backed the night shadow down and down.  A crow scout sent three hard calls through the air, warning we were there. 

And now the mountain popped and gave breathing sighs that sent little puffs of steam into the air. She pinged and murmured as the sun released the trees from their death armor of ice. 

Grandpa watched, s…