Paul Shepherd has stayed busy assembling corn shocks near his home on Old Watauga River Road.

According to his daughter, the 82-year-old decided to raise corn this year after many years away from farming. The successful crop grew to more than 10 feet tall in some places, she said.

Since it had been so long since the family grew corn, they no longer had any picking equipment, and so they began the traditional process of hand-shocking corn. Photo submitted.