Archive for February, 2009

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Scenic Sunday # 30

February 7, 2009
The Palmer House, Charleston, South Carolina. June 22, 2008.

The Palmer House, Charleston, South Carolina. June 22, 2008.

The picture above, which can be enlarged by clicking on it, is of the Palmer Home located near the Battery (5 East Battery) in Charleston, South Carolina.  For fairly obvious reasons, the Palmer Home is commonly known as ‘The Pink Palace’.  This picture was taken in June, 2008, when Betsy and I visited Charleston while on a trip to celebrate our anniversary.

The Palmer Home was built in 1848 by John Ravenel, but has been in the Palmer family for three generations.  The house is furnished with antiques dating back two hundred years.

The Palmer Home is now a bed and breakfast.  All the guest rooms are on the third floor and offer views of Charleston Harbor and Fort Sumter.  The room rates range from $165 to $375 per night, double occupancy.  In addition the carriage house, which can be glimpsed to the left in the picture, is available starting at $400 per night double occupancy.  Betsy and I did NOT stay here when we visited Charleston!

To see more beautiful scenes from around the world, or to join and post your own scenes, click HERE for Scenic Sunday.

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Posted in Travels | 33 Comments »

It’s Been Cold Here

February 7, 2009
Mirror Lake, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. February 6, 2009.

Mirror Lake, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. February 6, 2009.

Friday brought us something we haven’t seen in a while — blue skies and warm temperatures.  It actually got up to about 55° and it is supposed to be even warmer today.  Thursday was the first day in quite some time that we didn’t have a fire in the fireplace.

I did a little maintenance in the yard, but it was still fairly wet and muddy so I soon quit.  But since it was such a beautiful day I wasn’t ready to go in, so I took a walk on the other side of the golf course, something I haven’t done in several weeks.

When I got to Mirror Lake I was surprised to see that there was still a thin covering of ice at the end away from the fountain.  You can see the geese are also all down at that end (the picture above can be enlarged by clicking on it).  I’ve only seen the lake frozen a couple of times in the five years we’ve lived here.  I didn’t even imagine that there would still be ice, but there it is.

It dropped below freezing again when the sun went down, but since it’s supposed to be warm again tomorrow I doubt there will be any ice by the afternoon.  I’ll have to admit that the sheen of ice looked pretty in the late afternoon light, but I won’t be angry if that’s the last ice I see this winter!

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Posted in Weather | 26 Comments »

Skywatch Friday # 30

February 5, 2009
Sunset off St. Lucia. September 13, 2001.

Sunset off St. Lucia. September 13, 2001.

I’ve posted a couple of pictures from our visit to St. Lucia on a cruise in 2001 and I would now like to share one on Skywatch Friday.

Betsy and I took a belated honeymoon cruise in the Caribbean in September, 2001.  There were many things we enjoyed about the cruise, but the sunrises and sunsets we saw from the ship were definitely high points.

The picture above was taken while watching the sunset off St. Lucia.  There was a heavy cloud bank off to the west of the ship and the sun has dropped behind it.  If you looked at the enlarged picture you can just make out a sliver of the sun between the ocean and the clouds.

I think what I like most about this picture is the color behind the dark clouds on the horizon.  This was one of the last pictures I got that day before the light disappeared completely.

Last week over 300 people shared pictures of the sky on Skywatch.  You can join in the fun or see more pictures from around our beautiful world by clicking HERE.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 40 Comments »

Thoughts of Spring

February 5, 2009
Rio Samba rose in our garden.

Rio Samba rose in our garden.

Betsy and I woke up Wednesday morning to snow and 13° temperatures.  As if that wasn’t bad enough I had to carry wood from the wood pile to the garage since we’ve been going through the wood so fast.

I’m happy to say that we both made it through the day, but I did get to thinking about Spring.  Warm weather . . . green grass . . . flowers!

When we think of flowers Betsy and I most often think of roses.  We’re both a little nuts when it comes to roses — we like them and are always looking for ways to fit just one more rose into our garden.

There are two main attributes of the roses we grow — fragrance and color.  Sometimes we can get both attributes in a single rose such as Double Delight.  At other times we have to settle for one attribute or the other.

Betsy tends to like red roses with large blossoms — Mister Lincoln and Veterans Honor are two of her favorites.  I tend to have many different ‘favorites’ — on any given day my favorite is the rose with the buds that just opened.

The rose above is Rio Samba.  It’s not very fragrant, but it does has some beautiful color.  We added this rose to our garden in 2006, and I can hardly wait to see it again in 2009.

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Posted in Garden | 39 Comments »

Watery Wednesday # 21

February 3, 2009
Pond along the fourth hole of the Druid Hills Golf Course.

Pond along the fourth hole of the Druid Hills Golf Course.

We had some snow here in the Glade on Monday.  It wasn’t a lot, but it was Betsy’s favorite type of snow — wet, big flakes that stick to everything except the roads.  The trees and bushes in our yard and along the street.

The picture above, which can be enlarged by clicking on it, gives a good idea of what things looked like around here.  This is another picture from the Druid Hills golf course, but this is on the front nine, which I don’t visit quite as often.

I don’t appreciate snow as much as Betsy does, but I have to admit that walking in a snow like this is a peaceful experience.  It’s a wonderful way to appreciate the beauty of our world.

To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to post your own pictures, click HERE for Watery Wednesday.

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Posted in Glade | 40 Comments »

My World # 16

February 2, 2009
A woodpecker buffet in the Glade. January 31, 2009.

A woodpecker buffet in the Glade. January 31, 2009.

I think there may be woodpeckers in my world — or at least very close to my world.

I took the above picture Saturday (the picture can be enlarged by clicking on it).  I was carrying wood from the woodpile to the garage when I noticed this tree on the property line between our house and the empty lot next door.  I just had to get a picture.  I apologize for the perspective, but I wanted to shoot at such an angle that you could see the hole that went all the way through the tree.

As you can see there has been quite a bit of damage done to this old tree.  I know we have quite a few different types of woodpeckers around the house — red-bellied woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers, northern flickers, red-headed woodpeckers and HUGE pileated woodpeckers.

We live in a wood frame house.  This is as close to my world as I want those woodpeckers to get!

To see more of our wonderful world, or to join in the fun and post your own pictures of your world, click HERE.

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Posted in Glade | 44 Comments »

A Covered Bridge

February 2, 2009
The Covered Bridge at Lake County Fairgrounds. July, 2002.

The Covered Bridge at Lake County Fairgrounds. July, 2002.

My blogging friend Tarolino gave me the challenge of opening my fourth picture folder and displaying the fourth picture.  This is a tag that many of you have played, but I have never played this particular version.

The picture above is the covered bridge in the Lake County Fairgrounds in Crown  Point, Indiana.  The picture was taken in July, 2002, when I took Betsy to visit my hometown.  The bridge, which was built in 1878, was constructed in southern Indiana, but moved to northern Indiana in 1933.  It’s been in the fairgrounds ever since.

When I was growing up I was in 4-H and exhibited livestock at the fair for several years.  I often crossed the bridge when I was exhibiting.  The pavilions in the background are more recent additions and were not there when I exhibits at the fair.

The Lake County Fairgrounds covered bridge. July, 2002.

The Lake County Fairgrounds covered bridge. July, 2002.

The bridge was (and is) in a wooded setting and is quite pretty.  This second picture (which was number 5 in the folder) gives a better perspective of the bridge’s setting in the fairgrounds.

I’m not going to tag any one.  If you would like to participate please do so.

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Posted in Travels | 31 Comments »

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