Archive for March, 2009

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We Have Daffodils in Bloom!

March 19, 2009

Daffodils in bloom under our dogwood tree. March 18, 2009.

Daffodils in bloom under our dogwood tree. March 18, 2009.

We had another bright beautiful day on the Plateau, and we were rewarded with a small bed of daffodils in bloom.  There is something especially enjoyable about seeing those bright yellow blossoms.  They seem to promise that Spring has really arrived.

These daffodils are in one of the small beds we rebuilt last fall.  We have more daffodils in other beds that haven’t bloomed yet, but that’s alright. We now have something to look forward to each morning when we go out to walk the lawn.  In the background of the pictures you can see one of our rose beds.  Unfortunately we’ll have to wait a couple of months before we see any blossoms in that bed.

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Before Betsy and I went to Arkansas I received this award from my friends Antigoni in Greece and Tarolino in Finland.  I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate the thoughtfulness of both of them.

I’m supposed to nominate blogs that I love that haven’t received the award.  But I’m still trying to get caught up from our time away from the computer and am not sure who received the award while we were gone.  So, if you haven’t received this award and I’ve visited your blog this week, I pass it on to you because I love your blog.

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Posted in Garden | 22 Comments »

Watery Wednesday # 27

March 17, 2009
A cascade near the chapel in Garvan Woodland Gardens, Arkansas. March 9, 2009.

A cascade near the chapel in Garvan Woodland Gardens, Arkansas. March 9, 2009.

This is my entry for Watery Wednesday, a weekly meme of pictures of our watery world.  Click HERE to join or to see more pictures from around the world.

The picture above was taken in Garvan Woodland Gardens, near Hot Springs, Arkansas.  The garden is the property of the Department of Landscape Architecture of the University of Arkansas.  The land, 210 acres on a peninsula of Lake Hamilton, was donated to the university by Verna Cook Garvan.

The gardens feature native plants, rhododendrons, and large collections of camellias, azaleas, and old roses along several mile of paths.  The gardens also contain a chapel and carillon, several small streams and a waterfall.  While we were there literally thousands of daffodils, tulips and pansies were in bloom.

The picture above shows a small cascade near the chapel in the garden.  It can be enlarged for a better view.

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Just a reminder that you are invited to visit my photo blog, Photos by Senior Hiker, by clicking HERE.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 25 Comments »

My World # 22

March 17, 2009
Crocus Pickwick, Fairfield Glade. March 16, 2009.

Crocus Pickwick, Fairfield Glade. March 16, 2009.

When we got home from Arkansas we were pleasantly surprised to find most of the crocus in our large flower bed in bloom.  When we left there were only a couple of lonely survivors at the front of the house in bloom.

Unfortunately we’ve had rain almost constantly since we’ve been home, so most of the blossoms are pretty bedraggled.    I did manage to get the picture above, but that’s about it.

If we get some sunshine in the next couple of days we should have many daffodils in bloom around the yard.  Then we can really feel that Spring has arrived.

The rain has made it difficult to work outside, but I’ve gotten outside a few times.  Since we live on a hillside, there are a couple of places in our yard that are difficult to mow, so I’m planting some sempervivum (hens and chicks) that Dad gave us in the more difficult places.  Hopefully in a year or two they’ll spread and we won’t have to worry about mowing in those spots.  We have quite a bit of sempervivum growing in rock gardens and we really like the way it looks.

This is my entry for My World Tuesday, a weekly meme of pictures from around the world.  To see more pictures from around the world, or to join and post your own pictures, click HERE.

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Posted in My World | 27 Comments »

Falls Creek Falls

March 16, 2009
Falls Creek Falls, Lake Catherine State Park, Arkansas. March 9, 2009.

Falls Creek Falls, Lake Catherine State Park, Arkansas. March 9, 2009.

On my birthday Betsy and I were able to do some hiking in beautiful 80° weather.  We got to western Arkansas fairly early in the day and went to St. Catherine State Park (near Hot Springs)  to check out a waterfall, Falls Creek Falls.

Falls Creek Falls is used to advertise Arkansas State Parks, so we were interested in seeing it.  Of course, there was also something of a personal connection as well.  Our ‘special’ place is Fall Creek Falls here in Tennessee, so we were eager to see what that extra ‘s’ would mean.  Actually, I guess we’re just gluttons for punishment, having to keep Fall Creek Falls separate from Falls Creek Falls!

We had a nice hike of just under a mile from the parking area to the falls.  Much of the trail followed the shore line of Lake Catherine,  which made for a nice hike.  Once we got to the falls we were able to enjoy the falls and the setting.

You can enlarge the collage above to get a better view of our visit to Falls Creek Falls.

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Posted in Waterfalls | 21 Comments »

Scenic Sunday # 35

March 14, 2009

The view from 'our' cabin on Mt. Nebo. March 10, 2009.

The view from 'our' cabin on Mt. Nebo. March 10, 2009.

This is my post for the weekly meme Scenic Sunday.  To see more Scenic Sunday pictures, or to join the fun and post your own pictures, click HERE.

Last week I showed a picture of ‘our’ cabin on Mt. Nebo in Arkansas.  We went back there to celebrate my birthday and to do some hiking.

For the first time since we’ve started going to Mt. Nebo, the weather didn’t really cooperate.  It was over 80° and sunny on the day we arrived, but then the clouds, rain and ice moved in.

Although we didn’t get to do as much hiking and waterfalling as we had planned, we still had a wonderful time.  We did see four new waterfalls and saw nine all together.  And the falls we had seen before had much more water this time.

The picture above, which can be enlarged,  is the view from the back of ‘our’ cabin.  Actually I was on the Rim Trail behind (and slightly below) the cabin when I took this picture.  Even though it was a gray cloudy day, the view of the valley and the mountains beyond is still fantastic.

And, yes, in spite of our weather woes, we will be going back!

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Just a reminder that you are invited to visit my photo blog, Photos by Senior Hiker, by clicking HERE.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 27 Comments »

Scenic Sunday # 34

March 7, 2009

'Our' cabin on Mt. Nebo. November 27, 2006.

'Our' cabin on Mt. Nebo. November 27, 2006.

This is my post for the weekly meme Scenic Sunday.  To see more Scenic Sunday pictures, or to join the fun and post your own pictures, click HERE.

The cabin in the photo above is Cabin #60 in Mt. Nebo State Park, Arkansas.  But Betsy and I refer to it as ‘our’ cabin on Mt. Nebo.  We’ve stayed in this cabin four times already and are going back this week for our fifth stay.

Mt. Nebo was a favorite of Betsy’s BG — ‘Before George’ — although she never stayed in Cabin 60.  Betsy took me to Mt. Nebo for the first time in 2006, and that was the first time we stayed in this cabin.

The cabin is just the right size for two.  It has a fireplace in the living room, which makes Betsy very happy.  The cabin is on the edge of the mountain top and has a fantastic view of the valley below.  And we are often visited by deer in the evening.

Betsy and I will be gone for the entire week — hiking, searching for waterfalls, and enjoying the beautiful scenery.  We hope you all have a wonderful week and we’ll see you next Sunday.

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Just a reminder that you are invited to visit my photo blog, Photos by Senior Hiker, by clicking HERE.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 42 Comments »

Our First Promise of Spring

March 7, 2009
The first blossom in our yard. March 7, 2009.

The first blossom in our yard. March 7, 2009.

The past couple of days have been very pleasant up here on the Plateau.  The weather has warmed and I was even able to work outside without a jacket yesterday.  That’s good because I certainly have plenty to do in the yard after our fairly hard winter.  In addition to  general clean up, I also have some new roses that need to be planted.  So I’ve been  outside quite a bit over the past two days.

Yesterday, while working with the roses in the front of the house, I found the crocus shown in the picture above.  It’s our very blossom of the year.  Actually it looks a little forlorn and lonely.  This is a crocus my father gave us when we first bought the house.  It’s located up against the south side of the house, so it gets more sun than any other part of our yard.  The little bed it’s in is a favorite tunneling route for our many chipmunks, so most of the bulbs that were originally planted there have long since disappeared.

But this little plant has bravely hung on.  And in so doing it has given us our first promise of spring.

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Posted in Garden | 21 Comments »

Skywatch Friday # 34

March 5, 2009
The view from Sunset Point, Mt. Nebo, Arkansas. November, 2007.

The view from Sunset Point, Mt. Nebo, Arkansas. November, 2007.

I took the picture above in November, 2007, from Sunset Point at Mt. Nebo State Park in Arkansas.  Betsy and I had gone to the point to view the sunset and we found this pretty scene when we arrived.  The sun had not yet dropped to the mountains in west but was hidden behind the high clouds.

I decided to use this picture because Mt. Nebo is one of our favorite places to visit, and because we will be going back there next week to celebrate my birthday.  I would anticipate getting several more sky watch pictures while we’re there.  If I’m lucky we’ll also get some hiking in and will see some new waterfalls.

To see more beautiful pictures of the sky around the world, or to join and post your own pictures of the sky, click HERE.

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Just a reminder that you are invited to visit my photo blog, Photos by Senior Hiker, by clicking HERE

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 30 Comments »

The Glade is Deer to Us

March 5, 2009
Deer on the golf course behind our house. March 3, 2009.

Deer on the golf course behind our house. March 3, 2009.

Tuesday afternoon Betsy called to me to get my camera and come into the living room.  There were deer on the golf course behind our house.

I know Betsy told you about the deer in her blog of Wednesday morning and she used some of the pictures we took.  But I couldn’t resist playing around with Picasa and making the collage above.  Picasa has been one of the nice bonuses of our new computers.

The weather has finally moderated here and I was able to get some work done in the yard yesterday afternoon.  I got two roses planted — Spellbound and Radiant Perfume.  They’re replacements for two roses that didn’t survive our two-year drought, so they don’t  change the varieties we have.  I have some other roses that need to be planted, so I hope the weather continues to be mild.

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Posted in Glade | 18 Comments »

Watery Wednesay # 25

March 3, 2009
Marigot Bay, St. Martin. September 11, 2001.

Marigot Bay, St. Martin. September 11, 2001.

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

The picture above, which can be enlarged by clicking on it, was taken from the ruins of Fort St. Louis on the island of St. Martin.  Our cruise ship had docked on the Dutch side of the island (St. Maarten) and we took a bus tour which took us to Marigot, the capital of the French side of the island.

St. Maarten – St. Martin is the smallest land mass in the world shared by two different nations.  The island is only 37 square miles and is owned by France and the Netherlands Antilles.  The French territory covers about two thirds of the island and is technically a part of Europe and the European Community.  The Dutch side is a member island of the Neterlands Antilles and is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but is not considered European territory.  There is no real border between the two parts of the island.

Fort St. Louis, built in 1767, overlooks Marigot Bay, and is the largest historical monument in St. Martin.  The plans for the fort were sent to the island from Versailles at the order of King Louis XVI.  After the French Revolution the fort was temporarily occupied by the Dutch to prevent the spread of revolutionary democracy.

The fort no longer serves any military purpose, but the steep climb we made to the summit of the peak did provide this panoramic view of the island and the sea.  I would say the hike was definitely worth the effort.

Just a reminder that you are invited to visit my photo blog, Photos by Senior Hiker, by clicking HERE

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday, Watery Wednesday | 28 Comments »

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