Archive for May, 2009

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My World # 32

May 19, 2009

RoseCollage090518

This is my post for the My World meme.  It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Sandy, Wren, Louise and Fishing Guy.  Last week there were 100 people sharing their worlds.  To see more of our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

This week my world contains roses!  When we got home from the beach last week we found our first rose in bloom.  Over the course of the week it was joined by five others.  The collage above shows the six roses we have in bloom today.

The nice thing is that we have several more rose bushes with many buds on them.  So hopefully we’ll have many more of these beauties in the days ahead.

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Posted in My World | 17 Comments »

Stop and Smell (and See) the Roses

May 18, 2009
Rio Samba Rose, Fairfield Glade. May 17, 2009.

Rio Samba Rose, Fairfield Glade. May 17, 2009.

Several times over the years I’ve been asked why I take the trouble to grow roses.  Roses have a reputation for being difficult to grow.  I’ll admit that they can take a lot of time, but I think they are definitely worth the effort.

I first started growing roses about 35 years ago,  At that time I was teaching and found that coming home and getting my hands dirty  was great therapy.

As I said, the rewards for growing roses are pretty wonderful.  Take looking at roses, for instance.  You’ll have to ignore the dirt splatters from the rains we had yesterday, but those three blossoms are from the same rose.  Rio Samba starts out as a bright yellow bud with red highlights (lower right).  As the bud opens, it shows more and more pink with yellow in the center (lower left).  But as the blossom matures, the yellow turns to white (upper blossom).  The mature blossom has coloration completely different from that of the bud.

I haven’t even mentioned fragrance.  Today I brought in a rose for Betsy.  It’s another new rose and is very fragrant.  I’ll say more about that rose another time.

Sure roses can be work, but with displays like this you can understand why Betsy and I are always eager to check the roses when we get up in the morning.

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Posted in Garden | 12 Comments »

Scenic Sunday # 44

May 17, 2009
Lower Bridal Veil Falls. May 10, 2009.

Lower Bridal Veil Falls, DuPont State Forest, North Carolina. May 10, 2009.

This is my post for the Scenic Sunday meme, which shares beautiful scenes from around the world.  To see more Scenic Sunday posts, or to join and show your own pictures, click HERE.

The picture above was taken in the DuPont State Forest near Brevard, North Carolina.  Betsy and I had been there in 2006 and had seen three of the four major waterfalls.  But we didn’t get to the fourth waterfall, Bridal Veil, because the hike was just too long for us to make in the time we had available.

When we were planning our trip to the beach this year I was checking waterfall web pages to find waterfalls we could visit either going to or coming home from the beach and I happened to access the web site of the Friends of DuPont Forest.  They were offering a shuttle bus tour of three of the waterfalls, including Bridal Veil, on the weekend we were returning from the beach.  It was too good of an opportunity to see another waterfall, so we our plans accordingly.

The picture above shows the lower part of Bridal Veil Falls, which gets its name from the way the water spreads out over the rocks.

On the day we were there it was possible to walk up some of the dry rocks to the upper free fall.  The upper falls is the location used in the movie “Last of the Mohicans” when the main characters walked behind the waterfall to hide from the Indians.  Since I didn’t have my hiking boots with me I didn’t try to go behind the upper falls, but I did get close enough to take the picture below.

Upper Bridal Veil Falls, DuPont State Forest, North Carolina. May 10, 2009.

Upper Bridal Veil Falls, DuPont State Forest, North Carolina. May 10, 2009.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 20 Comments »

Our First New Rose

May 16, 2009
Sonia Rose, Fairfield Glade. May 15, 2009.

Sonia Rose, Fairfield Glade. May 15, 2009.

Our yard has been keeping us busy since we got back home Sunday evening.  It took me three days to mow the lawn.  That was partly because the grass was so tall and partly because it was so wet in the low spots, especially in the front of the house.  So I managed to get in quite a few walking miles behind the mower.  I know the exercise is good for me, but I sometimes wish the lawn was a little flatter!

In addition to mowing I also kept busy weeding and spraying.  But I’m happy to say that things now look pretty good in our yard.  That’s good, because we’re going to have company later today.

But I have to admit that the yard work is definitely worth it.  Yesterday we had a couple more roses bloom.  The rose above is the first of our new roses to bloom — Sonia.  It doesn’t have much a fragrance, but I like the color and form.  It has a lot of buds, so we should have many blossoms to enjoy in the days ahead.

On a personal note, Betsy and I went Hendersonville yesterday to check up on my folks.  I’m happy to say that they are both doing well and in good spirits.  I’m continually amazed at how well they do in their home.

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Posted in Garden | 12 Comments »

Skywatch Friday # 44

May 15, 2009
The moon over the ocean. Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. May 8, 2009.

The moon over the ocean. Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. May 8, 2009.

This is my post for Skywatch Friday, a meme for sharing views of the sky from all over the world.  Last week over 300 people shared their view of the sky.  To see more, or to join and share your own photos of the sky, click HERE.

There were so many nice things about our vacation at the beach that it’s hard to pick the one thing that stands out.  I’ve already mentioned the beach and the seafood and Betsy talked about some of the waterfalls we saw to and from the beach.

But one very special thing was the show Mother Nature put on for us the last two nights we were at the beach.  We had a beautiful moonrise right opposite the balcony of our room.  The moon and the reflection on the ocean were absolutely gorgeous.

Of course I didn’t have a tripod with me, so the picture above is not as good as it could be.  Still, it’s a nice reminder of a couple of special evenings.

I’ve posted another picture of the moon over the ocean on my photo blog, Photos by Senior Hiker.  You can see it by clicking HERE.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 13 Comments »

Changes in Little River

May 14, 2009
The Little River, South Carolina, waterfront, May 7, 2009.

The Little River, South Carolina, waterfront, May 7, 2009.

I lived in Little River, South Carolina, from November, 1997 until  November, 2000. Most of the time while I lived there Little River could best (charitably) be described as a quiet fishing village.  There were fishing boats moored along the waterfront, along with a very few pleasure craft.  The buildings along the waterfront contained a couple of restaurants (definitely blue collar) and seafood markets that sold the catches brought in by the boats.

The picture above was taken last week while we were on vacation.  The two boats in the foreground are charter fishing boats which will take fishermen out to sea for a day or half-day of fishing.  But what is that large boat in the background?

A casino boat docked at Little River. May 7, 2007.

A casino boat docked at Little River. May 7, 2007.

Casino boats came to Little River  in 1999.  At first there was only one, but now there are two.  While this second picture isn’t from a very good angle, it does give some indication of the size of one of the casino boats.  This particular boat holds up to 600 passengers and makes two cruises daily.

So what changes have been brought to Little River?  There are definitely more people around than there used to be.  Many of the seafood markets have been replaced by bars or parking lots.  Little River now has a traffic problem.  Does that qualify as progress?

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Posted in Travels | 12 Comments »

Watery Wednesday # 35

May 13, 2009
Shrimp boat off the coast of North Carolina. May 6, 2009.

Shrimp boat off the coast of North Carolina. May 6, 2009.

This is my post for Watery Wednesday, a weekly meme created and hosted by 2sweeetnsaxy of Eyes, Mind, Heart.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.

The picture above was taken from the balcony of our room at Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina.  We could see at least one shrimp boat off the coast just about every day.  We liked to think that the boat was busy catching our dinner for that evening.

We thoroughly enjoyed the beach and we enjoyed the seafood even more, if that is possible.  Ocean Isle is just north of Calabash, North Carolina, and  Little River, South Carolina.  Both of those towns are fishing ports and it’s possible to buy seafood fresh seafood right off the boats.  Betsy and I prefer to let someone else buy and prepare the seafood.  Both towns have excellent seafood restaurants and we have favorites in both towns and visit them each year.

An ocean view and fresh seafood — two wonderful things about our watery world.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 18 Comments »

My World # 31

May 12, 2009
Rio Samba Rose, Fairfield Glade. May 11, 2009.

Rio Samba Rose, Fairfield Glade. May 11, 2009.

This is my post for the My World meme.  It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Sandy, Wren, Louise and Fishing Guy.  Last week there were 115 people sharing their worlds.  To see more of our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

Today my world has roses in bloom.  Betsy and I got back from our beach vacation late Sunday afternoon to find the rose above, Rio Samba, in bloom.  That gave us quite a surprise, as we weren’t expecting any of the roses to be blooming yet.  Needless to say, we’re not complaining!

We had a very nice time at the beach.  We were a little concerned when we got there because the weather forecast was calling for rain almost every day we would be there.  But fortunately they were quite wrong and we only had rain during two nights.  The weather was almost as good as the seafood we enjoyed every day!

Evidently the rain that was forecast for the beach came to Tennessee instead.  Our rain gauge showed that we got over six inches of rain while we were gone.  The grass is growing so much that it needs to be mowed and the weeds are growing like, well, weeds.  But at least we have a rose in bloom.

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Posted in My World | 19 Comments »

Happy Birthday, Anniversary and Mother’s Day

May 2, 2009
Mom at Home. February 27, 2009.

Mom at Home. February 27, 2009.

As I mentioned yesterday, Betsy and I are leaving today for some time at the beach.  Although we are looking forward to some fun in the sun, we’re sorry to be gone this first week in May.  Today is Mom’s birthday, Tuesday is my parents’  anniversary and of course next Sunday is Mother’s Day.  Betsy and I celebrated with Mom and Dad last year, so this year my sister will be celebrating with them.  We’ll have a belated celebration after we get back from the beach.

Mom is 89 years young  today.  I know I’m slightly prejudiced, but she’s about the nicest person you could ever meet.  She’s a fairly small woman, but she did a great job of raising my brothers and sister.  She has a beautiful alto voice and sang in the church choir for many years.  For as long as I can remember people have commented on her bright smile.  She lost her sight about twenty years ago, but that didn’t slow her down much or cause her to lose that smile.

Mom and Dad. February 27, 2009.

Mom and Dad. February 27, 2009.

Tuesday will be Mom and Dad’s 69th anniversary.  They got married on a Sunday after the regular church service at Mom’s church and shared a carton of milk as their wedding supper on their way to their new home.  Dad will be 97 in August, and it’s cute to see them holding hands as they walk along.

So Happy Birthday, Mom, and Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad.  Oh, and Happy Mother’s Day.

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Posted in Family | 18 Comments »

Skywatch Friday # 42

May 1, 2009
Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. May, 2007.

Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. May, 2007.

This is my post for Skywatch Friday, a meme for sharing views of the sky from all over the world.  Last week over 300 people shared their view of the sky.  To see more, or to join and share your own photos of the sky, click HERE.

The picture above was taken on Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina.  I honestly don’t know what I like most about this picture — the sky, the beach, or the ocean.

I selected this picture because Betsy and I are getting ready to head back there for a week.  We try to get there each year, and although we’ve been on the road quite a bit this year, we decided to go back.  The beach is nice, but the seafood is irresistible!  Fortunately our yard and garden can get along without us for a few days.

I plan on doing a post tomorrow (Saturday) morning, but then we’ll be away from our computers for a week.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 21 Comments »

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