Archive for October, 2009

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My Bride Left Me!

October 21, 2009

SadGeorge

If you read Betsy’s blog you know that she has left me to spend a few days in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, with her childhood girlfriends.  I’m optimistic that the separation will be temporary and that Betsy will soon be back home.

Betsy and the girls are in a beautiful cabin fairly high up in the mountains above Maggie Valley.  The road to the cabin is probably the worse I’ve driven on.  For the first time I had doubts as to whether our Prius would make it, but it did.  If Betsy had found a place higher in the mountains we would have had to have pack mules.

I don’t want to give you the impression that my beautiful bride heartlessly left me to a long and lonely week.  She wouldn’t do anything like that.  She’s made sure I’m not bored — the lawn will need to be mowed (hopefully for the last time) and then there are all those leaves that are coming down.  As if that’s not enough, we’re getting a delivery of firewood this week and that will need to be stacked.  Oh, yes, and I still have a few spring bulbs that need to be planted.

I’m beginning to think that Betsy timed her vacation perfectly.

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Posted in Betsy | 22 Comments »

My World: Autumn Colors

October 20, 2009
Red leaves and blue skies. Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. October 19, 2009.

Red leaves and blue skies. Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. October 19, 2009.

This is my post for the My World meme.  It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Sandy, Wren, Louise and Fishing Guy.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

I’m happy to report that all of our roses survived Sunday night’s low temperatures and I’m hopeful that we’ll get through Monday night just as successfully.

One advantage of the high pressure system over head is that in addition to cold nights we have clear, bright blue skies during the day.  I was working in the yard yesterday when I noticed these red leaves against the sky.  I couldn’t resist taking a picture and sharing it with you.

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Posted in My World | 13 Comments »

Things I Learned About My Bride

October 19, 2009
Bob, Steve, Betsy, Carolyn and Mickey. October 17, 2009.

Bob, Steve, Betsy, Carolyn and Mickey. October 17, 2009.

Betsy and I got back from her brother’s memorial service late Sunday afternoon.  It was a quick trip, but we’re both glad that we went.

Since Ray had been in declining health for some time, his death was somewhat anticipated.  As a result the memorial service was more a celebration of Ray’s life than a service of mourning.  Many people, family and friends, shared memories of Ray and the way he touched their lives.

Betsy’s three nephews and one of her nieces were at the service, and they did a lot of catching up and reminiscing after the service.  I learned  several things about my bride that I didn’t know.

Since Ray was 20 years old when Betsy was born, she became an aunt at a very early age.  I knew that, of course, but what I didn’t know was some of the things that my bride did when entertaining her nephews and nieces during visits their visits to Big Stone Gap, Virginia.  I heard stories of races down the hill from Betsy’s house to the church downtown.  Even more interesting were expeditions to explore neighbor’s basements — even when the neighbors weren’t home!

I always knew Betsy was a leader, but Bob, Steve, Mickey and Carolyn described a ring leader.  And to think Betsy was a preacher when I met her!

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Posted in Family | 18 Comments »

Stupid Camera

October 16, 2009
Cheoah Dam and Lake, Tennessee. October 13, 2009.

Cheoah Dam and Lake, Tennessee. October 13, 2009.

Betsy and I were home for about 12 hours Thursday evening and early this (Friday) morning.  That gave us just enough time to repack for Ray’s memorial service and to do a quick post to let you know we survived the first of our quick trips.  By the time you read this we will be on the road to Jacksonville, Florida.

As you know, we went to Tallulah Gorge State Park in Georgia to see what the waterfalls looked like when water was released from the dam above the gorge.  We hiked a new trail (for us) and the views were wonderful.  There was a light rain most of the day, but that didn’t stop us from our quest to enjoy the waterfalls.

Unfortunately about half way through our hike my camera decided to start acting up.  For the rest of the hike I could only take wide-angle shots if I could get any at all.  That was definitely a bummer, but as Betsy said, that just gives us another excuse to go back.

Now that Betsy has her laptop, I’m hoping Santa will bring me a new camera.  I’ve been wanting one with interchangeable lenses so I could get closer to waterfalls we can’t reach on foot.  I would also like to be able to get macros of our flowers.

I know many of you are great photographers.  I would appreciate any advice you may be able to give me regarding a camera that will fit my needs.  Thanks.

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Posted in Travels | 15 Comments »

My World: Iris in Bloom

October 13, 2009
Floor Show Iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. Octoer 12, 2009.

Floor Show Iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. Octoer 12, 2009.

This is my post for the My World meme.  It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Sandy, Wren, Louise and Fishing Guy.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

We woke up to rain Monday morning and a nice surprise in our garden — the iris in the picture above, Floor Show, was blooming.  We have several reblooming iris and their colorful blooms are a nice addition to this time of the year.

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Betsy and I are leaving this morning for a couple of days in northern Georgia.  They are releasing water from the dam above Tallulah Gorge on Wednesday and we want to be there to see what the waterfalls looked like before the dam was built.  We’ve had this trip planned for several weeks.

Then on Friday we are going to Jacksonville for Ray’s (Betsy’s brother) memorial service.  We will get back home on Sunday and then on the following Tuesday I will take Betsy to Maggie Valley, North Carolina, for her getaway with her grade school girlfriends.

I can visit you using my iPod Touch, but unless I can pry Betsy’s laptop from her, I don’t think I’ll be able to post for much of that time.  But don’t give up on me — I’ll be back as soon as possible.

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Posted in My World | 16 Comments »

Sunday with Family

October 12, 2009
Wes, Darlene (John's sister), Betsy, Bonnie (cousin), John (Carol's husband) and Carol. Fall Creek Falls, October 10, 2009.

Wes, Darlene (John's sister), Betsy, Bonnie (cousin), John (Carol's husband) and Carol. Fall Creek Falls, October 10, 2009.

If you read Betsy’s blog you know that she has had a couple of her cousins visiting for the weekend.  Saturday was a ‘Girls Day Out’, which can read about HERE.

Yesterday they allowed the men to accompany them to Fall Creek Falls State Park for a lunch buffet.  I suspect we men were allowed to go along so someone would be there to pick up the tab.  But be that as it may, the dinner was absolutely delicious.  If you ever have a chance to eat a meal at Tennessee state park, I encourage you to do so.  (End of commercial!).

Since  Fall Creek Falls is a favorite of ours we had to take Bonnie (from Florida), Carol (from Michigan) and Carol’s husband John on a tour to show them five of our favorite waterfalls.  (Okay, one is technically a cascade, but it is still pretty).

After several rainy, cloudy days we actually had some sunshine and beautiful blue skies.  Even better, we saw significant autumn color for the first time this season.

All in all it was a gorgeous day and I think we may have some visitors returning to Tennessee fairly soon.

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Posted in Family | 15 Comments »

Scenic Sunday # 65: Bali

October 11, 2009
A beach on Bali. June, 1987.

A beach on Bali. June, 1987.

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.

I’m basically a farm boy from Indiana who has been blessed in many ways.  I was able to go to college, became a high school mathematics teacher, get a Master’s degree, teach mathematics in college and then switch to computer science.

In 1985 I began teaching computer science at Heidelberg College in Ohio, and in 1987 I was chosen to be part of an exchange program with a college in China.  The Heidelberg team was to teach during summer in China, but due to a difference in academic calendars we Americans had a couple of free weeks at the beginning of summer.  Since we were to enter China through Hong Kong, it was decided to spend part of that free time in Hong Kong and on the island of Bali in Indonesia.

The picture above is a scan made from a slide which was taken one morning on Bali.  I had gotten up early and walked along the beach past the place we were staying.  I rounded a point and entered a small cove.  This little collection of huts was on the beach across the cove.  I felt as if I had stumbled upon the set of South Pacific!

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 9 Comments »

Our Lilies (5)

October 10, 2009

LiliesCollage0905

(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it.)

We made another trip to Hendersonville yesterday to check up on my parents.  I’m happy to report that they had no plumbing problems this time and that they were both in good spirits and good health.  We had some interesting moments explaining the workings of Medicare Schedule D, but we even survived that.

Since I was away from my desktop most of the day, I’m simply sharing the last collage of this year’s lilies in our yard.  As I’ve mentioned before, lilies probably our second favorite garden flower after the roses.

Next year we should have even more lilies.  As both Betsy and I have mentioned we have a new sunny flower bed in the front of our house, and Friday night I got a shipping notice that some new lily bulbs will arrive next week.  So I guess I’ll have some things to keep me busy in the yard.

If you would like to see all the different lilies we had in our yard this year click HERE.

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Posted in Garden | 10 Comments »

Bali Sunset

October 9, 2009
Sunset at Kunta Beach, Bali. June, 1987.

Sunset at Kunta Beach, Bali. June, 1987.

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

The picture above is a scan from a slide made at Kunta Beach on the island of Bali.  The sun had already dropped below the horizon when the resort turned on lights along the beach.  The green of the lights provided an interesting contrast with the blue of the Pacific and the sky.  The orange glow on the horizon is just an added bonus.

The silhouette on the left is a figurine of a Hindu goddess.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 15 Comments »

Ozone Falls

October 8, 2009
The top of Ozone Falls, Ozone, Tennessee. January 7, 2009.

The top of Ozone Falls, Ozone, Tennessee. January 7, 2009.

One advantage of rainy days is that I get a chance to work on the giant backlog of pictures I have on my computer.  We’ll need a lot of rain for me to get completely caught up, but I can say that I am making progress.

In January Betsy and I made a trip to Ozone, Tennessee, which is only about ten miles from our heart.  We went to visit Ozone Falls.  We’d been there several times before, but on this visit there were no leaves on the trees to hide the view and there had been plenty of rain in the days before our visit.  These combined to give us a wonderful experience.

Ozone Falls is a 110 foot waterfall in the Ozone State Natural Area.  There is a short, nice trail along Fall Creek to the brink of the falls.  It is also possible to hike down into the gorge to the base of the falls  and to cascades and a smaller waterfall below the main one.  I got adventuresome and explored in the gorge for the first time.

It was a great way to spend a beautiful winter day.  If you would like to see more pictures of this area click HERE.

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Posted in Waterfalls | 11 Comments »

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