Archive for February, 2012

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Watery Wednesday: Mingo Falls

February 29, 2012

Mingo Falls, Cherokee, North Carolina. January 31, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

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

Mingo Falls is a 150-foot beauty near Cherokee, North Carolina.  It is easy to get to Fa, and the hike from the trailhead is steep, but short.  There are stairs for much of the way.  We visited Mingo Falls on January 31 of this year when a rock slide on the interstate caused us to take a detour through the Smoky Mountains.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 16 Comments »

Down Memory Lane: Iris (2008)

February 27, 2012

One way to make winter days more bearable is to look through pictures taken on sunny summer days.  These are some of the iris that bloomed in our yard during the late spring of 2008.  We have more roses than iris, but we do enjoy the iris which bloom earlier than the roses.

To see larger versions of these pictures and others, click HERE.

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Posted in Glade | 13 Comments »

Spring in the Glade

February 24, 2012

Our side flower bed under a blanket of snow. Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. February 19, 2012. (Photo by Betsy).

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Betsy took the picture above this past Sunday.  These are some of the spring flowers that shot up during our mild winter.  Of course now that they are sending up flower stalks, we get snow and cold!

But one thing about Tennessee weather is that if you don’t like it stay around for a day — it will change.

Crocus in our side flower bed, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. February 21, 2012.

This picture was taken on Tuesday.  The snow is gone and we have a crocus in bloom.  I actually saw a crocus in bloom before the snow storm, but I didn’t get a picture.  It didn’t survive the storm.

It rained most of Wednesday, and just after dark the warning sirens here in the Glade went off.  Fortunately all we got was more rain.

Crocus in our flower bed. February 21, 2012.

Yesterday was a bright, warm, sunny, Spring-like day.  I can hardly wait to see what today brings.

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Posted in Weather | 17 Comments »

Watery Wednesday: Soco Falls

February 22, 2012

Soco Falls, Cherokee, North Carolina. January 31, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

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

Thanks to the rock slide that closed the interstate and our detour through the Smoky Mountains, Betsy and I were able to revisit Soco Falls.  Soco Falls is on the Qualla Indian Reservation between Maggie Valley and Cherokee in North Carolina.  The pull off is on a hairpin turn and is easy to miss, but I’m glad we didn’t miss it.  We had this beautiful waterfall all to ourselves.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 19 Comments »

The Women in My Life

February 20, 2012

Betsy and Mrs. P at Wetumpka Falls, Tullahoma, Tennessee. February 9, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

A couple of weeks ago Betsy and I took Dad for a ride with us as we checked out a couple of waterfalls in the Tullahoma, Tennessee, area.  One of the waterfalls we visited was Wetumpka Falls northwest of town.

This picture was taken at Wetumpka Falls, and shows the women in my life.  Betsy needs no introduction to readers of this blog.  Behind her is our Prius, affectionately known as Mrs. P.  If you look closely on the dash of Mrs. P, you can make out our GPS unit, Miss Barbeak.

It seems to me that at least one of these women is always telling me where to go!

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Posted in Betsy | 25 Comments »

SkyWatch Friday: Sunset Afterglow

February 17, 2012

The western sky shortly after sunset, Ormond Beach, Florida. August 4, 2009.

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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.

We celebrated Betsy’s birthday in 2009 at Ormond Beach, Florida.  We had a room that looked out over the ocean, but I captured this beautiful sky photo by going to the other side of the building and shooting the western sky shortly after sunset.  The landscape may not be as pretty as the ocean, but the sky couldn’t be any more glorious.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 29 Comments »

Watery Wednesday: Falls on Reems Creek

February 15, 2012

Falls on Reems Creek, Lake Louise Park, Weaverville, North Carolina. January 31, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

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

When we travel, Betsy and I usually check to see if there are any waterfalls in the area to which we are travelling.  We went to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville at the end of January, and searching the internet told us a waterfall in nearby Weaverville, North Carolina.  So the morning after visiting Biltmore we travelled to Weaverville before heading home.

The Falls on Reems Creek are actually caused by a dam at the site of an old mill.  But it is still a pretty sight, and we were very happy to add this to our collection.

We were planning on seeing another new waterfall on the way home, but a rockslide on Interstate 40 closed the highway, so we had to go home by a different route.  That second waterfall will have to wait until we make another trip to Asheville.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 21 Comments »

Hunting Waterfalls with Dad

February 13, 2012

Dad in our car visiting waterfalls, Tullahoma, Tennessee. February 9, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

This past Thursday Betsy and I went down to Tullahoma to see Dad.  After helping him with some things around the house, we went out to lunch and then went for a ride.  Dad is legally blind, but he enjoys drives out into the countryside, so we took him along to visit a couple of waterfalls in the area.  He stayed in the car while Betsy and I were getting pictures of the waterfalls.  But since he was with us, I convinced him that I needed to get his picture as well.

Dad was more feeble when we saw him this time than he has been at other times, but since he’s going to be 100 in August that is to be expected.  He enjoyed being with us, just as we enjoyed being with him.

About the hat — one of Dad’s grandsons (my nephew) graduated from the Naval Academy in 2001 and gave Dad the hat, which he wears just about every time we go out.

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Posted in Family | 21 Comments »

SkyWatch Friday: Smoky Mountains Sky

February 10, 2012

Afternoon sky in the Smoky Mountains, North Carolina. January 31, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

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.

A rock slide closed the interstate on the morning Betsy and I were coming home from Asheville, North Carolina.  Our choices for alternate routes were a very long detour on the interstates or a drive through the Smoky Mountains.  We considered our choices for about two seconds and headed for the Smokies.

The day started out with clear blue skies, but clouds developed in the afternoon.  I snapped this picture of the sky and mountains at an overlook on Newfound Gap road in North Carolina.  You have to look closely, but you can see the sunbeams that attracted my attention.  It took us longer to get home than it would have if we had taken the interstate, but the scenery certainly couldn’t be beat.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 18 Comments »

Watery Wednesday: Rainbow on the Lake

February 8, 2012

Mirror Lake fountain, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. February 7, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

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

Yesterday Betsy and I walked around two of the small lakes here in Fairfield Glade.    It was a beautiful but chilly day with bright sunshine and blue skies.

One of the lakes, Mirror Lake, has a fountain.  As we were walking back to our car I noticed a rainbow created by the fountain.  I was able to capture the rainbow in this photo.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 17 Comments »

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