Archive for the ‘Our World’ Category

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Our World: Water and Autumn Color

November 15, 2011

West Prong of the Little Pigeon River through the trees. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. October 14, 2011.

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

This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

When Betsy and I visited Smoky Mountains National Park in October, we drove up Newfound Gap Road from Gatlinburg into North Carolina.  In the area of Chimney Tops the road follows the West Prong of Little Pigeon River.  Since we were stopping to admire the autumn colors, we could also catch glimpses of the river through the trees.

Autumn Color along Little Pigeon River, Smoky Mountains, Tennessee. October 14, 2011.

The river is neither very deep nor very wide along this stretch of road, but it is pretty as it tumbles over and around the boulders in the stream.  This is especially true when the trees are beginning to turn.

West Prong Little Pigeon River, Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee. October 14, 2011.

At some places the trees were far enough apart that we could catch a good glimpse of the water as it rushed down the mountain.

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Our World: Fayette Station Rapids

November 8, 2011
Kayakers on the New River above Fayette Station Rapids. September 17, 2011. (Photo by Betsy)

Kayakers on the New River above Fayette Station Rapids. September 17, 2011. (Photo by Betsy)

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

This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

When Betsy and I got to the New River at the bottom of the gorge (click here to read about our trip down), we parked the car to walk over the bridge.  We wanted to get some pictures of the beautiful gorge, but when we got onto the bride Betsy noticed two kayakers, as seen in the picture above, getting ready to shoot the Fayette Station Rapids.

Kayakers approaching Fayette Station Rapids, New River Gorge, West Virginia. September 17, 2011.

The rapids were some distance downstream from the bridge, and the kayakers were moving too quickly for me to get back to the car to retrieve my telephoto lens.  So I did the best I could with my standard lens.  The kayakers are approaching the rapids in the picture above.

Kayakers shooting Fletcher Station Rapids, New River Gorge, West Virginia. September 17, 2011.

If you look carefully in the middle of this picture you can see two helmets and two paddles as the kayakers shoot the rapids.

Enlarged photo of the kayakers in the Fayette Station Rapids. September 17, 2011.

I cropped and enlarged the previous picture to give a slightly better picture of the kayakers in the rapids.  It’s a good thing it was a warm day.

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Our World: High School Football Game — Half-Time Show

November 1, 2011

Landon during the half-time show. Bearden High School, Knoxville, Tennessee. October 6, 2011.

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

This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

I’ve done two posts about the football game Betsy and I attended in early October.  The first post was about the pre-game festivities, the second was about the game itself.  This post is about the half-time show.  It’s really appropriate that I’m sharing the half-time show after every thing else, because we had to wait until after the game to see the show.  The visiting band’s program lasted too long for Bearden’s program to be completed during half-time, so it was postponed until after the game.

Betsy’s grandson, Landon, is the drummer in the middle of the picture above.

Half-time show, Bearden High School. October 6, 2011.

The band’s program was based on Clockworks.  I must admit that I’m not familiar with that work, but I enjoyed the band’s playing and marching.

Half-time show, Bearden High School. October 6, 2011.

Of course we tried to keep an eye on Landon during all the evolutions.

Flag-bearers during the half-time show. October 6, 2011.

The flag bearers  put on quite a display as well.

Majorette, Bearden High School. October 6, 2011.

During the show one of the majorettes did her thing with three flaming batons.

Majorette, Bearden High School, Knoxville, Tennessee. October 6, 2011.

I was frankly amazed that she didn’t get burned.

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Our World: High School Football Game

October 25, 2011

Bearden High School football game. Knoxville, Tennessee. October 6, 2011.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them.)
This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

As I mentioned in last week’s post for this meme, Betsy and I attended a high school football game earlier this month so that we could see Landon, Betsy’s grandson, perform as a member of his school’s marching band.

Bearden High School football game, Knoxville, Tennessee. October 6, 2011.

My children were in their high school band, so I know all to well, that you need to sit through a football game if you want to see the band.  Some things never change.  The boys for Bearden, Landon’s school, played hard.  They’re the team in the dark jerseys.  Unfortunately, the other team was much better.

Fireworks celebrating a Bearden touchdown. October 6, 2011.

Still, the Bearden boys didn’t give up, and we had to admire the school spirit.  A Bearden touchdown was celebrated with fireworks.

Bearden High School cheerleaders, Knoxville, Tennessee. October 6, 2011.

But I have a confession to make.  After sitting through the entire game I came to the conclusion that some of the best athletes on the field were the Bearden cheerleaders.

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Our World: Signs of Autumn

October 11, 2011

The dogwood tree in our front yard, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. October 3, 2011.

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

This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

One of the first signs of Autumn in our yard is the red leaves on our dogwood tree after the season’s first cold spell.  As you can see, the trees behind the dogwood tree haven’t started to turn yet.

Red dogwood leaves against a blue sky, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. October 2, 2011.

I like the way the sunlight brings out the red of the leaves.  I think these leaves look especially beautiful against the blue sky.

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Our World: Along the Midway

October 4, 2011

A ride for dare-devils at the Lewiston, New York, Peach Festival. September 10, 2011.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them.)
This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

One of the main attractions at many festivals is the midway, which contains rides of many types for people of all ages.  The Lewiston, New York, Peach Festival, was no exception.  The midway had several interesting rides.  I don’t know the name of the ride above, but I do know that I wasn’t interested in checking it out.

A modern version of the Octopus. Lewiston Peach Festival. September 10, 2011.

I remember the Octopus from the County Fair when I was growing up.  The Peach Festival had a modern version of the ride I enjoyed as a boy.

The China Dragon at the Peach Festival. September 10, 2011.

The China Dragon was fairly tame, but still very colorful.

Riding a bumble bee at the Peach Festival. September 10, 2011.

This young lady looks as if she has some doubts about the Bumble Bee giving her a ride.  Perhaps she had seen the scratches and dents on the bottom of the bee.

A young boy at the Peach Festival. September 10, 2011.

This young man had the best ride at the festival.  He was safely tucked into a stroller guided by his parents.

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Our World: Lewiston Peach Festival

September 27, 2011

The Sweet Spot, Peach Festival, Lewiston, New York. September 10, 2011. (Photo by Betsy).

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

This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

When we visited my daughter and her husband a couple of weeks ago, they took us to the Peach Festival in Lewiston, New York.  The Peach Festival was interesting, and is fairly typical of small-town American festivals.

One thing Americans like to do is eat, and the Peach Festival had a wide variety of different foods for just about every conceivable taste.  The Sweet Spot (above) had things for those with a sweet tooth.

This booth would have been as much at home in Louisiana as it was in New York. Peach Festival, Lewiston, New York. September 10, 2011.

Some places offered a wide variety of different foods.

I didn't see anyone ordering the Garlic Meatloaf Sandwich. Peach Festival, Lewiston, New York. September 10, 2011.

I’m not sure I want to try that Garlic Meatloaf Sandwich!

Barbecued turkey legs and corn on the cob. Peach Festival, Lewiston, New York. September 10, 2011.

Barbecued turkey legs and grilled corn on the cob are uniquely American treats.

Preparing Italian sausages. September 10, 2011.

The booth selling Italian sausages was busy preparing for a lot of customers.  The aroma started to make me hungry.

Peppers and onions. Peach Festival, Lewiston, New York. September 10, 2011.

Stir-fried onions and peppers were available as garnishes for the sausages.

Did you note anything strange about this visit to the Peach Festival?  There are no pictures of peaches.  I saw only one booth with peaches, and I didn’t get a picture!

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Our World: Unexpected Beauty

September 6, 2011

Blatant Iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. August 31, 2011.

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

This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

This has been a very strange year on the Cumberland Plateau.  We had an unusually wet spring, followed by an extremely hot and dry summer.  We had only a trace of rainfall in all of July and August.  The lawn and gardens show the stress of such hot, dry weather.

But, in spite of this, we’ve had iris blooming fairly consistently since April.  We have several that are supposed to bloom twice a year — once in the spring and once in the fall.  But the irises in our front flower bed just keep  blooming (that’s not a complaint).

Late last week our Blatant Iris sent up another flower stalk.  The stalk isn’t as tall as they usually are, but the blossom is still pretty.

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Our World: Welcome Home

August 30, 2011

Welcome Home Rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. August 25, 2011.

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

This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

This is the scene that has greeted us when we turned into our driveway this week.  The rose, appropriately enough, is named Welcome Home.

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