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.

Tags: ,
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

Tags: , , ,
Posted in SkyWatch Friday, Watery Wednesday | 28 Comments »

My World # 22

March 2, 2009

new-roses

This is my entry for My World.  Last week over 100 people shared views of their part of the world through this meme.  To join, or to see more pictures from around the world, click HERE.

My World today is COLD, and the forecast is that things will stay that way for at least one more day.  I’m ready for the cold weather to end.

In order to have something more pleasant to think about, I experimented with PIcasa, which we have started using with our new computers.  I made the collage above of some of the roses in our yard.  The collage shows Sweet Freedom and Wildfire on the left, Perfect Moment in the middle, Memorial Day on the top right, and Rio Samba and Mister Lincoln on the bottom right.  The picture can be expanded to get a better view.

Hopefully all of these roses will again grace our yard once the weather warms up with their beauty and fragrance.  I can hardly wait.

Tags: , ,
Posted in My World | 35 Comments »

Riding With Us Can Be An Adventure

March 2, 2009
Dunn's Falls, Enterprise, Mississippi. April, 2008.

Dunn's Falls, Enterprise, Mississippi. April, 2008.

Traveling with Betsy and me can be an exciting adventure.  We like to take back roads whenever possible, but even when we drive the interstate unexpected adventures can occur.

Last April Betsy and I drove to Texas to visit her two sons who lived near Houston and Galveston at the time.  We invited Betsy’s third son, Jeff, who lives in Chattanooga to go along with us so he could visit his brothers.

Because of the length of the trip we decided to take the fastest route, which meant we were on the interstate from Chattanooga to Houston.  The ride was very uneventful until we got near Enterprise, Mississippi.  We were tooling along (at the speed limit) when we saw one of those brown attraction signs that said ‘Dunns Falls.

We looked at each other and wondered aloud if Dunns Falls could be a waterfall — we didn’t have any Mississippi waterfalls in our collection.  We didn’t have much time to make a decision, but deciding that a town with that name would be on a green sign, we turned off the interstate and began following the signs.

I’m not sure what Jeff thought, but after about ten minutes we arrived at Dunns Falls Water Park.  From the road all we could see was a large pond and what appeared to be a grist mill.  But nothing ventured, nothing gained.  We paid the small entrance fee, entered the park and found the waterfall pictured above.  Another beauty for our collection.

If you would like to see more pictures of Dunns Falls, click HERE.

********************

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

Tags: ,
Posted in Waterfalls | 23 Comments »

Scenic Sunday # 33

February 28, 2009
Sunset Beach, North Carolina. June, 2001.

Sunset Beach, North Carolina. June, 2001.

As I post this on Saturday evening our part of the Plateau is under a Winter Weather Advisory.  We could get an inch or two of snow.

While Betsy is delighted at the prospect I am decidedly less enthusiastic.  I’ll admit that I’m looking forward to warmer weather.  With that in mind, I decided to post the above picture as my contribution to Scenic Sunday.

Betsy and I try to get to the beach each year for several days.  We usually go to the area around Little River, South Carolina.  We go there because I lived in Little River for three years before moving to Tennessee and meeting Betsy.

This particular picture was taken in June, 2001, on Sunset Beach, North Carolina, just north of Little River.  Sunset Beach is an island off the coast which is primarily residential in nature.  Most of the houses are single family and it is much less ‘touristy’ than Myrtle Beach.

It is possible to walk down the beach beyond the homes.  Once past the homes it’s easy to forget that their are other people around at all.  There is just the sea, the sand and the dunes.  This picture shows the grass on some low dunes above the high tide mark.  Sunset Beach may not quite be a tropical paradise, but it is pretty close.

To see more Scenic Sunday pictures, or to join and post your own pictures, click HERE.

**********

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

Tags: , ,
Posted in Scenic Sunday | 27 Comments »

Twin Falls

February 28, 2009

Twin Falls, Rock Island State Park, Tennessee. June, 2006.

Twin Falls, Rock Island State Park, Tennessee. June, 2006.

On my last Watery Wednesday post (HERE) I mentioned that the Caney Fork River flows past the base of Twin Falls in Rock Island State Park here in Tennessee.  Several people said they would like to see the falls, so Twin Falls are the subject of this posting.

Twin Falls is formed by water gushing from a steep hillside and tumbling 65 to 80 feet into the Caney Fork.  Twin Falls did not appear until after the construction of Great Falls Dam.  The Collins River is immediately behind the hill from the Caney Fork, and it is speculated that when the dam was built forming Great Falls Lake, water began seeping into caverns thought to be inside the hill.  The water had to go somewhere, so it proceeded to ‘leak’ out the other side, forming the falls.

Attempts were made to patch up the leaks, but to no avail.  Hydrologic engineers have concluded that the hill is not in danger of collapse, so Rock Island now has a ‘quasi-natural’ waterfall.  Regardless how it was formed, we think Twin Falls is a pretty addition to our collection.

********************

On a slightly different note, I have started a second blog.  I have long wanted a place where I could post pictures that I like.  I anticipate that this will continue to be my main blog and that the new blog will be mostly pictures with enough information to identify what is being shown.  I probably will not post every day, but I will add new pictures as I find them in my files.  If you would like to visit Photos by Senior Hiker click HERE.

Tags: ,
Posted in Waterfalls | 16 Comments »

Skywatch Friday # 33

February 26, 2009
30 Mile Point, New York. October, 2008.

30 Mile Point, New York. October, 2008.

Back in October, Betsy and I went to Buffalo, New York, to visit my daughter Kelly and her husband, Chuck.  On Friday they took us on a ride out in the country around Buffalo.  It wasn’t an ideal day for sight-seeing because there were showers off and on for much of the day.

One of the places we visited was 30 Mile Point on Lake Ontario.  There was a park there, and a lighthouse, which we enjoyed seeing.  While on the lighthouse grounds I took this picture of the lake.  It wasn’t raining at that particular moment, but you can see the clouds scurrying across the lake.

This is my entry for Skywatch Friday, a weekly meme of sky pictures from around the world.  To see more pictures, or to post your own, click HERE.

Tags: , ,
Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 36 Comments »

St. Michael’s Church

February 26, 2009
The pulpit in St. Michael's Church, Charleston, South Carolina. June 22, 2008.

The pulpit in St. Michael's Church, Charleston, South Carolina. June 22, 2008.

The picture above was taken in June, 2007, of the pulpit in St. Michaels Church, Charleston, South Carolina.  Betsy and I attended Sunday services at the church and toured the sanctuary after the service.

St. Michael’s Church is the oldest church building in the City of Charleston, standing on the site of the first Anglican Church built south of Virginia.  The cornerstone for St. Michael’s was laid in 1752 and in 1761 the church was opened for services.  The only change to the structure of the building was the addition of a sacristy in 1883.  St. Michael’s is one of the few city churches in America that has retained its original design.

The pulpit is the original one, remarkable for both its height and the sounding board supported by two Corinthian columns.  The panel on the front of the pulpit was taken as war booty after the War Between the States and then later voluntarily returned and replaced on the pulpit.  The base of the pulpit still shows the scar caused by a shell which exploded in the church during the Federal bombardment of the city in 1865.

The pews in the church are very much as they have always been.  There is a large, long double-pew in the center of the church, No. 43, originally known as “The Governor’s Pew”.  George Washington sat in that pew during worship on May 8, 1791, and General Robert E. Lee worshipped in this same pew during the first year of the Civil War.

St. Michael’s is a beautiful church.  If you are interested, more pictures of St. Michael’s Church can be found HERE.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Travels | 19 Comments »

Watery Wednesday # 24

February 24, 2009
The Caney Fork River at Rock Island State Park, Tennessee.

The Caney Fork River at Rock Island State Park, Tennessee.

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

The picture above is of the Caney Fork River in Rock Island State Park, here in Tennessee.  The Caney Fork flows through the park.  This picture was taken just downstream from the base of Twin Falls.  The reason the river looks so placid is that the river does not go over Twin Falls, but past the falls.

Although we haven’t done a great deal of hiking in Rock Island, the park does contain three major waterfalls and a couple of minor falls.  It’s another of the wonderful parks in the Tennessee park system.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Watery Wednesday | 27 Comments »

My World # 19

February 23, 2009
My first home in Lakewood, Ohio, circa 1963.

My first home in Lakewood, Ohio, circa 1963.

I apologize for the quality of the picture above — it’s a scan from a slide made over 45 years ago.

This house was my first home after graduating from college — not bad, huh?

Actually, I only lived in part of the second floor.  I can’t remember how I found out about the house — I think I read about it in an ad in the Lakewood  paper.  But somehow I contacted the elderly couple who owned the house and who were looking for renters.  They had a bedroom with private bath and a shared kitchen for rent on the second floor.  There was a separate entrance for me to use to get to the room.  Since I thought what they were asking was very reasonable, I took the room.

The good Lord takes care of Indiana farm boys in the big city.  When I moved to Lakewood in August prior to beginning my teaching job, I found that the other room for rent had been rented to another new teacher at Marshall.  Larry taught English and was from southern Ohio, which is about as rural as my home in northern Indiana.

Larry and I were able to carpool to school almost every day that year.  The house, as you can see, was very spacious and in one of the older neighborhoods of Lakewood.  It was only about two blocks off the lake and I will admit that I enjoyed living there very much.

Unfortunately in the spring of that first year the owners sold the house to a younger couple, so I had to get myself another place to live.  But this house was an important part of my world for nearly a year.  When showing Betsy around some of my haunts in 2002, we drove past this house and it was still there.

To see more of our wonderful world, or to join and share your part of the world with us, click HERE.

Tags: , ,
Posted in My World | 37 Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »