Girl by the River

November 22, 2013
Betsy at the Emory River near Wartburg, Tennessee. October 25, 2013.

Betsy at the Emory River near Wartburg, Tennessee. October 25, 2013.

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

Last month Betsy and I went to Pine Mountain, Kentucky, to meet up with blog friends Patti and Neal.  We didn’t see as much autumn color as we would have liked, but we did get in some hiking and had a great time.

On our way home we stopped by the Emory River.  We’ve often crossed the river at this point, but had never stopped at picnic grounds near the bridge.  This time we stopped.

After walking down to the river, which was very low, I went back to the car to get my tripod.  When I returned I found my Beautiful Bride deep in thought, as you can see in the photo above.

Betsy at the Emory River near Wartburg, Tennessee. October 25, 2013.

Betsy at the Emory River near Wartburg, Tennessee. October 25, 2013.

Betsy heard me take the first picture, and turned to see what I was up to.

Early autumn color in Tennessee. October 25, 2013.

Early autumn color in Tennessee. October 25, 2013.

A little later I got a picture of my Beautiful Bride with a hint of autumn color behind her.  Her smile was as bright as that blue sky above us.

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Our World: Great Falls of the Potomac

November 18, 2013
Great Falls of the Potomac, Great Falls Park, Virginia. September 24, 2013.

Great Falls of the Potomac, Great Falls Park, Virginia. September 24, 2013.

(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.

Betsy and I visited the Great Falls of the Potomac during our Virginia trip at the end of September.  We have long had this waterfall on our ‘to see’ list, but it hadn’t been possible for us to get there before this trip.

A closer look at part of the Great Falls of the Potomac. September 24, 2013.

A closer look at part of the Great Falls of the Potomac. September 24, 2013.

We visited Great Falls Park on the Virginia side of the river on a beautiful sunny afternoon.  We didn’t have time to do a great deal of hiking, but we did get to a couple of overlooks from which these pictures were taken.

Betsy at Great Falls of the Potomac, Great Falls Park, Virginia. September 24, 2013.

Betsy at Great Falls of the Potomac, Great Falls Park, Virginia. September 24, 2013.

The waterfall is every bit as grand as beautiful as we were told it would be, but quite frankly, in my opinion the beauty of the waterfall is nothing compared to that of my Beautiful Bride.

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Staying Young at Heart

November 11, 2013
Betsy having fun in the leaves, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. November 9, 2013.

Betsy having fun in the leaves, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. November 9, 2013.

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

Betsy loves Autumn!  She loves the autumn colors and hearing the crunch of leaves beneath our boots when we are hiking.

Betsy having fun in the yard. November 9, 2013.

Betsy having fun in the yard. November 9, 2013.

She even enjoys blowing the leaves that cover our lawn every year, which is good since we are surrounded by trees that dump lots of leaves on our yard.  We have a vacant lot on the downhill side of our house, and Betsy herds the leaves that direction.

Losing my Beautiful Bride in a pile of leaves. November 9, 2013.

Losing my Beautiful Bride in a pile of leaves. November 9, 2013.

Saturday Betsy was blowing on one side of the house while I was working on another side.  After a while I noticed that it was suspiciously quiet on Betsy’s side of the house.  Going around to that side of the house I found the Inner Child of my Beautiful Bride enjoying one of the piles of leaves she had created.

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Posted in Betsy | 27 Comments »

Our New Roses This Year

November 8, 2013

2013 -- New Roses

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

I’m sure it comes as now surprise that Betsy and I grow and love roses.  We have 57 varieties of roses in our yard.  I think our rose garden has stopped growing, but we still need to replace roses once in a while.

This year we had three new roses in our yard.  The rose on the left in the collage above, Milestone, is a rose we first saw at Biltmore House and Gardens in Asheville, North Carolina, last year.  I found it offered this Spring and ordered it.

The other two roses both came from Heirloom Roses.  Helen Traubel, the rose in the middle, is an ‘old’ rose.  It was introduced in 1951, but it has a beautiful color and very nice fragrance.  The rose on the right is Something Special.  It is a fairly new rose.  I like the way the white outer petals frame the yellow center.

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Posted in Garden | 15 Comments »

Our World: Bad Branch Falls

November 4, 2013
Bad Branch Falls, Jefferson National Forest, Kentucky. October 23, 2013.

Bad Branch Falls, Jefferson National Forest, Kentucky. October 23, 2013.

(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.

Betsy and I met up with our blog friends Patti and Neal at Pine Mountain Resort State Park in Kentucky last month to enjoy the autumn color and do some hiking.  Patti and Neal like to hike as much as Betsy and I do, so Patti researched waterfalls in the area and found Bad Branch Falls.

Betsy at the trailhead to Bad Branch Falls. October 23, 2013.

Betsy at the trailhead to Bad Branch Falls. October 23, 2013.

We drove to the trailhead after visiting Kingdom Come State Park.  The day was overcast and dreary, but that didn’t keep us from starting off up the trail.

Bad Branch Falls, Jefferson National Forest, Kentucky. October 23, 2013.

Bad Branch Falls, Jefferson National Forest, Kentucky. October 23, 2013.

We eventually decided that the mile mentioned at the trailhead was measured by a crow in flight.  But we kept at it and were finally rewarded with our first glimpse of Bad Branch Falls.  There wasn’t a great deal of water going over the falls, but it was still pretty.

Patti and Neal at the base of Bad Branch Falls. October 23, 2013.

Patti and Neal at the base of Bad Branch Falls. October 23, 2013.

I got this picture of Patti and Neal at the base of Bad Branch Falls before we started back.

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Gatlinburg Sunrise

November 1, 2013
Sunrise over the mountains around Gatlinburg, Tennessee. October 14, 2013.

Sunrise over the mountains around Gatlinburg, Tennessee. October 14, 2013.

(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 couple of weeks ago Betsy and I got up very early in the morning to drive to the Smokies.  We knew that if we could get to the Gatlinburg Bypass, we might catch the sun coming up over the mountains, and if we were really lucky, we might capture some fog in the valley.  You can judge how well we did from the picture above.

Mist in the valley near Gatlinburg, Tennessee. October 14, 2013.

Mist in the valley near Gatlinburg, Tennessee. October 14, 2013.

We had to get up at 4 o’clock in the morning to make it to the bypass by sunrise.  At least the traffic through Knoxville was fairly light at that hour of the morning.

Early morning sunlight from the Gatlinburg Bypass, Gatlinburg, Tennessee. October 14, 2013.

Early morning sunlight from the Gatlinburg Bypass, Gatlinburg, Tennessee. October 14, 2013.

As we stood at the overlook getting these pictures we decided getting up that early was worthwhile, but I must admit that we slept in the next morning.

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Our World: Tallulah Gorge in October

October 28, 2013
Hurricane Falls, Tallulah Gorge State Park, Georgia. October 14, 2009.

Hurricane Falls, Tallulah Gorge State Park, Georgia. October 14, 2009.

(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.

Tallulah Gorge State Park in Georgia is a favorite of ours.  The park contains five waterfalls, and you know how much Betsy and I love seeing waterfalls.

All of the waterfalls can be seen from the rim of the gorge, but there are advantages to walking down 568 steps to the river.  (The major disadvantage is having to go back up those steps!).  We braved those steps in October a few years ago and got the beautiful view of Hurricane Falls seen above.

Tallulah River, Tallulah Gorge State Park, Georgia. October 14, 2009.

Tallulah River, Tallulah Gorge State Park, Georgia. October 14, 2009.

The floor of the gorge gave us a great view of the Tallulah River as well.

Tallulah River, Tallulah Gorge State Park, Georgia. October 14, 2009.

Tallulah River, Tallulah Gorge State Park, Georgia. October 14, 2009.

The river, and those autumn colors, helped us make it back up those steps.

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Our World: Autumn Colors in Harpers Ferry

October 14, 2013
Autumn color in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. September 26, 2013.

Autumn color in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. September 26, 2013.

(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.

On our recent trip to the east, Betsy and I saw our first inklings of autumn color in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.  The beautiful yellows of these trees quickly caught our eyes.

Autumn color in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. September 26, 2013.

Autumn color in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. September 26, 2013.

These trees were actually in the parking lot of the Visitors Center, but they were beautiful nevertheless.

Looking toward the Potomac River from Jefferson's Rock, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. September 26, 2013.

Looking toward the Potomac River from Jefferson’s Rock, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. September 26, 2013.

This final picture was taken later at Jefferson’s Rock above the town of Harpers Ferry.  The red tree and church steeple attracted my attention.  That’s the Potomac River beyond the steeple.

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Our World: Biltmore’s Rose Garden

October 7, 2013
Part of the rose garden at Biltmore House & Gardens, Asheville, North Carolina. August 6, 2013.

Part of the rose garden at Biltmore House & Gardens, Asheville, North Carolina. August 6, 2013.

(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’m beginning to think that visiting the Rose Garden at Biltmore House and Gardens is dangerous to the health of our wallet.  Each time Betsy and I visit the rose garden, one or both of us will find a rose that we think would look good in our yard.  When we visited last year we found the Milestone rose, which we added to our garden this year.

We went back to Biltmore in early August as part of our getaway for Betsy’s birthday.  And sure enough, we both found some roses that we thought it would be nice to have.

Francis Meilland rose, Biltmore House & Gardens, Asheville, North Carolina. August 6, 2013.

Francis Meilland rose, Biltmore House & Gardens, Asheville, North Carolina. August 6, 2013.

The first one we found was Francis Meilland.  This is a new rose that I’ve had my eye on for several months.

Winter Sun rose, Biltmore House & Gardens, Asheville, North Carolina. August 6, 2013.

Winter Sun rose, Biltmore House & Gardens, Asheville, North Carolina. August 6, 2013.

Winter Sun is another new rose that both of us found to be very beautiful.

Sweet Afton rose, Biltmore House & Garden, Asheville, North Carolina. August 6, 2013.

Sweet Afton rose, Biltmore House & Garden, Asheville, North Carolina. August 6, 2013.

Sweet Afton was introduced in 1964.  I’m not sure it is still available, but both Betsy and I liked its beautiful pastel colors.

Queen Elizabeth rose, Biltmore House & Gardens, Asheville, North Carolina. August 6, 2013.

Queen Elizabeth rose, Biltmore House & Gardens, Asheville, North Carolina. August 6, 2013.

Queen Elizabeth is an even older rose (1955), but it is still a beauty.  I have seen it offered by several sources.

Do you have any suggestions for us?  We’re running out of places to put roses in our yard, although I’m sure the deer would be delighted to have a few more rose bushes to munch on.

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Posted in Garden | 23 Comments »

Williamsburg Skies

October 4, 2013
The Governor's Palace at Colonial Williamsburg. September 21, 2013.

The Governor’s Palace at Colonial Williamsburg. September 21, 2013.

(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.

Our first stop on our recent vacation was Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.  We walked through the garden behind the Governor’s Palace under a beautiful blue sky.

Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, Virginia. September 21, 2013.

Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, Virginia. September 21, 2013.

One of the main purposes for our trip was to enable Betsy to do some research at Bruton Parish.  Her eight-times great grandfather, Thomas Ballard, was a member of the Vestry of the church from 1674 – 1683.  By the time we left the church there were some scattered light clouds in the sky.

The Capitol in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. September 21, 2013.

The Capitol in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. September 21, 2013.

It was even cloudier when we walked over to the Capitol, but it was still a very pretty day.  All in all it was a nearly perfect day for visiting Colonial Williamsburg.

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