Our World: Nashville’s Parthenon

July 23, 2012

The Parthenon in Centennial Park, Nashville, as seen from Lake Watauga. (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.

The centerpiece of Nashville’s Centennial Park is an exact replica of the Parthenon of ancient Greece.

The northeast corner of the Parthenon in Centennial Park.

In 1895 Tennessee wanted to find a way to celebrate the centennial of its statehood (which would occur in 1896), and they decided on a centennial exposition to be held in Nashville.  At that time Nashville was known as the Athens of the South, so an exact replica of the Parthenon in Athens would be the pinnacle of the Grand Exposition.  The Parthenon was the first building put up for the exposition and it set the theme for the 36 other buildings that were constructed.

Since only a year was allowed for putting the Exposition together, all of the buildings were constructed using materials that would survive only through the Exposition.

Moving toward the eastern side of the Parthenon.

Because of bureaucratic red tape, the Grand Centennial Exposition didn’t open until 1897, one year after the statehood celebration.  Even with the delayed opening the Centennial Celebration was a huge success, with over 1.8 million visitors over a 6-month period.  Within two years of the close of the Centennial Exposition only three buildings remained, including the Parthenon.

The east side of the Parthenon. Notice the intricate reliefs of the pediment above the columns.

The ‘temporary’ Parthenon lasted for 23 years.  In 1920, because of the popularity of the Parthenon, the city of Nashville began an eleven-year project of replacing the temporary materials with permanent materials.  This reconstructed building is the one that stands today.

The Parthenon as seen from the southeast corner.

Nashville’s Parthenon in the only full-sized replica in the world.  The 7-ton bronze doors are the largest in the world, and the statue of Athena is the largest indoor statue  in the western hemisphere.  The pediment reliefs on the east and west sides of the Parthenon were created by direct casts of the originals, which are now in the British Museum of Art.

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Focusing On What’s Important

July 20, 2012

Orchids in the Conservatory of the Opryland Hotel, Nashville, Tennessee. June 24, 2012.

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

Which of these two images do you like best?  The one above or the one below?

Orchids in the Conservatory of the Opryland Hotel, Nashville, Tennessee. June 24, 2012.

The interesting thing — to me — is that both images are from the same photograph.

Here are two more images, again taken from the same photo.

How is this possible?  The secret is a camera that allows me to focus after the picture is taken.

Lake Watauga, Centennial Park, Nashville, Tennessee. June 23, 2012.

Lake Watauga, Centennial Park, Nashville, Tennessee. June 23, 2012.

The camera is a Lytro Light Field camera, which takes what are called living pictures.  Clicking on a living picture changes the point of focus.

George using his new camera. (Photo by Betsy)

The camera is different from any other camera I’ve had.  It has no auto-focus, no flash, no dials and no shutter lag.

It has taken me a while to learn how to use the camera, but it has been a fascinating experience.  If you would like to experiment with some living pictures (remember you change the focus by clicking on the picture), you can do so by clicking HERE.

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I Promised Her a Rose Garden (8)

July 18, 2012

Bella’roma Rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. June 2, 2012.

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

This is the eighth post on the roses in our yard.  The previous posts can be found by clicking on the tag ‘Roses’ below.

Bella’roma has soft pastel colors and a delightful fragrance, which accounts for her name.

Fragrant Cloud, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. May 28, 2012.

Fragrant Cloud, as you can imagine, has a very good fragrance.  This rose is in our small rosebud along the driveway.

Melody Parfumeé, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. May 2, 2012.

Another fragrant rose in our garden is Melody Parfumeé.  The fragrance is wonderful, but we like it just as much for its unusual color.

Midas Touch, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 27, 2012.

Midas Touch isn’t quite as fragrant as the others in this post, but it does have a rich yellow color that draws attention anyway.

Mister Lincoln, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 27, 2012.

Mister Lincoln is another variety that I’ve had for many years, and this plant is one of the first we got when we started our rose garden here in the Glade.  The blossoms of Mister Lincoln don’t last as long as some of the newer reds, but its wonderful fragrance and classic form allows it to remain a favorite in our garden.

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Our World: Centennial Park

July 16, 2012

The West End of Nashville showing Centennial Park and the place where I worked for ClientLogic.

(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 June 23 Betsy and I went to Nashville to celebrate our eleventh anniversary.  The first place we visited was Centennial Park.  When I met Betsy I was working a couple of blocks from the park and would walk there on my lunch hour (see the image above).  When Betsy and I were dating, and even after we got married, we would often have lunch together in the park.

Picture of Betsy taken in Centennial Park, Nashville, Tennessee. April 7, 2001.

Our second date was on April 7, 2001, and we went Centennial Park.  At that time the gardens were full of Spring blossoms.  I took the picture above (it was the second picture I ever took of Betsy) amid the tulips.

Betsy at Centennial Park, Nashville, Tennessee. June 23, 2012.

There were no tulips this time, but lots of marigolds and other summer blossoms.  I got this picture fairly near where the previous picture was taken.

Centennial Park, Nashville, Tennessee. June 23, 2012.

Although it was very warm on June 23, the gardens were still beautiful.  I will admit, though, that the more we walked, the more we tried to stay in the shade.

Betsy and George at Centennial Park, Nashville, Tennessee. June 23, 2012.

But we did stay out in the sun long enough for me to set up the tripod and get this picture of us on our special day.

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SkyWatch Friday: St. Lucia Skies

July 13, 2012

Sunrise off St. Lucia in the Caribbean. September 13, 2001.

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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.

I went to my archives for these pictures of the skies above and around St. Lucia in the Caribbean.  These photos are from the cruise Betsy and I took in September, 2001.

The day started with a beautiful sunrise over the sea (above) as we approached St. Lucia.

Clouds over St. Lucia. September 13, 2001.

We spent most of the day on a catamaran cruise along the coast.  In the early afternoon the clouds over the island seemed to  come down and touch the mountains.

Sunset in the Caribbean off St. Lucia. September 13, 2001.

The day ended as gloriously as it began, with a beautiful sunset as we headed back out to sea.

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I Promised Her a Rose Garden (7)

July 11, 2012

Acapella rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 30, 2012.

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

This is the seventh post on the roses in our yard.  The previous posts can be found by clicking on the tag ‘Roses’ below.

Acapella is one of our newer roses, and it resides in a container along our driveway.  In addition to beautiful color, Acapella also has a delightful fragrance.

Frederic Mistral rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. June 1, 2012.

One of our most fragrant roses is Frederic Mistral.  This rose has a tendency to branch all over the place, so it it requires a lot of pruning.  But the the fragrance and color keeps it in our garden.

Glowing Peace rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. May 1, 2012.

Glowing Peace is another offspring of the famous Peace rose.  I really like the colors of this beauty.

Lemon Spice rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. May 23, 2012.

Another relatively new rose for us is Lemon Spice.  Both the color and the fragrance are ‘spicy’.

Medallion rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. May 1, 2012.

Medallion certainly takes the prize as the rose with the largest blossoms in our yard.  I first had this variety nearly 40 years ago, although we’ve had this particular bush for only a couple of years.  I think this rose definitely deserves a medal of some sort.

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And Then The Wind Came

July 9, 2012

Fallen tree behind our house, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. July 6, 2012.

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

Last Thursday evening Betsy and I were thinking about getting supper ready when all of a sudden a strong wind came up and all kinds of nuts started falling from the trees around our house.  Then one of our umbrellas started scooting along the deck.  As we worked to get the umbrella down and other things on the deck firmly anchored, we heard a brick cracking sound behind the house.  This was accompanied by a tall tree crashing down.

Tree down behind our house, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. July 5, 2012. (Photo by Betsy.)

When the tree came down, it took most of a smaller tree with it.

Behind our house, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. July 6, 2012.

We were amazed that such a big tree could come down so quickly.  The fact that the trunk broke rather than the root ball coming up made it even more amazing.

Clearing the downed tree behind our house, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. July 6, 2012.  (Photo by Betsy.)

We were fortunate in two respects:  First, that the tree didn’t hit the house, and second, the tree was  on golf course property.  Friday morning Glade employees equipped with chain saws arrived on the scene and went to work.

Clearing debris from the fallen tree, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. July 6, 2012. (Photo by Betsy.)

In a remarkably short time they had the tree cut up and loaded into a truck (actually several loads).  Soon the view from our back deck was as beautiful as ever — minus a couple of trees

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Apple, what have you done?

July 6, 2012

Burgess Falls, Burgess Falls State Park, Tennessee. May 26, 2001.

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

As most of you know, I’m a big fan of Apple products.  My first personal computer was an AppleII.  I’ve worked with Macintosh computers from just about the time they were introduced, and am now on my fourth iMac computer.

I also have a couple of iPods and an iPad.  I really do like Apple products.

Cumberland Falls, Cumberland Falls State Park, Kentucky. June 23, 2005.

There is one area, however, in which I’m fed up with Apple, and that is their online hosting services.  Apple first offered online hosting of photos and files with Home Page, and I uploaded many pictures to Home Page to share them with family and friends.

Elk River Falls, Elk Park, North Carolina. February 15, 2008.

After a couple of years Home Page went away with its place taken by Mobile Me.  Fortunately Apple provided an easy way to move to Mobile Me, and that’s what I did.  Over the past five years I’ve uploaded many more photos to Mobile Me.  I really liked that service.

Looking Glass Falls, Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina. May 23, 2002

Mobile Me went away on June 30, and there is nothing from Apple to replace it.  Fortunately Apple did provide plenty of advance notice, but that was about all.  So I decided to create my own site completely independent of anything Apple does.  For the past few months I’ve been working to set up the site and move pictures and files to it.

Lower Whitewater Falls, Sapphire, North Carolina. November 9, 2006.

I’ve finished moving our waterfall collection.  It currently contains the 452 waterfalls that I’ve cataloged to date.  I’ll add more waterfalls as I get my pictures organized.  If you would like to visit our waterfall collection, you can do so HERE.

North River Falls, Tellico Plains, Tennessee. June 18, 2010.

I’m in the process of moving other pictures and files to my site, and I’ll let you know as they are posted.

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Happy Birthday, USA

July 4, 2012

The room where the Declaration of Independence was signed, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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It was 236 years ago that an amazing idea was put into words and a new experiment in governance was begun.

… We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

The Declaration of Independence was signed in the room shown above in Independence Hall, Philadelphia.  If you look closely you can see Benjamin Franklin’s walking stick on the table on the right.

‘Militiamen’ firing a salvo, Williamsburg, Virginia. June 22, 2007.

In the war that followed American militiamen took on Europe’s strongest army.  For several years the Americans lost more battles than they won, but they persisted.

Fife and drum corp, Williamsburg, Virginia.

Finally, in 1781, a British army surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia.  For all practical purposes that ended the war.  ‘Yankee Doodle’ had won.

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The experiment continues to this day.  The nation hasn’t always lived up to the ideals expressed all those years ago, but it does keep striving toward the goal.

Fireworks, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. July 4, 2010.

Happy Birthday, USA!

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Our World: Morning on the Blue Ridge Parkway

July 2, 2012

Morning at the Grassy Ridge Mine overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. April 4, 2012.

(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.

In early April Betsy and I spent a couple of nights in the mountains of Western North Carolina.  Early one morning we went up to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It was a beautiful day with a gorgeous blue sky, but we could see clouds blanketing the valleys below us.  The picture above was taken at the Grassy Ridge Mine Overlook on the parkway.

The view from Grassy Ridge Mine overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. April 4, 2012.

This picture was taken at the same overlook.  The leaves weren’t out yet on the trees, but the clouds in the sky above and the clouds in the valley below made this overlook an enchanting part of our world.

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I find it hard to believe, but this is the 1,000th post I’ve done on this blog.  When I started, I would never have imagined that it would go on this long.  But I do want to say ‘Thank you’ to all of the wonderful people I’ve met who have shared this adventure with me.

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