SkyWatch Friday: St. Lucia Skies

July 13, 2012

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

(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.

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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Posted in Garden | 20 Comments »

And Then The Wind Came

July 9, 2012

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

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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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Posted in Technology | 18 Comments »

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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Posted in American Life | 15 Comments »

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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Betsy’s Sky Photos

June 29, 2012

Tennessee sky west of Knoxville, Tennessee. June 14, 2012. (Photo by Betsy)

(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.

I’ve been telling Betsy for some time that she should show some of her sky pictures on this meme, but she always has some excuse for not doing so.  So today I’m posting some  of her photos for her.

When we go some place I usually do most of the driving since Betsy is often busy on her computer (we have mobile wi-fi for when we travel).  We went to Asheville a couple of weeks ago, and while was driving Betsy kept an eye on the sky.

There were severe thunderstorms around us, although we didn’t run into any of them.  The picture above was taken west of Knoxville just before we started up the Plateau.

Sunset on the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee. June 14, 2012. (Photo by Betsy)

We got up on the Plateau just in time to catch the sun dropping below the horizon.  That’s when Betsy got this picture of the sun and colorful sky.

The sky over the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee. June 14, 2012. (Photo by Betsy)

Even after the sun dropped below the horizon, the clouds were still a beautiful red-gold.  It’s hard to believe that Betsy got all of these pictures from a moving car on the interstate.

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I Promised Her a Rose Garden (6)

June 27, 2012

Sweet Freedom rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 20, 2012.

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

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

We haven’t had much success growing white roses — we’ve lost more white roses than all other colors combined.  But Sweet Freedom (above) is a rose that keeps blooming for us year after year.

Tahitian Sunset rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. May 30, 2012.

This multi-colored rose is named Tahitian Sunset.  I haven’t been to Tahiti, but I imagine that a sunset on that island contains these colors.

Tiffany rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. May 3, 2012.

Tiffany was new in our garden last year.  It has a soft pink blossom with a hint of yellow at the base.

Touch of Class rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 28, 2012.

Touch of Class is an elegant-looking rose which we have enjoyed for a couple of years now.

Wildfire rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. May 25, 2012.

Wildfire has an orange-red color that is close enough to Tennessee Orange to become a favorite with Betsy.

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Our World: Calabash, North Carolina

June 25, 2012

Calabash, North Carolina, waterfront. May 7, 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.

Calabash, North Carolina, is known as ‘The Seafood Capital of the World’.  It is primarily a fishing village with shrimp boats docking daily during the season, selling fresh-caught shrimp.

Sport fishing boat pulling into the dock at Calabash, North Carolina. May 7, 2012.

Sports fishermen often dock at Calabash, and there are also charter boats available.

Fish ready for cleaning on the Calabash dock, Calabash, North Carolina. May 7, 2012.

In the evening it is often possible to find one or more group of fishermen cleaning their catch on the dock.

Dockside restaurant, Calabash, North Carolina. May 7, 2012.

One of the major attractions of Calabash as far as Betsy and I are concerned is the Dockside Restaurant.  The restaurant is right on the waterfront and, if you are lucky enough to get a window seat, you can watch all the activity on the dock while eating a delicious meal.  This picture of the restaurant was taken from the dock, which shows how appropriate the restaurant name truly is.

Seafood platter at the Dockside restaurant, Calabash, North Carolina. May 7, 2012.

Calabash is famous for its ‘Calabash Seafood’, which is prepared with a special flavoring unique to the area.  I know we’re supposed to avoid fried foods, but once or twice couldn’t hurt us, could it?  It sure is good!

Betsy at the Dockside restaurant, Calabash, North Carolina. May 7, 2012.

Betsy, a tree-hugger at heart, is also a fan of the huge live oak trees at the front of the restaurant.

 

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Whatever Became of . . .

June 22, 2012

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Can you possibly imagine what became of the sweet little girl in the picture above?  It’s obvious that Shirley Temple had absolutely nothing over Elizabeth Bruce Banks of Big Stone Gap, Virginia.

It’s been rumored that young Elizabeth was something of a tomboy, but I think we shouldn’t put too much stock in rumors.  Let’s just say that Sheriff Banks did a great job of preserving law and order in Big Stone Gap.

By the time she was a senior in high school cowboy hats and boots were put aside for more feminine attire.  It’s obvious that Miss Banks was a very beautiful young lady.

Fast forward to 2001.  On June 23, 2001, Elizabeth Bruce Banks made me the happiest man in the world by becoming my wife.

Happy Anniversary, Betsy.  Thanks for becoming my Beautiful Bride and for eleven wonderful years together.

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Posted in Betsy | 25 Comments »

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