Watery Wednesday: Falls on Reems Creek

February 15, 2012

Falls on Reems Creek, Lake Louise Park, Weaverville, North Carolina. January 31, 2012.

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

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

When we travel, Betsy and I usually check to see if there are any waterfalls in the area to which we are travelling.  We went to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville at the end of January, and searching the internet told us a waterfall in nearby Weaverville, North Carolina.  So the morning after visiting Biltmore we travelled to Weaverville before heading home.

The Falls on Reems Creek are actually caused by a dam at the site of an old mill.  But it is still a pretty sight, and we were very happy to add this to our collection.

We were planning on seeing another new waterfall on the way home, but a rockslide on Interstate 40 closed the highway, so we had to go home by a different route.  That second waterfall will have to wait until we make another trip to Asheville.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 21 Comments »

Hunting Waterfalls with Dad

February 13, 2012

Dad in our car visiting waterfalls, Tullahoma, Tennessee. February 9, 2012.

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This past Thursday Betsy and I went down to Tullahoma to see Dad.  After helping him with some things around the house, we went out to lunch and then went for a ride.  Dad is legally blind, but he enjoys drives out into the countryside, so we took him along to visit a couple of waterfalls in the area.  He stayed in the car while Betsy and I were getting pictures of the waterfalls.  But since he was with us, I convinced him that I needed to get his picture as well.

Dad was more feeble when we saw him this time than he has been at other times, but since he’s going to be 100 in August that is to be expected.  He enjoyed being with us, just as we enjoyed being with him.

About the hat — one of Dad’s grandsons (my nephew) graduated from the Naval Academy in 2001 and gave Dad the hat, which he wears just about every time we go out.

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Posted in Family | 21 Comments »

SkyWatch Friday: Smoky Mountains Sky

February 10, 2012

Afternoon sky in the Smoky Mountains, North Carolina. January 31, 2012.

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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.

A rock slide closed the interstate on the morning Betsy and I were coming home from Asheville, North Carolina.  Our choices for alternate routes were a very long detour on the interstates or a drive through the Smoky Mountains.  We considered our choices for about two seconds and headed for the Smokies.

The day started out with clear blue skies, but clouds developed in the afternoon.  I snapped this picture of the sky and mountains at an overlook on Newfound Gap road in North Carolina.  You have to look closely, but you can see the sunbeams that attracted my attention.  It took us longer to get home than it would have if we had taken the interstate, but the scenery certainly couldn’t be beat.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 18 Comments »

Watery Wednesday: Rainbow on the Lake

February 8, 2012

Mirror Lake fountain, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. February 7, 2012.

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

Yesterday Betsy and I walked around two of the small lakes here in Fairfield Glade.    It was a beautiful but chilly day with bright sunshine and blue skies.

One of the lakes, Mirror Lake, has a fountain.  As we were walking back to our car I noticed a rainbow created by the fountain.  I was able to capture the rainbow in this photo.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 17 Comments »

Our World: Oops!

February 7, 2012

Mom at Winslow Christian Church, Winslow, Indiana. October 5, 2006.

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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 October, 2006, Betsy and I drove my parents to Winslow, Indiana, which was Mom’s hometown and the place where Mom and Dad met.  This picture was taken in front of the church in which Mom grew up.  If you look closely at the base of the sign you will see that it is ‘In Memory of Mr. & Mrs. James Cassidy’ — Mom’s parents and my grandparents.

There’s only one small problem — the family spelled their last name ‘CassidAy’!

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Posted in Our World | 18 Comments »

Scenic Sunday: Looking Down on Cades Cove

February 5, 2012

Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. September 9, 2010.

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This is my post for the Scenic Sunday meme, which shares beautiful scenes from around the world.  To see more Scenic Sunday posts, or to join and show your own pictures, click HERE.

Cades Cove is one of the most popular parts of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee.  The cove is a valley dotted with homesteads, churches, fields and woods.  It was turned into a living museum after the establishment of the park in the 1930s.  This picture was taken from Rich Mountain road leading out to Cades Cove.  If you look carefully you can see part of the loop road that takes visitors through the cove.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 14 Comments »

SkyWatch Friday: Full Moon — Blue Sky

February 3, 2012

Full moon in a blue sky, Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. May 6, 2009.

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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.

When going through some computer files the other day, I came across this photo of a nearly full moon in a blue sky.  It was taken in May, 2009, at Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina.  Since I misfiled it, I thought it deserved to be shared on Skywatch Friday.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 18 Comments »

Watery Wednesday: The falls at Niagara

February 1, 2012

The American and Canadian Falls at Niagara, Niagara Falls, New York. August 30, 2002.

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

This is one of the few pictures that I got of both the American (foreground) and the Canadian (background) falls at Niagara.  If you look closely you can even see The Maid of the Mist in the river hear the Canadian Falls.

This picture was taken in 2002 from the state park on the American side of the river.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 16 Comments »

Remembering Happy Days

January 30, 2012

Dad, Virginia Smith and Mom, Boonville, Indiana. October 5, 2006.

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One advantage of cold, wet winter days is that I have more time to work at my computer.

I recently came across some pictures that I took back in October, 2006.  Betsy and I had driven Mom and Dad up to Mom’s hometown of Winslow, Indiana.  On the way we stopped in Boonville, Indiana, to visit their friend, Virginia Smith.

Virginia was Mom’s best friend in school.  When they were seniors, Virginia started dating Leonard Smith, who was Dad’s best friend in the CCC.  Dad and Leonard were stationed at a CCC camp outside Winslow, working on what would become a state park.  Needless to say, it wasn’t long before Virginia and Leonard and Mom and Dad were double dating.

Virginia and Leonard got married shortly after Virginia graduated from high school, but my grandmother made Mom wait until she was twenty before she married.  Mom was a good daughter and didn’t get married until three days after she turned twenty.

Mom and Dad and the Smiths remained friends through the years.  Leonard died in the mid 1980s, but Mom, Dad and Virginia remained in touch and visited whenever possible.

Virginia died in 2010, and Mom died last year.  Now Dad — 99 years young — is the only one left.  But it was a blessing back in 2006 for Betsy and me to be there as these three remembered the happy days gone by.

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Posted in American Life | 20 Comments »

SkyWatch Friday: Icy Trees, Blue Skies

January 27, 2012

Icy tree branches on a beautiful winter day, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. January 31, 2010.

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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.

We’ve had a mild winter so far this year, and I’m not complaining,  But I will admit that snow — and even ice — can be beautiful as long as I don’t have to drive in it.  I took this picture in our yard a couple of years ago, and thing the icy branches look good against the blue sky.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 28 Comments »

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