Watery Wednesday: Wintry Waterfall

December 14, 2011

Dry Falls, Highlands, North Carolina. December 12, 2009.

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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.

Betsy and I usually visit waterfalls in warm weather, but there are advantages to visiting a waterfall in cold weather.  In addition to flowing water, it is often possible to see ice and icicles, which give additional elements to enjoy.

This picture of Dry Falls was taken in December, 2009.  Dry Falls, near Highlands, North Carolina, can be seen from an observation deck fairly near the road.  In warm weather it is possible to walk behind the waterfall, but the path was closed because of ice when we took this this picture.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 22 Comments »

Our World: Where in the World has George Been?

December 13, 2011

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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.

Isn’t modern technology wonderful?  I’m trying to get my photos organized and published, and one of the programs I use is iPhoto.  iPhoto has a ‘Places’ feature that identifies the location of a photograph.  Now that I have a GPS tracker the process is automatic, although I have to enter the location manually on older photos.

Over the weekend I noticed that I currently have 119 places identified in my photos.  The red pins on the world map above give a general view of where I’ve taken pictures.  The dots on the far right are on Beijing, People’s Republic of China, and the island of Bali.  I visited those places more than 20 years ago.

The red dot in the Caribbean is San Juan, Puerto Rico, where Betsy and I boarded a cruise ship on our honeymoon.

Most of the dots are in the U. S., of course, and by zooming in to the area around Fairfield Glade, I can see that there are many places in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina that we’ve visited.

I have no idea how many places I will eventually get identified, but I find the whole process very interesting.

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Posted in Our World | 17 Comments »

Scenic Sunday: Headforemost Mountain

December 11, 2011

The view from Headforemost Mountain overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia. November 21, 2001.

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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.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, we spent the night at Peaks of Otter Lodge on the Blue Ridge Parkway while on our Thanksgiving Trip.  Since we wanted to drive the Parkway and then Skyline Drive, we got an early start from the lodge.  We were driving north, which meant we were gaining altitude as we left Peaks of Otter.  We encountered patches of fog/mist as we drove along.

When we arrived at the Headforemost Mountain overlook, we were treated to the scene above.  Actually I caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a mountain floating above the clouds as we drove by, and I had to back up to get back to the overlook.

A closer view Headforemost Mountain, Virginia. November 21, 2011.

We spent several minutes just enjoying the view.  My telephoto lens gave us an almost surreal scene across the valley.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 14 Comments »

SkyWatch Friday: Glade Sunset

December 9, 2011

Sunset on the Druid Hills Golf Course, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. November 23, 2011.

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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.

Betsy and I were treated to this wonderful sunset on the afternoon we got back from our Thanksgiving trip.  We stopped by the 12th tee of the Druid Hills golf course to enjoy the view and to get these photos.

Sunset on the Druid Hills Golf Course, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. November 23, 2011.

Sunsets are often spectacular here on the Plateau, and this time of year the sun lines up very well the fairway on that hole.

Sunset on the Druid Hills Golf Course, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. November 23, 2011.

On this day the color of the sky was gorgeous, even after the sun dropped below the horizon.

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Betsy Was Delighted

December 8, 2011

Our front yard, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. December 7, 2011.

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If you know anything at all about Betsy, you know how much she loves snow.  It snowed here in the Glade yesterday, and Betsy was in a very happy mood.  She didn’t go out and build a snowman (we didn’t get that much snow), but she did get out to enjoy it.

The wreath on our back deck, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. December 7, 2011.

We had a wet snow that clung to just about everything.  It was what Betsy calls a perfect snow.

Trees in our yard, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. December 7, 2011.

It came down pretty heavy for a while and coated  the bare branches of the trees in our yard in a layer of white.

Snow-covered holly bush in front of our house, Fairlfied Glade, Tennessee. December 7, 2011.

We still have a few more days before Christmas, and we may not have a white Christmas, but the berries on the holly in front of our house looked very festive under all the snow.

I will admit that it was a pretty snow, and I’m glad Betsy’s happy.  Now that she’s had her snow, I’m ready for Spring.

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Watery Wednesday: Upper Linville Falls

December 7, 2011

Upper Linville Falls, Linville Gorge, North Carolina. November 20, 2011.

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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.

On our Thanksgiving Week getaway Betsy and I drove part of the way on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.  We were near Linville Falls about the time we needed to stop and stretch our legs.  We had visited Linville Falls back in 2004, but haven’t been back since then.

My sweet bride couldn’t do any hiking, but she said she would remain in the car while I took a quick hike to Erwin’s View. which was a trail we didn’t hike when we were there before.  The overlook was half a mile from the parking area and offered the wonderful view of Upper Linville Falls shown above.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 17 Comments »

Our World: The Conservatory at Biltmore

December 6, 2011

Blossom in the Conservatory at Biltmore, Asheville, North Carolina. November 19, 2011.

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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.

It seems as if Betsy and I make it to the Conservatory every time we visit the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.  No matter what the season, the conservatory always seems to have beautiful plants in bloom.

Blossom in the Conservatory at Biltmore, Asheville, North Carolina. November 19, 2011.

Things were no different the week of Thanksgiving, when we once again got carried away among all the beautiful blossoms.

Blossom in the Conservatory at Biltmore, Asheville, North Carolina. November 19, 2011.

I wish I could tell you that I knew the names of all of these beauties, but I don’t.  I only hope that you enjoy these blossoms as much as we did.

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Scenic Sunday: Caledonia Cascade

December 4, 2011

Caledonia Cascade, Tallulah Gorge State Park, Georgia. October 14, 2009.

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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.

This picture of Caledonia Cascade in Georgia’s Tallulah Gorge State Park comes from my archives.  Tallulah Gorge is one of our favorite places to visit.  The gorge is two miles long and nearly 1,000 feet deep.  We’ve hiked both rims of the gorge and had hiked down into the gorge.  One of the attractions for us is the waterfalls along the river as it makes it’s way through the gorge.

Caledonia Cascade is a small ribbon waterfall that tumbles down the side of the gorge from a side creek.  It can only be seen from the floor of the gorge (where it is hard to get a decent perspective) or from the opposite rim, which is where this picture was captured.  You have to look carefully to see the cascade, but there is that bit of autumn color in the bottom corner.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 15 Comments »

Down Memory Lane: Cherohala Skyway (2009)

December 2, 2011

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Betsy and I love driving through the mountains just about any time of the year, provided there are places where we can turn off and enjoy the view.  One of our favorite drives is the Cherohala Skyway between Robbinsville, North Carolina, and Tellico Plains, Tennessee.

We made this drive from east to west in October, 2009, when the autumn colors were very near their peak.  The collage above gives a sample of the beauty we enjoyed, but no photograph can capture the splendor of those mountains in their multi-colored glory.  If you get the opportunity to make this drive during autumn, I encourage you to do so.

To see larger versions of these pictures and others, click HERE.

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Posted in Autumn | 17 Comments »

Our World: November Roses

November 29, 2011

Peace Rose in our yard. November 13, 2011.

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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.

We got to mid-November without a killing frost, so our roses continued to bloom.  Most of the leaves are off the trees, so it’s nice to still have some color in the yard.

The rose above is Peace, which since it’s introduction in 1945, has become the most  widely-planted rose in the world.  Sam McGredy, a famous rose hybridizer, said of the Peace rose “It’s as nearly perfect as a rose can be”.  I’m not sure about that, but we sure do like it.

Love and Peace Rose in our yard. November 13, 2011.

Love and Peace, a descendant of Peace, is another rose that put on a November show for us.

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Posted in Our World | 24 Comments »

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