Our World: Lewiston Peach Festival

September 27, 2011

The Sweet Spot, Peach Festival, Lewiston, New York. September 10, 2011. (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.

When we visited my daughter and her husband a couple of weeks ago, they took us to the Peach Festival in Lewiston, New York.  The Peach Festival was interesting, and is fairly typical of small-town American festivals.

One thing Americans like to do is eat, and the Peach Festival had a wide variety of different foods for just about every conceivable taste.  The Sweet Spot (above) had things for those with a sweet tooth.

This booth would have been as much at home in Louisiana as it was in New York. Peach Festival, Lewiston, New York. September 10, 2011.

Some places offered a wide variety of different foods.

I didn't see anyone ordering the Garlic Meatloaf Sandwich. Peach Festival, Lewiston, New York. September 10, 2011.

I’m not sure I want to try that Garlic Meatloaf Sandwich!

Barbecued turkey legs and corn on the cob. Peach Festival, Lewiston, New York. September 10, 2011.

Barbecued turkey legs and grilled corn on the cob are uniquely American treats.

Preparing Italian sausages. September 10, 2011.

The booth selling Italian sausages was busy preparing for a lot of customers.  The aroma started to make me hungry.

Peppers and onions. Peach Festival, Lewiston, New York. September 10, 2011.

Stir-fried onions and peppers were available as garnishes for the sausages.

Did you note anything strange about this visit to the Peach Festival?  There are no pictures of peaches.  I saw only one booth with peaches, and I didn’t get a picture!

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Posted in Our World | 18 Comments »

On the Road Again

September 26, 2011

Highlights of our most recent trip. September, 2011.

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

Betsy and I hit the road again earlier this month.  Since we headed west in June, we decided to head north and east this time.  The main purpose of our trip was to visit my daughter and her husband near Buffalo, New York.

We had originally planned to go on to Vermont to see some of the covered bridges in that state, but hurricane Irene wiped out three of the bridges we wanted to see, plus several the roads we were going to travel.  So we basically decided to play it by ear and see what we could find.  After leaving Buffalo we drove toward Cleveland, Ohio, to visit Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  The park, which is relatively new, contains a waterfall we had wanted to see on an earlier trip, but did not.

A blog friend of Betsy’s had said that Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio was a wonderful place to hike and visit waterfalls.  We decided to stop there for a visit as well.
We had both wanted to visit Blackwater Falls in West Virginia, so we drove there, having an adventure on mountain roads to get there.  Blackwater State Park is absolutely beautiful, and we will definitely plan on going back so we can spend more time there.  After leaving Blackwater Falls we took a ride at the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, where we traveled to the top of Balk Knob behind a steam engine.

Engine leaving the station at Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, West Virginia. September 16, 2011. (Photo by Betsy)

We also wanted to revisit the New River Gorge in West Virginia.  We had seen the upper New River last year, but this year we saw the New River Gorge Bridge and drove down to the bottom of gorge and back up.  We also visited several other parts of the New River National River before heading back home.
It was a wonderful trip, and I now have hundreds more pictures to organize and get ready to share.

You’ve been warned!

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Posted in Travels | 14 Comments »

Down Memory Lane: Day Lilies in Our Yard (2008)

September 8, 2011

I was going through some of my archives, and came across pictures from 2008 of the day lies we have in our yard.  Since we missed many of our day lilies this year because of our western trip, I was glad to come across these pictures.

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

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My Blogging Muse has become about as dry and unproductive as our yard and garden, so Betsy and I have decided to take a blogging break.  I’m not sure what (if anything) we’ll do other than trying to keep our roses and other plants alive.  If my Muse cooperates, I’ll be back the last week of September.

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Posted in Garden | 19 Comments »

Watery Wednesday #155: Sinawava Falls

September 7, 2011

Sinawava Falls from the Temple of Sinawava, Zion National Park, Utah. June 18, 2011.

(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.

The Temple of Sinawava is the last shuttle stop along the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive.  The only way to get to it when we visited the park was by shuttle bus.  I could not see much of the scenery while on the bus, so I was happy to get off so I could look around.

I was doubly happy when I spotted this waterfall high up on the canyon wall.  There was only a thin stream of water coming over the edge, but it could be followed for quite a way down.

Sinawava Falls, Zion National Park. June 18, 2011.

My telephoto lens brought the detail of the waterfall closer, but lost the beautiful canyon around Sinawava Falls.  I couldn’t decide which photo I like best, so I’m posting both.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 16 Comments »

Our World: Unexpected Beauty

September 6, 2011

Blatant Iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. August 31, 2011.

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

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 has been a very strange year on the Cumberland Plateau.  We had an unusually wet spring, followed by an extremely hot and dry summer.  We had only a trace of rainfall in all of July and August.  The lawn and gardens show the stress of such hot, dry weather.

But, in spite of this, we’ve had iris blooming fairly consistently since April.  We have several that are supposed to bloom twice a year — once in the spring and once in the fall.  But the irises in our front flower bed just keep  blooming (that’s not a complaint).

Late last week our Blatant Iris sent up another flower stalk.  The stalk isn’t as tall as they usually are, but the blossom is still pretty.

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SkyWatch Friday: Mt. Mitchell Clouds

September 2, 2011

In the clouds atop Mount Mitchell, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

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.

While we were in Asheville, North Carolina, for Betsy’s birthday last month, we drove up to Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi River.  We’ve been there before, and always enjoyed the view.

But things were a little different this time.  We weren’t above the clouds — we were IN the clouds, as you can see from the picture above, which Betsy took from the observation deck at the summit.

We saw mountain ridges through a break in the clouds. Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

As we stood on the observation deck a breeze picked up and we were able to make out some of the nearby mountain ridges.

Blue sky and clouds, Mount Mitchell, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

The clouds soon moved back in, but not before we caught a glimpse of some blue sky.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 25 Comments »

99 Years Young

September 1, 2011

Dad, my sister-in-law Bonnie and brother Ken. August 31, 2011.

My Dad turned 99 on Monday.  He’s still in relatively good health, although he has gone down since my Mother died in June.  He suffered a small stroke about three weeks ago, but is much better than when we last saw him a couple of weeks ago.

My brother and sister-in-law came down from Indiana this week, so we all got together last night to celebrate Dad’s birthday.  Cracker Barrel is one of Dad’s favorite places so we got together to celebrate.  All three of his children (do I qualify as a child when I’m pushing 70?) and our spouses were there.

Betsy, my sister Janet, brother-in-law Charlie, George, Dad, sister-in-law Bonnie and brother Ken. August 31, 2011.

The Cracker Barrel staff came to the table and sang Happy Birthday to Dad and presented him with some apple cobbler and ice cream.  I think that was Dad’s favorite part of the meal.

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Posted in Family | 20 Comments »

Watery Wednesday #155: Italian Garden

August 31, 2011

Lily pads in the Italian Garden, Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

(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.

I’ve posted a couple of times about the Italian Gardens at the Biltmore Estate near Asheville, North Carolina, where we celebrated Betsy’s birthday.

Koi and reflections in an Italian Garden pool, Biltmore. August 5. 2011. (Photo by Betsy).

The Italian Garden is a water garden with three pools filled with water lilies like the ones above.  The pools also contain Koi, which Betsy captured along with a reflection of the cloudy sky.

Water lily in the Italian Garden, Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. August 5, 2011.

The water lilies were beautiful and showed some of the most vibrant colors I have seen in water lilies.

Water lily in the Italian Garden, Biltmore. August 5, 2011.

I liked the color of this lily as well as the reflection in the water.  The bee in the blossom was a nice bonus.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 18 Comments »

Our World: Welcome Home

August 30, 2011

Welcome Home Rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. August 25, 2011.

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

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 is the scene that has greeted us when we turned into our driveway this week.  The rose, appropriately enough, is named Welcome Home.

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Posted in Our World | 15 Comments »

Scenic Sunday: Jasper Forest

August 28, 2011

Jasper Forest in Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona. June 13, 2011

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

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.

Petrified wood falling to the valley floor from a bluff opposite the overlook at Jasper Forest. June 13, 2011.

Jasper Forest is a valley in the Petrified Forest National Park that was once covered with petrified wood.  The petrified wood was encased in the bluffs that surround the valley, and when erosion removed the softer rocks, the petrified logs tumbled and accumulated on the valley floor.

Petrified wood at the base of a bluff in Jasper Forest. The forest gets it's name from the reddish-brown color of the petrified logs. June 13, 2011.

The valley was once filled with fallen logs, but commercial collectors plundered it in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  The collectors would then sell the petrified wood as souvenirs.  Outrage against the plundering of Jasper Forest helped lead to the establishment of Petrified Forest as a National Monument in 1906.

A partially exposed petrified log in Jasper Forest. It, too, may tumble to the valley floor in a few centuries. June 13, 2011.

Jasper Forest got it’s name from the opaque reddish-brown color of the petrified wood found in the valley.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 13 Comments »

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