Watery Wednesday #129: Brush Creek Falls

March 2, 2011

Brush Creek Falls, Pipestem Resort State Park, West Virginia. April 23, 2010.

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.

In April of last year Betsy and I made a trip to West Virginia to search out some waterfalls we read about in  our West Virginia waterfalls book.  We only had a couple of days on our trip, but we were able to visit several falls.

We came upon Brush Creek Falls after a fairly easy hike through the woods.  The trail led to the top of the falls, but I scrambled down the banks of the creek to get this picture.

Brush Creek Falls is near Pipestem Resort State Park in West Virginia.

My World: Did I Say We Needed Rain?

March 1, 2011

Waterfall and river behind our house, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. February 28, 2011.

This is my post for the My World meme.  It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Sandy, Wren, and Fishing Guy.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

I don’t need to tell most of you that this has been a very strange year as far as the weather is concerned.  We had snow and ice in December and January, followed by cold weather and some snow in February.  One thing that we haven’t gotten is rain.  We were almost three inches below the normal amount going into the last week of February.

All of that changed Sunday night and Monday.  It rained and it rained and it rained.  The picture above was taken from the deck in the back of our house and shows the fairway about noon on Monday.  I don’t think there were any golfers out.

This picture, also taken from the deck, shows the rough behind our house.  It looks like it was trying to become a lake.

The situation was about the same in front of the house.  I haven’t heard yet how much rain we actually got, but I’m confident that it went quite a way toward eliminating the deficit.

 

Scenic Sunday #136: Tallulah Gorge

February 27, 2011

North rim of Tallulah Gorge, Tallulah Gorge State Park, Georgia. October 14, 2009.

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.

We’ve visited Tallulah Gorge State Park in Georgia several times.  The gorge is beautiful and contains waterfalls, which is enough to keep Betsy and me going back.

We were at Tallulah Gorge in October, 2009, on a foggy, rainy day.  The picture above of the wall of the north rim of the gorge was taken from the south rim.  I like the fog and mist moving down the gorge.

Skywatch Friday: Morning Sky at the Beach

February 25, 2011

Morning sky at Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. December 23, 2010.

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.

One of the joys of going to the beach in December was being able to watch a sunrise from the balcony of our room.  The sky was painted gorgeous colors before the sun broke through the clouds on the horizon.

This picture of the morning sky was taken at Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, on December 23, 2010.

Down Memory Lane: Fort George

February 24, 2011

When Betsy and I visited Niagara Falls in 2002, we were able to take in sites other than the falls themselves.  One of the places we visited was Fort George National Historical Site near Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

Fort George served as headquarters for the Centre Division of the British Army during the War of 1812.  The fort was destroyed by American artillery fire and captured by the United States in May, 1813, during the Battle of Fort George.  The United States held the fort until December, 1813, when it was recaptured by the British.  After the war the fort was partially rebuilt, but was later abandoned in favor of more strategic installations at Fort Mississauga and Butler’s Barracks.

The original plans of the Royal Engineers guided the reconstruction of Fort George as a National Historic Site in the 1930’s.

The map above shows the location of Fort George on the United States-Canadian border.

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

Watery Wednesday #128: Rockhouse Falls

February 23, 2011

Rockhouse Falls, Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tennessee. April 21, 2002.

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.

Fall Creek Falls State Park has five major waterfalls.  Rockhouse Falls is one of the smaller falls as far as water volume is concerned, although it has a drop of 125 feet.  This picture was taken from an overlook across Cane Creek Canyon from Rockhouse Falls.  I took this picture on the anniversary of our very first kiss, which took place at Fall Creek Falls State Park.

My World: Our Family of Peace Roses

February 22, 2011

Chicago Peace rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. September 10, 2010.

This is my post for the My World meme.  It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Sandy, Wren, and Fishing Guy.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

Last week I posted a picture of the rose above, Chicago Peace, on my photo blog.  In that post I mentioned that we also had Peace, which is probably the most popular rose of all time.  I also briefly described the differences between the two roses.

Peace rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. May 12, 2010.

One of my faithful readers, Ginny, asked me to post a picture of Peace, so she could see the differences for herself.

Glowing Peace rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. June 9, 2010.

But Chicago Peace isn’t the only descendant of Peace that we have in our yard.  We also have Glowing Peace, which shows the family resemblance.

Love and Peace rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. June 9, 2010.

Love and Peace is another descendant of the original Peace rose in our yard.  It, too, is a yellow-pink bicolor.

Pink Peace rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. May 19, 2010.

Finally we have Pink Peace.  This is the rose that looks least like its ancestors, but is probably the most fragrant of the family.

I hope you enjoyed meeting our Peace family.

********************

Betsy and I went to Tullahoma yesterday to see how my parents are getting along at my sister’s house.  My sister has fixed up a semi-private living area for them and they seem to be adjusting well.  Both Mom and Dad were in good spirits yesterday.

Scenic Sunday #135: Sunset Beach

February 20, 2011

Sunset Beach, North Carolina. June, 2001.

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.

There are several island beaches along the North Carolina coast near the South Carolina border.  I became familiar with them when I lived in Little River, South Carolina and Betsy and I go back to that area each Spring.

We now go to Ocean Island Beach, but the next island down, Sunset Beach, is also very beautiful.  This picture of Sunset Beach was taken in June several years ago.

February Blue Skies

February 18, 2011

Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. February 11, 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.

There is nothing quite as beautiful as blue skies in February.  We haven’t had many beautiful blue sky days this winter, but last weekend was an exception.  I went out in the morning and couldn’t believe how blue the sky was behind our house.  Of course I had to rush back in and grab my camera.

The trees are still bare, and they haven’t shown any signs of buds yet, but these blue skies give me hope.

Blue Ridge Mountains

February 17, 2011

Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. November 22, 2010.

In late November Betsy and I went to Asheville, North Carolina, for a couple of days.  While there we took a drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway towards Mount Mitchell.  Most of the leaves were gone from the trees by that time, but that simply meant we could see more of those beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.  This was the view from near Craggy Gardens.

The red dot on the map above shows where we were when the picture was taken.