My World: Lilies

July 13, 2010

American Original lily, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. June 25, 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.

Most of you know that Betsy and I have roses in our yard, but we also have other flowers as well.  We like to have blossoms spread out over as long a period as possible.

Our lilies started to bloom in late May and we still have a few blooming.  The lily in the picture above is called American Original.  It is in the long flower bed on the side of our house.

Golden Splendor lily, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. June 24, 2010.

Golden Splendor is another lily in that same flower bed.  We’ve had this lily for several years.

Garden Pleasure lily, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. June 3, 2010.

The new flower bed in front of the house contains some new lilies.  This beauty is called Garden Pleasure, which seems to be a very appropriate name.

Montenegro lily, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. May 29, 2010.

Montenegro is another new lily in that front flower bed.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in My World | 17 Comments »

Scenic Sunday #104: A Many-Splendored Thing

July 11, 2010

Repulse Bay Beach, Hong Kong. June, 1987.

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.

I’m not sure how many of you are old enough to remember the 1955 film “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing”.  The film was set and filmed in Hong Kong.  When I visited Hong Kong in 1987 our tour guide stopped at this overlook above Repulse Bay Beach.  One scene from the film was shot at the overlook while other scenes were shot on the beach you can see below.

The movie didn’t make as big an impression on me as the song of the same title, but it was still interesting to be at a place where part of the movie was shot.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Scenic Sunday | 14 Comments »

Skywatch Friday: ‘X’ Marks the Spot

July 9, 2010

'X' marks the spot over our house in Fairfield Glade, Tennessee.

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 have always felt that we were led to this house here in the Glade.  We fell in love with it from the moment the realtor showed it to us for the first time.  The house had everything we had talked about and we made an offer that first day.

Some people have a problem understanding just how special we think this house actually is.  But now I have proof.  I was in the front yard a couple of weeks ago and saw this celestial ‘X marks the spot’ overhead.  I would say that this proves that we do in fact live in a special place.

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

I had a good visit with my parents yesterday and found them to be about as good as can be expected.  They were in good spirits, but it is still sad to see how much they have aged since before Betsy had her knee surgery.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 21 Comments »

New Roses in Our Yard

July 8, 2010

Alec's Red rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. May 23, 2010.

We’ve had some very hot and dry weather since the first of June.  Most of the lawns around here are starting to turn brown.  We may get some rain this coming weekend, and it would surely be welcome.

I have been busy watering our roses, and most of them are still looking pretty good, although the blossoms don’t last very long in this heat.  I water the roses by bucket, which takes a fair amount of time.

The roses in this post are new for us this year.  My Beautiful Bride likes red roses, and the rose above, Alec’s Red, has blossoms that hold their shape and color for a fairly long time.

John F. Kennedy rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. May 27, 2010.

But Betsy also likes white roses.  John F. Kennedy is a new white rose for her.

Ronald Reagan rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. May 31, 2010

I tend to like bicolor roses.  Ronald Reagan is a pretty red-and-white rose that blooms in the new flower bed in front of the house.

Southern Belle rose, May 13, 2010.

Since Betsy is a Virginia girl, I just knew I had to get this rose, Southern Belle, as soon as I learned about it last year.

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

I’ll be going to Hendersonville to check on my parents and to take care of some chores for them.  As a result I won’t be able to do much visiting in blogland, but I’ll get to you as quickly as I can.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Garden | 17 Comments »

Watery Wednesday #95: Tellico River

July 7, 2010

Tellico River, Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee. June 18, 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.

It’s been hot and dry here on the Plateau in Tennessee.  I can’t think of anything more refreshing on days like this than to sit on a rock and soak my feet in a fast-flowing mountain river.  This is the Tellico River as it flows through the Cherokee National Forest in eastern Tennessee.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Watery Wednesday | 20 Comments »

Fireworks at the Glade

July 6, 2010

The start of the fireworks display. Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. July 4, 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.

Fairfield Glade is an interesting community.  Most of the full-time residents are retired, but it is also a time-share resort with plenty of visitors in the summer.  The Fourth of July is a big celebration for both groups.  People here on vacation like to find things other than golf and the visiting grandchildren of residents need to be entertained.

For a relatively small community the Glade puts on a pretty good fireworks display.  I couldn’t resist the temptation to join residents and visitors at the Druid Hills club house to see the show.  All of these pictures were taken Sunday night.  I learned some things about my camera while taking these, so hopefully I’ll do better next year.

Tags: , ,
Posted in American Life | 18 Comments »

Happy Fourth of July

July 3, 2010

The Liberty Bell, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. December 2, 2000.

” …  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. …”

Two hundred and thirty-four years ago, the United States began with a declaration and an ideal.  We need to remember both and work to bring the ideal closer to reality.

Have a happy and safe Fourth of July.

Tags: ,
Posted in American Life | 14 Comments »

Skywatch Friday: Clouds Over the Plateau

July 2, 2010

Northern Cumberland County, Tennessee. June 27, 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.

Last Sunday Betsy and I took a ride out in the country here on the Plateau.  It was a very hot day, but it was beautiful.  The sky was blue, and when we started out there were many white clouds sailing above the mountains.

They weren’t predicting rain, so we were able to enjoy the day and watch the clouds as they changed.  Sometimes there were large clouds with just some blue around the edges.

At other times there were small white clouds scampering across an expanse of blue.

It was a wonderful day to be out and about.

Tags: , ,
Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 20 Comments »

Down Memory Lane: Mount Nebo Waterfalls

July 1, 2010

I’ve mentioned several times how much Betsy and I like going to Mount Nebo in Arkansas.  We always stay in a beautiful rustic cabin on the edge of the mountain where we can enjoy the fantastic views.

But as you might expect, if we keep going back there have to be some waterfalls as well.  There is a Waterfall Trail that leads down the mountain not too far from the cabin.  I usually hike that trail at least once during our stay and, if we spend the day on the mountain, will often hike it along with one of the other trails.

The Waterfall Trail leads past one pretty falls, Upper Nebo Falls,  on its way to the main drop, Mount Nebo Falls.  Since both are near the top of the mountain the water flow can be low during much of the year, but they are pretty in the early Spring.  The collage above was made from pictures I took of the waterfalls during our visit in March, 2009.

To see these pictures and others, click HERE.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Waterfalls | 13 Comments »

Watery Wednesday #94: Stormy Morning at the Beach

June 30, 2010

A storm coming ashore, Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. May 7, 2009.

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 go to the beach we hope for lots of sunshine and good weather.  But even when the weather doesn’t always cooperate the beach can be beautiful.  I got this picture of a storm coming ashore at Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Watery Wednesday | 17 Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »