Posts Tagged ‘Glade’

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My World: Perhaps We Need Larger Feeders

January 5, 2010

Pileated Woodpecker at a suet feeder, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. December 30, 2009.

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

We’ve had quite a few visitors to our feeders during this cold spell.  The Pileated Woodpecker in the picture above has been to the feeder a few times.  We didn’t realize just how large this type of woodpecker could be until we bought this house.  Before we we moved up here full-time we had problems with woodpeckers munching on our wood siding.  Fortunately we’ve gotten that problem control, so I don’t mind feeding this guy at the suet feeder.

Bluebird checking out the feeders, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. January 3, 2010.

This beautiful bluebird is looking over the feeders trying to decide which one offers the best buffet.  He looks as if he’s well-prepared for the cold weather we’re ‘enjoying’.

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Posted in My World | 15 Comments »

We’re in a Deep Freeze

January 4, 2010

The cascade behind our house. January 3, 2009.

I hope the year 2010 has gotten off to a great start for each and every one of you.  By the way, how do you say 2010?  Is it “Two Thousand Ten” or “Twenty Ten”?  I hear it both ways around here.

Now that the holidays are over we can get back to normal here on the Plateau.  Of course winter means that there is not a great deal to do outdoors except to split and  bring in firewood.  Perhaps winter days will mean that I’ll have more time to get caught up on all the indoor projects I have on my list.

One thing I would like to happen is for us to get out of the deep freeze.  Temperatures in the single digits are not to our liking!  Fortunately the single digits have been overnight, but we haven’t been above freezing ALL YEAR!

The picture above shows the icy cascade behind our house on the edge of the golf course fairway.  We’ve seen ice there a few times before, but I don’t think it has ever been this thick.

The saddest thing (at least as far as Betsy is concerned) is that we have all this cold weather with almost no snow.  We woke up Saturday to a very light dusting of snow, but that’s all we’ve seen so far.

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Posted in Weather | 13 Comments »

My World: Is Not White

December 29, 2009

Our front yard, Fairfield Glade. December 28, 2009.

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

If you were to ask Betsy what was wrong with the picture above, she would have a very succinct answer:  THERE’S NO SNOW! In spite of heavy snows north and east of us, we have only had a dusting or two.  It’s officially winter and the temperatures have been low, but the grass is still relatively green.  The roses have been cut back and covered, but not all of them have gone dormant yet.

What’s worse, there’s no snow on the mountains we can see from the road in front of the house.  They look as bleak and bare as they have since the trees lost all their leaves.

The only white to be seen is in the clouds scurrying across the beautiful blue winter sky.

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Posted in My World | 11 Comments »

A Perfect Way to Spend a Wintry Evening

December 17, 2009

Our living room at Christmas time. December 12, 2009.

When I lived in western North Carolina we had a wood-burning stove to supplement the heat in the house.  I was teaching at the time, so I spent much of the summer cutting and splitting wood to use in the stove.  (I was MUCH younger then and had MUCH more energy!).

Years passed and I met my beautiful bride.  When it came time for us to find our dream house, Betsy essentially had one requirement — it had to have a wood-burning fireplace.

So now, many years later, I have to be concerned with firewood.  We now get firewood cut to length, but some of the pieces still need to be split.  So I often spend a chilly day splitting wood; at least that helps keep me warm while I’m working outside.

And I have to admit that there are few things as pleasant as sipping tea in front of a fire on a cold evening.

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Posted in American Life | 15 Comments »

My World: Baltusrol Falls

December 15, 2009

Baltusrol Falls, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. December 13, 2009.

This is my post for the My World meme.  It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Sandy, Wren, Louise 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 collect waterfalls.  We’ve just returned from a weekend trip where we drove and hiked to visit several falls.

But we don’t always have to go a great distance to visit a waterfall.  The waterfall in the picture above is only about a quarter of a mile from our house.  It flows from the golf course into a vacant lot down the road from us.

Usually there is only a trickle of water flowing down, but after a heavy rain like we had Saturday night and Sunday morning, it can be quite impressive.

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Posted in My World | 10 Comments »

I Wasn’t Looking for This Type of Water Flow

December 14, 2009

Plumbers at work in our front yard. October 13, 2009.

Let me begin by saying that Betsy and I had a wonderful weekend waterfalling in east Tennessee and western North Carolina.  We saw several new waterfalls and had a wonderful hike on Friday.

The weather forecast for Saturday night and Sunday was very iffy — there was the possibility of ice, sleet and rain and/or snow.  So we decided to come on home Saturday evening instead of traveling on Sunday.

It was after dark when we pulled into the driveway and the first thing we saw was water flowing across the driveway.  We both remarked that there must have been a lot of rain, because we hadn’t seen water flowing across the driveway since I built the new wall in the front yard.

HOWEVER …

When Betsy went to check on her bird feeders on the back deck, she noticed that the deck was dry.  She then noticed that we had no water in the house.  So, flashlight in hand, I checked the front yard and saw water gushing up through the cover of the water meter.

We called the water utility and a man came out to turn off the water and check the problem.  He found a crack in the line leading to the house about three inches on our side of the meter (sigh!).

They came to the rescue!

To make a long story short, our friendly plumbers came by Sunday and fixed the line and turned the water back on.  They also told me where I could get the tool to turn off the water at the meter.  If I do that, any leaks while we’re gone have to be on the utility’s side!

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Posted in Home | 19 Comments »

Scenic Sunday # 73: Double Happiness

December 6, 2009

Snow and pine needles, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. December 5, 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.

This may not appear to be much to you, but it is very beautiful and scenic to my beautiful bride, who just loves snow.  We woke up Saturday morning to an inch or two of the white stuff and Betsy was over-joyed.  Unfortunately (for her) the snow probably won’t be around for long, but she is ever-hopeful that more will soon come.

Jen's calendar and the almanac.

The mailman brought a second happy event for the day.  Jen, who blogs on unglazed, had a giveway a week of so ago and I was fortunate enough to win.  The gift is a 2010 calendar of photos Jen has taken.  To say that each photo is beautiful is really an understatement.  Jen takes wonderful pictures of the birds in her area and I encourage you to visit her site if you haven’t done so.  Jen also included a copy of the Farmer’s Almanac.  Jen knows how much Betsy likes snow and wants her to know when the snow will arrive!

Thanks again, Jen.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 18 Comments »

My World: We Can Still Smell the Roses

November 17, 2009

Sonia Rose, Fairfield Glade. November 16, 2009.

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

The rose above isn’t much to look at, but it is a rose, it is fragrant and the picture was taken Monday afternoon.  I’m not sure, but I think this is the latest in the year that we’ve had roses in bloom.

We obviously haven’t had a killing frost this autumn.  Yesterday we had to go to Knoxville fairly early in the morning.  The temperature when we left the house was 39° here at the house, but dropped to 32° before we got off the Plateau.

I’m not sure how much longer this weather will last, but I checked yesterday afternoon and we have three more reblooming iris and 19 rose buds ready to open.  I wonder how much longer we’ll be able to smell the roses?

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Posted in My World | 15 Comments »

My World: The Fastest Leaf-Blower on the Plateau

November 10, 2009
BetsyLeaf

Betsy using the leaf blower in the back yard.

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

Betsy and I have definite responsibilities around the house.  I mow the lawn and Betsy sweeps the deck.  I dig the holes to plant the roses and Betsy cleans and fills the bird baths.  I have, on occasion, both swept the deck and taken care of the bird baths.  But there is one job I would never dream of taking from Betsy — using the leaf blower.

As you can see from the picture above, Betsy is a pro at using the leaf blower.  Once she fires that thing up the leaves don’t have a chance.  There’s rarely a stray left on the ground once she finishes.

The front yard is the hardest for us to do since we have to bag or carry away those leaves.  The back yard is much easier, so Betsy usually blows the other leaves in that direction.

And why is the back yard so much easier than the front yard?

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Golf course crew picking up leaves behind our house.

The back yard is adjacent to the golf course and those nice maintenance men have some wonderful equipment.  I guess they are Betsy’s secret weapon.

 

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Posted in My World | 18 Comments »

Skywatch Friday: Blue Skies

November 6, 2009
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Blue skies over Fairfield Glade. November 2, 2009.

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 we are under the influence of a high pressure system, we’re treated to beautiful blue skies.  We have had clear blue skies for most of this week, as you can see from the picture above.

You will also see that many of the branches of the trees around our house are now bear.  That explains all the leaves that we’ve been contending with on the ground.

There wasn’t much of a breeze when I took this picture, but I still think that Old Glory against a blue sky is a beautiful sight.

 

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 13 Comments »

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