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When the periwinkle in our yard starts to put on a show, we can be fairly confident that Spring has arrived. We may still have a few days of cold weather ahead, but these beautiful flowers mean better days are coming.
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It’s been a while since My Beautiful Bride and I forced ourselves to get up before dawn to walk the back nine of the Druid Hills golf course, but we’ve talked about getting started again. Not only is the exercise good for us (and allows us to be socially distanced when out of the house) but the scenery is often absolutely gorgeous. This picture was taken on a January morning a few years ago. What a magnificent way to start the day!
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We really didn’t have chestnuts roasting on this fire, but we did still have a wood-burning fireplace when this picture was taken. (We switched to propane when the Old Man got too old to keep cutting and splitting the firewood).
But even if these weren’t any chestnuts, I like the peaceful setting of this scene in our home on a cold December night.
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My mother had sempervivum in her flower garden when I was growing up. Of course, back then I didn’t know they were sempervivum — she always called them ‘Hens and Chickens’ since the mature plant was surrounded by smaller, younger plants.
My Beautiful Bride and I discovered sempervivum when we moved to the Glade and had many rocky spots where nothing but weeds seemed to thrive. Sempervivum thrived there as well, and so we planted some around your yard.
Sempervivum get their name — ‘always alive’ — because they survive all seasons. Even when everything else in our yard has turned brown in winter, the sempervivum are still colorful.
We’ve been surprised at the wide variety of shapes and colors in the sempervivum. That makes it hard to pick a favorite.
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I’m sure it comes as no surprise that Betsy and I love flowers and we enjoy having them in our yard. But what type of flower works best for us? Betsy loves tulips, but so do the chipmunks that live around us. Roses are beautiful, but they take a lot of work. We both like lilies, but so do chipmunks and deer. As you can see, finding the perfect flower to grow here in the is not easy.
We have had success with iris however, and this year they have been putting on quite a show. The iris above is Eugenia King.
Bountiful Harvest is one of Betsy’s favorite irises. She really likes the colors of this one.
Cantina is one of my favorites. I love the purple color with the steaks of blue in the falls.
Eggnog has a vibrant color, but I almost always get thirsty when I see this iris.
I really think Goodnight Kiss is a beautiful iris, but I really like the goodnight kisses of my Beautiful Bride much better.
Spring is now officially less than a week away, and some of us — myself included — are thinking of green grass, fragrant flowers and warm days. We’re glad to leave Old Man Winter behind.
Others, however, (and I’m not mentioning any names) are less happy to leave Winter behind. As most of you know, my Beautiful Bride loves snow. She really likes it when she can watch it snow through the day, and when it clings to trees and bushes.
Betsy says we never get enough snow here in the Glade, and I will admit that other places around here get more than we get. But we do get snow, even if it’s not a memorable blizzard.
I put this slideshow together to help Betsy remember the snow we got year. The pictures were all taken around our house or on our morning walks on the golf course. Hopefully it will help her get through the long months before Old Man Winter pays us a return visit.
Google Earth image of our home. September, 2010.
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When Betsy and I travel, I use a geo-tracker to record the GPS coordinates of the pictures I take. I can then use Google Earth to map the location and get satellite or terrain views of the area.
Shortly after starting to use Google Earth, I entered our address and got the image above. I was able to find our house, but I wasn’t all that impressed.
When we got back from a trip to North Carolina a few weeks ago, I took some pictures in the yard before turning off the geo-tracker. While looking at the track of our trip on Google Earth, I zoomed in at the end of the track and found a new image of our house. I’ll have to admit I was impressed — and a little shocked.
Google Earth image of our house. April 2013.
This new image makes it possible to see the house and the deck, including the table on the deck. The rose beds on each side of the driveway can be clearly seen, including the terracing we put in for the roses. I can see the round flowerbed around the yard lamppost, as well as the flower bed along the road.
The black dots on each side of the driveway are our container roses. There’s a black blob in the driveway near the road (indicated by ‘??’). I can’t be sure, but I think that might be me.
So who’s watching you?
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After Betsy and I got married, we lived in a townhouse she had in Hendersonville, Tennessee. But we soon began thinking about a home of our own.
We considered many places before deciding on Fairfield Glade here in Tennessee. Homes in the Glade were fairly affordable, and the Glade was close enough to my parents in Hendersonville that we could get there if necessary.
Betsy did a great deal of research online, and then called a real estate company that worked in the Glade. We met him on a Saturday in early August, 2002. One of the first houses we saw was a ranch house on the golf course. It had a wrap-around deck in back and three french doors leading from the great room to the deck. We both fell in love with it almost as soon as we walked in.
We made an offer that very day. We took possession in October, 2002, and have been happily living here ever since.
The picture of the back of the house on the top left was taken the day we first saw the house. The picture on the top right shows the front of the house while it was under contract. The picture on the bottom left is another view of the back taken from the golf course rough behind the house. The great room in the house is shown on the lower right. This picture was taken the day we first viewed the house. Our name went on the mailbox after we moved in.
To see larger versions of these pictures and others, click HERE.
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We’ve tried to be good all year,
and have decorated the outside of the house with symbols of Christmas cheer.
Inside the fire in the fireplace casts a warm glow.
The tree is up with room for presents below.
There’s only one thing for my Beautiful Bride and I to do —
That’s to wish a Merry Christmas to each and every one of you.
Betsy’s ‘dream house’ in Fairfield Bay, Arkansas. August 5, 2012.
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When Betsy lived and worked in Houston, Texas, she often spent the week after Christmas on vacation in Fairfield Bay, Arkansas. Since we were in the area while celebrating Betsy’s birthday, she decided to show me around.
After finding the timeshare she used to own, Betsy decided she wanted to drive down to the lake. She said this is something she did on every visit. On our way to the lake she told me about a beautiful house that she liked very much. She always told her friends (and her sons) that the house was her ‘dream house’ and that she would own it some day.
Another view of Betsy’s ‘dream house’, Fairfield Bay, Arkansas. August 5, 2012.
We drove by the house, and I must admit that it is very pretty. We only saw the front yard, but I liked the wooded setting. The house has a nice long deck along the front. I must admit that I liked it as well.
Before you read any further, I need to remind you that the first time I ever went to Fairfield Glade is when Betsy wanted to show me where she stayed during a vacation in Tennessee several years ago. You’ll see the relevance of this statement when you scroll down.
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Betsy has that mischievous look on her face. I wonder why?
Do you think Betsy is trying to tell me something?
Senior Moments 