Posts Tagged ‘Spring’

« Older Entries

A (Late) Homage to Spring

May 21, 2019

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

I realize that I’m a little late in paying homage to the beauty of Spring around our house since the Cumberland Plateau is now experiencing summer-like temperatures. But Spring is a beautiful season and we love seeing the yard come alive with color.

Crocus are the first Spring blossoms to make an appearance. Since crocus are also a favorite menu item for the critters around here we don’t have many left, but the ones we do have are always welcome.

Daffodils come next, and since the critters don’t like them very much we have quite a few different varieties showing off in our flower beds.

The white Mount Hood daffodil is a favorite, and is always beautiful.

We’re never quite sure what to expect with tulips. Every critter in the area seems to love to snack on them. But we have had several flowers bloom, some with unusual shapes but beautiful colors.

Others have a more traditional shape, but are just as beautiful.

Sometimes the interior of a tulip blossom is as pretty as the exterior.

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in Garden | 9 Comments »

Spring, Wherefore Art Thou?

March 19, 2019

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

I admit it: I’m tired of the cold, I’m tired of gray skies and I’m tired of rain. I want to see blue skies and some color in the ground. I want to see scenes like these.

I wish I could say these beauties were from our yard, but they’re not. One thing My Beautiful Bride and I try to do each Spring is get to Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina, to enjoy the spring flowers in the Walled Garden.  These pictures are from a visit we made a couple of years ago.

 

 

I love the way they plant their flowers — everything looks just right when they are all in bloom.

And as pretty as the blossoms are up close, the entire garden is a thing of beauty when seen at a distance from an overlook on the grounds.

All I can say is . . . COME ON SPRING!!!

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Garden | 12 Comments »

Down Memory Lane: The Smokies in the Spring (2001)

February 16, 2015

2001 -- Smokies Spring

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

Betsy and I visited the Smoky Mountains in May, 2001.  I had never spent much time in the Smokies, but I had an excellent guide since Betsy had visited them when she lived in Tennessee earlier.  We very much enjoyed the beautiful green of the mountains and the flowing clear waters of the streams.

In the collage above, you see Betsy on the deck of the Wonderland Lodge, where we stayed, on the upper left.  A view of Newfound Gap, near the Tennessee/North Carolina border is on the upper right.

A nice man took the picture of Betsy and me along Mill Creek in Cades Cove.  In the lower center is a photo of the John Oliver cabin, also in Cades Cove.  I got the picture of Betsy along Mill Creek which is on the lower right of the collage.

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

Tags:, ,
Posted in Down Memory Lane | 19 Comments »

More Daffodils from our Yard

April 24, 2013

2013 -- Daffodils II

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

Once Spring decided to stay in the Glade, it didn’t take long for most of our daffodils to bloom.  Both Betsy and I have enjoyed finding new blossoms in the yard each morning.

Orange Progress is the daffodil on the upper left, and Pink Charm is the daffodil on the right.  The daffodils on the lower row are (from left to right) Chromacolor, Mount Hood, and Fortissimo.

We are now enjoying tulips in bloom.  The warmer weather makes it possible for Betsy and I to spend more time working in the yard.  That’s almost as good as going on a hike.

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Garden | 19 Comments »

Spring Is Busting Out All Over

April 15, 2013

2013 -- Daffodils

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

It took a while, but it looks as if Spring has finally arrived on the Cumberland Plateau.  We finally have daffodil blooming in our yard.  Five of our daffodil varieties are shown in the collage above.

The daffodil on the upper left is Pink Silk, while Spellbinder is on the upper right.  On the bottom I have Breck’s Colossal on the left, Las Vegas daffodil in the middle, and Wild Carnival.

It’s great to be able to work out in the yard and to see these beauties in blooming in the flower beds.

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in Glade | 23 Comments »

Busy as a Bee

March 21, 2012

A bee at work in our redbud tree, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. March 19, 2012.

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

I went out late Monday afternoon with my macro lens to get some pictures of the redbud tree in our front yard.  When I got there I found that I wasn’t the only one interested in the blossoms.  There were bees all over the tree.

Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. March 19, 2012.

Since I’m allergic  to bee stings I thought of beating a hasty retreat, but the bees were intent on the blossoms, and as long as I stood relatively still, they just ignored me.  So I thought I would try to get some pictures of the bees at work.

The encounter with the bees was entirely unplanned, but I think I got some pretty good pictures for the experience.  And best of all, I didn’t get stung.

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Glade | 19 Comments »

My World: Tiptoeing Through the Tulips

April 20, 2010

Tulips in our side flower bed, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 11, 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.

Well, we didn’t tip-toe through the tulips, but rather alongside them.  We’ve had some beautiful tulips this spring, many of them in a flower bed that Betsy and I built along the side of the house.  We also had a few tulips in the front of the house.

The weekend cold front has passed through without any frost in our area, for which we are grateful.  So I was able to return to regular Spring chores in the yard.  The cooler weather didn’t slow down the grass, so I got to mow the grass in addition to the other chores in the yard.

It’s a good thing exercise is healthy because all of the beauty of Spring also means there is always something that needs to be done in the yard.

Tags:, , ,
Posted in My World | 13 Comments »

April Is An Interesting Month

April 19, 2010

Pink dogwood in our front yard, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 14, 2010.

April is an interesting month, although not always in a good way.  You know how April showers bring May flowers?  Well, we’ve had practically no rain at all this month.  I’m still hoping for May flowers,  however.

We had summer-like temperatures for most of last week.  We didn’t use the air-conditioner, but we did have the house open and fans running.  So you can imagine our shock and surprise when we got home from running some errands on Saturday afternoon to discover that a frost advisory had been issued for the Plateau.  We moved our container roses into the garage just to be on the safe side.  Fortunately we didn’t have any frost and so we moved them back out yesterday.

Don’t get me wrong — I’m not complaining.  We’ve had beautiful weather and beautiful flowers.  Our pink dogwood tree (above) is about as pretty as it has been since we moved here.

I am finding, however, that I must be slowing down with old age as it seems to take me longer and longer to do everything that needs to be done outside.  So If these postings become a little more sporadic than they’ve been in the past, rest assured that it is because the weather has been good and I have been working outside.  I haven’t forgotten about you and will endeavor to keep up as best as I can.

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Weather | 14 Comments »

Skywatch Friday: We Found Spring

April 2, 2010

Blue Sky and Bradford Pears, Hendersonville, 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.

Yesterday Betsy and I went to Hendersonville to see my parents.  They are about as good as can be expected and we had a nice visit with them.

But in addition to seeing my parents, we also found Spring!  We live on the Plateau here in Tennessee while Hendersonville is in the ‘Nashville Bowl’.  What that means is that our house is about 1500 feet higher than my parents house.

When we left yesterday morning there were no Bradford Pears blooming here in the Glade and the Forsythia was just starting to bud out.  By the time we got off the Plateau we were seeing Bradford Pear trees in bloom all over the place.  We were also seeing blue skies, as in the photo above.

Forsythia, Hendersonville, Tennessee.

We also found Forsythia in bloom.  What a difference 1500 feet can make!

Our Prius is not a large car, but we did our best to bring Spring back up the Plateau with us.  I can hardly wait to see what today brings!

Tags:, ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 18 Comments »

Spring, Wherefore Art Thou?

March 27, 2010

More of our roses from 2009.

We had three days of beautiful weather earlier in the week, but the last two days have been cold and rainy.  I’ve  started a couple of projects out in the yard, but I haven’t been able to make much progress.  And if this cold weather continues I’m going to need to split more wood and carry it to the garage so my Beautiful Bride will be comfortable in the evenings.

Our crocus have bloomed and are just about completely gone.  Nothing else has begun to bloom.  I will say that the grass is greening up very nicely, so I guess I will have to think about checking out the mower one of these days.

I’ve started to partially uncover the roses.  Most of them are showing signs of new growth and need to be cut back.  I won’t completely uncover the roses until I’m fairly confident that freezing temperatures are behind us.

So while I’m waiting for  Spring to get serious about coming and staying here on the Plateau, I’ll try to stay warm by remembering what the roses looked like last year.

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Weather | 12 Comments »

« Older Entries