Posts Tagged ‘Tennessee’

Fast Forwarding Through Spring (4)

May 23, 2012

Cable Car iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 20, 2012.

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

All of our iris have now bloomed, so this will be the last post about these beauties in our yard.  You can catch the earlier post HERE, HERE and HERE.

I love the color of Cable Car (above).  Cable Car is in a couple of our flower beds, including one along the border of our big rose bed.

Summer Olympics iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 15, 2012.

Summer Olympics is in a bed that gets more shade than some of the others.  This year’s blossom seems to be more gorgeous than usual, which is appropriate since the Olympics will be held this summer.

Orange Harvest iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 21, 2012.

Orange Harvest blooms along the front of  the house, greeting people who pass by.

Stellar Lights iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 16, 2012.

Stellar Lights is one of the oldest of our irises.  But it is also one of  the most vibrant blossom we have.

Tennessee Vol iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 21, 2012. (Photo by Betsy)

Finally we have Betsy’s favorite — Tennessee Vol.  I think she would like anything with that name, but this iris is beautiful.  It’s only appropriate that I use a photo that Betsy has taken.

The Beauty of the Earth

May 21, 2012

The flowerbed near the road in front of our house. May 19, 2012.

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

One of our newer flower beds is in front of the house near the road.  Betsy and I wanted color in the bed throughout the growing season, so we planted tulips, iris, roses, lilies and day lilies in the bed.

This year we’re getting a lot of color, often at the same time.  In the picture above you can see two varieties of lilies in bloom, and two varieties of roses.  What’s more amazing, if you look carefully you can see a purple iris that decided to bloom again of Friday.

I guess we’re going to have to stay home for a while so we can enjoy all this beauty around us.

Fast Forwarding Through Spring (3)

May 4, 2012

Cantina Iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 15, 2012.

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

I’ve already shared two posts of our irises this Spring — you can see them HERE and HERE.

We’ve been very pleased with our irises this year.  We have many more blossoms than we did last year, and we’re enjoying them every day.  They make some of the hard work in the yard worth while.

Cantina has one of the more unusual blossoms among our iris.  At first glance it looks purple, but closer inspection shows orange, blue and white in the petals as well.  Cantina is in our front flower bed.

Halloween Halo iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 15, 2012.

Another iris in our front flower bed is Halloween Halo.  I guess it gets its name from the yellow trim around the falls and the orange beard.  It may not be as showy as some of our other iris, but I like it.

Hemstitched Iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 8, 2012.

Hemstitched is a pretty blue-and-white iris (even the beard is blue)in our side flower bed.  We’ve had this iris for several years.

Waltz Across Texas iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 11, 2012.

This yellow-and-white iris, Waltz Across Texas, should be one of Betsy’s favorites since she spent several years in Texas.  This iris has waltzed across several of our flower beds.

Our World: Roaring Fork

April 30, 2012

Roaring Fork, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. April 23, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them.)
This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

Last Monday Betsy and I took a trip to the Smokies — a place we like to visit several times a year.  We decided to drive the Roaring Fork Motor Trail behind Gatlinburg since it had been several years since we had driven that road.

The road follows Roaring Fork (hence the name) for much of the way, so we stopped quite often to take in the beauty of the stream.  I was happy for the opportunity to try out my new variable density neutral filter, which allows me to use extremely slow shutter speeds.  The exposures for the photos in this post were from 15 to 24 seconds.

Roaring Fork, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. April 23, 2012.

We were mostly interested in the flowing water and cascades of Roaring Creek, but the moss-covered rocks in and bordering the stream were also interesting and beautiful in their own right.

Roaring Fork, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. April 23, 2012.

I’ve decided I rather like the way the long exposures smooth out the water while preserving the sense of motion.  I’ve got a lot to learn about using this filter effectively, but I’m pleased with the results of this first experiment.

Fast Forwarding Through Spring (2)

April 25, 2012

Blatant iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 9, 2012.

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

Our iris have continued to put on quite a display this spring.  They’re scattered in several beds around the yard, so we can enjoy them out of just about every widow in the house.  I shared four of our irises in an earlier post (click HERE), and I will now show four more.

Blatant (above) is probably the most vibrant iris in our yard.  We’ve had it for several years.

Clarence iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 8, 2012.

Clarence is a newer iris in our yard.  It is also a re-blooming iris.  I really like the different shades of blue in the blossom.

Electric Shock iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 12, 2012.

Is the color of this iris electrifying?  This is Electric Shock.

English Charm iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 12, 2012.

English Charm has some beautiful pastel colors.  This, too, will bloom again later in the year.

The Dream Goes On

April 23, 2012

Cane Creek Falls, Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tennessee. April 21, 2012.

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

In my lasts post (click HERE if you missed it) I explained why Fall Creek Falls State Park is such a special place for Betsy and me.  Saturday we visited the park again, and did many of the things we did eleven years ago.  The weather Saturday wasn’t nearly as nice as it was back then, but we’re still glad we went.

We did check out most of the waterfalls, although we took a nearly 2 mile hike between two of them which we didn’t do on that first visit.  The water levels were somewhat low, but the falls were still pretty.

Betsy at Cane Creek Cascade, Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tennessee. April 21, 2012.

My bride is every bit as beautiful as she was eleven years ago.

George Hole, Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tennessee. April 21, 2012.

But for the life of me I can’t figure out where the old man sitting with her came from.

The best part of the day. Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tennessee. April 21, 2012.

The weather may not have been perfect, but I got another kiss which made the day perfect as far as I’m concerned.

Once Upon A Time

April 20, 2012

Betsy at Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tennessee. April 21, 2001.

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

I like to think of myself as a realist who doesn’t believe in fairy tales, but sometimes fairy tales do happen and come true.

Once upon a time I asked a beautiful, blonde preacher to go to Fall Creek Falls State Park here in Tennessee with me on April 21, 2001.  We had gone out a couple of times before that day, but this was our first ‘big’ date.

When we got to the park we drove to the lodge and walked along the lake for a while.  That’s where I took the picture  above.  When I took that picture I was thinking how lucky I was to be out with such a beautiful woman.

Fall Creek Falls and Coon Creek Falls, Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tennessee. April 21, 2001.

After talking at the lake for a while, we visited the waterfalls which give the park its name.  There wasn’t a great deal of water going over Fall Creek Falls (on the left in the picture above), but we both thought it was very beautiful.  Fall Creek Falls and Coon Creek Falls (on the right in the picture above) were the first two waterfalls we saw together.

Betsy and George at Cane Creek Cascade, Fall Creek Falls State Park. April 21, 2001.

Fall Creek Falls State Park contains five major waterfalls and we saw all of them.  By the time we got to Cane Creek Cascade we were holding hands (Yeah!).  It wasn’t too much later that I got my first kiss.  (Double Yeah!!!)

Now you know how our waterfall ‘collection’ got started.  Since that wonderful day we have visited over 450 different waterfalls.  We’re still visiting waterfalls, Betsy is still beautiful, and we’re still holding hands.

NOT The End.

Fast Forwarding Through Spring

April 18, 2012

Hell's Fire iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. March 31, 2012.

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

Our iris usually begin blooming during the latter part of April, but they have been much earlier this year.  Hell’s Fire, the iris above, bloomed on March 31.

Autumn Bugler iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 2, 2012.

Autumn Bugler followed on April 2.  It gets its name from the fact that it will bloom again this fall.  It’s nice to have it bloom more than one time each year.

Floor Show iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 5, 2012.

When we got back home from North Carolina on April 5 we found two more iris in bloom.  Floor Show is another iris that will bloom for a second time later in the year.

Honey Glazed iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 5, 2012.

The other iris we found blooming was Honey Glazed.  It’s one we’ve had for the longest time since we moved here, and we can always count on getting many beautiful blossoms from it.

More Daffodils

April 4, 2012

Breck's Colossal Daffodil, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. March 6, 2012.

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

All of our daffodils have now bloomed and it makes us feel that Spring is here to stay.  I’ve shared some of our daffodils on two earlier posts (HERE and HERE) and am sharing four more here.

Breck’s Colossal has a large yellow trumpet surrounded by yellow petals.  I had this daffodil in our yard when I lived in Ohio before moving down here, and it was one of the first we planted when we moved here to the Glade.

Dad Adams Daffodils, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. March 13, 2012.

My Dad gave us these narcissus when we first moved to the Glade.  They’ve spread very nicely in our big rock garden and in a couple of other locations in the yard.  We don’t know the name of these flowers, so we just refer to them as Dad Adams Daffodils.

Mount Hood Daffodil, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. March 13, 2012.

Mount Hood is another daffodil with large blossoms, but these have white petals and a white trumpet.  This is another daffodil we’ve had for quite some time.

Pink Radiance Daffodil, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. March 13, 2012.

Pink Radiance Daffodil is a new daffodil for us this year.  It’s a double daffodil and very pretty, although the trumpet looks more orange than pink.

Our World: Cane Creek Twin Falls

April 2, 2012

Cane Creek Twin Falls, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. March 8, 2010.

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

This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

The Smokies are a beautiful treat any time of the year.  Many people prefer to visit in October when the autumn color is at a peak.  But if a person likes water, Spring is a great time to visit.  These pictures were taken in March along Little River Road.

Betsy and I learned about Cane Creek Twin Falls from an internet search.  The falls can be seen from the road, but are easy to miss, especially since the left-hand fall is very small and hard to see.  I’ve added a couple of arrows to help you find that stream of water.

Fortunately the right-hand fall is larger and easier to see.  But to be completely honest, the best thing about this waterfall is the clear, emerald-green water of Little River as it flows past the site.