Posts Tagged ‘Tennessee’

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Skywatch Friday: Glade Skies

April 16, 2010

Blue skies in Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. Aporil 14, 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.

We’ve had summer-ike weather for several days now.  Looking up showed a blue sky with some small white clouds.  It also showed that the trees are leafing out very nicely.

Later in the afternoon the clouds got a little bigger and some even got a little darker.  We didn’t get any rain, but I did get some good sky pictures.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 15 Comments »

Honey Bees at Work

April 15, 2010

Honey bee at work in our redbud tree, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 14, 2010.

Have you heard of CCD?  Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder?

In the past few weeks I have read or seen stories about the disappearing honey bees.  It’s a cause for concern because honey bees pollinate a sizable portion of our fruits and vegetables.  The causes of the collapse are not well understood, but bee keepers are having some success in rebuilding colonies.

I was working in the yard yesterday near our redbud tree when I heard buzzing.  Looking around I found a couple of bumble bees flitting about.  I went in to get my camera, but by the time I got back the bumble bees were gone.  I did, however, find a couple of honey bees hard at work.

I haven’t heard of any problems with the bigger bumble bees, so I imagine I can try to capture a picture of them just about any time.  Under the circumstances I’m glad I found these hard-working honey bees.

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Posted in Glade | 16 Comments »

My World: Spring Is Busting Out All Over

April 13, 2010

Our front yard, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 12, 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.

My new camera allows me to capture most of our front yard in a single picture.  I took the picture above was taken yesterday afternoon from the road in front of our house.  Our pink dogwood tree is on the left and one of our redbud trees is on the right.  The containers along the driveway contain roses and you can make out two of our rose beds on either side of the driveway near the house and flagpole.

Our pink dogwood tree, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 12, 2010.

This picture of the dogwood tree branches was taken from the front of the house looking toward the road.

One of our redbud trees, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 12, 2010.

I also took this picture of the redbud tree from the front of the house.  It’s near the road, but it the prettiest of the two redbud trees that we have.

Our side flower bed, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 12, 2010.

Betsy and I built this flower bed a couple of years ago to handle an erosion problem on the side of the house.  Now we’re enjoying these tulips.  The house in the background is on the other side of the fairway.

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Posted in My World | 20 Comments »

Spring Color

April 12, 2010

Dad Adams Daffodil, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 4, 2010.

Yesterday (Sunday) afternoon was absolutely gorgeous here on the Plateau and both Betsy and I spent as much time outside as we could.  Fortunately there is always something that needs to be done around the yard, so we have plenty of excuses for being out.

We have alot of color in our yard now and it is not only daffodils.  I think the flower up above is a narcissus, but since my Dad gave them to us when we moved up here, we usually call them Dad Adams Daffodils.

Red Rocket Hyacinth, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 4, 2010.

We have not had a great deal of success with hyacinths.  They never seem to do as well after the first year.  However we did have a few pop up and bloom.  They may not look all that wonderful, but they still have a nice fragrance.

Life's a Cabernet Tulip, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 4, 2010.

We’ve been very fortunate with our tulips so far this year.  The bright tulip above is Life’s a Cabernet, which is new.  It is multi-colored, but red predominates.

Halley's Comet Tulip, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 7, 2010.

I think my favorite new tulip is Halley’s Comet.  I got this picture early one morning before the sun caused them to open completely.

With all this beauty around us I guess you can understand why we enjoy spending so much time out in the yard.

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Posted in Garden | 17 Comments »

More Daffodils

April 8, 2010

Las Vegas Daffodil, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 5, 2010.

We’ve been blessed with bright sunshine and warm temperatures for several days now.  It’s been great to be able to work out in the yard and to see things blooming again.

Our tulips are starting to bloom, but I haven’t gotten any of those pictures organized.    But we’re still enjoying our daffodils as well.  When I posted some daffodil pictures a few days ago, someone mentioned that they thought daffodils were always yellow.  So I thought I would share a couple more ‘different’ daffodils today.

The daffodil above is Las Vegas.  We’ve had it in our yard for a couple of years now.  Although the trumpet is yellow the petals are a beautiful white.

Pink Charm Daffodil, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 4, 2010.

This second daffodil is new for us this year.  It’s called Pink Charm.  It also has white petals, but the end of the trumpet is supposed to be pink.  I say ‘supposed to be’ because in our soil these daffodils look as orange as they does pink.  But we like them anyway.

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Posted in Garden | 11 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!

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Posted in Uncategorized | 18 Comments »

Scenic Sunday #89: Cades Cove

March 28, 2010

Fields in Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee.

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.

Cades Cove is probably the most visited part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  The Cades Cove Loop road is a wonderful way to see lush fields, old homesteads and  plentiful wildlife.  BUT NOTE:  THE CADES COVE ROAD IS NOW BEING RESURFACED AND IS CLOSED UNTIL MAY 21, 2010.

The Cove has been preserved by the park to look much the way it looked in the 1800s.  It was once a small mountain community with settlers mainly from Virginia, North Carolina and upper east Tennessee.  Today Cades Cove contains original pioneer homesteads, barns, businesses, pastures and farmland.

When driving the loop most of the settlers’ homes and homesites are on the outside of the road, while there are acres of grass and wildflower fields on the inside.  Those fields were once used for growing wheat, corn and cattle.

If you are on a tight schedule or are in a hurry, stay away from Cades Cove.  If you would like to step back into time, Cades Cove would be a wonderful place to visit.

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Today I’m thankful for all the people and organizations that preserve the past for us to enjoy and learn from today.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 16 Comments »

Down Memory Lane: Dunlap, Tennessee

March 25, 2010

Waterfalls near Dunlap, Tennessee. April 21, 2009.

Betsy and I often go looking for a particular waterfall.  In those  cases we know the name and location of a waterfall and it is just a matter of driving or hiking (or both).  We follow directions in a book, from an online site or the GPS unit to our destination.  That’s been the way we’ve found the majority of the waterfalls we’ve visited.

But every once in a while we stumble on a waterfall unexpectedly.  This serendipity makes the experience seem even more delightful than it would otherwise be.

Last year on our way back from Texas we planned to stop by Fall Creek Falls State Park here in Tennessee.  We would be going there on April 21, the anniversary of our date (and first kiss) at Fall Creek Falls.

We have been to Fall Creek Falls many times, but had never travelled there from the south.  We were near Dunlap, Tennessee,  heading up the Plateau when, as we were rounding a curve, we saw a waterfall just off the road.  It didn’t have a lot of water going over the fall, but it was very tall.  Naturally we had to stop and get some pictures.  We later learned that this was Possum Falls.

What made this experience even more interesting is that we saw three more waterfalls within the next two miles.  We had no idea they were there before we stumbled onto them.  If we had been driving any faster, we probably would have missed them all.

To see these pictures and others, click HERE.

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Today I’m grateful for unexpected pleasures of God’s creation.

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Posted in Waterfalls | 16 Comments »

Watery Wednesday # 80: Byrd Creek Dam

March 24, 2010

Byrd Creek Dam, Cumberland Mountain State Park, Crossville, Tennessee. March 23, 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.

The structure in the photo is Byrd Creek Dam in Cumberland Mountain State Park near Crossville, Tennessee.  The dam was built by the CCC in the 1930s and is the largest masonry structure built by them.  The dam includes a bridge supported by the seven arches above the dam proper.

Betsy and I went to Cumberland State Park to have dinner at restaurant, but it was closed for dinner.  They’re still on their winter schedule until April 1.  We celebrated our monthaversary at another restaurant in town.

We had a beautiful day on the Plateau and we made the most of it by working in the yard.

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Today I’m thankful for the beauty of blue skies.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 13 Comments »

My World: Signs of Spring

March 23, 2010

Pickwick Crocus, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. March 19, 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.

We had some light snow yesterday (Monday).  It didn’t stick on the ground, but there was a light covering on the roof and deck in the early morning.

In spite of this, we are seeing some signs of Spring here on the Plateau.  The grass is beginning to green up and we have crocus in bloom.  Hyacinths, daffodils and tulips are pushing through the ground, but we’ll have to wait to see any of these in bloom.

In the meantime we’ll just enjoy these cheery blossoms for as long as we can.

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Today I’m very thankful that my Beautiful Bride married me 105 months ago today.

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Posted in My World | 18 Comments »

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