Posts Tagged ‘Tennessee’

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Excitement in our Backyard

July 27, 2009
A baby bluebird on our deck. July26, 2009.

A baby bluebird on our deck. July26, 2009.

If you have been reading Betsy’s blog, you know how interested she has been in the bluebird family that has been nesting in our back yard.  We’ve been watching the second brood and Betsy felt that it was close to the time for the babies to fledge.

In the late morning yesterday Betsy noticed the baby bluebird in the above picture on the deck.  He most have flown to the deck from the nest, but he wasn’t very good at flying just then.  He mostly ran around the deck before falling off the edge.  Fortunately he wasn’t hurt.

Were there any birds left in the nest?  A quick check of the nest showed that there were still babies in there, but that they were thinking about venturing into the big world.

Ready to explore the world. July 26, 2009.

Ready to explore the world. July 26, 2009.

Betsy was able to see the maiden flight of one of the babies.  They didn’t get very far on that first flight, but at least they were out in the world.  Daddy and Mommy Bluebird (and the juveniles from the first brood) kept a close watch on the babies, encouraged them in their efforts to fly, and in general offered moral support.

Daddy Bluebird keeping watch. July 26, 2009.

Daddy Bluebird keeping watch. July 26, 2009.

But things got very interesting when squirrels got too close to a baby.  Then all the bluebirds started chattering and raising a ruckus.  If the squirrel didn’t leave quickly enough, the bluebirds started dive-bombing it.  I didn’t know squirrels could move so fast once that started.  I only wish we could have captured a picture of that.

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Posted in Birds | 17 Comments »

Scenic Sunday # 54: Newfound Gap

July 26, 2009
Newfound Gap, Great Smoky Mountains. May 19, 2001.

Newfound Gap, Great Smoky Mountains. May 19, 2001.

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.

As I mentioned the other day, Betsy and I visited with friends at Cades Cove in the Smokies on Thursday.  That visit got me looking at other pictures we’ve taken in the park, and I decided to share these pictures with you.

The picture above was taken in 2001 at Newfound Gap.  As southerners know, a gap is a low point in a mountain ridge.  New Englanders call such places “notches” while westerners refer to them as mountain “passes.”  At an elevation of 5,046 feet Newfound Gap is the lowest drivable pass through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The old road over the Smoky Mountains crossed at Indian Gap, located about 1.5 miles west of the current site.  In 1872 a Swiss geographer, Arnold Henry Guyot, discovered Newfound Gap was lower than Indian Gap.  When the lower, easier crossing was discovered, it became known as the “newfound” gap.  A new road followed, and it became the forerunner of Newfound Gap Road, which can be seen in the distance in the picture above.

But as scenic as the picture above may be, the following picture is even more scenic.  That’s because it shows my beautiful bride at that same location on the same day.

Betsy at Newfound Gap, GSMNP. May 19, 2001.

Betsy at Newfound Gap, GSMNP. May 19, 2001.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 9 Comments »

Skywatch Friday # 54: Cades Cove

July 24, 2009
Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee. July 23, 2009.

Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee. July 23, 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.

Yesterday Betsy and I visited our friends Judy and Charlie, who were camping at Cades Cove in the Smokies.  Judy and Charlie camp there every year, and Betsy and I usually go over to visit with them at least one day.  We sit around a campfire (it’s been cool in the mountains) and get caught up on what each couple has been doing since the last time we got together.

We talked so much yesterday that we didn’t have time for a hike, so the best Betsy and I could do was drive to the beginning of the Cades Cove loop and get a few pictures.  That’s where the picture above was taken.

Celebrating our monthaversary at Cafe Uno, Maryville, Tennessee. July 23, 2009.

Celebrating our monthaversary at Cafe Uno, Maryville, Tennessee. July 23, 2009.

Yesterday was our 97th ‘monthaversary’.  We decided since we met so late in life we would celebrate our wedding ‘monthaversary’ as well as the anniversary.  Since it was on the way home, we decided to stop at Uno’s for a deep dish Chicago pizza.  It had been quite some time since we had one and that seemed like a great way to end a special day.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 16 Comments »

What a Way to Go

July 23, 2009
Sempervivum in bloom, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. July 2, 2009.

Sempervivum in bloom, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. July 2, 2009.

I’ve mentioned before that Betsy and I have planted sempervivum (hens and chicks) around the house.  Sempervivum are succulent evergreen perennials that produce low, compact, evergreen, flower-like rosettes of succulent leaves.  The plants send out numerous offsets, and spread in this manner to form a dense colony.  The parent rosettes are the hens, and the smaller rosettes that spring from them are the chicks.

The name Sempervivum has its origin in the Latin Semper — which means forever — and vivo — which means live.  Sempervivum are called ‘live forever‘ because this perennial plant keeps its leaves in winter even when the temperatures drop below freezing.

Although grown for its foilage, usually in rock gardens or containers, hens and chicks do flower.  Flower stems up to 18 inches develop from the hen and produce blossoms with color varying from rose to pink.

The hens will die after flowering, but by that time they will have produced numerous chicks to take their  place.

The picture above is of hens in bloom in one of our flower beds.  The stem will last for a couple of weeks before wilting away.  It’s a shame that the hens have to die, but what a way to go!!!

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Posted in Garden | 17 Comments »

My World # 51: Roses

July 21, 2009
Roses in front of our house. June 12, 2009.

Roses in front of our house. June 12, 2009.

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

My world often contains roses.  The last of our roses bloomed this week, so I thought I would post this picture of the front of our house, showing almost all of our roses (two in containers on the extreme right didn’t get into the picture.  We have 48 roses — 22 in the bed on the left of the driveway, 16 in containers, and 10 in the bed on the right.

Needless to say, these flowers are a big part of my world in the Spring and Summer.

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Posted in My World | 11 Comments »

A Hard-Luck Rose

July 20, 2009
Frederic Mistral Rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. July 17, 2009.

Frederic Mistral Rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. July 17, 2009.

The rose above is the newest rose in our garden, Frederic Mistral.  It is also the last of our roses to bloom.

Actually, this rose has had a hard life.  We ordered it this spring as a replacement for a rose that didn’t make it through the winter.  So it got a fairly late start in the garden.  About the time that it started to form buds, the deer decided to use it for a snack.

It recovered from that experience and again formed buds.  This time the Japanese beetles used it for a snack.  The beetles discovered the buds on a day we went to Hendersonville.  The amount of damage Japanese beetles can do in a few hours is amazing.

But the bush finally produced a bud that was able to open!  The color is a light pink, and the petals look like porcelain.  As if that is not enough, Frederic Mistral is one of the most fragrant roses there is.

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Posted in Garden | 15 Comments »

Our Daylilies 3

July 16, 2009

DayliliesCollage0903

This is my third and final collage of our daylilies.  The first two collages are HERE and HERE.  We still have a few blossoms, which we continue to enjoy.  We’ve already made plans to add more daylilies next year.

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Posted in Garden | 8 Comments »

My World # 39: Daylilies

July 7, 2009
The picture may be enlarged by clicking on it.

The picture may be enlarged by clicking on it.

This is my post for the My World meme.  It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Sandy, Wren, Louise and Fishing Guy.  Last week there were many people sharing their worlds.  To see more of our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

My world contains daylilies at present, but they are past their prime and going fast.  The collage above shows six of our daylilies.

Daylilies are wonderful plants for our garden or just about any garden.  They are easy to care for; you can almost plant them and forget them.  They will also grow where other things won’t and they spread very nicely.

We like our roses, but we’re glad we have daylilies in our garden as well.

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Posted in My World | 21 Comments »

My World # 36: Lilies

June 16, 2009
Lilies in our garden, Fairfield Glade. June 13, 2009.

Lilies in our garden, Fairfield Glade. June 13, 2009.

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

Most of you know that Betsy and I grow roses.  But we have other flowers as well.  This week most of our lilies are in full bloom.  These lilies are opposite a sliding door to the deck and when the house is open the fragrance inside is heavenly.

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Posted in Garden | 19 Comments »

Who Says Lilies Are Short Plants?

June 15, 2009
Betsy and the lilies. Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. June 14, 2009.

Betsy and the lilies. Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. June 14, 2009.

As most of you know, Betsy and I grow roses, but we also have lilies as well.  As you can see in the picture above, the lilies are now in bloom.  I couldn’t resist getting this picture of Betsy looking up at one of them.

I must admit that I cheated just a little with this picture.  The lily is in a raised flower bed and Betsy is on a walkway beside the flower bed.  The lily plant is really only about five feet tall.  But if you look in the upper right-hand corner you’ll see part of a lily that is even taller.  The white lily is just under six feet tall.

But regardless of the height of the lilies we think they both look good and have a wonderful fragrance.

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Posted in Garden | 15 Comments »

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