(Note: This picture may be enlarged by clicking on it using Control-click or right-click.)
One thing about March is that you never know what the weather is going to be like. It can be Winter one day and Spring the next. Sometimes you can have both Winter and Spring on the same day. The photo above, which I captured a few years ago does a pretty good job of capturing both seasons in one picture — ice covered branches against a beautiful blue sky.
(Note: This picture may be enlarged by clicking on it using Control-click or right-click.)
My Beautiful Bride was very excited when we woke up yesterday morning — there was snow on the ground and it was still snowing.
Seeing the snow on the buses just made her more excited. This was just the type of snowfall that she loves.
Betsy must have taken a couple hundred pictures during the day. Her excitement was infectious — she had me singing/humming “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” most of the day.
The snow continued all day and more and more fell on the bushes.
It continued snowing even as night fell. According to the news, we got approximately 8 inches of snow. Betsy was still ecstatic, and I still had that song running through my head!
(Note: All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)
I’ve often talked about how much Betsy and I love watching the sunsets when we visit Mt. Nebo State Park in Arkansas. But we also enjoy catching the sunrises from Sunrise Point in the park.
A few years ago we were greeted by a blanket of fog in the valley below Sunrise Point. As you can see from the photo above, it was almost hard to tell that there was a valley and city below us.
As the sky got lighter we began seeing the trees and the tops of hills in the valley below. In the distance we could make out the mountains on the other side of the valley.
Fields and buildings began coming into view
Finally parts of the Arkansas River came into view, reflecting the red of the sky above it.
What a gorgeous way to begin a day!
(Note: All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)
Old Man Winter returned to our part of Tennessee last week with more snow than we’ve had in several years. We also had freezing fog and ice which left the trees and bushes with glazed with ice.
We unfortunately did have much sunshine and blue skies during the week. This photo was taken a few years ago when the trees were similarly bejeweled
(Note: All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)
It’s been down-right hot hear on the Cumberland Plateau for the past couple of weeks, and promised relief just never shows up. So I thought perhaps I could feel more comfortable by revisiting an excursion my Beautiful Bride and I took to the Smokies in January, 2013.
We were on our way to visit Cades Cove, but we stopped along the West Prong of Little River on the way so we could visit Meadow Branch Cascade.
As you can tell from the picture above, it was decidedly cooler than it is now. While I scrambled down the bank of the river to get pictures, Betsy kept an eye on me from the safety of the road.
I thought the point where the base of the cascade met the river was a pretty sight.
The West Prong Little River is definitely little before it meets the cascade, but it flowed clear and cold on the day of our visit.
We like visiting the Smokies because we always see something new. We never expected to see a dolphin smiling at us as he stuck is snout out of the rushing water.
Our back yard in the snowstorm, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. January 21, 2014.
(Note: All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)
My Beautiful Bride can be impatient at times, and she has been waiting for snow ever since Thanksgiving. But she wasn’t waiting for just any snow — it had to be a perfect snowstorm: The snowflakes had to be big and fluffy, they had to fall during daylight, and the snow had to cling to trees and branches.
I’m happy to say that Betsy was a happy camper on Tuesday. It started snowing in the morning and snowed off and on during most of the day. It didn’t take long for the deck and the golf course to have a cover of white.
The Stars and Stripes in our front yard. January 21, 2014.
The flag in front of the house provided a little color on what was a fairly gray day. The wind came up and caused the flag to stand out from the pole.
The view in front of our house, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. January 21, 2014.
But the best part was that the trees and bushes all wore a coat of white.
Raindrops on Pink Perfection lily, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. June 5, 2012.
(Note: All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)
We end through a hot dry spell several weeks ago, but then the weather man said a cold front was coming through bringing rain with it. The front came through, but the rain didn’t. This happened again — and again. (Fairfield Glade has five golf courses. I think the Community Club has arranged for a giant umbrella to be installed so as not to interfere with golf rounds.)
But finally, on Monday night, we got some rain. The picture above shows what we saw when we looked up at our 7-foot tall Pink Perfection lily.
Ronald Reagan rose, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. June 5, 2012.
I think the roses also appreciated the rain. The water drops on this rose look like little jewels.
Cantina iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. June 5, 2012.
We still have an iris in bloom, and it, too, seemed to appreciate the rain.
Raindrops on one of our lilies, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. June 5, 2012.
We had gone out early to check the flowers in our yard, which is something we do just about every morning. But on this day the water drops were as beautiful as the blossoms.
Our side flower bed under a blanket of snow. Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. February 19, 2012. (Photo by Betsy).
(Note: All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)
Betsy took the picture above this past Sunday. These are some of the spring flowers that shot up during our mild winter. Of course now that they are sending up flower stalks, we get snow and cold!
But one thing about Tennessee weather is that if you don’t like it stay around for a day — it will change.
Crocus in our side flower bed, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. February 21, 2012.
This picture was taken on Tuesday. The snow is gone and we have a crocus in bloom. I actually saw a crocus in bloom before the snow storm, but I didn’t get a picture. It didn’t survive the storm.
It rained most of Wednesday, and just after dark the warning sirens here in the Glade went off. Fortunately all we got was more rain.
Crocus in our flower bed. February 21, 2012.
Yesterday was a bright, warm, sunny, Spring-like day. I can hardly wait to see what today brings.
Our front yard, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. December 7, 2011.
(Note: All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)
If you know anything at all about Betsy, you know how much she loves snow. It snowed here in the Glade yesterday, and Betsy was in a very happy mood. She didn’t go out and build a snowman (we didn’t get that much snow), but she did get out to enjoy it.
The wreath on our back deck, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. December 7, 2011.
We had a wet snow that clung to just about everything. It was what Betsy calls a perfect snow.
Trees in our yard, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. December 7, 2011.
It came down pretty heavy for a while and coated the bare branches of the trees in our yard in a layer of white.
Snow-covered holly bush in front of our house, Fairlfied Glade, Tennessee. December 7, 2011.
We still have a few more days before Christmas, and we may not have a white Christmas, but the berries on the holly in front of our house looked very festive under all the snow.
I will admit that it was a pretty snow, and I’m glad Betsy’s happy. Now that she’s had her snow, I’m ready for Spring.
Waterfall and river behind our house, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. February 28, 2011.
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.
I don’t need to tell most of you that this has been a very strange year as far as the weather is concerned. We had snow and ice in December and January, followed by cold weather and some snow in February. One thing that we haven’t gotten is rain. We were almost three inches below the normal amount going into the last week of February.
All of that changed Sunday night and Monday. It rained and it rained and it rained. The picture above was taken from the deck in the back of our house and shows the fairway about noon on Monday. I don’t think there were any golfers out.
This picture, also taken from the deck, shows the rough behind our house. It looks like it was trying to become a lake.
The situation was about the same in front of the house. I haven’t heard yet how much rain we actually got, but I’m confident that it went quite a way toward eliminating the deficit.
Senior Moments 