Posts Tagged ‘Winter’

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Scenic Sunday: Winter Beauty

January 1, 2012

An ice-covered tree in our front yard, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. January 31, 2010.

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

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.

Winter is not my favorite season of the year (just ask Betsy), but I will admit that at times it can be quite beautiful.  This picture was taken back in 2010, the day after an ice storm here on the Plateau.  The sky was an unbelievable blue that beautifully set off the ice-covered branches of a tree in our front yard.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 10 Comments »

Watery Wednesday: Wintry Waterfall

December 14, 2011

Dry Falls, Highlands, North Carolina. December 12, 2009.

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

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.

Betsy and I usually visit waterfalls in warm weather, but there are advantages to visiting a waterfall in cold weather.  In addition to flowing water, it is often possible to see ice and icicles, which give additional elements to enjoy.

This picture of Dry Falls was taken in December, 2009.  Dry Falls, near Highlands, North Carolina, can be seen from an observation deck fairly near the road.  In warm weather it is possible to walk behind the waterfall, but the path was closed because of ice when we took this this picture.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 22 Comments »

Betsy Was Delighted

December 8, 2011

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.

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Posted in Weather | 18 Comments »

Scenic Sunday #86: Hoarfrost on the Mountain

March 7, 2010

Hoarfrost on Mount Magazine, Arkansas. February 23, 2010.

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.

This picture was taken about two weeks ago on Mount Magazine in Arkansas.  This is another of our favorite hiking places in Arkansas.  Of course the fact that the lodge in the state park has an excellent restaurant with a terrific view doesn’t hurt either.

The day we were there was cold — just about perfect for visiting waterfalls and hiking.  But as we got higher up the mountain (Mount Magazine is the highest point in Arkansas) the temperature kept dropping.  When we got to the loop road at the top of the mountain we began to notice hoar frost in some of the trees.  Each time the road climb a few feet, more of the trees supported a coat of hoar frost.

When we came to an overlook we stopped to get some pictures.  The morning was cloudy, but the trees covered with hoar frost nestled among the bluffs and rocks of the mountain made a very beautiful scene.

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I’m grateful for the beauty that can be found at any time in our wonderful world.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 14 Comments »

Skywatch Friday: Chimes, Icicles and Blue Skies

February 19, 2010

Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. February 18, 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 had blue skies and sunshine on Thursday — we hardly knew what to do.  Even more amazing was the fact that the temperature got above freezing for the first time in about 10 days.

The result of all that warmth and sunshine was this giant icicle engulfing a wind chime on the south-east corner of our house.  I don’t know which impressed more — the blue sky or the icicle.  By the end of the day the snow on the roof of our neighbor’s house was gone, but much of the icicle was still there.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 21 Comments »

Skywatch Friday: Blue Skies, Icy Trees

February 12, 2010

The view from our front yard, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. January 31, 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.

There was a brightness in the sky behind the clouds and haze that’s been there all month.  After doing some research I believe that brightness is something called the ‘sun’.  I didn’t have my camera with me to get a picture, but I’ll continue to do research on this phenomenon.

I had to go back to the last day of January to get a decent picture for sky watch.  This picture was taken after our big snow and ice storm.  For one day we had gorgeous blue skies, which made a great background for all the icy branches on the trees.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 19 Comments »

Watery Wednesday # 72: Dry Falls in Winter

January 27, 2010

Dry Falls, Highlands, North Carolina. December 12, 2009.

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.

There really is water in this picture (the white streak on the right), so this qualifies for Watery Wednesday.  The picture was taken at Dry Falls in the Cullasaja Gorge west of Highlands, North Carolina.  Dry Falls is a beautiful waterfall with a misleading name that Betsy and I have visited several times.

Normally it is possible to walk behind the falls, but in December, 2009, when this picture was taken, the path was closed.  All that ice made the path very treacherous.  And all that  ice should also dispel the idea that it doesn’t get cold in Dixie.

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I’m grateful for the beauty of all seasons.

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We’re being threatened with some nasty winter weather Thursday and Friday, so Betsy and I are going to Hendersonville today.  We’re going to have a very full day helping my folks with some Medicare paperwork, so I’m not sure we’ll get back in time for me to post for Thursday morning.  If not, I’ll be back Friday morning.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 13 Comments »

Blue Sky and Ice

January 16, 2010

Ice build-up behind our house, Fairfield Glade. January 15, 2010.

The picture above was taken behind our house yesterday and does a pretty good job of describing Tennessee weather over the past week or so.

First the good news — the sky is blue and the shadows in foreground mean that the sun is shining.  Both of those things have been in short supply this year.

The bad news is the ice build-up on the rocks.  This is a ‘natural area’ on the edge of the fairway.  It is normally bare rock, although there is often moisture on the rock from run-off further up the hill.  The ice is a reminder of how cold it has been so far this year.  We have never seen ice this thick on these rocks.

I can hardly wait to find what the coming week will bring.

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I’m grateful for all the seasons we enjoy here on the Cumberland Plateau.

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Posted in Glade | 13 Comments »

My World: Wind Chimes and Icicles

January 12, 2010

An icicle-encrusted wind chime on a corner of our house. January 10, 2010.

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

We don’t often get icicles at our house, but this winter has been unusual and it is still quite young!

Sunday we had blue skies for the first time in a week.  It was still quite cold, but I got outside and noticed the wind chime at the corner of our house.  Over the past couple of weeks the icicle has grown and it now prevents the chime from chiming.

We put the wind chimes up to discourage the Pileated Woodpeckers from dining on our house.  I don’t know why or how the wind chimes work, but we haven’t had problems with the woodpeckers since we  put them up.  Although the Pileated Woodpeckers have been coming to the suet feeders during this cold spell, I hope the temperatures soon warm up enough to enable the chimes to chime again.

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Posted in My World | 13 Comments »

We’re in a Deep Freeze

January 4, 2010

The cascade behind our house. January 3, 2009.

I hope the year 2010 has gotten off to a great start for each and every one of you.  By the way, how do you say 2010?  Is it “Two Thousand Ten” or “Twenty Ten”?  I hear it both ways around here.

Now that the holidays are over we can get back to normal here on the Plateau.  Of course winter means that there is not a great deal to do outdoors except to split and  bring in firewood.  Perhaps winter days will mean that I’ll have more time to get caught up on all the indoor projects I have on my list.

One thing I would like to happen is for us to get out of the deep freeze.  Temperatures in the single digits are not to our liking!  Fortunately the single digits have been overnight, but we haven’t been above freezing ALL YEAR!

The picture above shows the icy cascade behind our house on the edge of the golf course fairway.  We’ve seen ice there a few times before, but I don’t think it has ever been this thick.

The saddest thing (at least as far as Betsy is concerned) is that we have all this cold weather with almost no snow.  We woke up Saturday to a very light dusting of snow, but that’s all we’ve seen so far.

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Posted in Weather | 13 Comments »

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