Spring Is Busting Out All Over

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It took a while, but it looks as if Spring has finally arrived on the Cumberland Plateau.  We finally have daffodil blooming in our yard.  Five of our daffodil varieties are shown in the collage above.

The daffodil on the upper left is Pink Silk, while Spellbinder is on the upper right.  On the bottom I have Breck’s Colossal on the left, Las Vegas daffodil in the middle, and Wild Carnival.

It’s great to be able to work out in the yard and to see these beauties in blooming in the flower beds.

Down Memory Lane: Our New House

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After Betsy and I got married, we lived in a townhouse she had in Hendersonville, Tennessee.  But we soon began thinking about a home of our own.

We considered many places before deciding on Fairfield Glade here in Tennessee.   Homes in the Glade were fairly affordable, and  the Glade was close enough to my parents in Hendersonville that we could get there if necessary.

Betsy did a great deal of research online, and then called a real estate company that worked in the Glade.  We met him on a Saturday in early August, 2002.  One of the first houses we saw was a ranch house on the golf course.  It had a wrap-around deck in back and three french doors leading from the great room to the deck.  We both fell in love with it almost as soon as we walked in.

We made an offer that very day.  We took possession in October, 2002, and have been happily living here ever since.

The picture of the back of the house on the top left was taken the day we first saw the house.  The picture on the top right shows the front of the house while it was under contract.  The picture on the bottom left is another view of the back taken from the golf course rough behind the house.  The great room in the house is shown on the lower right.  This picture was taken the day we first viewed the house.  Our name went on the mailbox after we moved in.

To see larger versions of these pictures and others, click HERE.

Micro Moon

Full Moon over Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. November 28, 2012.

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Did you see last week’s full moon?  It turns out that it was really a Micro Moon.  On November 28, 2012 the smallest Full Moon of 2012 reached its full phase only about 4 hours before its apogee, the most distant point from Earth in the Moon’s elliptical orbit.

We’ll have to wait until January 16, 2014, to see the next Micro Moon.  On that date the moon will reach its full phase within about three hours of apogee.

And Then The Wind Came

Fallen tree behind our house, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. July 6, 2012.

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Last Thursday evening Betsy and I were thinking about getting supper ready when all of a sudden a strong wind came up and all kinds of nuts started falling from the trees around our house.  Then one of our umbrellas started scooting along the deck.  As we worked to get the umbrella down and other things on the deck firmly anchored, we heard a brick cracking sound behind the house.  This was accompanied by a tall tree crashing down.

Tree down behind our house, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. July 5, 2012. (Photo by Betsy.)

When the tree came down, it took most of a smaller tree with it.

Behind our house, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. July 6, 2012.

We were amazed that such a big tree could come down so quickly.  The fact that the trunk broke rather than the root ball coming up made it even more amazing.

Clearing the downed tree behind our house, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. July 6, 2012.  (Photo by Betsy.)

We were fortunate in two respects:  First, that the tree didn’t hit the house, and second, the tree was  on golf course property.  Friday morning Glade employees equipped with chain saws arrived on the scene and went to work.

Clearing debris from the fallen tree, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. July 6, 2012. (Photo by Betsy.)

In a remarkably short time they had the tree cut up and loaded into a truck (actually several loads).  Soon the view from our back deck was as beautiful as ever — minus a couple of trees

Fast Forwarding Through Spring

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

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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 Spring Beauty

Mon Cheri Daffodil, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. March 13, 2012.

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This has been a very warm and, in our yard at least, beautiful Spring.  We’ve enjoyed many more daffodils this year than we did last year.  I shared some of our beautiful blossoms earlier (click HERE), and here I’m showing a few more.

Mon Cheri Daffodil is one we’ve had for several years.  It blooms in several spots in our yard.

Sunny Girl Daffodil, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. March 14, 2012.

Sunny Girl is a daffodil we got last year.  I really like that bright orange double trumpet, even if it didn’t cooperate by growing in a spot where I could get a good picture.

Pink Charm is a new daffodil in our yard this year.  It has soft white petals and a pretty pink and yellow trumpet.

Tahiti Daffodil, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. March 16, 2012.

Tahiti is an old standby that we’ve enjoyed for several years.  It’s different in that the petals are a pale yellow.

I must repeat that pictures can’t do justice to these beautiful blossoms.  I only wish you could have been here in person to see them yourself.

Busy as a Bee

A bee at work in our redbud tree, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. March 19, 2012.

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I went out late Monday afternoon with my macro lens to get some pictures of the redbud tree in our front yard.  When I got there I found that I wasn’t the only one interested in the blossoms.  There were bees all over the tree.

Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. March 19, 2012.

Since I’m allergic  to bee stings I thought of beating a hasty retreat, but the bees were intent on the blossoms, and as long as I stood relatively still, they just ignored me.  So I thought I would try to get some pictures of the bees at work.

The encounter with the bees was entirely unplanned, but I think I got some pretty good pictures for the experience.  And best of all, I didn’t get stung.

Spring Is Busting Out All Over

Wild Carnival Daffodil, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. February 24, 2012.

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Spring is busting out all over here in the Glade, including in our own yard.  We have many daffodils in bloom in our yard, and now even the tulips are blooming.  The daffodil above, Wild Carnival, was new last year.  We both like the orange trumpet with the yellow petals.

Spellbinder Daffodil, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. March 13, 2012.

We’ve had Spellbinder for several years.  The trumpet is quite large and gets lighter as the blossom ages.

Fortissimo Daffodil, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. March 11, 2012.

Fortissimo is another daffodil that we’ve had for quite some time.  The trumpet is absolutely spectacular.

Dinner Plate is a new daffodil for us this year.It has a big, bright, beautiful blossom which we are really enjoying.

I don’t think any of these pictures do justice to these beautiful blossoms.  I think you’ll just have to stop by and see them for yourself.

Down Memory Lane: Iris (2008)

One way to make winter days more bearable is to look through pictures taken on sunny summer days.  These are some of the iris that bloomed in our yard during the late spring of 2008.  We have more roses than iris, but we do enjoy the iris which bloom earlier than the roses.

To see larger versions of these pictures and others, click HERE.

Dogwood Winter

Dogwood blossoms, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 12, 2011.

Last weekend we had near-record high temperatures.  The temperature Friday was over 80°, which is more like the highs in July rather than April.  Monday and Tuesday we had the heat on and a fire in the fireplace.

Such is Dogwood Winter.  Dogwood Winter is a cold spell following warm weather that occurs as the dogwood trees are blooming.  Our dogwood tree is in fact blooming as you can see from the photo above.  We can only hope that Dogwood  Winter is nice and short.

Dogwood blossom, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 21, 2011.

The blossoms of the dogwood tree are in fact very beautiful.  It’s a shame that the name of this pretty tree got associated with a stretch of cold weather.