We Got Some Rain

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.

Spring in the Glade

Our side flower bed under a blanket of snow. Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. February 19, 2012. (Photo by Betsy).

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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.

Betsy Was Delighted

Our front yard, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. December 7, 2011.

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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.

My World: Did I Say We Needed Rain?

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.

 

My World: Baby, It’s Cold Outside

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.

Winter has come to the Cumberland Plateau.  It’s cold and it snowed most of Sunday.  It was light flurries most of the day, but the driveway became snow-covered after dark.  I don’t want to mention any names, but one member of the family was very happy that day.

Since it’s turned cold, the roses in containers have been moved to the garage where they will hopefully survive the winter.  The roses in the beds have been pruned back and covered, so they, too, are ready for their winter nap.

The yard looks somewhat drab now — at least when it’s not covered by snow.  But that doesn’t mean that everything is drab.  Our Great Room looks bright and colorful now that the Christmas tree is up.  And with a fire in the fireplace it feels as warm as it looks.

Watery Wednesday #94: Stormy Morning at the Beach

A storm coming ashore, Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. May 7, 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.

When we go to the beach we hope for lots of sunshine and good weather.  But even when the weather doesn’t always cooperate the beach can be beautiful.  I got this picture of a storm coming ashore at Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina.

If You Don’t Like Our Weather, Wait

Our side flower bed, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. April 11, 2010.

The picture above was taken a couple of weeks ago.  Almost all of our tulips are now gone, but the iris have started to bloom, so we still have color in our yard.

It’s a fairly common saying that if you don’t like the weather here in Tennessee, stick around for a few minutes — it will change.

We’ve enjoyed some beautiful weather this month.   As a matter of fact we had summer-like temperatures several days ago.  So Betsy and I were shocked when we noticed a freeze watch for our area Tuesday afternoon.  Tuesday was a chilly, rainy day, but it didn’t seem all that cold.  And then we got a text message from our friends Judy and Charlie who were hiking to the lodge atop Mount LeConte in the Smokies just east of here.  They were on the trail, but said it was snowing!

Betsy and I debated covering some of the roses and other flowers, but we knew we couldn’t begin to cover everything.  So we crossed our fingers and decided to hope the weather man was wrong.

Evidently the clouds stuck around longer than expected, because our temperatures stayed in the 40s over night.  Everything in the yard looked fine when we got up Wednesday morning.

And Judy and Charlie?  They woke up Wednesday morning to 8-10 inches of snow on the mountain.  Tennessee is never dull!

Spring, Wherefore Art Thou?

More of our roses from 2009.

We had three days of beautiful weather earlier in the week, but the last two days have been cold and rainy.  I’ve  started a couple of projects out in the yard, but I haven’t been able to make much progress.  And if this cold weather continues I’m going to need to split more wood and carry it to the garage so my Beautiful Bride will be comfortable in the evenings.

Our crocus have bloomed and are just about completely gone.  Nothing else has begun to bloom.  I will say that the grass is greening up very nicely, so I guess I will have to think about checking out the mower one of these days.

I’ve started to partially uncover the roses.  Most of them are showing signs of new growth and need to be cut back.  I won’t completely uncover the roses until I’m fairly confident that freezing temperatures are behind us.

So while I’m waiting for  Spring to get serious about coming and staying here on the Plateau, I’ll try to stay warm by remembering what the roses looked like last year.

Betsy’s Getting Her Wish!

Our front yard in the early afternoon, Fairfield Glade. January 29, 2010.

I can’t begin to tell you how happy my Beautiful Bride is this morning.  She’s been waiting for almost four years for a day like this.

She actually started smiling Friday afternoon.  It began snowing late Friday morning and by early afternoon the street, driveway and yard were pretty much covered in white as you can see from the picture above.

The wall in front of our house in the late afternoon. January 29, 2010.

But much to Betsy’s delight, it just kept snowing.  By late afternoon we had a couple of inches on the ground.  Even our newly repaired wall looked good in the snow.

Still snowing after dark. January 29, 2010.

Best of all it just kept snowing.  This is what it looked like just before I began writing this post.  I don’t know how much snow we will finally have — it’s supposed to keep snowing until noon Saturday.  Some forecasts say we will have 7 to 9 inches by the time the storm ends.

I predict Betsy will be absolutely giddy today!

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I’m grateful for the beauty of newly fallen snow and the way it makes the world seem new and clean.

Blue Sky and Ice

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.