Plateau Sunset

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The picture above was taken early this year as the sun was setting here on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. The picture was taken on the Druid Hills Gold Course in Fairfield Glade.

Perfect Moment Rose

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Perfect Moment is a fascinating rose to watch. The colors are reds and yellows, but the mixture changes as the bud opens. This rose is probably the most flamboyant we have as far as color is concerned. As a bonus, it has a nice fragrance as well.

L'Eau d'Or Falls

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Tallulah Gorge State Park in Georgia contains six waterfalls. Most of them must be viewed from the rim of the gorge, and L'Eau d'Or (Water of Gold) Falls is one of these. But even when viewed from a distance, this waterfall is beautiful to behold.

Betsy at Panther Falls

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When we visit waterfalls Betsy and I have well-defined jobs. While I rock-hop trying to get a good picture, Betsy has to find a vantage point from which to enjoy the scene. Here I captured her doing her job at Panther Falls, a pretty little waterfall off the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia.

The Flag at Fort George

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The photo above was taken at Fort George, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario when Betsy and I visited there in 2002. The fort is fascinating and many things were of interest. But this flagpole especially caught my attention. The soldiers give you some indication of the height of the flag pole. And the British flag itself is of a corresponding size.

Why such a tall flagpole and such a big flag? Because in sight, right across the Niagara River, was an American fort. The British obviously wanted the Americans to know that they (the British) were here!

Sempervivum Flowers

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Hens and chickens are wonderful plants and we have them is several places in our yard. They will grow where other things won't and are beautiful succulents year round. Hens and chickens are sempervivum, which means live forever. But they don't. Before a hen dies, she will bloom as in the picture above. The hen will die, but there are hopefully many chicks to take her place.

Water Coming Down

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Yesterday we had a sunny day for the first time in about a week. We were fortunate that we didn't have any of the problems like they're having in Georgia, but it definitely has been wet.

All that water coming down reminded me of the picture above. It shows water at the base of Pond Falls, near Tullahoma, Tennessee.

Peace Rose

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Peace was one of the first roses that we got when we started growing roses in 2005. It is probably the most popular rose in the world.

Peace was developed in France just before World War II. It had no name, but was simply known as #3-35-40. Budwood of #3-35-40 was sent from France just before the German occupation.

The rose was introduced in America in April, 1945, at the first annual rose show of the Pacific Rose Society in Pasadena, California. The day it was introduced was the day that Berlin fell to the Allies. Peace seemed the perfect name for rose #3-35-40.

It has been estimated that as many as 100 million Peace roses have been grown. We're just happy that one of those roses is in our yard.

Niagara Whirlpool

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The Niagara River below the falls rushes through a fairly narrow gorge at fantastic speeds. Then, about three miles below the falls, the river makes a 90-degree turn, which results in a fascinating whirlpool. The picture above was taken from the top of the gorge. The whirlpool can be seen to the left of center in the picture. The boat in the picture is pointing toward the top of the whirlpool.

The Beasley House

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This picture was taken in June, 2007, in Petersburg, Virginia. The Beasley house served as the headquarters of General Robert E. Lee late in 1864. He used the house as headquarters only for about a month, but spent very little time in or near the house as he kept riding along his lines trying to keep General U. S. Grant at bay. It was from this house, however, that Lee began urging President Jefferson Davis to consider offering freedom to any slave that would agree to serve in the southern army.

Escarpment Falls

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One of the joys of collecting waterfalls is unexpectedly coming across one that you had no idea was there. That's exactly what happened with the waterfall pictured above. We were on our way to driving up onto the Plateau this past April on a new road when we rounded a curve and saw this waterfall. There's not a great deal of water, but it sure is pretty and we were happy to add it to our collection.

Medallion Rose

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The rain we've had for the past few days stopped for a while yesterday and we actually had some sunshine. During the afternoon I took this picture of Medallion, which has the largest blossoms of any of our roses. It only has a slight fragrance, but we do like the apricot color of the petals.

The Great Wall

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This is a section of the Great Wall as seen from the top of Badaling pass, north of Beijing. This particular section of the wall has been restored and gives a good idea of the immensity and grandeur of the wall. I apologize for the lack of clarity -- this picture is scanned from a slide made in 1990.

Retreat (Lowering the Colors) at Fort George

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The daily lowering of the flag at a military installation is known as Retreat. We witnessed Retreat at Fort George while we were there in 2002. The soldiers and fife and drum corps were dressed in the uniforms of British soldiers circa 1812.

New Day Rose

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New Day is another of our new roses. It has been around for about 30 years, but we just added it to our yard this year. Betsy thought we needed some more yellow roses and this is a very pretty pale yellow, fragrant rose. Yellow roses are said to represent joy and friendship, so this seems to be an appropriate rose for our yard.

Fort Niagara

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Yesterday I shared British Fort George in Canada. This is Fort Niagara, as seen from Fort George. The American invasion of Canada in 1813 was launched from Fort Niagara.

This picture was taken in 2002 when Betsy and I visited Fort George. We finally got to visit Fort Niagara in 2008.

Fort George

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Fort George is located near Niagara on the Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is across the Niagara River from Fort Niagara in New York. During the War of 1812 Americans captured Fort George from the British in May, 1813. The British recaptured the fort in December, 1813.

Breaking Up a Road Trip

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When Betsy and I travel long distances, we try to find a waterfall or hike that will break up the trip. On our trip to Florida we found both in the DeSoto Falls Scenic Area of Georgia. There we had a nice hike through some beautiful woods to Middle DeSoto Falls. There wasn't a lot of water going over the falls, but it was a great way to break up a trip.

Coon Creek Falls

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Fall Creek Falls is probably the signature waterfall in Tennessee. And I have to admit that it is a beautiful waterfall. But there is a second, smaller, waterfall that falls into the same bowl. Coon Creek Falls doesn't get the attention that Fall Creek Falls gets, but Coon Creek Falls is the waterfall in the picture above.

Memorial Day Rose

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One of the first roses we got here in the Glade is Memorial Day. We got this All-America Rose Selection award winner in 2005 and greatly enjoy both its large blossoms and strong fragrance.

The Great Wall

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I took this picture of a watch tower on the Great Wall on my second visit to the wall in 1990. The watch tower overlooks the pass at Badaling north of Beijing. I thought sepia is a good effect for the Great Wall.

Mon Cheri Rose

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This is another new rose in our garden this year. The buds of this rose start pink, but open into a velvety red flower. It has a light fragrance, but we think it is a very showy rose.

American Falls at Niagara

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I had the opportunity to work on my older pictures this weekend and came upon this picture of the American Falls at Niagara, taken from the Maid of the Mist, a boat that plies the Niagara River below the falls.

A Rainbow and Both Falls

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Yesterday I posted a picture of the rainbow Betsy and I when we got out of the car when we first visited Niagara Falls. This is the view that greeted us when we got across the street closer to the river. The American Falls is to the left and a portion of the Canadian Falls is to the right. I apologize for the quality of this picture -- I had to scan an old picture.

First Look

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I've posted some pictures of a trip Betsy and I made in 2002 to Niagara Falls. We stayed on the Canadian side of the river, and this picture is of our first glimpse of the falls. You can see part of the American Falls behind the tree on the left. The mist on the right is from the Canadian Falls. What really impressed us as we got out of the car was the rainbow.

Cane Creek Cascade

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Fall Creek Falls State Park here in Tennessee is home to five waterfalls, but this isn't one of them. Cane Creek Cascade is just upstream from Cane Creek Falls, and is beautiful in its own right.

Rock-Hopping a Creek

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This picture of my grandson Sean was taken in mid-July. We were on a hike in the Pisgah Forest near Brevard, North Carolina, and came upon this creek that needed to be crossed. I took this picture from a very nice footbridge, but Sean decided it would be more fun to rock-hop across.