Paradise is Right Here

This past week, here in the Glade, our weather has been near PERFECT in every respect. As you know, I have complained about the unbearable heat and dry conditions all summer. Well--we are still dry, but today, you will hear no complaints from me at all. We are having milder temperatures, low humidity, and an abundance of sunshine. I know this is a 'tease'--and that we'll have some more HEAT and HUMIDITY before Fall really gets here. BUT--I needed this week SO much --and I'm sure that many of you, who are experiencing this Fall-like weather, feel just like I do.

I've enjoyed working in the yard this week, and I especially enjoy the cool nights and mornings. Since we've been able to turn off the AC and open the house, it's just wonderful hearing the 'tree frogs' at nights and waking up to the sound of birds singing in the mornings... God is Good and All is Right with my World!!!

Today, I'll share some pictures of our little home and yard which I took on August 23. Above is a picture of our home taken from the road. Below are more.

I was standing near the garage --looking across the front yard, toward the road.

This is the upper side of our yard , taken from the road --looking toward the backyard. You can see a bit of our deck in this picture. You can also see our Confederate Jasmine Bush on the right. I took these in late afternoon --so the shadows are taking over! Sorry!

This is the other side of our home (what we call the lower side) looking from the driveway toward the backyard. You can see the woodpile in the distance.. The English Ivy and Periwinkle ground covers have done well on that hilly, shady area. Grass won't grow in this area ---so eventually, we'll have more Ivy and Periwinkle taking over we hope.

I feel so blessed to have this little home as my own. God has blessed both George and me so very much --and I get really emotional when thinking about our country and how much I love it.... God Bless America!

I'll close with one more picture showing our new 'road' flowerbed --with our home in the background. Wish ALL of you could come to visit us!!!!! You would be welcome here!!! BUT---if you come in the Fall, I'll put you to work raking and blowing leaves.. As you can see ---we have tons of trees with an abundance of leaves!!

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UPDATE on who Woody Woodpecker is patterned after: My blog friend, CAROLYN, who is NCMountainwoman, sent me a couple of articles which clarified this mystery. It seems that Woody was patterned after an ACORN Woodpecker (which I have never seen)... How 'bout that??? We all learn by blogging, don't we?

One more update: My Orthopedic Surgeon released me this past week... Seems my knee is healed--and I am back to 'normal' (whatever that is---ha)... YEAH!!!!

Have a wonderful weekend. I'll see you on Monday.

Hugs,

Skyline Drive (Virginia)--Part II

If you missed Part I of my post showing Skyline Drive, Click HERE. Today I will share with you some more pictures from the overlooks along the Skyline Drive. We pulled out the tripod at Milepost 20 to get some pictures of the two of us. Pignut Mountain is in the distance behind us.

Have you ever heard of "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine"? This was a book written by John Fox Jr. --who was from my hometown of Big Stone Gap, Virginia. The novel was made into several screen and stage plays through the years. Anyhow--this little lone pine reminded me of that!!!!! This picture was taken near the Pinnacles area (3350 feet) at milepost 36.7.

I took this picture to show you one of the other overlooks along the Skyline Drive. This picture was taken at milepost 17.1 which is the Range View Overlook (2810 feet).

For some reason, both George and I took pictures of some of the dead trees along the way. They just stood out as if they were the KING of the Skyline!!! I'm not sure this one is dead --but there wasn't a leaf on it!!!!! Neat picture, huh, with that blue sky and puffy clouds behind it???? This picture was taken at milepost 13 and the overlook is the Hogwallow Flats Overlook (2665 feet).

There are two things I like about this picture... One is the big rocks just below the overlook, and the other is all of the shadows from the clouds in the sky. This picture was also taken from the Range View Overlook (2810 feet) at milepost 17.1

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This is a view of the Shenandoah River and Shenandoah Valley. There is one overlook where all 11 bends of this beautiful river are visible --but it has to be on a very clear day (and it was too hazy when we were there). To see all 11 bends, go to the Hogback Overlook located at milepost 21. This particular picture was taken at the Gooney Run Overlook (2085 feet) at milepost 6.8. Dickey Ridge is to the right.

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I'll close by bringing you back to our yard in beautiful Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. This is our Confederate Jasmine bush in our front yard. The butterflies love it. I took this picture on August 20. This particular butterfly was a little tattered --but pretty nevertheless.

One more thing: In yesterday's blog, I asked you to guess which woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is patterned after... It is the Red-headed Woodpecker.

Have a great day!!!!

Hugs,