Five deer went to the River to drink water

Early in the morning, she saw five deer walking across the boulevard toward the River.  They traveled along the path--  using the new path (see post, Happy Trails).

Carefully opening the door to get a clear show, forgot to zoom with telephoto (sorry).  And it was so early, the camera had to be set to f/4 at 1/400 second with film speed = ISO 1600 to gather enough light.
Maybe this detail shot may help you see them.

Downhill skiing

This dead tree probably won't survive too much longer.
In the meantime, it's great for little creatures to climb up & down. No need to fetch him with a ladder. If he were to get stranded at the top, just pull the whole dang tree down.

Thanksgiving at the River

We hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving holiday.
Is this now the 21st century holiday decoration for the holiday?

Happy Trails

Some wild critter is walking along the new path. Still need to rake the little branches so grass will grow here in the Spring.

Locust in the late afternoon

The locust tree blocks the late afternoon sun itself. You can see the late afternoon shadows. In the summer, the sun is much farther to the right.

Notice those thorns on the tree. They're nasty. Punctured a few tractor tires, they have.

Read more about the honey locust and its thorns (click here to go to Wikipedia)

Strawberries in furrows

The rototiller/cultivator helped to expand the strawberry patch with furrows.

Twenty-seven strawberry plants were extracted from the patch and were placed in the new furrows.

(see other posting for picture of cat who had helped do this gardening)

Sharecropper in the Garden

Cat is resting after helping in the garden.

Don't be fooled.  Those eyes that look sleepy are still vigilant for little bugs to find and chase.

Cats are carnivores, after all.

How to Grow Strawberries - Not

Next year will be better for Strawberries?
Despite moderate efforts at weed control and a meager attempt to put old tall grass clippings under the nascent strawberries, all kinds of weeds permeated the little patch.

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This strawberry patch looks so much better!

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It happened last night

The trees along the Riverbank have a tough life.  Saplings are sitting prey for the beavers in the river.  Just last night the beavers paid yet another visit to this tree.

See the freshly cut-off part?
See the leaves on the grass that were stripped off as the beaver dragged his new tree down to the river?

Notice how there are 5 "stumps".  Well, three years ago there were two. (click here to see an earlier post, when there were 2 stumps. The second inset shows what had been twin trees.).  

Each year since, the tree has tried again to grow, and each year the beavers have claimed the new growth as their own.

Maybe next year the beavers will go elsewhere and give the poor tree a chance.

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Float the Buffalo River - Float Guide - Duncan's Camp

Floating the Buffalo River is a favorite of many folks.  From time to time, floating along in canoe or kayak people will call out: "How far is it to Duncan's Camp?".  Duncan's Camp is a well-known stop off point in their journies.

The Perry County Chamber of Commerce has made available a photo-copied brochure that shows Duncan's Camp and most other public access spots along the Buffalo River.

The pix here show you what the brochure looks like.


And a closer look at Duncan's camp...

Download it for yourself. (maybe works only if you're using Microsoft Internet Explorer?) Here's the link: http://www.perrycountytennessee.com/images/stories/brochures/TGFC%20Buffalo%20Float%20Map.pdf

Beautiful week

Last week, rain and flooding.  This week, sunshine!

The water is running a little high

Recent rains have kept the river a little higher than usual.





But not this high (you may have seen this one making its rounds on the Internet) ...

Bright colors

A late afternoon in mid-October is  beginning to bright colors to the riverbank.

Panoramas from cell phone

A little crazy how they stitch together, but you get the idea.

The Gum tree

 Not so long ago, this little fella' was discovered in the adjoining field as a five-foot tree.

We thought of kidnapping and transplanting him;  but we let him stay where Mother Nature place him.


Look at me now!

October Neighbors'

 October brings some fall colors.  Look at that maple by the house.
Nice blue sky this day.

 

Garden Cottage gets workshop

 (click on the photo to see detail)
The Garden Cottage got itself a workbench, shop light, & clean windows.

Just sit in the Tracker when you want to take a break ("Ooh, my back is tired")


Nostalgia: see the Garden Cottage when it was growing up.
(click to see picture from Picasa Web)

Early morning fog

Particularly as summer turns to fall, the River is blanketed with fog during the night.  Get up early and you can see it.  Sleep in, and it will have disappeared.
Got up early this morning and saw the fog on the River.  The sun was rising, but not yet over the hills to the east.
The early morning fog seems to make the River mysterious.  Looking downriver, one is reminded of Sherlock Holmes and the scenes we're seen in movies of rural England.  How 'bout for you?

Tractors

Across Hurricane Creek, heading into town, was the site of a tractor show featuring many older tractors.  Many were well maintained or well restored.  Listen to the sounds of their engines... almost peaceful.
Tractors are an important part of life along the Buffalo River.

Hide and seek

Where is Tracker?
It's there between the okra and the old corn stalks.  The okra are just about finished blooming.  Enough have been eaten.  Lots of okra now in the freezer.
The corn harvest was good.  The raccoons didn't come by until the corn was nearly all harvested. Plenty of corn is in the freezer, too.
Tracker is sitting abreast of the corn stalks.  It's waiting for an automatic pull & load feature to get rid of the stalks.  Those stalks have roots!  They're not easy to pull, even after recent rains.

Beautiful Fall Day

It's 72 degrees. The River, while still a couple of feet above normal, is now running clear again. Blue skies everywhere. What you're missing!

Raindrops falling on your head?

There's notihng that beats a wrap-around porch to make a late summer cloudburst so enjoyable.(click to hear the rain)

From 2009 09

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed
Nothin' seems to fit
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'


So I just did me some talkin' to the sun
And I said I didn't like the way he got things done
Sleepin' on the job
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'


But there's one thing I know
The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me
It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me


Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red
Cryin's not for me
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'
Because I'm free
Nothin's worryin' me


It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me


Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red
Cryin's not for me
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'
Because I'm free
Nothin's worryin' me

Labor Day?

When the current carries you lazily downstream, it's not labor... perfect for Labor Day.

This journey takes you from Washplace Ford to a relaxing place.

click the map to enlarge.

On your ride you'll see:

• the big tree that just fell into the river.  (00:25)
• the 'rapids' (00:31 -turn up your sound to hear the gurgling of the 'rapids' )
• the red pickup truck that brought a dad and his son to go fishing (01:02)
• a homestead (01:48) and the Pavilion (01:51)... beginnings of  another homestead.
• at the end of Out-takes, a panorama of the waterfront in early morning (02:09)

Enjoy the ride.

To see this video on YouTube, click here
Don't forget to click on one of the choices below; leave a comment if you'd like.

Blue skies

A foggy early morning sunrise became full sun and blue skies.

Another great day

So many different ways to have fun at the River. Today is grass-cutting day. Tommorrow-- pick lots more Corn!

Marigolds and a walk to the River

Take a walk down to the river. Start at the Garden Cottage & see the Marigolds.

Walk past the Picnic Bench (which hasn't floated away lately).

Go down the path and cross over the stream on the Bridge. It's survived the last 3 floods very nicely.

Now we're down at the river. Sploosh, sploosh as we wade into the water.

From 2009 07 River

Watch out-- don't get spashed as you look upstream, downstream and back toward the house and path.

Sunflowers and Corn

Just a month ago, these were the little guys.

Now we have a brisk walk past Cosmos, Crepe Myrtle and Okra that takes us to Sunflowers.

As we pass by the different Sunflowers just can't help but seeing all the tall corn in the background.

From 2009 07 River

Over 5 dozen ears so far-- and the racoons must be feasting elsewhere

No drought this year

The grass is so green-- and keeps growing, now into August. Have to keep the blade set high to minimize clumping

Enjoy summertime

Late afternoon... at the end of a liesurely kayak ride down the river.

Do you see the house?

Do you see the garden cottage?

(Tougher...)

Do you see the red tractor?

Do you see the tracker?

Do beavers live at water's edge at the far right of the picture?

Tour the garden

Ride with us and take a spin around the garden.(click the picture to see the movie)

You'll see everything is well-watered, thanks to the heavy rains (see the flood, next post, below)

It's hard to see the squash hiding under those big leaves, but they're there.
Later we hope to have watermelons!

Fourth of July

After several downbursts, the river rose.

Turn up the volume and hear the sound of the water rushing downstream. Listen carefull at 00:25 and 00:32 to hear a bird tweeting.

As you'll see, the water spilled over the river bank onto the lawn.

Get ready for Spring!

[first post of the year]

The weather cooperated so we tilled and planted... and planted.
Stay tuned and we'll watch for:
peas,
cabbage,
lettuce,
brussels sprouts,
onions,
strawberries,
bok choi,
broccolli, potatoes