Wander to the Wayside - Pt. 2 (Fall photos)

Georgia is beautiful this time of year. This is one season that you realize just how many trees we really have! Most of these photos were taken in the last two weeks, probably duplicates of ones I've posted in other seasons, all within a five mile radius of my house. (Some photos were taken on really overcast days, so I did have to lighten them.) (Also...enlarge for full effect!)(There's a part 1 to this, so when done here, go on to the next post, please!)

Seriously, you have to enlarge this place that's for sale ... I want it! (If it costs less than $100!)

This is the same pond as the third photo from the top ... what a difference a week of frost can make!

I thought I'd stumbled across a run of the mill junk yard stuck out in the country, then quickly realized that it was mostly classic cars.

I always enjoy your company, and look forward to more drives together! (geez, how corny can I get?) (If you keep scrolling, part I (my yard) is next.)

Wander to the Wayside, Part 1 (my yard)

I've had photos piling up in my camera, but too many to put in one post. Here are some of the last remnants of my garden, and then I'll put some of the area Fall photos on another post.
(A reminder...enlarge for full effect, especially since my camera takes such mediocre photos!)

I chased this butterfly around the garden for thirty minutes trying to get a photo, and the silly thing kept flying away just as I'd start to click. They're almost all gone because we had a week of frost last week, so this one was a straggler.

There's nothing special about this, except for the banana pepper plant on the left with the last peppers of the year. We put the peppers and tomatoes in the flowerbed this year, and the peppers did well but the tomatoes got blight early on.

I let most of the echinacea go to seed this year for the finch (since the price of finch seed has skyrocketed at the stores), and they were wildly popular. This batch is new and I'll let go to seed again.

I bought a little plastic pot of wilted mums last fall at the end of the season and stuck them in the ground. Imagine my surprise when this summer they grew, and grew, and produced this mass of blooms

I had given up on geraniums because I never have luck with them. This was the absolute last time I was going to buy them! I put it in this pot that gets morning sun and afternoon shade, and it has been blooming steady for the last two months. I covered it with a towel and pillow case during the frost last week, and it's still blooming today.

This isn't the one I meant to upload, but it'll do. I thought the clematis was done, but apparently I was wrong. It was curling around a little birdhouse, so I had to stand up on the deck and shoot down at it. I covered it with a sheet during the frost, but was still totally surprised that it survived.

I'm just putting this frog on for the heck of it. When Alice was here we were going to the store and I pulled over to clean a bug splatter off the windshield. As I opened the door, something flew across in front of me and scared the crap out of both of us. It was this frog! Don't know if he'd been in the car all along or if he jumped in when I opened the door, but it was quite exciting.

We were really disappointed in our flower garden this year. We had drought early on, then too much rain. I had the most beautiful clump of black eyed susans one day, that was a pile of mush the next. The same thing happened to many of the plants. Very frustrating! Oh well, another chance next year. How did your garden do?

A Blogger Gone ...

UPDATE: Ah, the power of persuasion! Due to an overwhelming uprising amongst his followers, Glenn has agreed to keep his blog active. He felt that he could not devote enough time or effort to the blog because of real life conditions, but we have convinced him that, since there are no rules as to when or how often he has to post, he can come and go as he pleases. I, for one, look forward to his continued blogging participation. (I just wish he hadn't deleted his old stories!)

I dropped in to see Glenn at Differences with the Same Likenesses this morning, and was disappointed and dismayed to find that he has signed off and taken his posts with him. I know this happens, but it is my first experience with it. I knew that he had been questioning why he had started a blog in the first place, though it was obvious to those of us who visited him that he had some wonderful 'stories' to share, and all of his posts were a pleasure to read. I don't know if he felt pressured to have to submit something, if he was disappointed with his writings, if there were time constraints, or what.

And that's the problem, or the frustration ... that we don't know WHY. I wish he had talked this through with us, his readers, a little more, to at least prepare us for his imminent departure. Not that he owed us anything, but it's kind of like having a friend, co-worker, or next door neighbor pack up in the middle of the night and not leave a forwarding address.

Anyway, I, for one, will miss reading his stories, but wish him well ... and will hope that someday he changes his mind and comes back.

Wednesday's Wander to the Wayside: Grand Ole Opry Museum.

My sister-in-law, Alice (of Friday's Favorites), and her husband, Doug, were here for a visit this last week, and I can't even begin to tell you what a joy it was to see them. They are a past and current attachment to our former life in Colorado, and Alice is my husband David's last remaining sibling of the original four (Sandy, the oldest, died of breast cancer, and Corey, the youngest, died of suicide). So not only was it a treat for me to see one of my oldest and dearest friends, but for David and Alice it was a span of time to try to close some of the miles that keep that apart, even if for only a short time.

We did a lot of sitting while they were here because I was puny with a sore throat (and had laryngitis for half their visit) and David had to squeeze in some work, and it rained, but we did do a little running around in our area (I'm sure I'll do another post). They were flying home out from Nashville this past Monday, so we drove them and got a little last minute sight-seeing done. We had limited time, so just stopped by the Grand Ole Opry complex and walked around, though the theatre was closed and cordoned off. We were able to get into the Museum, which was very cool if you like and are familiar with the history of country music. Here are a few touristy photos:

These doors were massive. We could have taken a back stage tour, but it was $15 a person and mainly we didn't have enough time.

Me and David (or is it David and I?) Wish I'd put some makeup on!

Doug and Alice

They have the interior set up with these retro tableaus, which added to the ambiance of the place.

This mural was awesome and so real. Reminded me of Norman Rockwell. If you know your country music stars, you should enlarge this and see how many you can pick out in the audience.

I was surprised that the George Jones display was relatively small and conservative, considering what a high profile personality in country music he was.

This is a replica of Patsy Cline's home, I guess. It took me right back to our den when I was a teenager in the late 50s early 60s.

I loved this photo from when Tex Ritter was running for political office, with these legends all in one sitting. Left to right are Tennessee Ernie Ford (gosh, did I love his show - and 'bless your little pea pickin' heart'!), woman unknown (probably Mrs. Tennessee Ernie), Tex Ritter, woman unknown (probably Mrs. Ritter), Roy Rogers, Minnie Pearl, and Roy Acuff (I think-correct me if I'm wrong). (I guess I should have magnified this so I could see the faces better!)

They had a lot of these old posters, which added to the ambiance (can I use that word twice in one post?) of the place. This one caught my attention because of the date - 1948 - which is when I was born.

The Marty Robbins display was huge. This car, a Panther, was awesome, but we couldn't figure out exactly who made it and when. Wish we could have sat in it! It was a four-seater.

Marty Robbins guitars.

I knew Marty Robbins could be flashy, but I had no idea how much so. There were way too many for me to show here or get photos of, but this was the one that turned out best. Seriously, enlarge this so you can appreciate the embroidery.

How-dee! Minnie Pearl had a nice display, including one about her involvement with breast cancer education and research.

Most of the artists had a tv display with their performances on old tv shows like Hee Haw, Tennessee Ernie Ford Show, Grand Ole Opry, etc. It was like stepping into a time capsule.

I think this was the Roy Acuff display. Again, the displays really took you back in time, if not to what you were listening to, then perhaps your mother, uncle, or grandmother.

Obviously I didn't have my camera set right for Tex Ritter and had to brighten a lot. There was also a photo of him with his family, including one of my favorite comedians, John Ritter.

Of course there were way more displays than I could ever put here, so this was just a sampler. After the museum we had to take Alice and Doug directly to the airport, then David and I had the long two and a half/three hour drive home in the dark, so no photos. But we did have to stop to 'rest' at one of the tourist centers, and found this:

Ya'll come back now, hear?