Thursday, August 21, 2014

Beautiful Flowers

 

Blairsville, Georgia  (high 88, low 66)

 

Bill and Nancy were ambitious yesterday, and went for a long hike in nearby Vogel State Park. It was supposed to be in the upper 80’s so we ended up staying home and putzing around the house and yard.  We had some very dirty kayaks to clean, dry and deflate.  That red Georgia clay made a nice mess on the boats.  As we were going through the cleaning and deflating process, we fondly remembered how easy it was when we had our hard kayaks.   Of course, they were a pain in the neck for storage and travel as they are always on the roof.   I wish there was a better option.

Late in the afternoon, we were watching tv/snoozing and were awakened by the weather radio.  That sure got our attention, because we weren’t aware anything severe was coming.  We jumped up, brought the awning in and listened to the warning of potentially severe thunderstorms with high winds and the possibility of hail.  We watched the radar on the Weatherbug app and saw that most of the heavy stuff was going right around us.  Then the alert came for flash flooding, so the streams and rivers should be flowing better now.   It rained off and on the rest of the day and evening.   About 8pm, Al decided he needed to get out of the house despite the rain and occasional thunder.  We grabbed our rain jackets and took a ride on the golf cart, hoping to spot the bear.   One has been seen nearby, but we’ve not been lucky enough to see him.   Yet.

 

A few nights ago, we were taking our nightly golf cart ride and I got a few pretty pictures.  This is the corn field the bear destroyed last year.  It now is surrounded by an electric fence.  :(

IMG_7030

 

The deer love the soybeans.

deer in soybean

The turkey family seems to love the field.

turkey

turkey

We rode over to Rivers Edge II and ended up running into a traffic jam.   Most everyone has a golf cart and we all go riding before dark, hunting for that elusive black bear.

golfcart parade

This is the scenic overlook where you can look down into the valley at both rv parks with the mountains in the background.  I guess we were all admiring the view.

Our next stop was to visit our friend Eileen.  We had been admiring from afar, her beautiful flowering baskets, so we arranged a tour.  

Eileen, dogs and flowers on deck

She takes the pups for a long ride every night on the golf cart.   I need to get a photo of how she keeps them from falling out with the use of a few bungee cords.  They are so cute.

Isn’t this deck amazing?

Eileen, dogs and flowers on deck

She has all these beautiful Amish made gliders all around the deck and by the river.   I told her about the Amish puppy mills.   She wasn’t aware of the Amish relationship with puppy mills and she thought she was helping the local economy.  I hope I didn’t make you feel bad Eileen!  I know how you like dogs.

You can read just one of the many articles about Amish puppy mills here if you like.   Google  Amish puppy mills for many, many more articles.

Eileen, dogs and flowers on deck

She bought her flower baskets from a local nursery that specialized in baskets.  They were just gorgeous as you can see.

Eileen, dogs and flowers on deck

Eileen, dogs and flowers on deck

Eileen has a river front lot, so she has another deck by the river….and another glider.   Those gliders really are nice, but I guess I’ll never own one.

Eileen, dogs and flowers on deck

How about this cute face.

Eileen, dogs and flowers on deck

or this one?

Eileen, dogs and flowers on deck

Thanks Eileen for letting us admire your beautiful deck.  Nancy, you really need to see those flowers in person!

 

The ride home gave us a different view.

sunset over Rivers edge

11 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting the lovely pics and reminding me how beautiful my native state is.

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  2. That sure is one beautiful looking deck with all those flowers.

    I never knew about the Amish and puppy mills - very surprising!

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  3. Those are some flowers! I wish I could grow flowers like that, but I have such a brown thumb they wouldn't stand a chance. :c(

    Funny having a golf cart traffic jam looking for your elusive bear friend. He's probably hiding in a bush and laughing at your human antics... ;c)

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  4. Those flowers are just beautiful! Is she a year round resident or just summer? I'm sure you will see the bear soon but please not too close!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, she is a year round resident.

      No bears yet, soon I hope, but we'll be careful.

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  5. Love your closing picture. Really beautiful as are your friends flowers. Glad you continue to spread the word about the puppy mills. It sure was a surprise to me and changed my plans in Pennsylvania.

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  6. Beautiful flowers- we did not know about the puppy mills either. No more Amish stuff for us. Rats -they sure do make good pies down in Sarasota.

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  7. There has been a lots of controversy about the Amish puppy mills here in Ontario as well.

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  8. That deck of flowers is gorgeous! ! Living close to the Amish a good deal of my life....a lot of what they produce is questionable but they sure have beautiful gardens!!

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  9. Ps...I really think.I need a kayak...is that a sea eagle?

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, they are Sea Eagle 385 Fast Tracks...the old style. We like them.

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