"Hope Is the Thing With Flower Petals"

I wanted to start off 2015 with my beautiful Hibiscus flowers that grew in my container garden last fall.  I hope to see a rebirth this spring. I don't have a green thumb so they have to survive the crazy Florida weather from hot to cold and from thunderstorms to droughts.  I enjoy these flowers in the mornings when they opened their blooms and at night when they went to sleep.  They give me hope of a new day, a new beginning and peace in the evenings.  Emily Dickinson says "Hope Is The Thing With Feathers."  I say "Hope Is The Thing With Flower Petals."

Hope Is The Thing With Feathers
By Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)

"Hope" is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without words
And never stops - at all

And sweetest - in the Gale- is heard
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so any warm

I've heart it in the chilliest land
And on the strangest Sea
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb  - of me.

Dairy of a Sunset

 

It was a cloudy afternoon so I wanted to take photos of the sun setting over the marsh at Matanzas River.  Naturally, the clouds drifted away and became sparse as the sun was going down behind the trees in the distance.  There was a lot of birds in flight across the marsh and several sail boats had dock for the evening.  I like the scenery of the birds flying across the horizon against the sun.  There are sail boats at opposite ends of the sunset and the marsh reflected a reddish glow. 

Brasstown Bald Mountain

 

 

In November, we drove to the top of Brasstown Bald Mountain which is located in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest.  Brasstown Bald rises 4,784 feet above sea level and the observation deck offers a beautiful view of four state areas.  It is Georgia's highest mountain and is part of the Southern Appalachians.

A Pine Mountain Christmas

 

 

 

 

Christmas is over but the memories will linger of family time in front of the fireplace.  Grandma and granddaughters enjoying each others company with Peanut, grandma's beloved dog.  A southern Christmas without snow but cold enough for a nice warm fire throughout the evening.  A relax time with bare feet and PJ's, laughter and just the joy of being together. 

Scarlett "Let Your Light Shine"

Children are made with special gifts and talents and are the potential lights of the world and can make it a better place.  The Lord said to his disciples, "You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hid.  Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  Let your light shine before men so that they may see your good works..."  For the Christmas Season, Scarlett is letting her light shine or should I say her "Lights" shine.  She is definitely the light in our world and her family's Christmas Tree is glowing from the touch of her tiny fingers.  Merry Christmas to Scarlett with much love! 

Children's Express Theatre Presents "Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales"

The Children's Express Theatre Presents "Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales" this Wednesday, at 6:00 p.m.  At Shores UMC on 714 Shores Blvd., St. Augustine, Florida.  Admission is free!  Afterwards, everyone is invited for refreshments at the Education Building.
The Express Theatre will also be performing at several other locations in St. Augustine as Outreach to people in assistant living facilities.  On Friday, December 19 at 6:30 p.m. they will be performing at BayView, 161 Marine Street.  Saturday, December 20 at 6:30 p.m. they will be performing at Allegro, 1101 Plantation Island Dr.

"Pleasure in The Pathless Woods"

These are random photos of different rivers and woods I took at Deep Creek and within the Smoky Mountain Park.  It was approaching sunset and the orange glow within the trees is from the sun rays hitting the mountain side in the background.  I took over thousand pictures on this trip and only used a select few to post on this blog.  The mountains and forest with its many rivers and waterfalls brings me great pleasure.  Lord Byron describes my feelings of nature best...excerpt from "The Deep Sea."

"There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man less, but Nature more
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal."

By Lord Byron

Author George Gordon Byron [1788-1824] quote 'I can never get people to understand that poetry is the expression of excited passion, and that there is no such thing as a life of passion any more than a continuous earthquake, or an eternal fever.' 

"Tumbling Waters" Amicalola Falls

 

We hike the trail up to the falls and drove to the top level and walked the trail with the deck in front of the falls.  There was no way I could get a complete shot of the falls.  Amicalola Falls State Park is an 829 acre Georgia state park located between Ellijay and Dahlonega in Dawsonville, Georgia. The park's name is derived from a Cherokee language word meaning "tumbling waters".

Poole's Mill Bridge

 

Poole's Mill Bridge is a historic century-old wooden covered bridge crossing over Settendown Creek in Forsyth County, Georgia. Circa 1820 Cherokee Chief George Welch constructed a grist mill, saw mill, and a simple open bridge at the site on this tributary of the Etowah River. Welch continued to run and maintain the mills and bridge until the Cherokee removal in 1838.  The bridge is located in Ball Ground, Georgia.  It is now converted to a park where locals can go swimming. From the photos you can see how crooked the bridge is.

Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, Door County

 

 

We visited Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in Door County.  It is perched on a bluff 76 feet above Green Bay’s glistening waters, The historical Lighthouse’s lamp brought solace to many a sailor suffering through a storm’s gale or the dark of night. Eagle Bluff Lighthouse Museum is a tribute to the keepers who kept the lamp lit on many a dark and stormy night. 

Vogue State Park

We visited Vogue State Park and the waterfall is not as spectacular as the one we saw at Amicalola Falls.  These photos were taken from the road because we did not have time to hike the trail from the top starting at the lake to the bottom of the falls.  There is a hiking trail around the lake and it was a nice day to hike among the trees and the shoreline.

Door County Wisconsin

 

Door County has 5 parks and 11 lighthouses and is located on Lake Michigan near Green Bay, Wisconsin.  We tried to see as many lighthouses as possible and visited several of the parks.  It is a great vacation area with a large coast line, small towns, cherry orchards, Tea and coffee houses, unique shops.  These photos are just a few of the park areas that we visited.

Old Georgia Barn

I love old barns and this one was located at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Georgia. 

Cooper Creek Georgia