Still Hunkered Down!

As I write this post for my blog site, we are into Day 41 of our self-isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic.  Georgia begins opening up some businesses tomorrow (Friday, 4/24) and whether we agree or not, Tennessee will follow suit in a week or so.

In any case, other than taking drives around the area and the rare visit to the supermarket, there isn’t much exiting news to report…or to blog about.  Such as it is…here it is!

Our 41^st anniversary was on 4/20/2020.  No trips and no fancy dinner out…or for that matter any casual dining outside of our home.  We started the day with the news, a couple cups of coffee and these Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls.  We watched a little TV and then quizzed each other using Trivial Pursuit cards.

Then there was our anniversary dinner.  The plan was to follow-up after this appetizer, (pre-packaged potato skins stuffed with bacon and cheese along with some dips), with steamed hot dogs on buns.  But, by the time we finished the potato skins, we were too full to go for the hot dogs.

Later, we did have ice cream and then we watched a movie on Amazon… “Emma” was quite entertaining.  We both liked it but I’m not sure we’ll ever understand British humor.  This ‘comedy’ had its amusing moments but it was basically a story about a spoiled and privileged young woman discovering what life is all about.  All in all, it was a very nice anniversary day!

Recently we had a severe rainstorm, receiving a month’s worth of rain in a 24 hour period.  This creek near our home flows into Tellico Lake.  While we’ve seen it higher on one occasion in the past 10+ years, the muddy waters rose significantly, changing the usual placid view.  At this point it was a river!

We stopped by to check out a pavilion and its beach on Tellico Lake.  Water, water everywhere!  Still, we noted that the nearby boat docks were still accessible…while they weren’t accessible in a major flood event that happened a couple of years ago.  This year through 4/21 we’ve had 4.84 inches of rain.  Normally, we only have 2.36 inches of rain in the entire month!

So, after checking on local flooding, we drove through some of the neighborhoods in Tellico Village, checking out the spring time foliage and eye-catching blooms.  As you can see, it was a beautiful day!

A few days later, we took another drive…this time we headed east on TN Hwy. 72 and then turned south down along TN Hwy. 304.  That road basically follows along the western shore of Watts Bar Lake (reservoir).

Like Tellico Lake, Watts Bar Lake was also created as part of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s long term power and flood control project along the length of the Tennessee River.  The lake/reservoir is 72.4 miles long, is up to 108 feet deep and it covers 39,000 acres.  This picture was taken from a bluff overlooking part of the lake.

Nothing like ending a post with bright (literally) and cheery photos.  Laurie captured these photos of a pretty male American Goldfinch at our feeder.

These migratory birds range from mid-Alberta Canada to North Carolina during the breeding season and from just south of Canada to Mexico in the winter.  They are the only finch in its subfamily to undergo a complete seasonal molt.  Male American Goldfinches are bright yellow in mating season but they are an olive color in the winter.

That’s all for now.  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave