Scenic Views, Flora and Fauna

This post is just about as varied as is possible in the Covid-19 era.  There is a little of this and a little of that…including a few photos from a family trip that was recently enjoyed by our son David II and his family. 

Our two 'Little Gem' magnolia trees are in full bloom!  This is an up close photo of one the flowers…which I think are in themselves an amazing piece of natural art.   Believe it or not, they give off a light lemony fragrance...

As for the “little gems”, we thought that ‘little’ was the key word when they were planted.  Not so much!  The tallest one is now at an estimated 18 feet high with a spread of at least 9 feet.  I have since learned that these 'little' gems can grow as high as 25 feet with a 12 foot spread.  Our house will disappear from sight if the growth continues!

Unless you’re visiting us and spending time on the deck or the screened porch, the Oak Leaf Hydrangeas in our back yard are just for us to enjoy!  They do pretty well in our mostly shaded back yard and this time of the year the blooms are pretty special!

We recently drove through some of the neighborhoods around Tellico Lake in Loudon and Monroe Counties.  It was a beautiful day and the views were pretty spectacular… The lot to the left of the dock in the second photo would seem to be the perfect lot (fairly flat down to the lake) with the most amazing view of the lake and the Smoky Mountains in the distance.

How do you like our new look!?  Gone are those sterile looking basic white masks…replaced by a classic black and blue pattern worn by Laurie and yours truly wearing basic black.  We have new, specially designed masks on the way and we ‘just can’t wait’ to model them for ya’ll! 

David and Amy had both boys ‘trapped’ at home because of the corona virus, so it was family trip time...  On-line classes were over until Fall Season but the boys (16 and 19) were stuck at home!  Advantage parents!  At that age, having one more shot at spending quality time with teenagers was too good to pass up.  In this photo, the parents look pretty darn happy about both the situation and their trip! 

They rounded up the family and were off across northern Nebraska and on up to Custer State Park in South Dakota.  Along the way…and of course in the park itself…they encountered a lot of buffalo and wide open spaces.  That buffalo calf couldn’t be much cuter!

David II had rented a self-contained cabin in the state park.  That enabled them to get out of the house, explore new horizons, and maintain safe spacing from others.

 

As you can see, there are a lot of buffalo in Custer State Park!  Given the second photo, I think that it was prudent to spend a little more time in the cabin before venturing out!  Talk about a need for 'safe spacing'...

South Dakota’s Custer State Park was founded in 1912 and today it covers 71,000 acres.  Around 1,500 free roaming bison/buffalo wander throughout the park.  To learn more about this spectacular park, just go to https://gfp.sd.gov/parks/detail/custer-state-park/ and/or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custer_State_Park 

Here are the boys…Emmett Lee, David II and David III posing in front of Mount Rushmore National Memorial.  They all look pretty happy!  FYI, other nearby attractions included Jewel Cave National Monument, Wind Cave National Park and Badlands National Park.

My only problem with their trip is that I didn’t think of it!!  I am now suffering from road trip envy… Oh well!

No, this isn’t our dog… Instead, it’s the best kind of dog for a couple of retired folks to have access to!  What kind of dog is it?  It’s the 'neighbor’s dog' and her name is Fiona.  Laurie gets to play Auntie and get some dog hugs and, at the end of the day, we don’t have to worry about taking care of her!  She is very sweet though and she was rescued from a lousy situation…

So the other afternoon, I was in the kitchen and I looked out the window on the deck and spotted 'Rocky Raccoon', who was definitely eyeing our bird feeders!  He kept his eye on me and came down off the railing…then when I banged on the door, he or she, quickly departed.  

We took down the feeders every night for the next 3 nights but we haven’t seen this potential bandit again.  It could have been more challenging… Several bear sightings have been reported in the area and they love bird feeders!

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

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Stay Safe and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave