We Love Having Visitors!

Once we returned to East Tennessee from our family visits to St. Louis Missouri and Omaha Nebraska, we took time to take a look around our place and really appreciate our home…

Our Oak Leaf Hydrangeas in our back yard were in full bloom… For those who might not know, these plants are a species native to the Southeastern USA.  They grow in woodland habitats from North Carolina, west to Tennessee and south to Florida and Louisiana.  The oak leaf hydrangea was named the State Flower of Alabama in 1999.

Laurie captured this photo of our local Bengal cat stalking through our backyard.  FYI…his name is “Cruiser” and he belongs to a neighbor who lives a street over from ours.  He’ll stop and listen to Laurie…but he won’t let her get too close.

The Bengal cat was created from hybrids of domestic cats, the Asian leopard cat and the Egyptian Mau.  This spotted cat breed has a golden shimmer in their coats, they’re long and lean with the normal weight for a male ranging between 11 – 17 lbs. 

Cruiser would probably like to visit our bird feeder…but it’s quite high up and in the open where the birds can see him.

Some of our most frequent feathered visitors are these eye-catching male eastern Bluebirds.  Sometimes Laurie furnishes them with their favorite food…mealworms…but they still come to feed even when we’re just offering seeds. 

Bluebirds are perching birds related to the thrush family.  While they prefer our platform feeder, as you can see they will stop in at our vertical suet and seed feeder for a snack.  In the winter, they like to utilize our heated birdbath.  In the early 1970s, bluebird populations had declined by as much as 70%.  However, thanks to nesting boxes and birdwatcher’s love for these colorful birds, their numbers have surged in recent years. 

This handsome bird was a recent visitor at our suet and seed feeder.  This was the first Brown Thrasher we’d seen in our yard.  They are related to New World Catbirds and Mockingbirds.  The Brown Thrasher is the State Bird of Georgia.

While this bird resembles a Thrush, it isn’t in the same family.  The Brown Thrasher is normally an elusive bird.  When feeling bothered, it usually hides in brushy thickets and makes cackling sounds.  Of interest is the fact that this bird is noted for having over 1,000 song types…the most expansive repertoire of songs of all birds! 

We actually had people visit us too!  This is Laurie’s 11-year old great niece Avery from the St. Louis Missouri area.  She posed on the big boulder in our front yard.

Avery was visiting us in the company of her grandpa Bill and her grandma Bonnie.  Bonnie is Laurie’s youngest sister…

Good news for Laurie and me!  Finally, guests that actually enjoy eating lamb!  We bought this boneless roast from our local Fresh Market…our favorite source for special cuts of meat for special occasions.

The first photo pictures the roast with mixed small potatoes before roasting and the second photo displays the finished product before carving…

Avery likes to cook and helped with the lamb roast preparation beforehand.  She wanted to cut the string-wrapping that was holding the boneless lamb roast together while I held it steady with a fork.  She was really focused on the task at hand!

We put the roast and potatoes on one big platter…and I think that it looked very appetizing.  It was a great meal and I had plenty of leftover lamb for sandwiches.  The only negative was that we all agreed that those little purple potatoes were way too sweet for our taste.

I had a doctor’s appointment so I missed going to Tugaloo Beach in Tellico Village on Tellico Lake.  Laurie went along with Bonnie, Bill and Avery and she took the rest of these photos.   

This is a photo of the beach in Tellico Village.  There are several beaches around the lake as well as over on adjoining Fort Loudoun Lake.  For the most part, they are maintained either by the Tennessee Valley Authority or by local municipalities.  The 2 interconnected lakes have well over 600 miles of shoreline between them…

Kids love beaches and they love water!  Avery was no exception.  Besides catching a crappie with her bare hands, she found some other kids to play with.  Ahhh, to be young again!

 

What was next for our visitors?  I’d set up a couple of days with plenty for us to do…things that Avery would really enjoy…after all, she was our special guest!  Much more will follow.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave