More Visitors, Flowers and More…

As I’ve stated many times…we love having visitors. (Take note Bruce and Margaret!) So we were pleased when visitors recently arrived for a couple of nights – all the way from Arizona!

Patty and Tom were on a 42 day road trip!  Laurie and I have known Patty for over 40 years… Her first husband, Dave, died a number of years ago and she was lucky enough to meet Tom who is now her husband.  She lucked out as Tom is a really nice guy…

On their first night in town we went out for dinner with them, dining at the Aubrey’s Restaurant in Lenoir City.  Aubrey’s is a ‘go to’ destination for us with consistent quality and enough variety on the menu to please everyone, plus a full bar.  Aubrey’s now has 13 locations in East Tennessee, ranging from Cleveland in the south to Bristol in the north.  You can check them out at http://aubreysrestaurants.com/.

      

Other than her daughter Kelly, her granddaughter Ardin and Tom, it’s a toss-up what Patty loves next best.  It could be tennis, but it may well be shopping!  Patty has rarely met a store she didn’t thoroughly peruse.  Tom and I chilled on benches outside various stores in Sweetwater Tennessee while Patty shopped…accompanied by Laurie. 

At one point my semi-doze in the hot sun was interrupted by this big Norfolk Southern locomotive roaring through town in the direction of Knoxville.  For train buffs, #9766 is a GE Model Dash 9-44CW.  Roughly 660 of these locomotives are active on the Norfolk Southern roster.

The train passed but now I was fully awake!  Then I noted this unusual older model car parked right next to our bench.  I didn’t recognize it… It’s either a 1991 or 1992 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser.  It was marketed and referred to a ‘station wagon’ for those of us who remember that term. (Actually an early SUV of sorts)

This beast of a car is 217.5 inches long…over 18 feet!  It was not exactly a big seller…with 7,663 sold in 1991 and only 4,347 in 1992.  Of course, Oldsmobile the brand name, ceased to exist in April of 2004. 

I mentioned to Tom that I’d been thinking about taking the ladies to our local “Rural King” but we wisely decided that we’d never get around to lunch or finish the other parts of our tour if we visited that very large and diverse store…so we ‘failed’ to bring up the idea.

We weren’t done shopping but who doesn’t like food…especially fresh produce!  This is the High Order Mennonite Farmer’s Market near Tellico Plains Tennessee.  Patty and Tom loaded up for their next stop on their summer trek and we stocked up with bread, some great granola and our favorite, heirloom tomatoes!

I took these photos of the Mennonite’s farm land and one of their teams of horses at work.  It was at a distance so I didn’t think that the photo would be too disrespectful.  Note to the ladies…covered shoulders are requested as well as relatively modest clothing.  Short shorts and halter tops would not be welcome here. 

There are 2 other Mennonite Farm Markets within easy driving range of our home.  One is near Englewood Tennessee and the other is near Delano Tennessee. 

Once we were back at the house, we decided it was time to take photos of Patty with Laurie and with yours truly. 

…and then Patty took this photo of Laurie and me.  The next morning Patty and Tom left on the next leg of their trip.

So other visitors continue to stop by…

This Brown Thrasher has become a regular visitor at our feeder.  He likes the suet cake but Laurie needed to change out the remnants of an old one recently because he couldn’t reach it any longer.  He's happy again!

Then there are our doves.  One pair hangs around here all the time.  They aren’t perching birds but they do sit on top of the suet feeder to ‘guard’ their treasure trove of food.  

They usually feed on what hits the deck or the ground below.  However, they love the meal worms that Laurie puts out (on the railing) for the bluebirds.  The dove sitting on the storage bin looking in the window at Laurie seems to be saying, “Where are our meal worms?”

Our circular flower bed in the front yard has been very colorful this year.  The drift roses did fine and the Stella-D'Oro day-lilies as well but the purple cone flowers were spectacularly successful!  They are constantly covered by a plethora of different types of bees!  Once the flowers dry up, the cone flowers are swarmed by Goldfinches!

Trying to identify this butterfly proved a bit challenging.  I believe it’s some type of swallowtail butterfly but I can’t be sure.  FYI, the Zebra Swallowtail is the state butterfly for Tennessee.  Worldwide there are 550 different species of swallowtail butterflies…

We have a scattering of Stella D'Oro daylilies planted around our home.  When this re-blooming daylily was created and came to market in the 1970s it was an immediate hit for both its rich yellow-gold color and its ability to re-bloom if their deadheaded…

Of course, I prefer our purple daylily!  It really pops and I love the contrast.  As for which variety of purple daylily it might be, just like that swallowtail butterfly, there are so many types that I gave up trying to figure it out!  Just enjoy!

Laurie took this photo of our house on the United States’ Independence Day, July 4, 2019.  It’s been 243 years since our nation’s founders signed the Declaration of Independence.

 

If our current elected officials would just start working together to solve the nation’s problems instead of personally profiting, bickering and finger pointing, the USA might make another couple hundred years.  Time will tell…

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave