coffee – Sage Hill Gardens

Sage Hill Road Blogging-Edition#61-Small Towns-USA

Bell Buckle, Wartrace, Lynnville, and Normandy, four of the small towns that stand out and do their part to help put and keep their towns out front and inviting!

Yesterday we decided to lock up and hit the road. After a week of snow and ice, the sunny day (albeit cold and a little windy)was a strong enticement.
Normandy was established in 1852 as a railroad town on the old Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad Line, later the Nashville, Chattanooga, & St. Louis Railroad.

Normandy Lake is also a fishing hotspot in Bedford County.

The Duck River

The Duck River, 284 miles long, is the longest river located entirely within the state of Tennessee.
Free flowing for most of its length, the Duck River is home to over 50 species of freshwater mussels and 151 species of fish, making it the most biologically diverse river in North America.

The Duck River drains a significant portion of Middle Tennessee. It rises in hills near an area of Middle Tennessee known as the “Barrens”, an area with enough rainfall to support a woodland but which white settlers found already deforested upon their arrival. (Several theories have been advanced to explain this phenomenon.) It enters the city of Manchester and meets its confluence with a major tributary, the Little Duck River, at Old Stone Fort State Park, named after an ancient Native American structure between the two rivers believed to be nearly 2,000 years old.

The dam is beautiful and has a back story. (for another post)

We discovered a large area that obviously was a major swamp at some point in time. There are hundreds of Cyptess stumps and some trees, the story goes that earlier inhabitants tried to cultivate it and had no success. (I wonder why? smile)

The little town is benifiting from major growth coming from Nashville, Franklin and Murfreesboro.
Coffee, Icecream shops, a super nice resturant, a great Boutique ( high end womens boots and semi-westernwear, very fitting considering the presence of so much horse activity

We made the rounds with a short stop in Wartrace and Bell Buckle, influx of growth in all three places.
Each have interesting histories and draws.

All being old railroad towns.

Still highly train active through Bell Buckle and Wartrace. A very long train comes through about every 20 minutes.
I counted one, had 63 container pods (Prime/Amazon) Trucking by train!

A good day!
~

Ream ice in trees just north of Sage Hill. Normandy Lake

Cypress swamp in Normandy Normandy (Duck River Dam)

Great Art! Duck River ( with a duck)

Beautiful Old church.

The Roads Less Traveled–Road Blogging–6/6/2024–Edition#52

One can cover many miles and cross many county lines, all while soaking up the serenity of “the backroads.”

The winding curves, ridges, dips, coves, and hollows are all minutes away from some quaint little town with a rich and interesting history.

Lynchburg was our first stop. (1801)
The home to Jack Daniels Whiskey. A long and winding history that has survived the test of time.(1866) The first registered distillery within the US.
(for many years now, owned by the Brown and Forman group.)
I have, for many years admired the way it was preserved, and on the face of it, most won’t notice until it’s too late, but change is happening and it isn’t pretty.
But for now, go, soak up the charm, and if you are hungry, look around, choices are plentiful. It’s all as good as the next one. You can’t make a bad choice!

We opted for Southern Perks, one of 2 best coffee choices around and too many great foods to list. (not your average coffee shop!) Five stars+!

Miss Mary BoBo’s, began in 1908 when Miss Mary assumed ownership of the historic Salmon Hotel.(built in the 1820s) It was built over a natural spring.
Miss Mary ran the boarding house until her death in 1983.One month shy of her 102nd birthday!
It sits on the National Register of Historic Places and was visited by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in 1940.

Lodge Cast iron cookware is Headquartered in South Pittsburg, TN, just a few curves and ridges away…happy to have them in Lynchburg also. (my favorite)

Always a surprise as to who one will run into in Lynchburg…this trip it was LSU fans and other Louisiana wanderers ! (nice tour bus)

The courthouse…love old courthouses! The craftsmanship is beyond words.

On to the next stop, Tullahoma, TN., quaint with a commercial face that often overrides the treasure of uniqueness. ( chartered in 1852)
A major military history-worthy of the read.

Here you can find Aldi, Ollies, the best of medical resources (for what it’s worth) Arnold AF Base and…The Celtic Cup…(a jewel among the stones of Coffee Houses!)

The Celtic Cup Coffee House (youtube.com)

By this time I was tired and happy to take my celtic Cup and let the man behind Sage Hill Gardens do the driving!
(he thinks he is a better driver, depends on who you ask! Well, he did train under a badge, so maybe??? )

Life is good, generous, and worthy of the road time! ( no matter who drives!)

The man behind Sage Hill gardens-hates FB and the camera?? a tough life…for him!

Lovely old house, beautifully restored inside and out.

The Stylish Gardner-Edition#50-Sunday Morning Coming Down~

September 17, 2023

by: Bea Rigsby-Kunz

The pounding on the front door began just at sunrise.

No matter how many covers I pulled over my head it simply would not go away!

Down the stairs, opened the door and she came flooding in like rushing water through a broken levy.
The miracle we know as Sunshine!

Twenty minutes, that first cup of Sunday morning coffee, a chapter in a good book…fuel for the day.
~
If you have an interest this book is a powerful lesson in history, faith, and women who paved the way.

121 brief biographies of women who lived from the first century right into the present.
Names we know and names we have never heard, women born of high wealth and women born to poverty and obscurity.
Queens and peasants, noblewomen, and serving maids, all are outstanding servants in their devotion to Jesus Christ.
.
Copyright 1959 by Edith Deen

And now…for that second cup…liquid blessings!

Bea

Road Bloggin’ From Sage Hill-Edition#35

Fabulous Fall, Alluring Autumn, so many ways to love this pending season!

September 23, 2022, is the official arrival of autumn, just around that bend in that muddy country road!

Sage Hill was greeted with an early morning rain-thinking it was past, I’m off for a long walk only to be proven wrong!
However, I was in the right place at the right time for the right reason.
Nothing is more impressive than to be caught in the rain and just like that an old abandoned church.
The message I came away with, no matter how harsh the outside world may be, our Heavenly Father always provides shelter from the storms.
~~
The world, our country, our own backyards, the gardens at Sage Hill….all in transition!

In my world, I will embrace the lessons, and use the gifts of nature to inspire…..
Denounce the evil that lurks to take it all away, Never, forget, we must live in this world, we don’t have to conform to the wrongs.
~~
Tablescapes to compliment the season—why not?

Sunday morning coffee is exceptionally good!