trees – 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.

Sage Hill Road Blogging-Edition#59-We Have A Tree!

The day was cold, wet, and beautiful.

The Tree Farm was wild and amazing.
A family affair, dogs, kids, lots of kids, and a dad who was comfortable with it all.
Each one was busy doing a chore, making wreaths, checking the gift shop, and big kids chasing after the little kids.
A 2-year-old, all decked out in a quilted coat, a warm hat, and no shoes — no one seemed to think it abnormal, and actually, it isn’t.
~
A lovely way for children to grow, in a place built by their great-grandfather many years ago.

Delila (the dog) part Shep and Pyrenees was keeping watch with a knowing that everything was under control.
~
Now-to make this tree Christmas-worthy! Come along and enjoy the fun!

Road Bloggin’ From Sage Hill-Edition #37

Did we ever think, there would be a time when packing a bag, hitting the backroads or the freeways would be such a challenge, our needs, and our safety, both have question marks.

While I have not stopped traveling, I do give more consideration to where, how, when, and if the trip is sanctioned by my inner voice!

I was all set for a turn-around day trip yesterday and I suddenly got this big NO that sent my day in a different direction.

I don’t what I missed by staying home, I do know what I gained.
A renewal of how powerful our faith/my faith is and how quickly we can allow rough times to creep in and erode our higher thought process.

I ask God for a sign that brighter days would be coming, that wrongs would be righted, and evil driven from our midst, if we pray, trust, and refuse to back down, give in or give up.
This request was for our land- America- and for Sage Hill land that has been abused by morally bankrupt neighbors and condoned by a morally bankrupt system.

I can say for certain, in the (almost 20 yrs) I’ve been working and loving this land, a sunset of this magnitude and intensity through the camera lens has never been close.
It seemed the locations in question were on fire with the sun.
I was at the right place for the right moments…it didn’t last long but it got my attention!

I believe!
I trust-
I will not give in or give up-

Road Bloggin’ From Sage Hill Gardens-Edition# 33

Our Autumn equinox begins on September 23.

The grounds and gardens at Sage Hill are busy preparing for the celebration!

As much as I love the summer gardens, the sun, the fresh foods, and the easy day-to-day journey of barefeet, shorts, and tacky tee shirts!
I have no trouble letting go. (well, maybe the tomatoes and cucumbers!!)

I planted and was looking forward to watching my pumpkins grow, however, those pumpkin seeds turned out to be squash, all of them??

Another infiltration into disrupting and discouraging small farmers?
The manipulation of our seed industry has been heavy and mighty over the last few years!
(that’s for another post!)

As for now, the little things demand the spotlight.

The journey into the BER months has begun.