“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Proverbs 1:7
I think Cherokee County is one of the most beautiful and diverse areas of our state. Mountains, lakes, and some of the best farming country around and it’s only minutes from our house. And when you have generations of farming there are quite a few old barns still around!
I didn’t drive a Chevy to the levee, nor was it dry, but I did find it to be a nice place to get in a little jog along Weiss Lake, taking in the sights and sounds. I was on the lookout for eagles, as this is a good place to spot one, but did not see one until I returned home. Our son and I were fortunate to spot a pair of eagles later in the day in front of his house. And of course, no camera nearby!
It was a calm and peaceful day on the lake and Lookout Mountain was almost hidden in low clouds! Weiss Lake provides a tremendous opportunity for recreation and is great habitat for a variety of wildlife!
If your boat ends up in this position, it’s just too much trouble to salvage. This one appears to have been donated as a lakeside feature!
Two country churches sitting across the road from each other brought to mind the impact such places of worship have had for generations. Churches have always been very important gathering places to bring people together. Fortunately many still remain and serve rural communities across the south in the same way they have for years. A church cemetery is very common on the grounds of many churches too. Do you find that common where you live?
It isn’t the Hoover Dam but this dam on the Coosa River creates Weiss Reservoir. It is special to me because I remember as a kid in the 1950’s when my dad brought me here and we observed the construction in progress. It is a faint memory but I do recall thinking it was the most awesome thing I had ever seen. Everything looks huge when you are 7 years old. The dam was completed in 1961 and Weiss Lake now covers over 30,000 acres at the foothills of the southern Appalachians.
It is the last day of February (can you believe it) and a broad look across the landscape still gives the feeling of winter as the overall view is barren. But a closer look tells a very different story. There is a lot going on already. This birdeye speedwell (Veronica persica) is small and low to the ground and doing quite well in February.
We had several days last week that felt springlike with temps in the low 70’s. With only a few nice days, plants like daffodils and other bulbs burst forth. Many cities across Alabama were close to 50 degrees warmer last Thursday than the previous Thursday!
A lot of folks have daffodils and jonquils blooming now but we enjoy these in particular because they appear each year around the old home place that was on the farm for so many years. Pam and I remember the beautiful yard and flowers that graced the surroundings. We believe these flowers have been showing up here for at least 50, or maybe even 60 years.
Appalachian Digital Media captured this in the late evening. The brick structure in the background is a chimney, the only remaining part of the old home place!
Our throwback this week takes us to one of the most historic places on earth in our humble opinion. We are in front of the Library of Celsus in ancient Ephesus in western Turkey. The library dates to the early 2nd century. Ephesus at one time was the most important center for early Christians in Asia.
Batter up! I made a visit to a new sports complex last week in Marshall County and was truly impressed with all that has been accomplished, and the work is ongoing. Recreation of every type and for all ages is available, including an amphitheater! I dropped by for a run and found plenty of jogging paths winding through the vast acreage.
We’ve had some incredible winter sunsets over the past few weeks!
And the heavens gave us more breathtaking evenings this past week! Oh the handiwork!
BTW – thanks to a blogging friend, Carole From My Carolina Home, we now know our woodpecker in last Sunday’s post was a pileated woodpecker. It is our largest woodpecker in Alabama.
”Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”.
Hebrews 13:8
Linking with:
Pieced Pastimes, Between Naps on the Porch, Katherines Corner, Follow The Yellow Brick Home,
Imparting Grace,Life and Linda
Oh, how i love seeing the changes from winter to spring (the latter being my favorite season of all!). The daffodil in the evening light is striking! Yes, country churches and cemeteries are a common sighting in WV. Your state very much reminds me of my own. Beautiful. Have a wonderful day.
Thank you Rita. It is another rainy start to the day. Wishing you a wonderful week!
Same here, Pam. River flood watches and warnings issued too…..
Lovely photos, Pam, a nice walk at the lake on this rainy Sunday morning. Happy to help you identify your woodpecker, we have a pair that live on our property. My daffodils are coming up all over, and I look forward to those cheery spring yellow blooms. Yes, we have a lot of churches with small cemeteries here too.
Thanks Carole. I think there many churches with old cemeteries. Daffodils are springing up everywhere! Have a great week.
Butch I’m envious of your ability to go for runs in the beautiful nature in your area. Two years ago I abruptly had to stop running due to a shredded tendon in my leg. Things are looking up and am excited to get back out into nature. Some day I must return to NC to look for buttercups at my grandmothers house. It is long gone but she had a love for bulbs and a pretty garden. I was raised out in the country in NC across the road from a church I attended all my young life. My sister and I mowed the grass at the church and cemetery. Hot and dirty job and one where you had to look out for snakes reclining on the marble tomb stones. Yikes!
Alice, I always look forward to reading you wonderful memories. I didn’t know you were a runner. I am happy things are better and you will be able to get back out in nature. Wow, you and your sister mowed the cemetery, that is a hard job! Wishing you a wonderful week!
I agree, lovely sunsets this week. We were able to see a glorious moon on Friday evening but Saturday when it was full clouds distorted it. It was beautiful on Friday. The rain will hit us tomorrow and Tuesday. It is dense fog again this morning and cloudy today.
I’ve had pileated woodpeckers and they are awesome. I hear them before I see them.
The rural churches and cemeteries are very close to my heart. My parents grew up within two miles of each other in a rural community. The two churches there are still very active. All my relatives on both sides are buried in the cemetary and it goes back before the civil war in Macon County.
Thanks for always giving me much to think about.
Have an awesome week.
Rural churches with cemeteries are so prevalent in the South. I always find them interesting.
It was 80 degrees today, much too warm for the last day of February. Rain returns tonight. Have a good week, Bonnie!
What a beautiful area!
We enjoy country living!
The pictures are all wonderful. I just love your pretty sunsets. They are breathtaking
We attend a church here in rural Georgia where there is a cemetery on ths grounds. Most churches here are that way
We also had many structures around where only the chimney is left standing now.
Have a great week.
Judy, thanks so much. We attended a church for many, many years with a cemetery that dated to the 1800’s. As a child, I loved to walk through and read the markers with the dates. Have a wonderful week!
We have had some beautiful sunsets and a beautiful moon this week, and the warm weather has been most welcome and enjoyable! I love seeing daffodils blooming, to me they represent hope…those ones that are blooming near the old homestead are amazing, blooming for 50+ years! Old churches and barns are fascinating, they always seem to have many stories I wish they could tell… I hope you have a wonderful Sunday Pam and Butch!
Jenna, not only daffodils, but irises, jessamine, flowering cherry trees, and much more around the farm. Wishing you a wonderful week!
Pam and Butch, We had a couple of outstanding days earlier in the week which we enjoyed immensely! The moon was so big and beautiful. Now, it’s even warmer & raining but we’ll take it over the extreme cold weather experienced the week before any day! Your sunset shots are gorgeous! We have quite a few small churches with cemeteries as well. It’s comforting to have so many small churches. Love the daffodils! Ours are popping up but no blooms yet. When you see them on the side of the road, you know there was probably a homestead there many years ago based on their placement in the landscape. We’re ready for Spring! Seeing the dam being built as a child would be interesting and impressive indeed. Barns are always a favorite in the landscape. Enjoy your week! Clara ❤️
Clara, hopefully the daffodils will bloom soon knowing that spring is on its way. It is interesting to drive the country roads and see daffodils where homes once were! Wishing you a wonderful week ♥️
Wonderful pictures!Those skies are breathtaking…Have a blessed week,dear friends!
Thanks so much Maristella!
A lone chimney standing in a field, or daffodils blooming in a field beside a newly configured thoroughfare conjures up nostalgia for what was lost and what we might wish remained. Your
sunset photos are exquisite and treasured. Spring, indeed, is beckoning and the heart of a gardener is chomping at the bit to start digging. “Hope springs eternal.” You are blessed to live
in such an unspoiled reminder of the Lord’s great gift of nature. Thank you for sharing your
Sabbath reflections and love, dear Pam and Butch.
Mary, thank you for your thoughtful comments. Butch worked out in the garden all day yesterday. Yes, so ready to get my hands in the dirt. Wishing you a wonderful week!
Photographs of the heart. How beautiful. Such wonderful country and your spring is springing. A little bit of heaven on earth.
Aw, thank you Jeanie!
I love seeing photos of your area and the beautiful sunsets. We are currently enjoying one of the joys of country living (not)…our well pump needs to be replaced, and all this rain is preventing the well company from coming out. I feel like Granny Clampett, going out every few hours to pump water back up! When it’s fixed, I am going to stay in the shower for at least an hour. Mother Nature certainly is teasing us with a warm day and a few daffodil blooms!
Granny Clampett I hope your pump gets replaced soon. Is that good for your back? It reached 80 here today, too warm for the last day of February.
Happy Sunday! Such a beautiful post for the last day of February. I hope you both have a blessed week ahead!
Thank you Shannon. Happy first week of March!
Love all your photos of the amazing sunsets around your place! And those daffodils in your garden near the old home place….was reminded of our visit two years back to the Lake District in UK where William Wordsworth wrote his poem ‘The Daffodils’! You do have a lovely garden, and I always enjoy pics of it. And then that photo of Ephesus – I have one of my husband and me at the same exact place – guess that is a popular position to take pics there. Missed seeing your beautiful grand-daughters in this time’s Simple+Southern Sunday feature though.
Thank you for your sweet comments, Asha. I have always wanted to visit the Lake District, hopefully we will be able to travel in the near future. We loved visiting the ancient city of Ephesus. How sweet to mention the granddaughters.
Wishing you a wonderful week!
Beautiful photos as always. Love learning about some of the local history and attractions in your area. In response to the question about church’s, yes! we live in a rural town in north central Maryland and we have many church’s of different denominations in our area. Definitely still a large part of our community. Thanks! Love reading your blog posts. 🙂
Thanks so much Lynda. It is good news to know there are many churches in your rural town. Thank you for your sweet comments, wishing you a wonderful first week of March!
Good morning, Pam. Do forgive me for being late with my comments of your beautiful post. We were without internet service the entire day yesterday, so I am playing catch up today.
I just knew you would have daffodils. Ours should be making their show in a week or so. Your area is so lovely and reminds me of much of the part of Virginia where we lived. There was a lovely country church down the road from us and it has a beautiful old cemetery. They are also quite common here in WV.
Have a wonderful week, my friend.
Thank you Sandra. The flowers of spring are so welcomed after winter. Country church cemeteries have lots of stories to tell. Happy Tuesday!
Querida Pam, un poco retrasada pero no he querido dejar mi huella en esta publicación tan hermosa. Son unas fotos magníficas, me encantan todas.
Recordar viejos viajes es muy agradable. En la foto de Turquía estáis los dos muy guapos…me encanta.
La primavera llama a la puerta y el campo se viste de fiesta para recibirla.
Un hermoso post, gracias amigos, un gran abrazo
Dolores
Hola Dolores, siempre disfruto escuchando de ti. Sí, pronto llegará la primavera y la recibiré con los brazos abiertos. ¡Gracias por tus dulces comentarios, amigo! ¡Enviándote abrazos de vuelta!
Pam
All the photos are so beautiful, but my favorite is the one of the daffodils with the gate and fence behind it. I could just gaze at that for a long time! How neat that you got to go to Ephesus! Made me think of the wonderful book of Ephesians and also Jesus’ letter to the church in Ephesus in the book of Revelation. It would be such a neat experience to stand there and remember all the Biblical history. Thank you for sharing your interesting lives with us!