Off to Nashville for a great weekend

Kathy has been working in Nashville for two years.  Her husband, Kenn, and I have been best friends since 1958 and he is retired, spending about half his time in Nashville, while keeping the home place in Westfield, MA going.  Kathy is ending her job in Nashville, and moving back next weekend, so this would be our last time to see K&K while they are in the South.  We went down on Aug 6, came back Aug 8, and had a great weekend with them, and touring Nashville, as well as spending time in the city by ourselves.

On Friday, Kathy was working, so Kenn took us downtown to Centennial Park, where there is an exact, full-sized replica of the Parthenon in Athens.  Nashville is known as the "Athens of the South", so it's appropriate.  We toured the building and its enclosed art museum, noting they had, among others, a Winslow Homer there (y'all can take the boy out of Maine, but y'all can't take Maine out of the boy)!

Then we did a driving tour of the southern suburbs of Nashville, the "ritzy" neighborhood, and past homes of many country music stars.  Such beautiful homes, and such woodland preserved only a few miles from downtown Nashville, a city of nearly 500,000 people.

We picked Kathy up at work, then went out for dinner at a little hole-in-the-wall place called "The Yellow Porch."  It was one of the best meals I've ever had.  I ordered the pompano, a southern whitefish, which was sweet, tender, flaky, and mild.  Never had it before, but I hope I can have it again.

After dinner, we went back to their apartment, and headed for bed.  The next day was going to be a touristy one.

On Saturday, we went into town, drove in by the Franklin Pike, lined on both sides with multi-million dollar homes.  We parked in Bicentennial Park and walked around before it got really hot.  In the floods of May, this whole area was under water, and even in August, repairs are still being made.

They took us to Big River Grill and Brewing Works for lunch, which was very good, reasonable prices, and substantial quantity.  Whoa, seems all we do when we travel is EAT!  Well, YEAH~!

After lunch, we said our good-byes, and began wandering all over downtown Nashville.  We'd been there before, in 2004 I think, but this time, after having Kenn take us around town, we felt we had a better feel of where things were.  We wandered down by the Cumberland River, looked over LP Field, home of the football Tennessee Titans, then up along First Street, turned left, and left again down Second Street, and browsed the touristy shops.  Then it was right on Broadway, which has more bars and music clubs than anyplace else on earth!

We wandered into a couple of them, and actually had a beer or two, before heading for Legends Corner, THE country singer's launch pad, so to speak.  Nearly everyone who is famous in any form of country music got a start here, or sang here.  I've never heard so many good voices as I did this weekend.  The Stage on Broadway was another great country bar.  In some bars, the music is just too loud for my aging ears, but Legends and The Stage were just fine.

We passed the Ryman Auditorium, original home of the Grand Ole Opry, and still a hopping musical venue.  We passed by right as a Kris Kristofferson concert was ending.  Too bad we didn't have tickets though.

After being sure we were able to drive, we headed out of town to our motel, about 5 miles north.  We checked in, relaxed awhile, then headed back into town to OUR favorite restaurant -- Demo's.  It's rated #4 of all the 785 restaurants in Nashville.

While waiting, we stopped at the bar for a drink.  The bartender was a delight, and we could have spent all evening just talking with her.  But alas, our table was ready, so off we went to enjoy some of the best steaks in Nashville.  Erin, our server, was also a delight, friendly, attentive, yet unobtrusive.  I ordered the Kansas City Strip Steak, and Barry ordered the huge Ribeye.  Neither of us were disappointed -- as with the last time we were in Demos.

After dinner, we wandered around Broadway some more, stopped into a few more country venues, and in general had a great time.  The high temps of the day had moderated, and it was just comfortably warm this evening.  We went back to the motel, having enjoyed Nashville to the fullest, considering the time we had there.

And to realize it's only about 3 hours away, about from Waterville to Boston.  We WILL go back.

After we go to Cincinnati.

And Key West.

And ???

Summer happenings

First, the trip to Maine in June to see my new grand-daughter, Garnet Catherine Patrick.  Beautiful little one, she is.  We got to see about everyone we wanted to see while there.

Next, the trip back to Kentucky with Barry's sister, Carol.  On the way down, we passed through Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and into Kentucky.  While she was here, we drove her all over the state in 90 degree heat and humidity -- from Lexington and Louisville to Lake Cumberland to Paducah, as well as side-trips into Indiana, Tennessee and Illinois!

Then, Rick, Laura and Elizabeth joined us over the 4th to see the wonderful fireworks display at Millennium Park in Danville.

Next, it's down to Nashville in early August to visit my best friend from junior high and high school for a weekend.

Then, in October, we're headed south to Key West.  Last year, we drove as far south as one can drive in Louisiana (Venice, LA, near the infamous BP "spill").  This year it's going as far south as one can drive on US Route 1.  Now all I have to do is to drive from Miami north to Boston, and from Houlton to Fort Kent and I'll have driven ALL of US 1.

In the meantime, Barry continues to work in the garden.  He's frustrated though, because we lost our entire crop of squash and pumpkins to bugs and fungus and virus...or whatever it was that took those out.  The beans, though we got quite a few, were also infested with something; and the tomatoes won't produce enough for a good spaghetti sauce.  About the only things growing well this year seem to be the moles, crabgrass, beets, strawberries, raspberries, grapes, and (cross you fingers) peaches.  The pickling cucumbers (supposed to be small and thin) grew to football size, so we adapted some recipes and made Barry's mother's golden pickles, and some ripe cucumber relish.  Both VERY GOOD!  Motto:  When life hands you football-sized cucumbers, make relish!

We DID trap two raccoons which got into most of the early corn, but at least, with the little critters now living in a wildlife sanctuary miles away, we will enjoy the rest of the corn.

Most of the days in July so far have been about 90, with high humidity.  Can't wait to see the electric bill for air-conditioning, but without it, we'd just be puddles of blob on the living-room floor.  Rain has been about normal, but it's come in spurts -- nothing for 2 weeks, then an inch an hour.  That's probably what ruined the tomatoes -- splitting when they absorbed so much un-accustomed water.  Thunderstorms have been quite heavy and frequent, too.

OK, guess I have to turn on the A/C.  We have a nice breeze, but it's just bringing in humid air now, and my fingers are beginning to stick on the keyboard.

Busy two weeks ahead

Broccoli is out of the garden, peas gone, strawberries all picked, and old plants tilled under.  Freezer's getting full again.  One of these days we may HAVE to get a second one!  Barry has really done himself proud so far in the garden.  The front garden isn't up to his expectations though -- peppers and tomatoes aren't doing well, melons aren't sprouting well, yet with the rain we had yesterday and off and on the past few days, the garden is just too wet to even walk into, so he's not able to correct the problem.  And he won't have much of a chance over the next two weeks -- unless it's catch as catch can for time.

Here's why:

Sat, June 5, Harrodsburg Beef Festival.  Steak, burgers, brisket, cooked by the best BBQ-ers in the area.

Sun, June 6, clean house, mow lawn, get in whatever we can get in from the garden, pack, and to bed early.

Mon, June 7, Off to PA.  Drop off the cat, pick up the rental car, drop off Barry's car, next stop, Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Tue, June 8, PA to Maine.  Long drive, but it will be good to see Carol, Bruce & Shirley.

Wed, June 9, probably spending the day with Maureen and the kids somewhere in the Portland area, then back to Waterford to visit.

Thu, June 10, Off to Waterville, see Karen, then Messalonskee High School graduation.

Fri, June 11, "Free" day?  Do something with Karen and Wyatt, maybe Dalton and Brittany?

Sat, June 12, Wedding in Fairfield for two former students.  Such good kids!  Then back to Waterford.

Sun, June 13, Leave Waterford for Wilkes-Barre, and see Helen on the way.  Carol will be returning with us, and seeing parts of ME, NH, MA, RI, CT, NY and PA today.

Mon, June 14, Wilkes-Barre to home.  Carol will see the rest of PA and parts of OH (Cleveland to Columbus to Cincinnati) and KY (Covington to Lexington to Danville).

Tue, June 15 through Mon, June 21, Dragging Carol all around Kentucky, horse farms, Mammoth Cave, Lexington, Frankfort, Louisville, Paducah, side trips into Indiana, Tennessee and Illinois, plus a day with Rick, Laura and Elizabeth, then to Bardstown to "Stephen Foster The Musical", all the while, introducing her to Southern hospitality, food, and people.


Tue, June 22, Off to Keeneland, sightseeing in Lexington, lunch at "Cheapside", then getting Carol to BlueGrass Airport on time for her flight back to Portland.  Hope she'll have a couple of days to recuperate after we drag her all over the Commonwealth!

CAN'T WAIT!

Just like "High Summer" in Maine, only it's MAY!

Well, the strawberries are coming almost faster than we can pick and process them, as well as the peas and broccoli.  The spinach has gone by, and the lettuce is next to go.  But tonight, in 80 degree weather, with a slight breeze, we had strawberry daiquiris (our own berries, of course) and dinner on the side porch, and watched the bluebird and cardinals.  It's 8:15 PM as I write this, and we have another 45 minutes of sunlight, so Barry is out in the front garden spraying the tomatoes, beans, corn, and whatever else he has planted out there.

This is like an ideal Maine evening in late June or early July, only we don't have any mosquitoes, and the sun sets about 50 minutes later than in Maine.  Of course, it also rises about 50 minutes later, but I'd rather have the extra light in the evening.  In late June, we can work outside until 9:15 at least!

Went to Paducah last weekend for Barry's grand-daughter's second birthday.  Great time, beautiful decorations and Rick has really done wonders with the back yard, where the party was held.  It was a very nice time.

Now, we're picking peas and strawberries, and probably beets by the weekend.  Have to get in most of the work by noon, because the hottest time of day here is 1PM to about 5PM, and it's brutal -- the sun is at a 6 degree higher angle than in Maine, and it's VERY easy to get burned.  Sunscreen and a hat (Yes, Maureen, I wear a hat when working outside since I have NO HAIR to shield my chrome dome from the sun's rays) are both necessities.

Interestingly though, for the past few days, it's been 5-10 degrees warmer in Maine than here.  We have central air-conditioning, which almost no one in Maine has, and we set it at between 75 and 77, so we notice the difference when we come in from the outside, but it's not set so cool that it'll run all day.  It just reduces the humidity a bit, so we come inside for a bit, then go back out.  Today, for example, we were out most of the day because with the intermittent clouds it really wasn't that hot, though the humidity WAS very uncomfortable.  And it's only MAY!

Tomorrow, we finish the mowing, picking peas (enough to freeze this year), more strawberries (when will we get a second freezer?), and some greens.

Spring in the Bluegrass -- Picture Fest

Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird are back.  Maybe this time they'll stay.

 

"Baby" robin the day before all three fledged.

The back vegetable garden at sunset.

Iris in back flower garden.

Pink peonies -- their fragrance lingers for DAYS in the house.  We also have white ones.

Gorgeous purple Iris -- wind knocked them down the day after I took this picture.

Weigela.  Barry rescued this from the Lowes half-price rack last fall.

Dianthus -- Again, Barry rescued this from a small metal plant pot when we lived in Butchertown.  It's even MORE beautiful now.

One of our two plum trees -- the only one that has plums on it.

Little teensy-weensy grapes, but they'll grow.

The first strawberry of the season.  Should've had it bronzed!

Strawberries, etc.

Barry picked the first 3 or 4 the other day, and I got a large handful today.  We'll be picking merrily by the weekend.  The raspberries will be ready in a month and the blueberries shortly after.  Unlike Maine, they will all have gone by, by the first of August!

We have all sorts of little baby marble-sized peaches, plums, nectarines and apricots which, if they stay on the trees in these 20-30 mile per hour winds, should be delicious.

Assuming our squirrel doesn't eat them all -- like we suspect he did last year!

Ark, anyone?

Any got plans for an Ark?

Yesterday morning, the first Saturday in May, was Kentucky Derby day.  I made the spearmint syrup for mint juleps on Friday, so it was ready for the crushed ice and good Kentucky bourbon.  It rained here ALL day, and with the thunder and lightning, I wasn't sure we'd even dare to keep the TV on for the Derby.  Well, wouldn't you know it, just as the horses entered the track, the skies cleared and the sun actually came out, just in time for 150,000 people at Churchill Downs to begin singing, "The sun shines bright on the old Kentucky home."  The chills went up my spine as they always do when I hear that song, and the eyes began to well up.  How many people are lucky enough to live in a state where most people actually KNOW their state song?  "Pine Tree State" -- come on!  I taught history and I don't think I could have named that as Maine's state song.

Anyway, after furiously debating which of the 20 horses to bet (internet gambling on horse races is legal in Kentucky), I finally placed my bets.  Only one of the five came in, but it did profit me about $56 above what it cost to bet!  Plus the excitement of actually winning money on the Kentucky Derby!

After the race, the evening was spent on the Internet, tracking storm after storm after storm, and listening to the relentless rain.  We didn't get a great deal of thunder or lightning overnight, but at 3:46 AM the weather radio went off with a "Tornado Warning" (re my earlier post this morning).  It went off twice more, about every hour, and finally I decided to stay up.  The scanner was busy this morning with reports of blocked and flooded roads, some of which we are familiar with, a boat evacuation a bit over a mile west of here, and reports of US-68 in Perryville down to one lane in most places, an blocked in one place.  Yet people were STILL driving through flood waters to get to CHURCH!  I mean, good Christians certainly want to meet their Lord, but should they help things along by being really stupid?

Barry and I decided to go out for breakfast, and survey the countryside.  We did find a bit of water over the road in two places, but we know the road well, and knew it was not more than an inch or two, and it was not flowing quickly.  On the way home, we passed Clark's Run, normally a little, mostly dry, 2-foot wide stream.  It was maybe 50 feet wide in places, with brown, roiling water that cascaded over rocks on its way to Dix River.  We got home just fine.

Then, as we were watching the rain cascade down like someone dumped giant buckets over us, something must have let go.  We have two farm ponds across the main road from our driveway, and the neighbor's pasture to our east normally has the small, quiet Salt River flowing through it -- again, we can step across it most of the time, and there's seldom more than 2-3 inches of water in it.  Well by last night, it had become another raging torrent, water moving maybe 15 miles per hour, brown, muddy, dangerous.

This afternoon, I looked out over the pasture and saw another whole river, maybe 50 feet wide, about 200 feet closer to us than usual.  Seems where the Salt runs under the neighbor's driveway, something must have gotten blocked, or there was a sudden torrent of water, and it was now running directly across the pasture, parallel to our driveway.

On the Google photo, we're "A", the farm pond is "B" (at least we THINK this might be the one, though there's another further up the road which could have collapsed), the orange line is the Salt River, and the green line is the "new" and hopefully temporary Salt River.

Luckily, we were in between storms, so Barry and I went out and got loads of photos and video of this -- hopefully we won't see anything like this for a long while -- and we were more lucky than many around here, and IMMENSELY LUCKIER than many in Tennessee.

As I write this, the river is still up, but the "new" river is just a wet spot in the pasture.  We still have a small rivulet running between our house and the front neighbor's, which we only have seen 2-3 times since moving here.  The rain mostly will be over in an hour or so, and the rest of the week should be in the high 70s and sunny.  Perfect for our strawberries!

A bucket on the side porch had 8-3/8 inches in it at mid-afternoon.  It now has more than 10 inches.  That's our normal rainfall for TWO MONTHS -- and that's since yesterday morning.  Parts of Tennessee and Elizabethtown, KY (about 40 miles west of here) have had 15, so frankly, we're not too far behind.  Tragically, two people in Kentucky have drowned in flood-related incidents, one east of Lexington, and one near Bowling Green.  A dam on a small lake in Edmonson, about 40 miles southwest of here, is expected to give way at any time, so it's not over, by a long shot.

Jim Cantore, of the Weather Channel, on driving from Louisville to Nashville reported that Interstate-65 was in bad shape in many places.  In places, it's impossible to exit the highway because the down ramps lead to flooded roads.  Have you seen the photos of I-24 in Nashville flooded, with tractor trailers and dozens of cars floating?  That road will be out of commission for quite a few days, and it's the main highway from Chattanooga to Nashville to Paducah.

Speaking of Paducah, here's the water that will pass that city in the Ohio River in the coming days.  Keep in mind that many of these rivers are, or will soon be, at flood stage:

1.  Part of western New York
2.  Most of western Pennsylvania, the Allegheny and Monongahela (which form the Ohio at Pittsburgh)
3.  Extreme western Maryland
4.  Most of West Virginia, the Kanawah and Big Sandy
5.  The southern half of Ohio, lots of small rivers
6.  The southern three-quarters of Indiana, the Wabash
7.  All of Kentucky, including our little Salt River, the Green, Kentucky, and the Cumberland Rivers
8.  A small piece of southwestern Virginia
9.  Part of western North Carolina
10.  Parts of northern Georgia
11.  A little corner of northeastern Mississippi
12.  All of Tennessee east of Memphis, the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers
13.  The northern third of Alabama, the Tennessee River

At Paducah, the Cumberland and Tennessee join the Ohio, and a few miles downstream, the Ohio joins the Mississippi.

3:46 AM - Weather Radio Blues

3:46 AM.  That was the time the weather radio went off -- BEEEP, BEEEP, BEEEP -- this time it said "TORNADO WARNING."  So naturally, here I am, at the computer, on Weather.com watching the weather pass to the west of us, on the WKYT (Ch. 27) weather app, watching three counties to the west of us light up with severe thunderstorm warnings, flood warnings, and flash flood warnings, and on my email, for WLEX (Ch 18) for yet another severe thunderstorm warning.

Now of course, I appreciate all the warnings.  But, Saturday morning it was 5:30 when the warnings began, and got so severe that for a time, we had our meds packed, and the cat carrier out, ready to leave at a moment's notice.  And last night, it was well after midnight, watching the weather channel, and seeing the enormous lake that is usually known as I-24 in Nashville, knowing that the weather in Nashville is often the weather HERE in a few hours.  So yesterday was a long day.

Today promises more of the same.  At least we HAVE a weather radio and the other resources, thankfully.

Post 1 - Ceremony in Frankfort

Today, Barry's son, Rick, was officially sworn in as an attorney.  In an impressive ceremony, members of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, met in the House of Representatives chamber at the capital in Frankfort, where 144 new lawyers were given the oath of office.  By the way, Kentucky is the only state that requires new lawyers (and other elected officials) to swear that they have never taken part in, or never assisted in, a duel!  Apparently, it used to be a big thing, but nowadays, it's just one of those anachronisms that makes life interesting.
After the ceremony, we met Mr. Justice Cunningham, representing western Kentucky, and he took us on a tour of his office and the Supreme Court chambers.  Impressive!

So now, the lawyer jokes can begin in earnest.

Post 2 - An old friend returns

One of our ruby-throated hummingbirds came back this evening. It was a gorgeous day, in the 80s (still 75 now), and sunny, so Barry and I were having dessert out on the back deck. We had a plant hanger which we bought in Maine, on which we hung two hummingbird feeders last year and the year before. Well, while we were finishing up dessert, one of the little critters just showed up on the top of the hanger, looking for his red feeder.

Now people think birds are dumb, but hummingbirds will REMEMBER where they were fed last year, and after a flight all the way from South America to Kentucky, they will come back to the same feeding station for as long as they are alive.

Now if you want to feed the hummingbirds in your back yard, DO NOT use any liquid with red food coloring or dye in it. It can actually damage the hummingbirds' livers. Take 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 cups of water (or any 1:4 proportion). Boil it for a few minutes, let it cool, then put it in the feeder. Don't worry, it WILL attract ants, but just clean them out every time you refill the feeder.

Hummingbirds are very territorial, so you may want two or more feeders.  Males will generally chase the females away from the feeder unless the females have mated with them.   I guess that's the hummingbird's way of saying "dinner and a movie" after mating!