New year New Changes

Not all changes are good but those that are tend to be the best. Many things throughout our lives change on a daily basis from the tiniest to the largest and with each new day and somewhere in between you find yourself in an unfamiliar world of puppy craziness. During the last couple of months I have been trying my best to get use to raising a new puppy. Geez their hard work. But, as the days pass things get better then we back slide. But, with a face like this you tend to let some things slide and tell yourself…. Okay tomorrow will be better. Well let’s hope so anyways. This little tornado is all up in our cats business. He herds them, he reroutes their direction and attacks them (playfully). On occasion he does get put in his place. He’s slowly learning who’s boss in this home and well you guessed it, it’s not him. So, remember when you get a new puppy they are extremely hard work. At least it has been for me. I love this little booger though. He’s very intelligent and learns fast. He hops like a bunny, can jump in my arms, I’ve taught him to use the talking buttons. He likes the play button. I know my cats hate hearing that one go off lol but meet my little tornado Lenny. Cute isn’t he 😊 He’s a miniature Aussie.

Lenny my little tornado
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Spring in Kentucky

Southeastern Kentucky’s beauty blooms. Every year during spring beautiful gardens appear. Flowers and vegetables everywhere. Greenhouses full and ready to setup in small farmers markets across the great state of Kentucky. My little piece of heaven starts at home. Seedlings come alive inside their tiny pods, growing just enough to overwhelm their tiny first home. Repotting in bigger pots or in larger home beds gives growing room without boundaries. As beauty appears in the garden the taste of fresh vegetables are plentiful. For now my yard and small garden is full. Soon two organic greenhouses will be built to stretch the pure vegetable growth throughout the year. Excitement awaits!

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New things coming soon!

Places to go, things to see and new photos to take! Lets get started!

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Pow Wow

A few days ago I attended a Pow Wow in Corbin, Kentucky and absolutely loved it. I met some great people and had a wonderful time. There were many things to look at, good food to eat and souvenirs to take home. My favorite part was the dance. So graceful and sacred, I could stand for hours and watch. I believe everyone should experience such beauty. Something I will definitely attend more of in the future.

Dean Swimmer

Dean Swimmer

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Larry Sellers & I

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Jarrett, Lisa, James, Leslie & Gabe

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Native American Tribes of Kentucky: Forgotten History

http://www.cherokeeadventure.com

*Also check out a friends page 🙂

http://www.facebook.com/TsalagiTouringProgram

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Thompson Park & RV Camping

Thompson Park is located in Barbourville, Kentucky. This is a great little park, one which the whole family can enjoy. Great rates at the RV Camping site that offer more than most with many amenities and pets are welcome. There’s a Splash pad for the kids, a play ground, picnic area, ball and soccer field, walking track with workout equipment throughout, a boat ramp into the large river behind the park and much more. A nice little get away where you can spend hours or even days with the family and just have fun and enjoy the country living it has to offer. This is one little park you don’t want to miss out on!

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http://www.barbourvilletourism.com/barbourville/thompson-rv-park

http://www.kentuckytourism.com/thompson-park-and-rv-camping/6174/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Thompson-Park-Campground/156112741078540

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Memorial Weekend

Memorial weekend was a blast. My husband and I along with two other couples traveled into Tennessee and North Carolina on our Harley’s.  Traveling on a timeline in order to see and do everything we wanted to in three days was a challenge. When you’re on a motorcycle, you also pray for no rain. Our plans included riding on some serious curvy roads that are well known in those areas so we were hoping for the best. We did however get lucky and were only caught in the rain once the entire trip. Below I will add links to some of the places we visited. For all you bikers out there, you need to check these places out, you won’t regret it. One of our first stops was a place called “Bobarosa Saloon”. We arrived early so not much was going on, but sitting by the scenic French Broad River and enjoying the scenery before continuing our journey was awesome.

My review: Soothing by the riverside and definitely biker friendly.

http://www.bobarosasaloon.com/

 

Bobarosa  Bobarosa  Bobarosa  Bobarosa

 

290 The Rattler, just outside of Hot Springs, NC with 290 curves in 24 miles from Lake Junaluska to Hot Springs and  another 30 curves from Hot Springs, NC to the Bobarosa Saloon which is located in Del Rio, TN My review: Good ride, but too many gravels in the curves. http://www.209therattler.com/

 

The Rattler  The Rattler  The Rattler  The Rattler

 

The Hellbender 28 is located in the Great Smokey Mountains. This one we traveled twice. Unsure of the exact amount of curves, but believe me there were plenty. http://www.hellbender28.com/

My review: Loved it!

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Tail of the Dragon has 311 curves in 11 miles. http://tailofthedragon.com/dragon.html Tail of the Dragon is definitely a ride every biker needs to ride. Scary? Well, from my perspective it was. Scraping metal to concrete around those mind blowing curves were not what I expected, so yes it was intense. But, I’m glad I got to ride it.

My review: Scary, but definitely an adrenaline rush.

 

Tail of the Dragon  Tail of the Dragon  Tail of the Dragon  Tail of the Dragon  Tail of the Dragon  Tail of the Dragon  Tail of the Dragon  Tail of the Dragon  Tail of the Dragon  Tail of the Dragon  Tail of the Dragon  Tail of the Dragon  Tail of the Dragon  Tail of the Dragon  Tail of the Dragon

 

Cherohala Skyway http://www.cherohala.org/

This is definitely a place to see, so beautiful. My review: Awesome!

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Wheels Through Time http://www.wheelsthroughtime.com

This was a really cool museum with plenty to see. The show was also amazing! If you’re a biker go, you won’t regret it. My review: Really Cool!

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Fontana Dam http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/fontanadam.htm

My review: Beautiful Overlook

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Other random photos and places we visited from our trip.

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Friday…. it happened :)

Friday was an awesome day. My husband and I took off on a little road  trip before work and came home with this 🙂 I was so excited I had to ride that day. The following day we rode to work which reveals what we had to ride home in that night lol But, I still had a blast!

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Winter Beauty

A wonderful winter day at home

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Love of my life <3

image                                     I met this wonderful man when I was in high school. Several months later we married and now have 2 wonderful children and 3 amazing grand babies. ❤ He will always have the key to my heart ❤

 

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A beautiful view

This is such a relaxing view. A moment of stress free solitude.

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Posted in Appalachia, Appalachian People, Barbourville Kentucky, Birds, Blossoms, Bugs, Butterflies, Clouds, Country, Educational, Family, Farms, Fishing, Flowers, Fun, Horseback Riding, Horses, Kentucky, Kentucky Buildings, Kentucky Scenery, Knox County, People, Photography, Photos, Picnic, rocks, Snakes, Spider Webs, Trees, Uncategorized, USA, Weather | Leave a comment

Parrot Mountain Pigeon Forge, Tn

If you want to visit a place of beauty, then don’t miss out on this place. It was totally amazing. The birds here are so beautiful and many of which you can hold. It isn’t very big, but worth going to see. Link to their website below photos. Image6

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http://www.parrotmountainandgardens.com/

 

Posted in Appalachia, Berries, Birds, Blossoms, Butterflies, Country, Educational, Family, Flowers, Fun, Mountain Vacations, Museum, Nature, Parks, Parrot Mountain, People, Photography, Photos, rocks, Summer, Sunshine, Tennessee, Trees, Uncategorized, USA, Vacation, Wasp, water fountains, Weather | Leave a comment

Knoxville Zoo Knoxville, Tn

I absolutely love going to a zoo and seeing all the animals. My favorite will always be the Gorilla. Why? I have no idea. I think their amazing. If you’re ever near a zoo, any zoo stop in and check it out, you won’t regret it. Here’s a few pics I took while I was there. Link below photos.

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http://www.knoxville-zoo.org/

 

 

Posted in Animals, Appalachia, Bears, Berries, Birds, Black Bears, Blossoms, Bugs, Butterflies, Cats, Clouds, Country, Educational, Family, Flowers, Fun, Knoxville, Knoxville Tn, Monkeys, Nature, Parks, People, Photography, Photos, Picnic, Reptile, rocks, Snakes, Summer, Sunshine, Tennessee, Trees, Turtles, Uncategorized, USA, Vacation, Wasp, water fountains, Waterfall, Weather, Zebras, Zoo | Leave a comment

Jayell Pigeon Forge, Tn

To start the weekend off right Belinda and I decided to try our luck at the ziplines. Neither of us had tried it before and being that we were on a weekend quest for adventure, we thought we’d have a little fun. The people at the ranch were friendly, joking and having fun themselves. A great atmosphere for a first time zipline adventure.  All photos below are courtesy of Jayell Ranch. Link below.

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http://www.jayellranch.com/

 

 

 

Posted in Appalachia, Appalachian People, ATV, Barns, Berries, Birds, Blossoms, Bugs, Butterflies, Country, Educational, Family, Farms, Fishing, Flowers, Fun, Horseback Riding, Horses, Jayell Ranch, Mountain Vacations, Nature, People, Photography, Photos, Picnic, Pigeon Forge, rocks, Snakes, Spider Webs, Summer, Sunshine, Tennessee, Trees, Uncategorized, USA, Vacation, Wasp, Weather, Zipline | Leave a comment

Dollywood Pigeon Forge, Tn

Recently I spent a fun filled weekend with one of my very best friends. Needless to say we had a blast. Spending time at Dollywood two days in a row was more than enough to make a girl tired, not to mention all of the other outside activities we crammed into our weekend which I will add photos and individual post. You can see more of Dollywood by clicking on the post at the end of the photos.

Dollywood

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http://www.dollywood.com/

Posted in Dollywood, Museum, Nature, Parks, People, Photography, Photos, Picnic, Pigeon Forge, Uncategorized, USA, Vacation, Weather | Tagged | Leave a comment

Cumberland Falls

Yesterday, I took another trip down to Cumberland Falls in Corbin, Kentucky and it turned out really nice.  The water level was high and the falls was flowing strong. This is always a nice place to visit even if you’ve seen it a hundred times. I never tire of this place as I visit it often, just a few more photos to share.

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Posted in Appalachia, Appalachian People, Blossoms, Bugs, Corbin Kentucky, Cumberland Falls, Educational, Family, Fishing, Flowers, Fun, Kentucky, Kentucky Buildings, Kentucky Scenery, Mountain Vacations, Museum, Nature, Parks, People, Photography, Photos, Picnic, Snakes, Spider Webs, Spring, Sunshine, Trees, Uncategorized, USA, Vacation, Wasp, Waterfall, Weather | Leave a comment

Fun Shots

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Posted in Appalachia, Appalachian People, Birds, Blossoms, Bugs, Butterflies, Cats, Clouds, Corbin Kentucky, Country, Educational, Family, Flowers, Fun, Kentucky, Kentucky Buildings, Kentucky Scenery, Nature, People, Photography, Photos, Picnic, rocks, Spring, Sunshine, Trees, Uncategorized, USA, Vacation, Weather | Leave a comment

Beautiful things in Kentucky

More random photos from home 🙂 The bird sat quietly on my deck as I took his/her picture 🙂

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Posted in Appalachia, Appalachian People, Birds, Blossoms, Bugs, Butterflies, Clouds, Coal, Corbin Kentucky, Country, Educational, Family, Flowers, Fun, Kentucky, Kentucky Buildings, Kentucky Scenery, Mountain Vacations, Nature, People, Photography, Photos, Picnic, rocks, Snakes, Spring, Sunshine, Trees, Uncategorized, USA, Vacation, Wasp, Weather | Leave a comment

Pickard’s Farm Barbourville, Kentucky

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Pickard’s Farm has existed since the year 1916. Although the farm was small in the beginning, it has grown way beyond what you can see in these pictures — over the mountain and down the river a great distance. Owner Don Pickard and his wife June have lived on the original farm since the early 70′s. When Don Pickard purchased all the nearby adjoining land, he turned this once small farm into an amazing place to raise children and grandchildren.  He added a large gazebo with a full working kitchen, a dock to fish from, a cabin with bunks and a sitting porch over the water, a sandy beach in process and a playground.

One feature that absolutely amazed me was the outhouse with running water, a sink, and a regular toilet. I know guests have to love that feature.  In addition to the buildings and furnishings on the farm, there are some incredible animals. The Sicilian Miniature Donkeys are adorable, and there are American Paint Horses and some really awesome Texas Longhorn Steer.   A flock of swallows nest below the deck and ducks lay their eggs in nests under the cabin.   I could honestly spend a whole day on the farm just walking around looking at everything and enjoying the serenity.  Time seemed to pass too quickly when I was there, so I’m hoping to go back soon and spend a little more time walking the riverbank and fishing for hours.

See links at the bottom of this post for more information on the history of the animals on Pickard’s Farm.

 

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http://www.assinippiacres.com/history.php

http://www.horse-previews.com/295articles/295paint.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Longhorn

Posted in Appalachia, Appalachian People, Barbourville Kentucky, Barns, Berries, Birds, Blossoms, Boating, Bugs, Butterflies, Campfire, Clouds, Country, Educational, Family, Farms, Fishing, Flowers, Fun, Kentucky, Kentucky Buildings, Kentucky Scenery, Knox County, Lake, Mountain Vacations, Nature, Old Kentucky Barns, Parks, People, Photography, Photos, Picnic, rocks, Snakes, Spider Webs, Spring, Striped Bass, Sunshine, Trees, Turtles, Uncategorized, USA, Vacation, Wasp, Weather | 1 Comment

The Joys of Spring

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Posted in Appalachia, Appalachian People, Birds, Blossoms, Bugs, Butterflies, Clouds, Corbin Kentucky, Educational, Flowers, Fun, Kentucky, Kentucky Scenery, Nature, People, Photography, Photos, rocks, Snakes, Sunshine, Trees, Uncategorized, Vacation, Wasp, Weather | 2 Comments

Spring in Kentucky

Here’s a few pictures I took while walking around in my yard. I love Spring 🙂

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Posted in Appalachia, Berries, Birds, Blossoms, Bugs, Butterflies, Clouds, Corbin Kentucky, Flowers, Fun, Kentucky, People, Photography, Photos, Spring, Sunshine, Trees, Uncategorized, Vacation, Weather | 1 Comment