SUNDAY STROLL - DECORATION DAY

Come with us as we enjoy a leisurely ride through the countryside to see what catches our eyes and causes us to stop for a closer look or maybe start rambling conversation on the meaning of life as reflected by whatever caught our attention.

Here is an example of possible conversations, crossing a bridge, reading the clouds, the blue of the sky -- each filled with possibilities and metaphors.

Nothing stirs the imagination like a river, here the Cumberland River gives us flowing with the current, being adrift without an oar, river songs from childhood and on and on we could go.

I love this picture, it shows rain on the left and mist rising from little streams on the right. And a favorite story my father told my brother and me was his mother's story that these rolly hills in Kentucky and Tennessee were "Tater Hills". God had a bushel basket of potatoes (God size) and as he sculptured this part of the world he dumped that basket out and the potatoes rolled here and there and become hills of earth and hence the soft rolling little hills of our countryside.

Carved out of this mountainside of rock were two mines, we stopped and looked but saw no coal and it really doesn't look like a typical rock quarry, so we weren't sure for what reason these two openings were created. But, the possibilities were endless.

Part of the rock face here shows what I think is curious and that is the sheer stubborn nature of plant life. Trees are growing out of the rock and they can grow very large and the roots reach deep and secure. And yet, I can buy a sapling and with loving care plant it in a rich environment, watering and pampering it with loving aspirations and it will wilt and die. Who can explain the lure of freedom in natures heart.

For reasons of unknown origins we love Thistles and always ooh and aah when we see them along the roadsides and now is their time to shine.

Small Tennessee towns appeal to our small town hearts and we wanted to include the visual of the heart of a county seat with a peek at the courthouse spire and clock tower.

With a greatful heart for all who serve to protect our way of life I note here that tomorrow is Memorial Day and so I close with a southern tradition of decorating the graves with memorials of flowers and flags. Here it is often called Decoration Day.

To stroll with other folks head on over to The Quiet Country House.