100,000 Tulips

Howard and I decided to have an after-work rendezvous at Cheekwood on one of the few beautiful days we've had recently.  We didn't want to miss 100,000 tulips in full bloom!

Last year I signed up to be a Cheekwood gardener.  It was right after they had pulled out all of the tulips from last year.  The volunteers were moaning and groaning about that experience.  I'm glad I didn't sign up earlier last year!  My gardening days were cut short there when I started teaching seminary, and then took a part-time job teaching high school Spanish.  I haven't come up for air since!  Anyway, back to Cheekwood.

Don't be surprised if you see all of this in my yard one day.

I gotta be me!

Little contrasting flowers were planted around and amongst all the tulips.

Howard, at the entrance of the Japanese garden.

Here's a very cool art installation by Patrick Dougherty. 

You also might see this tree in my yard some day.

Religion in Nashville

Here are the results of a google maps search of 'churches in Nashville'.

Here are the results of a google maps search of 'synagogues in Nashville' - showing an even bigger area.

Go here for statistics on religions in Nashville, Davidson County.

The Lift

No, I'm not getting a facelift.  This is about Thistle Farms needing a lift and about the improbable philanthropist who wants to raise funds for the lift.

For as long as I can remember I've wanted to be a philanthropist.  The problem?  I'm not rich.  Al Andrews felt the same way.  He came up with the brilliant idea of writing and self-publishing a children's book.  His goal is to donate 100% of the net profits to support a number of pre-selected projects around the world.  His current project is to raise money to buy a lift for Thistle Farms.  The video below tells the story much better than I ever could.  Go here to find out more about about Improbable Philanthropy and how to buy a book to help out with the Lift Project.

July 4th

Before telling you about our last day on the Trace, I have to tell you that our house did not burn down on July 4th.  Last year we were pleasantly surprised by the huge fireworks show that our neighbor put on.  This year, though, it's been extremely hot and dry for many weeks.  (We came back to very dead grass after our two-week road trip.)  There were (and continue to be) 'no open burning' and 'no personal fireworks' warnings.  We ate 4th of July burgers at Famous Dave's along with the rest of the world.  I guess everyone was thinking like us - that we had to eat burgers on the 4th even if we couldn't grill them ourselves.

Anyway, we were surprised to drive down our street the afternoon of July 4th to see the preparations beginning - the familiar yellow caution tape marking off the soon-to-be explosive area.  This year though, while the fireworks guy was preparing to blow up the neighborhood, his close-by neighbors (including us) were uncharacteristically watering their lawns in 100-degree temperatures.

The prime viewing spot appears to be the sidewalk on the corner of our lot.  Word must have gotten out about his spectacular show last year because twice as many people showed up this time.  Howard and I sat near our front door so that we could make a quick get away if there were any police action.  The show wasn't as spectacular as last year, and there was a delay in the middle when the fireworks guy informed us that a disgruntled neighbor was threatening to call the police.

The show ended.  Nothing caught on fire.  No one lost any body parts.  The fireworks guy started cleaning up his mess.  Everyone started folding up their camping chairs.  We were already in the house when I heard a big truck going down the street.  As Gladys Kravitz would've done, I peaked through the blinds and watched.  A fire truck drove slowly and quietly right past the 'blasting zone', past our house, turned around in our cul-de-sac, drove past the 'blasting zone' a second time, and then continued slowly on its way.  The firemen didn't even get out of the truck to give the fireworks guy a stern talking to.  Weird.

Castle Gwynn

The fifth reason to go to the Tennessee Renaissance Festival is to see 'my' castle.  (See reasons 1-4 here.)  My maiden name is Gwin and it's rare to come upon another Gwin (spelled any old way) here in the U. S.  I bet I'd run into loads of them if I ever went to Wales, where the Gwin name originated.

Before entering the castle, there's a man who gives you a brief history of Castle Gwynn.  It turns out he's the guy, Mike Freeman, who has been building the castle for several decades and that he and his wife actually live in it.  People assume it takes wealth to build a castle, but he's not a rich man.  He adds to it when he has money and stops when he doesn't.  He's a photographer and does a lot of bartering - photography for castle supplies and labor.  He and his wife also generate income from the Festival that's held on their 40 acres.

I can't believe that I'm just now learning this, but 'gwin' in Welsh means 'white'.  Mr. Freeman named his home White Castle because white is a great color for defense at night - it's easy to see intruders scaling the walls.  

The tour starts in the unique cylindrical kitchen where modern conveniences are stealthily included in the design, which includes 16 brick archways.

  [source]

The tour appears to be over when you enter the next room and you discover it's the souvenir shop in the bottom of the right turret.  Seriously!?  But, we discovered that we could explore the next floor up - the one containing the two-story great room.

[source]

I just googled the Welsh flag to see if it's one of the flags adorning the domed ceiling.  It's the one on the left.  The cool dragon flag was adopted in 1959 - a very interesting year for me!

[source]

Check out this article for more information on Castle Gwynn.  I just learned from the article that Taylor Swift used the castle in her "Love Story" music video.  Have fun storming the castle!

Castle Gwynn and Deep Fried Candy Bars

Yesterday Howard and I transformed into Basil and Sybil when we went to our first Renaissance Festival, the Tennessee version.  What really compelled me to go, though, was the castle.  I just had to see Castle Gwynn!  

Before we 'enter' the festival, though, we must review the rules:

So, why are pets and coolers lumped in with firearms and replica guns?  Maybe back in the day there were pet ocelots or skunks or wild boars or other dangerous pets.  And, although you mustn't bring guns or fake guns, you can certainly bring your sword - but don't forget to sheath it!  The guy in front of us in line almost didn't get in because his 'sheath' was a rifle case.  I wouldn't want to be him in a dual - he'll be dead before he gets the case unzipped!

There are basically five things to do at the Tennessee Renaissance Festival.  First, there are lots of shows to see.  The shows have movie ratings and most of them are rated G or PG.  The first show I dragged Basil to was the PG-rated belly dancing show.  See how the ladies are mostly covered, especially the one in the middle.

Buckle and Swash put on a G-rated comedy pirate show.  They were pretty entertaining.  They started the show by telling the rules.  

Rule #1:  Kids, don't ever get a Liberal Arts degree.

Of course, there was jousting.  It got up to about 90 degrees yesterday.  I would not want to be the fair young maiden who does this guy's laundry after a hard day at the arena!

Second, there are lots of things to buy: steak on a stick, deep fried candy bars, turkey legs, fresh-squeezed lemonade, medieval clothing, real swords, play swords, and lots more.

These guys sold marshmallow catapults.  They had lots of fun shooting at passersby.  This guy shot some at my mouth.  I was 'all astonishment' when I caught the 3rd one.

I took this picture for my dad.  I'm pretty sure it's not the same King Cone that he frequented in Oregon.

Third, there are games, activities, and a few rides.  The unique thing about the rides is that they're human-powered.  This kid is ready to go.  Behind him you can see the gear-thing that the guys are going to spin to get the ride moving.

These guys were going through gallons of liquid.  Again, I would not want to do their laundry!  After they got the ride going, they would manually spin each kid in his hammock.

On this ride, you pay to do all the work.  These kids were moving pretty fast and I was hoping that the ride would not live up to its name!

Fourth, and my favorite, you can people watch.  It seems that going to a Renaissance Festival is an excuse to dress up in any bizarre outfit that you want and get away with it.  I didn't take nearly as many pictures of the people as I wanted to.  Next year, we're going to come back with Basil's good camera and take lots of people pictures.

With this guy we tried to do the sneaky 'I'm taking a picture of my wife and you happen to be in the picture' trick.

Then I just gave up and talked to him and asked if we could take a picture.  He wasn't in any of the shows and confessed to just having 'an expensive hobby'.  I was surprised to learn that he bought his leather armor at Esty.

A medieval butterfly-lady?  There were lots of butterfly wings.  Or maybe they were fairy wings.  Basil thinks it was more like a Renaissance/Tolkien Festival.

This guy was big and imposing.  I named him Horse Guy.  I have to post three pictures of him.  The first one to show what I saw first, the second one to show his profile, and the third one to show that he doesn't look so scary after all.  See, you just can't judge a guy by his Renaissance regalia.

It's funny that, after seeing all these crazy outfits, the family that stood out the most was the Hawaiian Renaissance family with elf children.  Can you find the dad?

Here's one more people-watcher photo before we move on to the castle.  Seeing the castle is the fifth thing to do when at the festival.

On second thought, I'll post about the castle tomorrow because this is already waaaay longer that it needs to be.

Prepare to Be Touched and Inspired!

I know, I'm constantly blogging about a place called Thistle Farms.  Watch this documentary and you'll discover why I love it so much.  There's another story entwined with the Thistle Farms story that is also inspiring.

What They Didn't Teach Me in Thistle School

Gorgeous, right?

So, I harvested thistles for the first time today.  This video makes it seem pleasantly easy.  But, here's the real story.

All the thistles we found were growing in ditches along busy narrow roads.  Speeding cars and semis constantly whizzed past us, making this not a kid friendly activity.  Next time I think I'll wear a neon orange reflector vest.  Passersby might think I'm a prisoner picking up trash, but in this case I think it's probably better than looking like a plant.

I laughed out loud when a friend suggested wearing falconry gloves for this, but after today it doesn't seem like such a bad idea.  Check out the spines on those things.  By the way, this is my accomplice, Nancy.  She wore rain boots which was really a smart idea.

 I hope Nancy's arms didn't get all scratched up!

Here's our haul for the morning.

Here are some other things you should know about harvesting thistles:

• There are lots of big bumble bees buzzing around doing their bee pollinating thing.  If you don't like bees, this is not the project for you. 
• You'll find lots of other little critters crawling around in your bag of harvested thistles.  When it's time to leave, they'll infiltrate your car if you don't have a way to contain them.
• Don't even think about spreading these out to dry in your house, due to the bugs and...
• When the thistles dry, they burst.  You can put them outside but your neighbors will probably not be happy with you if you've got exploding thistles on your deck, especially if it's a windy day!  I'll tell you tomorrow if it was a good idea to put them on the garage floor.

A few thistles burst after drying for just half a day.

Here's a close-up of another one bursting.

Howard took this close-up.  The colors are amazing!

 
I can now say that, "I am a thistle farmer."

Finally, I'm happy to report that no one shot at us for trespassing and that the local police didn't pursue or arrest us.  I was worried about both of those things.

P.S.  It's the next day.  The thistles seemed to do well in the garage - especially now that it's raining!

It's Time to Harvest Some Thistles!

Thistle Farms needs thistles for their handmade paper.  You've probably seen thistles blooming along the roadside or maybe they're growing in your very own yard!  Here's your chance to put those prickly but beautiful plants to good use.  Watch this two-minute video on how to harvest them for Thistle Farms.

So, grab a friend and go harvest some thistles!  I'm pretty sure you'll have some good stories to tell about it later - maybe even some Lucy and Ethel type stories.  Contact me (via the comments section of this post) if you need help or more info about delivering the dried thistles to Thistle Farms.

By the way, here's some great advice about serving in your community.  Happy thistle harvesting!

P.S.  A few days after writing this post I harvested thistles for the first time.  Please read here before going yourself!

Crane Flies

They're ba-ack, and they are still gross!  A few crane flies snuck into our kitchen the other night.  Howard stopped me as I headed for the dust buster.  At some point in our marriage he became an insect advocate - he thinks we need to rescue them and put them outside.  I think if they're in my house, they deserve to die by vacuum cleaner or dust buster.  Although, sometimes that doesn't work very well.

Anyway, Howard searched the kitchen for a bug-catching tool and came up with a clear clamshell that had once housed some yummy cinnamon rolls.  The clamshell, that looked something like this, converted to the jaws of life for the crane flies.  My job was to scout out the intruders and Howard's job was to sneak up on them and 'gobble' them up with the clamshell. 

The trickiest part was getting them outside after we captured them.  Since it was dark outside and they seemed to be attracted to light, we had to turn off the kitchen lights each time we released one to 'the wild'.  We repeated this little ritual about five times until the house was insect free.

You know, I really need to get a curtain on that window above the kitchen sink.  I'm pretty sure we provided some comical evening entertainment for the neighbors!

Cinderella

We heard this guy (Steven Curtis Chapman) sing this last night, accompanied by the Nashville Symphony.  Oh my!  There's more to tell, but not today.

Here it is again, with the story behind it.

Livin' in Music City

Jason and Melody and their four kids moved from Las Vegas to Nashville about a year ago.  They've all sacrificed a lot for Melody to come to Nashville to pursue her singing dreams.  They're learning about the music business as they go and they've experienced lots of miracles along the way.  This is Melody's first music video.  Did I mention that her last name is Nash - Melody Nash, a country singer in Nashville.  That's her real name - I promise.  You can find out more about her at her website.

Popcorn x 3

Spring here is CRAZY!  Today it reminded me of this song - in more ways than one.  By the way, these photos were taken about 4-5 hours apart.

Last year I went crazy over these trees.  I learned from the guy at the nursery that the "trees with little purple flowers all over the branches" are Red Buds.  I have anxiously awaited their arrival this year.

Last year I didn't notice the funky mini bouquets on their trunks.  They remind me of sea urchins.

I also found out from the guy at the nursery that "those trees with all the pink tulip-looking flowers" are Black Tulip Magnolias.

He warned me against having one in my yard because the blooms don't last very long and they're a mess to clean up.  He told me they're called 'black' because a frost will turn the flowers black.  I'm still not sure if all the cons out-weigh the pros.  They are gorgeous!

I thought this was going to be my post for the day until I heard weird sounds on my garage door this afternoon and thought someone was trying to break in.  I looked out the window and what did I see?  Hail!

I'm so disappointed that I didn't have a movie camera.  There were all kinds of little hail balls dancing on our lawn.  It looked like popcorn popping.

It looks like we have diamonds in our bushes!  By the way, we're thinking about planting a Red Bud in the middle there.

Here's the hail collection on the deck.  So, I can't figure out why I craved and 'just had to have' popcorn tonight.  Can you?