25 dates for 25 years

asa & yehosafat, 2000 by boaz vaadia

hard to believe but it is true none the less, the husband and i have been married for 25 years. i simply cannot believe that i am old enough to have been married for that many years. at least i don't feel that old, one look in the mirror and i can see the proof. we had planned on taking a long weekend to lounge on the beach but the flood and all of the repairs to the house put an end to that plan. we have moved on to plan b; over the next year (our anniversary was 9/14 to 9/13 of 2011) we plan to do 25 things that we normally wouldn't do as a means of celebrating. a celebratory bucket list of sorts and today we went on our first date.

dale chihuly is an amazing glass artist and there are two exhibits running simultaneously in nashville right now. there is an outdoor exhibit at cheekwood that has the option of visiting it after dark because it is all illuminated and the frist museum also has an exhibit of his work. to start the celebration, we went to the frist museum today. did you know that today was museum day? the smithsonium has a program that provides free tickets to selected museums all around the country and the frist was on the list. we would never have known about it if it wasn't for ms. cheap's column in the tennessean.

we walked through the exhibit and admired all of the glass and paintings too. there was a video of mr. chihuly teaching a master class and it showed how some of the pieces were created and it was amazing to watch. since we were in a museum, i couldn't take pictures so be sure to click on the links to get an idea of what we saw. we rounded out the afternoon with a trip down 12 south for a cup of coffee at portland brew. be sure to visit here and see what we do to celebrate this long incarceration i mean marriage...

just out for a hike with the dog, mill creek greenway

we are trying to stick with our promise to walk more and explore the greenways and trails around us. however, this is soccer season and diva's last season-she's a senior. as a result, we have a little less free time to walk. we decided to go to the mill creek greenway since it is so close by for us. just a quick trip across harding place, less than ten minutes and just over 3 miles from home.

this greenway is a work in progress. this section is only a mile long and there is another section off blue hole road that is finished but a large section in between the two that is still on the drawing board. maybe if we are lucky, they will finish it sometime soon.

it starts off promising. the view from the trail is pretty even if the bridge for harding place runs right over it.

when you start the trail you walk towards the creek and if you follow the path that leads under the bridge, it dead ends very quickly onto old ezell road but it is worth a few minutes to admire the view of the creek and the wild flowers. it also adds a little distance to what amounts to a short walk.

tucked in between the evil tree of heaven plants are the tallest sunflowers (helianthus) i have ever seen and a lot of pokeweed loaded with blackberries.

passion flower, the state flower of tennessee with a large carpenter bee

unknown flower, tiny and pretty

jasmine, not sure if it is native or an escapee

darry and the bear on the main trail. it was hot and sunny with no shade and the view wasn't what we hoped for. once we got out on the trail, the creek was no longer visible but the jail was. yes, jail. the trail borders on the prisoner re-entry facility and the county jail as well as soccer fields. not a pretty view at all.

our last view of the creek for most of the walk

along the trail at one point, you can cut through the trees and walk along the creek. it was dark and buggy and you really can't get very far.

it was a short walk but it was interesting. the amount of trash strewn about was disappointing

well above our heads was evidence of may's flooding. you may recall that mill creek flooded onto I24. it also closed this area since the water covered many roads

interesting roots on this tree.

canada geese on the creek

the walk back to the car

we will come back but only after they finish the middle section. that way, it will be a nice long walk and hopefully, the view will improve. unless you like looking at the jail...