#2 and counting, a hike with the dog on a fall sunday morning

so, we decided to do this 25 dates in a year thing and so far, we haven't been able to do anything. between soccer games and repairs to the house, we have been a little busy. this morning, we decided to stay home from the garden and do some things around the house and as we read the paper, ate breakfast and chattered, we decided to go out on a hike with the dog and take in a little fall weather.

our destination, ellington agricultural center and the roger's walk trail. we have lived in nashville for 15 years now and the entire time, we have lived right by this place. about a year ago, we discovered the new trail system in the center and we walk it whenever we can. it is a beautiful oasis right in a very congested part of town.

the ag center also has special meaning to us. when we first moved here, we were unfamiliar with what nashville had to offer as far as recreation and this was convenient in many ways. we were also a bit strapped for cash, something many parents with young kids are, and this was a low cost alternative for us-no admission fees and close to home. needless to say, our kids spent lots of time here playing in the creek, flying kites by the mansion and wandering around the grounds to the ag museum and the iris garden. as we watched our girls grow up, we have also watched the ag center slowly change and the changes have been wonderful-beautiful landscaping adds to the scenery and the trails make this a place to come and enjoy the outdoors.

we parked the car over at the trail head near the apiary-bee yard for the nashville area beekeepers, and set out for our walk with the dog.

before this trail was built, this area was not one that you could walk through. it is full of large old trees and wildflowers.



when you come out of the wooded area, you are in a pasture that had a herd of cattle grazing in it when we first came here. the girls loved to look at the cows and we would spend time walking along the fence and watching the herd. they have long since moved on and this area has been opened to hikers as a result.

the seven mile creek looks so tranquil now but during the flood, it was a raging river! we have been here many times over the years. the girls would try to catch fish and crayfish and we have released more than one turtle here too.

the power of water is amazing-the hole in the rock is proof.

this part of the trail runs along side the creek.

the trail leads out to this pasture that is bordered by the crieve hall neighborhood and the briarwood branch of the seven mile creek.

the housed here have yards that come right onto the pasture and this family has gated their yard.

i found what i assume to be the grave of some family's cat.

as you walk along the briarwood branch creek, you go back up towards the mansion

the briarwood branch creek

the iris garden is beautiful in spring when everything is in bloom. over the years, we have been here for many occasions. from school outings, girl scout ceremonies to the traditional prom photo sessions.

the little japanese garden has always been a favorite spot in the iris garden, it has always reminded me of the japanese tea garden in golden gate park in san francisco.


the last two years, we have found ourselves among a crowd of parents taking prom photos. the overton hs students always crowd the garden for the photos. it is fun to look at all the kids and see how much they have changed and to look at the dresses. they all line up on the bridge and pose.

we have seen that bridge used in many ceremonies. alix's girl scout troop had their bridging ceremony here. they bridged from juniors to seniors and it was a walking metaphor-each girl crossed the bridge to receive her pin.


there is a little trail that leads out of the iris garden up to the ag museum and every time i see this tree, i laugh at the way the branches reach out horizontally.

the log cabins have always been a favorite spot to play and explore.

grandma's garden is full of heirloom plants that would have grown here back in the day

cotton plants and farm equipment as well as a grape arbor.

the mansion that was once a home and is now one of many of the offices used by the ag department.

and a walk with sugar bear isn't complete without some drama. i saw her standing and looking at the ground while she slowly tilted her head back and forth and before we knew it, she came up with a mole!

sorry to say the little fella didn't have a chance-she kills them every time

several years ago while walking around the center, we discovered a small confederate cemetery. it is not marked and no signs point you in its direction.

the stones are hard to read and some seem to have been vandalized over the years.

a tree grew around this one

in one section, new stones have been erected so someone must take care of the place

ed jones auditorium. we spend plenty of time here with the master gardeners and the beekeepers.

the horse barn. metro pd keeps their horses here and you can walk through and pet the horses.

sugar bear made a new friend

the ag museum

and back to the beginning. in the distance are the bee boxes in the apiary.

see you next time!

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...

another week, another hike: bell's bend park

we truly are trying to keep up the routine of taking one hike per week. this week, we decided to go on sunday rather than monday because the forecast for the week includes heat advisories with tempertures and humidity levels extremely high and dangerous for outdoor activities.

we took a week off from the garden (demo garden work sessions are on sundays) and packed some water bottles into a cooler and headed over to bells bend. this is one of the newest parks in the metro park system. it was donated to the city by the beaman family and it is former farm land that is being allowed to return to its natural state. unfortunately, for us anyway, that meant there would be little if any shade on the walk. another caution to fellow hikers, this is not a walk for little kids, anyone with health issues or those with a complete lack of direction-there are absolutely no markers of any kind on the trails! you must download the map from the metro parks website and bring it with you-the copies available at the trail head are very poor quality and all one shade of grey making it difficult to see the different paths clearly. as for the trail condition, it is very good-mostly level with few if any inclines/declines but it is not paved and could be difficult for pushing strollers so leave the kids home and use this time to meditate. the other point, it is on the northwest outskirts of the city which made it a longer drive for us-22 miles each way.

we parked at the trail head which is located in a separate entrance from the beaman nature center. there is not a lot of parking available and that suggests to us that not many people come here. our car was the only one in the lot when we arrived and when we left. one interesting note, there are a group of students from UT and Uof arizona on an archealogical dig here and they have a campsite near the trailhead. as we wandered up the trail, this was the first view, looking towards the river.

what the trail looks like, it is grassy in some parts and gravel in others.

bikes are not allowed and skates cannot navigate here so it is best left to walkers and runners.

milkweed pods on the trail

yellow wild flowers

ironweed in full bloom, we saw lots of it along the trails

part of the trail runs alongside the cumberland river

lots of butterflies to watch. buckeye butterly having a drink

the view, similar from the start to the end

almost back to the start, the campground is located by the barn in this picture

native passion flowers

and their fruits

the last part of the trail as we head back out to the car. it was way too hot for this trail today! we may come back but definitely not in the summer unless it is cloudy and cool.

frost weed, butterflies love it and we saw many sipping nectar on them. no luck getting a good photo-they are just too quick!

elderberries at the nature center

on our way out, we drove to the nature center to see if it was open and to find a schedule of events. they have very limited hours, tuesday, thursday and saturday and not too many events. they do have a nice rest room though!