geese – Julia A. Keirns – Author, Blogger, Writer

October 31, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie

Just south of Lynchburg, Tennessee on Highway 50 is Tims Ford State Park. The Tims Ford Lake is one of the prettiest lakes in Tennessee.

One of the first places we stopped at was the dam. The dam overlook area is a must-see. It’s a pretty place.

The Tims Ford Dam was named after an early Ford crossing the Elk River near Winchester. A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream can be crossed by wading, or inside a vehicle getting its wheels wet. A ford may occur naturally or be constructed. Fords may be impassable during high water.

The dam provides water supply and flood damage reduction downstream on the Elk River, primarily for the town of Fayetteville, Tennessee.

The lake is huge and encompasses 10,700 acres with approximately 250 miles of shoreline.

Just down the road from the dam was a house with a lot of ducks and turkeys running around inside the fenced-in yard.

Black Cayuga Ducks

The Black Cayuga Duck is a rare breed of domestic duck that is believed to have originated in Cayuga County, New York in the early 19th century. They are known for their distinctive black plumage that shines with a greenish sheen in the sunlight. Black Cayuga Ducks are also known for their hardiness and adaptability, and they can thrive in a variety of habitats.

Black Cayuga Ducks were first introduced to Tennessee in the late 19th century, and their populations have grown steadily over the years. Today, they are another one of the most popular types of ducks found in Tennessee. I have never seen any of these all-black ducks before.

Chinese Geese

Chinese geese are large, domesticated geese originally native to East Asia. They are not native to Tennessee either, but they have been introduced to the state and can now be found in many areas. I have never seen any Chinese geese before.

Chinese geese are known for their distinctive appearance, with their large size, knobbed black beaks, stripe down the back of the neck, and brown plumage. They are also known for their hardiness and adaptability and can thrive in a variety of domestic habitats like ponds, lakes, and rivers.

Chinese geese are a popular sight in Tennessee today. They are often seen swimming in ponds and rivers or foraging for food in fields and meadows.

Muscovy Ducks

Muscovy ducks are large, domesticated ducks normally native to Central and South America. They are not native to Tennessee, but they have been introduced to the state and can now be found in many areas of the state. Today they are a common sight in Tennessee. I have never seen these ducks before.

They are known for their distinctive appearance, with their red warty faces, fleshy knobs on their heads, and dark, glossy plumage. They are also known for their hardiness and adaptability, and they can thrive in a variety of habitats, including farm ponds, lakes, and rivers.

Tims Ford Lake was designated a Bill Dance Signature Lake on Dec 21, 2021. Rich likes watching Bill Dance.

The lake is beautiful and so are the fall trees. We saw a couple of fishing boats on the water, but it was a chilly day.

Tims Ford State Park is beautiful. I’m glad that Tennessee State Parks have free entrance. We enjoyed seeing such a beautiful area.

Thanks for traveling with us. I hope you enjoyed seeing Tims Ford State Park in Tennessee.

October 24, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie

Off to warmer weather

My knee is healed. I am walking decently with little discomfort, and we are biting at the bullet to head south.

The days are cooling off and the nights are too chilly here in Ohio. When the outside air begins to cool our bones on the inside and the inside heat begins to dry our skin on the outside, it is time to move to warmer temperatures.

Rich works a lot harder than I do preparing to move.

I basically take care of closing up the inside and he takes care of closing up the outside.

Closing up the inside consists of picking everything up and putting it away so it doesn’t fall over, break, or rattle while we drive down the road.

And making sure the television is strapped, drawers are locked, counters are cleaned off, and nothing is going to go flying around if we hit a bump.

Together we dismantle the outside displays such as lights around the awning, picnic table, bug spray, lawn flags, and chairs. But Rich puts it all away in the outside compartments.

He takes out the leveling blocks, dumps the tanks, puts away the cords and hoses, brings in the jacks, hooks up the tow dolly, gets the car loaded up, checks all the lights and turn signals, and locks all the cabinets.

Yes, I help when I can.