Tennessee Day Trip: Benton-Houston Ferry

River ferries are rare these days, but the Benton-Houston ferry turns a 90-minute drive between these two counties into a beautiful, entertaining, seven-minute ferry ride across the Tennessee River, connecting Big Sandy in Benton County ( http://www.bentoncountycamden.com/ ) to McKinnon in Houston County ( http://www.houstoncochamber.com/ ).  You'll see a section of the Tennessee River you don't get to see from the I-40 bridge or the U.S. 79 bridge at Paris Landing.  Side trips to Erin in Houston County and the Big Sandy Wildlife Refuge in Benton County make for a great day trip.  The ferry operates seven days a week, 365 days a year.  It runs from 5:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. M-F and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.  The fee is $1 per car. 

Life's Simple Pleasures

A battered barn in Kentucky

A spotted donkey in Tennessee

A 1500 year old tree in South Carolina (Angel Tree)

A Bald Eagle along the Cumberland River at Fort Donelson

Yogi Berra the hall of fame catcher for the New York Yankees is credited with saying, "You can see a lot by just looking."

We agree with Yogi.  It doesn't take much to entertain us.  We regularly get the urge to take a spin.  In country talk that means to take a ride in our car to no-place-in-particular.  We love driving down roads never traveled, and just seeing the crops in fields, glimpsing a wild animal, or seeing a dilapidated abandoned house.  On one occasion, a spotted donkey.  I didn't know there was such an animal.

Take a spin!  Stop and smell the flowers, or just do nothing.  It will amaze and delight you at what you can see by just looking.

Tennessee Road Trip: Franklin

TomatoFest 2015 at Franklin Farmers Market

We're headed to Franklin this morning to the TomatoFest 2015 at the Franklin Farmers Market www.FranklinFarmersMarket.com

The Factory, Franklin, Tennessee

An added bonus to this day trip is the Farmers Market location.  It right behind The Factory, an old stove factory that has been converted to a shopping mall of sorts.  More like a destination to browse for antiques, clothes, furniture, arts and crafts.  Also many food outlets including an upscale restaurant.  It's a great place to stay cool, have fun, shop, and eat. www.factoryatfranklin.com/

Act of War: Four Marines Dead

A terrorist yesterday attacked two military facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and killed four United States Marines and injured another.  Citizens of The United States of America should be safe, especially in our own country.  We have the finest, bravest, best-trained, best-equipped, strongest military in the World, but our military personnel are not allowed to have live ammunition, and in some cases weapons, while they're on duty.  This is wrong.

The United States has been declared an enemy by radical Islamists and they have vowed to kill us, even in our homeland.  Our naive president may not want to admit this, but when our enemy is at war with us, we are at war with that enemy, whether we admit it or not.

It's time for the Administration and the Department of Defense to arm our military to the maximum, and give them orders to shoot to kill when they are attacked.

It is time for our government to put on it's big-boy pants and do it's job: Protect the citizens of The United States of America wherever they are.

I'm not as lean, not as mean, but I'm still a Marine. Four of my brothers are dead, another wounded.  That makes me angry.  I think that attack--and all similar attacks--was an act of war.

How To Catch Fish When They're Not Biting

When I went crappie fishing at Paris Landing on Kentucky Lake in May, I learned you can catch fish, even if they aren't biting that day.  Fishing with guide Ken Riddick and friend Bill Manning, we only caught 18 crappie big enough to keep (10 inches).  This crappie was one of them, but he didn't bite, he just swam too close to my hook and snagged himself by the tail.  Hey, luck counts, so he was among the 18 keepers. 

 

If You Like Fresh Farm Vegetables They're Ready!

Linda Selecting Tomatoes At Smiley Produce In Ridgetop, TN

Nothing tastes better that fresh vegetables right out of the field.  They're here in abundance right now.  We visited Smiley Produce, Highway 431, Ridgetop, TN, today and brought home tomatoes, red and green bell peppers, green and yellow zucchini, cucumbers, egg plant, kale, green beans, and cabbage.  

Linda got a recipe for kale chips from a friend, and she's going to try to make some today.  I'll take a picture and post it along with the recipe, assuming it turns out.

We're not fond of kale in salads, but to give the illusion of being cool, we're going venture into kale, which is now the "in" health food.

If you live in Middle Tennessee you may be familiar with Smiley Farms as an event center in Ridgetop.  But Smiley Farms grows almost every kind of vegetable on their huge farm.  You can find their produce in the Nashville Farmers Market on 8th Avenue North and at Smiley Produce in Ridgetop.  They may have other outlets, but I don't know any.

Look for farmers' markets near you, because it harvest time in the South.

Lady Finger Bluff On Tennessee River

 Short hike to a beautiful overlook plus good place to eat nearby

Lady Finger Bluff is a beautiful spot on the east bank of the Tennessee River near Lobelville and Linden.  It is a short half-mile hike from the parking area and is easy-to-moderate hiking on a well-maintained trail.  The view from the bluff is worth your effort.  It's really pretty in the fall, but it's beautiful any time of year.  You'll also see beautiful views of the Buffalo River on your way.

How to get there: From I-40 take exit 143 onto Highway 13 south.  A few miles south of Lobelville, heading toward Linden, you will see the signs to Lady Finger Bluff on your right; follow the signs.  From Highway 100, go north on Highway 13 from Linden until you see the signs to Lady Finger Bluff on your left; follow the signs.

Where to Eat: If you're in the area at meal time, eat at the Log Cabin Restaurant on Highway 13 at I-40 Exit 143.  It's a little hard to see, but it's directly across the road from the Pilot Travel Center, and there is a big sign on the road.  They have great home cooking and homemade pies of all kinds. We highly recommend Log Cabin.

You Are What You Eat

We hate over-regulation by the government, but required nutrition labels on food packaging is a regulation that can make us more healthy or possibly even save our lives.  Some of us need to limit certain foods because of our health, so you can learn how many calories, how much fat, sugar, protein, and other vital nutrients are contained in the food you eat by reading the labels on your food.

That sounds good, you say, but what about raw food that doesn't have nutrition labels.  How do I know what nutrients are in those?  Good news!  We can tell you that.  We learned that Kale and Spinach have almost identical nutrition, with the slight edge going to spinach.  Kale is good for you, but it's also a fad.  Our advice: compare foods.  Just because it's popular doesn't mean it's better. You can compare foods side by side with this Website.  And it's free!


We discovered a Website that has all the answers about food:  www.NutritionData.com

With this amazing Website you can analyze any food, any group of foods, such as everything you eat in a day, even a recipe, so you know how many calories are in a slice of cake or pie, or a bowl of soup.  You just enter the ingredients of your recipe, tell it how many servings you want to have, and it tells you all the nutrition data per serving just like you find on a can of beans.

You can track your daily input to see what your glycemic load is for the day, if you're concerned about diabetes.  It will tell you the percent of daily intake is fat, carbohydates, and protein.  You can even calculate how many calories you need to consume daily to reach and maintain a certain weight.

Here's what you should be consuming daily as a percentage of your total consumption:

Carbs: 45-65%
Fat: 20-35%
Protein: 10-35%

NutritionData.com not only tells you this about your daily consumption, it tells you how nutritius and how filling your food is.  Ever wonder why you still feel hungry after eating some foods, but don't feel hungry after eating what looks like the same amount of another food.

Do you know that an apple and a teaspoon of sugar have almost the same number of calories?     An apple will stay with you a long time, but you're hungry almost immediately after a spoon of sugar.  That's because an apple is a complex carbohydate and sugar is a simple carbohydrate.  Don't skimp on carbs, just eat the right amount of the right kind.

Check out this amazing Website if you're serious about your diet and your health:
www.NutritionData.com

Growing Flowers In Texas Or Wherever You Live

A reader who recently moved from Tennessee to Texas asked what we know about growing things in Texas (nothing).  Apparently her climate is significantly different from where she lived in Tennessee, so she has a steep learning curve.

If you live in Texas, San Antonio Botanical Gardens displays several mini-gardens representing plants that grow in the diverse climates and soils of Texas, from east to west and from north to south. You can see what plants grow where. Very diverse and educational. You probably can identify your climate and soil and get some free advice too. May be the best botanical gardens we've visited.

No matter what state you live in, almost all large state universities have agricultural extension services in each county, where you can get free information about plants, soils, pests, and diseases.  Look them up, and give them a call.  Every state has different areas with different climates and soils. That makes a big difference in your gardening success.

We recently had two troublesome plants diagnosed by the University of Tennessee Extension Service and learned how to treat one plant and were advised to remove and destroy the other, which has a virus that would spread to other plants of the same variety. 

Let us know if you learn something that will help other gardeners.  We'll post your information and give you the credit.

Delicious Fat Free French Onion Dip

Linda recently discovered a healthy and delicious Fat Free French Onion Dip.  It's Kroger brand, and you can find it in the dairy case. 

2 Tbsp = 20 calories

Sodium = 50 mg

Carbs = 3 g

Fat = 0

We served it to some guests, and they loved it.   It tastes great.  You can't tell it's fat free. 

The Exotic Hyacinth Bean Vine

We recently posted to Facebook this picture of our arbor covered with hyacinth bean vine.  The vine produces bright purple beans and purple flowers that look similar to hyacinths.  It blooms from July to frost.  We received so many comments that we thought we'd tell you more about it and how to get some free seeds. 

We discovered this exotic plant at the Edwin Warner Nature Center on Highway 100 in Nashville.  IT'S FREE!  They have a community flower and vegetable center garden where visitors can browse or work in the garden--tools are there for your use--or just view the many varieties of flowers and vegetables.  All plants are labeled so you know what you're looking at.  You can even pick veggies. 

That's how we got our hyacinth bean vine started.  They have a huge arbor that makes mine look small.  We just picked some of there beans and let them dry.  We shelled them like butter beans and planted the seeds in April.  That's it.  Just keep it watered and let it grow.

If you haven't visited Edwin Warner Nature Center, you'll be in for a treat.  They have nature exhibits, frog ponds, hiking trails, birds of all kinds and a huge back porch where you can sit in a rocking chair and watch scores of hummingbirds and butterflies feed and flit around.

Welcome to our blog!

Linda at Gibbs Gardens in Ball Ground, Georgia

Harvey hiking Walls of Jericho on TN/AL state line

Linda is a dietitian, and I'm a journalist by education. Both of us graduated with bachelor's degrees from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. We have worked in other fields for many years, but we still love things related to our education.

Linda knows food and nutrition. I know writing and communication. We both love gardening and landscaping. We both have advanced degrees from the College of Hard Knocks. We prefer to called experienced, instead of elderly. But, that's enough about us. Let's talk about our blog.

Because of Linda's knowledge of food and nutrition, we both eat right and enjoy exceptionally good health. We acknowledge that our ancestors get most of the credit for that, but we practice healthy lifestyles too. We enjoy cooking, and are pretty good cooks, if we do say so ourselves. It isn't bragging if it's so, is it? We are serious about flower gardening. We're studying to become Master Gardeners. We travel both near and far--mostly near. If you want to know a good place for a day trip, a good place to visit, or where to find free stuff, we're a good source of information.

Our day trips include Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Our blog will be about food, flowers, fun, travel, good health, aging gracefully, and about anything we feel like blogging about.

Happiness is a decision, and we've decided to be happy and enjoy life until our expiration date. We hope you follow our blog and come along for the ride.

Harvey & Linda Gardner's Blog

harveylindagardner.blogspot.com

We wish you would follow us and comment from time to time.  The instruction for doing that are at the bottom of this page.