Well, we have now lived through all four seasons in our new home state of Tennessee. I asked for all of them, and boy they did not disappoint. At times they went over-board. Why?

Our move-in date happened to be mid-Autumn and trees had already lost their colorful leaves. We don’t count that.

The first winter brought snow, only not for Christmas as I’d hoped, but was beautiful just the same and it doesn’t stay long, but long enough that we made our first ever snowman together.

Spring of 2022 was a beautiful experience. The newness surrounded us, and we began researching and learning what types of trees and plants to add to our landscape. (Most didn’t take well to this cold winter.) Still have a lot to learn. But that’s the fun of it. Cities were blooming with white and pink blossoms.

Spring also brought our son, Ryan to visit for his first Easter with us since – well a long time. We took him to Bald River Falls. It was gushing and flowing wildly down the rocks, hitting the pool of water below, taking its path to the river beneath the bridge we stood on. It’s our favorite place to drive to. And we have within each season. 

Then summer hit. One of the hottest on record. Near 100° and humidity near 100% as well. Whew! Coming from a dry state, 100° was a lot different. Oh, the hair! Some days were unbearable, so we stayed indoors. Thankful for air-conditioning. We were astonished at how green everything stayed, even in the heat of summer. No sprinklers are used. Most use a hose to water landscapes. A wonderful change.

Autumn came around, and so did my Darlin’s birthday. A milestone one at that. Son, sister and brother-in-law came to celebrate with him. Our son was the only one who’d seen our new home. Of course, we had to take them to the falls. Stopping along the way to take pictures of the amazing change of colors. We also took them up to the Smokey’s with the mountains bursting with vibrant oranges, reds and yellows.

Bald River Falls – Autumn 2022

However, this winter? Old man winter done out-did himself! It has been so cold. We never expected below zero with wind chill here in mid-southern east Tennessee. Thankfully it didn’t last long. We had some more snow, and another snowman is in the books. But the rain, rolling and I mean rolling thunder, and lightning has been some of the craziest storms we have both endured. And let’s not forget tornado warnings/watches and most recently the siren blaring! Quite unnerving wouldn’t you say?

We absolutely love our new home state. No regrets. We have much to see and explore. There are 500 falls in the state, state parks are free and there are plenty of them, plus Tennessee borders eight other states. Are we blessed or what? I think our next trip may need to be to Florida to the ocean. Lord willing, our health and the weather will cooperate.

Can’t wait to see what this year will bring.

Happy trails y’all.

Blessings,

Chrissy Drew