Tennessee – That… Which Matters Most

Best Photos of 2025

Well, this is photography blog, as well as other things. And I have been a bit absent minded when it comes to posting. So here are my favorite photos of 2025. Happy New Year.

We took Joey down to Galveston for New Year’s.

Kitchen Sunrise.

Celebrating our 10th Wedding Anniversary in Memphis, with some friends.

North Fork Holston River — Virginia.

Our granddaughter.

Our sleepy grandson.

Celebrating my 64th birthday at Tricky Fish in Fort Worth.

The LAST pair of Birthday Tecovas we will ever buy. See my previous post. AS a follow up, I did get my first pair resoled and the man who did it said I should buy Lucchesse next time.

Joey’s 18th birthday!

Joey’s graduation. I’m proud of him.

Our first visit to downtown Knoxville, with the rain shower option.

We found a quaint loft in downtown Knoxville.

Completely relaxed.

Picked up the boys for a drive over to Rockwall for some burgers and ice cream

One of the perks of my job: field trips to the petting zoo at the fair.

The absolute best breakfast of the year!

Ducking out of the wind, trying to enjoy the beach.

The best part of Galveston.

The best sunrise of 2025.

The best gift of Christmas.

Heidi and I found a great barbecue restaurant in Lebanon, TN. It was our last meal together before I flew back to Texas, in order to preach last Sunday. Alas, I was too sick to preach and slept all day. Heidi stayed in Tennessee with our daughter and grand children. We all ended the year under the weather.

Balcony Seating

We couldn’t go down by the river because we were watching the children. So we opened up the double doors that overlook the river, moved the recliner into the doorway, and made the best of it.

Bridges

For Monochrome Monday! A few bridges and one beauty from back east…

Monochrome Weir

This is the weir on the South Fork Holston River in eastern Tennessee. It is below the Holston Dam and is used to add oxygen to the water when the dam is not in service. It is also quite peaceful to listen to.

Texturized Barn: Watauga River

You know my love for visual texture. Like so many barns in Tennessee, this barn has it.

Streams of Living Water: Watauga River

This is one of the things I love about Tennessee. They have streams like the one below, that flow year around. In Texas, the only time a stream like the one below has water in it, is after a rain. This was a new discovery on my first trip to Eastern Tennessee as a newlywed. There was a stream just like the one below flowing through some people’s front yard, and I asked if it ever dried up. Heidi told me it ran all year long. “How is that possible?”

In The Cabin: Watauga River

Getting a sense of a place is something I think many of us miss when we go on vacation. That is what I was aiming for in the following pictures, getting a sense of our cabin. This was on the eve of Thanksgiving, as we sat around with the family, enjoying our time together.