Blue Ridge blog

Being a sad Mountaineer is only temporary...

The sting from yesterday's loss to Richmond isn't nearly so bad this morning...especially after having gone through all of my images and finding a couple of gems such as this one of my friend leaning on his camera on the sideline yesterday. I also enjoyed posting a ton of ASU fan photos over the last couple of years on my blog and win or lose, I will continue to do so because documenting the fervent spirit of ASU fans at The Rock is a phenomenon currently unique to the NCAA Football Champions Subdivision. ASU fans do spirit way better than just throwing silly streamers around. They cheer their team even in defeat. Way to go guys. You've done us proud and I can't wait to see what you do season.

I've posted a photo album of the game here.

Somebody had to lose and today it was finally our turn...

Don't worry kid, maybe next year Santa will wear black and gold again. Until then, keep your chin up and remember that every day is indeed a great day to be a Mountaineer. Go App! App State falls to the Richmond.

I will be working on a photo album this evening, but it may be tomorrow before it is posted. I'm going to post a ton of photos because...I want to.

*Update*

It's ok kid, you weren't the only one upset. Here's a shot of Quick consoling Coco. We are all Appalachian, afterall.

As KatieBonk said, "SC State brought it to the game. Fortunately, so did we."

When Appalachian State's opening drive ends with a fumble at the 1 yard line, it becomes apparent that it is again a fight for life in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. But, even in the darkest of moments, I believe in the ability of the Mountaineers to dig deep and rally. And my Apps didn't disappoint me, overcoming the feisty Bulldogs 37-21. I'll be compiling an album and will post it on the top sidebar sometime tonight or tomorrow morning.

Of places I know...

OMGosh. I'm actually posting an image today. It has been awhile. And I have tried to take photos, oh how I've tried, but I've been in a horrible rut of late. The photo mojo just ain't clickin'. But I know that this too will pass...

What have I been doing?
For one, I haven't been working as I've taken a couple days of vacation. I'm in play mode.  I've been Twittering and Skyping my brother and nephew, securing our electronic connection thing.
Then,  Annie and I have taken several walks in the winter woods. She's finally discovered her nose leads her to exciting wildlife rewards such as turkey poop.
And my girls both returned home to make withdrawals from the Bank of Parent's ATM. While they were here, gracing us with their presence, Milton Bradley entertained us. Joined by my folks, we played Monopoly and Rummikub.
And yes, I would be remiss in mentioning The Food. Like many of you, I ate and will continue to eat.

And I read. Here's a discovery. Appalachian son Jim Wayne Miller  speaks of places I know.

WINTER DAYS

He loved warm winter days when woodlands opened
their summer secrets to a passerby.
Treeshadows lay crisscrossed, low creeks deepened,
borrowing their cold blue from the sky.

Icicles glistened on the rock-backed ridges,
a field of broomsage hissed in the wind.
Frost and fencepost shadows melted by edges
of pasture-fields where coal-black cattle stood.

Sunlight ricocheted from tin-topped barns,
streaking the chalk walls of the limestone quarry.
Between white sycamores the river turned,
sure of where it was going, in no hurry.

from The Mountains Have Come Closer

Now if you will excuse me, I'm going to hop into the shower and then go to The Rock to watch my beloved Appalachian State football team play S.C. State in the first round of FCS playoffs.

I added more photos to the App Photo Album

I just added a couple of dozen photos from yesterday's football game against Elon. It starts here with the cutie popping Jiffy Pop over a propare cooker. Additionally, because it was Senior night, you will notice several of our players, sans helmets, yet  wearing smiles while surrounded by  those who love 'em the most. 

Appalachian State Football = Southern Conference Champs again, again, again and again.

That makes four in a row. Under wet, windy weather, the Mountaineers defeat the Elon Phoenix 24-16 at The Rock on Saturday. The photo is of Matt Cline scoring in the first half.

It was part freak show and part Thriller...

The football game between nationally ranked powerhouses #2 Appalachian State vs #3 Wofford was suppose to be a bit more competitive than it turned out to be. Instead, ASU  won 70-24, humiliating the Terriors on ESPN2 Halloween Eve. The Rock turned into what I imagine would happen if the creatures from the bar scene in Star Wars all did the Monster Mash. The band made my evening during half time as they played Thriller and at one point, put down their instruments and danced like zombies. And the ASU defensive zombies were hungry to eat the brains of their foes Friday night. Don't believe me? Check out this photo. Nom Nom Nom.

My photos start here with the lovely pirate while both App Fan and Go ASU have substantial photos and game info.

It was a better Black Saturday than last year...

All the cool kids wore black to The Rock. And then there was the one really sweet kid who colored me a sign. I wish I had asked him for it so I could hang it on my refrigerator. Thank you.

I updated the Appalachian State Football 2008 photo album with nearly 20 images of yesterday's Black Saturday defeat over Furman. My favorite game images? The back-to-back sacks of Sorrell. It would have been almost poetic if there had been a back-to-back-to-back sack, but I'll take those two. You'll need to scroll down to the bottom to get to the most recent images.

More later, I have lots to do on my day off. But first, I'm gonna go play with Annie...

These photos were lost, but then found....

These are two images of nearby barns taken only a few moments apart. In the mountains, a minute difference in elevation often makes a drastic change in the mood of a photograph. The second photo is of the barn near the Mast General Store in Valle Crucis. A couple of miles away as I rode up the foot of Rock Crusher Hill, the clouds began to lift as the sun made its way above the ridges. A gorgeous scene unfolded and of course I stopped. It turned out to be a stellar morning for making photos.

Too bad I lost them all. Really, I did. My camera started acting wonky. I took out the battery and rebooted it in the field. I confirmed that the images were on the card. They were. Then, when I got to the office and tried to upload the images, they had disappeared. There were no images on the card the computer could read. After numerous attempts I resigned to failure and I wept for my loss. Sadly I reformatted the card in the camera. That's when a friend told me to try to find a free card recovery program on the web. I did. I found the Stellar Phoenix Photo Recovery program which searched my compact flash card and found both my jpeg and raw images. How? I do not know. But for $39 bucks it promised it would retrieve them from the grave. I gladly paid the money and now own my personal version of the software just in case this happens again.

For those of you following ASU football, I added more images of yesterday's game against the Citadel to the photo album on the sidebar. Just scroll down and you will see the newer images. And, I think my new favorite SoCon team to play is the Citadel. It is a class program with great fans who leave the battle on the field. Even then, I witnessed several acts of kindness towards opponents by both teams' athletes. I admire and respect good sportsmanship.

And look what else I found:  an awesome blog called Cloody and Frank . If ever there was an argument for age being no excuse for not embracing the new, then this blog is it. 81 year old Frank and his beloved wife live in a retirement village in Arkansas. Check out his sidebar, not only has Frank had fun with Photobooth, but he also reveals the secret of Copiah soup. Cloody and Frank is a feel good blog. Go visit and smile, y'all.

I have very little power in my life. But I have my blog. And so when I promised to post these images on my blog last week and then got a little lazy...these ASU fans may have been disappointed, yet forgiving. At today's game, I encountered the same group chanting, "Blue Ridge Blog, Blue Ridge Blog." The sweeties.
Nothing will get your face plastered on my blog faster than that fellas.

I do have more images of today's game against the Citadel. Appalachian won with a convincing score of 47-21 but they will have to wait till tomorrow. 'nite.