Blue Ridge blog

Yeah she does, Mother Earth has curves...

The view from the saddle of Howard's Knob looking northward...I love the Watauga Amphibolites!

A Tea Party in Boone, NC

I rushed home after work this evening only to be caught up in the rush hour traffic jam caused by the closing of King St. As I inched passed the Hardee's on Blowing Rock Rd., I  ran into Boone's own Tax Day Tea Party.
If you know me at all, you know I can't resist a protest. I grabbed my camera and ran into the crowd. I saw plenty of familiar and friendly faces.
This is a small town, after all.
An 8 foot trailer was the speaking platform and I estimate there was anywhere from 200-250, maybe more...folks gathered around. There were plenty of children present and the crowd was engaged, yet calm. If observers from some other opposition camp were there, they were not apparent and were respectful of the group's freedom of speech.
As we were all reminded by 8 years of the anti-Bush administration bumper stickers: "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism" and "If you aren't outraged, then you aren't paying attention."
So it is now time for the other side to biatch. And they did.
But not with drums and patchoulli. ( y'all know I am allergic to patchoulli, right?)
Instead they spoke via placards with quotes from Jefferson and other constitutional designers.
I did not witness extreme Right Wing extremists/terrorists in the crowd nor did I see any ACORN representatives taking names to hand over to Obama.
What I saw was everyday Wataugans pretty darn irritated with what they consider irresponsible government spending from not only the current administration and congress, but from those that preceded it...

P.S. I have a small photo album on my sidebar.

A mid-January wish...

I've been listening to a bit of The Wailers lately wishing their hot reggae beat might warm my January thickened blood or at least transport me to warmer Caribbean climes via audible osmosis. This need for warm sun on my face got my attention as I was shooting a church on 421 W of Boone yesterday morning. According to The Weather Channel the temperature was nine degrees but it felt like zero. Indeed.

But others have it snowier and colder than me. Amy in New Hampshire posted on the trouble with humans and winter. Apparently Jimmy Buffet's concept of changes in lattitude and changes in attitude isn't far off the mark. I think both Amy and I wish we could visit Beth at her Longleaf Preserve in Florida.  And by the way, congratulations to Beth for her recently published work, "Tenderness," in Brevity Magazine. And look, there is another High Country photoblog called Appalachian Encounters. That is all the bits and pieces I have for you right now. Gonna go light up those gas logs...

On cold and bloody limbs...

Like most folks in the eastern half of the country, I am shivering while the heater greedily cranks through my money hoping to keep our shelter at the barely comfortable 63 degrees. Our home motto this winter is: Wear more. Save more.

I did spend quite a bit of time outdoors today. And survived. There was a pleasant snow squall that hit Boone around mid-day which provided me the opportunity to stalk my favorite campus haunts. Unfortunately, the 'new' of snow has long worn off even the most naive freshman from off the mountain, so there were no delighted expressions captured. But the snow did dance as it was backlit by a muted sun, like fairy dust, so I was fulfilled.

The above photo is of Grandfather Mountain (distant left) and Hanging Rock (peak on right) from the parking lot of Caldwell Community college. It was so freakin' cold out there as the temperature plunged during the late afternoon. I could have explored this more, but my fingers just could not tolerate the wind.

I was gifted a deer ham yesterday. I've been eating more vegan than normal lately, but this was such a bloody nice present (literally and figuratively) that I've decided to make much of the meat into jerky. I've been researching different recipes and thought I might be entertained this weekend by creating a jerky tasting. I mean, why not? I'll let you know how it goes....

Oh, and you should have seen the looks I got while walking through campus carrying the bloody limb in a garbage sack. It was horror movie perfect.

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.

Welcome to my snow globe...

Big whoop. It snowed again for the 5th time this winter in the HIgh Country. I'm actually delighted because the snowfall de-sensitizes folks to the winter conditions forcing them to manage their milk and bread supplies thus unclogging the grocery chain. And by now, the travelers with rear-wheel drives have learned to wait for the plow. All becomes right within the my snow globe. I left work about 10 minutes early and snuck some images from Baird's Creek and the horse farm to share with you. It was getting darking way too fast.

I do have a few things to share:

My buddy Frank is currently on a Rotary trip to India. He flew into Mumbia/Bombay but was out of the city during the terrorist attacks. Still, from what I can gather, the attacks have affected their country in the same way the 911 attacks affected ours. The gang has a travel blog, and here's Franks and his mama before he left. Frank is quite a storyteller and I will gladly purchase a beer for him just to hear him tell me more..

Ever heard of the Valle Crucis falls? Well, my friend Kenneth has photos of both the falls behind the Mission School and of the falls at Dutch Creek. These are rare glimpses of our own natural wonders.

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.

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.

Them Apples...

I saw this loaded apple tree on the side of Hwy. 421 a couple of days ago while heading down the mountain. Truly, the scene was gray and wet, as in the frog soaker variety, making the apples even that much more contrasting. An industrial size 'keep Marie from trespassing' fence blocked me from getting closer. Naturally, I hoped on top of my Jeep's roof to get the only other possible angle. Soaked, yet feeling fruitful, I uploaded the image only to find a garish digital file. The photo was nothing like what I saw and had hoped to capture in pixels. Enter Gnumoon, the empress of Photoshop. After describing the scene to her, she stole the image from my Desktop and within minutes, effortlessly transformed it into the above image.

"How do you like them apples?" she asked.

very much

And yes indeed I am going to the Appalachian State vs Elon game. Forecast? Looks like snow.