Blue Ridge blog

Purple-y

I took this photo yesterday morning just before sunrise. I propped the camera on the deck railing to get this exposure. The real image is blue but because I'm in a purple-y mood, I did it my way.

I'll keep my weekend excitement brief and devoid of too many easily googled details.

A stranger broke into our house in the wee hours of Sunday morning and woke me up. The man was intoxicated. I was scared but surprisingly calm. I was able to coax him out of the house and call the police who later found him nearby.

Turns out, there was a wide-open party somewhere nearby. The cops came and the drunken kids scattered like cockroaches. I was the lucky recipient of the one cockroach who lost his way in efforts to flee through the woods. According to my youngest, at least five high school seniors were arrested this weekend.
All I can add is the kid picked the right house in our neck of the woods to wander into. Many folks round here don't take kindly to surprise strangers in the night. Their policy is to shoot intruders first and ask questions later.

Now here's some pleasant news near and dear to my heart:

Appalachian receives a grant to digitize historic photos. And there is already public access to some images in this collection.  Cool stuff--Go. Look. See. .

A Rainbow Fallout

The High Country experienced a significant 'ice event' yesterday morning. Schools were closed, powers went out and for awhile, nobody did much of anything except hope and pray that big old tree too close to the house would'nt yield to the pressure of the coat of 1/4 quarter inch or more of ice. Around 11:30 a.m. I stepped out on my deck and heard the snap, crackle, pop cacophony of brittle branches as they succombed under the weight of ice.
All the sudden I noticed THE RAINBOW. Holy Moly, I ran down to the car to retrieve my camera. Rainbows are fleeting and I thought I might lose it. Yet the rainbow remained. As I fiddled with the polarizing filter, it tumbled over the deck. Shit. I ran downstairs and outside in my jammies and slippers, knowing full well the rainbow might be gone, again. I tripped up the stairs in my slippers and my jammie bottoms were at my knees. I walked out of my jammies and back into my slippers. I was now a comedy in action. Yet, the rainbow stayed and became even more intense. It spanned over Valle Crucis, from say Daisy Ridge plum over the horse farm, the river and the pot of gold was on Old Hartley Rd. The rainbow visted for more than 10 minutes--a record in my books. I scored lots of shots.
These photos are fairly straight forward though I did have to work with level adjustments in Photoshop in order to get the ice covered trees to show up. I also used a touch of Photomatix in the middle image. The last image is a close up of the rainbow against Matney mountain.

I woke up grumpy this morning. Not sure why but when I stopped at the Mast Store to pick up my mail, I noticed shoes on sale. Retail shoe therapy is oh so much better than a massage.

A snowy/icy day in Valle Crucis....

It was just another snow day which turned to icy slush by noon. Still, the whiteness cleaned-up the scenery with muted colors while the local beast hung out and did whatever it is they do. Check out John Doe snoozing on the Mast Store's bench in front of the pot-belly stove. And look how big the piggie is. My how it smiles.

Congrats to my good buddy Mark. His blog Photojournalism reached it's millionth viewer in the wee hours of the morning. If you are even remotely interested in photography and more specifically photojournalism, then his site is a daily must-read. His PJ related posts are a continuous reference source for me, particularly at the beginning of each new sport season. The blogosphere is fortunate to have him share his images and knowledge.

(The used Lucis Art on the above images. I applied the #3 plaid.)

Go get your sunglasses because the autumn leaves are blinding....

These photos were all taken yesterday afternoon on the Blue Ridge Parkway between Stack Rock and Rough Ridge on Grandfather Mountain. The colors are at their peak right there, right now. Lower elevations still have a couple of days to go.

Harley'll do anything for food...

Harley and I took a long walk through the woods today. She's now full of beggar's lice and despite me forcin' her to wear a maple leaf cap, she's delighted with life as usual.
I've been looking around the blogisphere for other photographers blogging autumn. There are a couple but I found the best example on flickr groups from Maine and New Hampshire. But do check out Lorianne in Keene, the New Hampshire Photo Tour, Ron of Dujour who always please me with views of their places and spaces. Hat tip to pals Amy and Melissa for putting together a grand list of New England bloggers.

Searching for other autumn images on the web there is a fantastic flickr European group posting photos because the fall happens there as well. Oddly, I could not find a North Carolina flickr group dedicated to the fall colors, but Fletch has some fantastic red October shots of the Smoky Mountains and Mark has ya covered if you are heading this way and want hiking and color information.

If any of you have autumn shots you want to share or know of sites with exceptional fall foilage, let me know and I'll link it.

Color Report

I woke up extra early yesterday morning in hopes of nabbing a couple of foggy morning shots a la Kathleen, but my timing was all screwed up so I ended up venturing Blue Ridge Parkway to see if I could get a decent estimate on the autumn colors.
My Color Report this week: There are plenty of colors up here, just not of the fall kind. There are blotches of reds and yellows on top of Grandfather Mountain and upon the drought stressed maple trees lining the streets of Boone, but we just ain't near there yet. Fall has to cook some more.
I did happen upon a striking view of the Grandfather Mountain profile. This shot was taken over a marshy area just beyond the parking lot of the Grandview Restaurant in Foscoe.
Oh and besides savoring Kathleen's photos be sure to check out Mark's photos on Appalachian Treks.
Mark wanders these hills of northwest North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee. And look! He's been to Valle Crucis and Grandfather Mountain.

Thunder Ridge Overlook

This is one of the views you will get traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway from Aho Gap to Blowing Rock, North Carolina. It is taken from the Thunder Ridge Overlook. Today, I hope to use my precious gas allowance venturing up to Grandfather Mountain. Time to see what's growing nearly a mile in the sky...

OK. Help. Blogger hates me. For the past couple of weeks I have been unable to post comments on Blogspot blogs despite numerous attempts. The Blogs of Mark, Melissa, and Magazine Man and many others simply will not take my Blogger id and password. Additionally, it will not allow me to comment anonymously. I signed up for a new Blogger i.d. the night before last and it worked one time on Mark's blog. But now, I get the same password rejection. Anybody else have this issue?
**Update**
I am able to comment again on Blogger. The whole problem was all me. Apparently I am a moron and don't read instructions.

Chevy Fleetmaster and barn

While photo hunting yesterday I came across this green scene in the Hodges Valley. I was rather disappointed with the rest of my daily photo cache because all but this photo failed to convey the power of spring green in the mountain. The color of new green is tricky for to pick up for me on my camera. What I generally get is a mucky blueish/green mixed with tones of icky red. Still, I was showing my husband this photo and he could not have cared less about my predicament. Rather, his attention was on the car. Of course. According to him, it appears to be a 1947 or 48 Chevy Fleetmaster. Well y'all have a wonderful Saturday. I'm off to the season opening of the farmer's market. My morning will be significantly better than my youngest who is sitting for the S.A.T. along with 300 plus other area juniors.

Earth Day 2007--Appalachian Style, of course...

I enjoyed watching Ted and Barney get in touch with the earth yesterday as they plowed a field behind the Mast Store yesterday. But frankly, my own call to the wild today was oh so much more satisfying.
I was compelled by the forces of nature to go for a run/hike. I was not alone. In fact, like ants to a Parkway picnic, all of humanity in the tri-state region received the same inner calling as me: "Be outside-Go to any vacant spot to be found on the Blue Ridge Parkway between mile marker 290 and 305."
I listened to the voices and heeded them, as did everyone else.

I chose to run at mile marker 295 or there abouts the 2.3 mile path circling Price Lake as it felt like the right thing to do. As I climbed the trail I scurried around tree roots as my toes skipped rocks. Every once in a while a birch tree would be close enough for me to wrap an arm around it so I could catapult myself onto a switchback. As I focused on the path the rhododendron shadows offered me a 5 fingered wave as if to say, 'Remember us? We have also unfurled ourselves, released finally from last week's late winter grip."
I passed beaver fallen trees and maneuvered around storm-downed branches while my own limbs stretched in revival. Towards the end of my run I crossed a sunny purple patch a violets, bending their petals in my wake as if in a personal shout out: "See, you are in a renaissance, just like us. Welcome Back to planet Earth."

Quick and dirty info on individual Blue Ridge Parkway Milemarkers may be found Here.

Hillbilly Goats...

Dang. Seems like this blog is on Cuteoverload steroids. But seriously, who could pass up the chance to shoot playful little goats? Found 'em in Foscoe just a hoppin' along from rock to rock. These are real deal hillbilly goats ;)
Now 'scuse me while I go read this newly found Epicurious/Bon Appetit editor's blog . Mmmm Raclette and cornichons . Mmmm Calvados and Elderflower liqueur  . Mmmmm  Jesus Juice?