Blue Ridge blog

A flying away adventure...

 

In approximately 45 minutes, I will board a bus which will take me, along with 31 of my newest Appalachian State university friends/students, to Miami International where we shall fly to the state of Amazonas in Brazil. 

Oh what a drastic change of scenery for this Hillybilly! I'm part excited, part nervous, but mostly I just want to get this show on the road. Should I find any internet connections in the tributaries of the Rio Negro, I will upload photos. If not, y'all will just have to wait till I get into Fortaleza later next week where I will be visiting this landfill.

Only 25 1/2 hours till I see monkeys and where I will fall asleep in a hammock on a riverboat...

An announcement! In case you missed it....

   Marie and Virgil Freeman, of Valle Crucis, and Sharon and Ken Schul, of Charlotte, are proud to announce the engagement of their children, Elisabeth Claire Freeman and Kenneth Holden Schul.

   The bride elect will graduate in May from Appalachian State with degrees in health promotion and exercise science. She is currently employed at the ARHS Broyhill Wellness Center in Boone.

   The groom elect will also graduate in May from Appalachian State with degrees in criminal justice and military science. He will be commissioned as an Infantry officer in the U.S. Army this May.

   Elisabeth and Holden are planning a June wedding at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center in Boone.

 

 

Last night...

Redbud

 

 

I'm not sure what my attraction to this place is, but every single time I pass the homestead on my way to and from the post office (aka the Mast General Store) I look and nearly stop. It could be an overwhelming urge to see if my ample arse might fit within the tire swing and give it a go...or it may be the well-crafted ladder to nowhere which piques my interest. More likely it's the memory of the red bud tree in a blush of bloom which ignites a passionate fury within my frozen Appalachian soul. I've no remembering clue if the tree with the tire swing is a red bud or if it's one near the barn in the bottom photo. Regardless, like the swing clings to the tree, my heart is Saran wrapped around the hope of the pink-y promise of emerging buds. 

 

Preoccupation...

 

Annie and I are just fine. It's just that we've been preoccupied with holidays, blizzards, freelance work, video camera techniques and an upcoming work trip to the Amazon, the rainforest, not Seattle. Oh yeah, and there's that whole upcoming wedding of my eldest daughter to add to my gumbo of activity. 

I've gotten out of the habit of what I call 'blog think', which is the conscious practice of sharing, on a daily basis, the world as I see it both in words and photos. For me, blogging has always been primarily for myself but with any luck, a blog entry may add miniscule, but perhaps meaningful content for someone else. Ya never know.

Some say blogs are dead. But this one isn't. I'm just in repose until I get my act together, which I promise will be any day now.

Thanks for hanging.

And oh, by the way, Amy is back to blogging. I never tire of her wonderful and now awesome photos of her neck of New Hampshire. Go read!

 

As promised...

A few snowy photos from Valle Crucis as I played "snowed in" yesterday. 

I made it into work this morning, but not without sliding all the way down Killer Hill. This first significant snowfall of the season is a brutal one. Wind gusts of up to 35 mph and constant falling snow, have some folks round these parts questioning their ability to endure yet another winter in the High Country. 

Not me. I love snow. 

I like it when Jerry Moore smiles....

...And he was smiling plenty yesterday.

Appalachian beat Western Illinois 42-14 in the biggest snow I've ever seen at The Rock on a game day. 

For the fans, band, grounds crew, football players, coaches and yes, photographers, it was a day to embrace the conditions and have fun.

Here's a gallery of images ...just so you get the snow drift.

I promise, promise to post plain old regular pretty snow photos later today. Why? Because I am glady snowed in;)

Appalachian State wins 6th straight SoCon football championship

 

Jabari Fletcher and the rest of the senior Mountaineers were recognized before the start of the ASU-Wofford football game yesterday. When Jabari first saw me, he showed me that sweet smile of his. But his visage was fleeting as it quickly transformed into a Frankenface. Those poor Terriers didn't stand a chance...final score: ASU 43-Wofford 13.

Of course there is a little photo album on the right sidebar where you can see Ben Jordan, Devon Moore, my favorite ASU piccolo player and much more... 

Valle Crucis this morning....

 

Typepad is being weird-ish this evening...

I have a handful of photos I took of the magical autumn morning in the VC. I'll link to a few on Facebook cuz...it is working.

 

 

Dog through a dirty window

Dear Internets,

I trust you so much that I bare not only my forlorn dog, but the dirty windows she's snotted. Annie is great. These days she is happy chasing sticks, giving me jumpy hugs and making me feel oh-so-guilty for refusing her human food other than raw fruits and vegetables. I've said this before, yet it remains true. Annie is my happiness factory. The world would be a better place if'n everyone had an Annie.

Sincerely,

Marie

Fog in the Valle

Autumn hasn't happened yet, but it's sure getting close. It is smell-able in the air. The goldenrods and the purple asters are summers' floral leftovers. The maples lining Rivers Street are turning from the top down as they always do. I've squeezed every bit of good out of my garden except for the kale, brussel sprouts and spinaches I recently planted. I'll plant my garlic soon. The canning, freezing and other hard chores are finished. I rejoiced this week when Iretired the weedeater for the season.

 All of the above are indications of the autumnal equinox, the shift into the falling season. I believe most of Earth's plants and creatures sense the change. Must be why I recently took stock of my sweater drawer. I have had an overwhelming desire to ditch my bra and woobie it up with my favorite ASU sweatshirt. I feel autumn....

 

Appalachian State football 2010

It was yet another gorgeous day in Boone....

The dude gets my "Fan of the Week" award for his creative Block A on his back. If he shaves an old school Yosef smoking a pipe, then he'll be my real hero.

  

 You know me all too well to know that I don't skip any Appalachian State home games. And Saturday's game against the Jacksonville Dolphins was no exception. The boys did not disappoint as they turned it on in the 2nd half beating the Dolphins into submission 45-14. However, my sweetest moment of the game was looking through my lens finder to see a familiar blonde cutie waving at me. The last photo is of my daughter, enjoying her senior year as an App State student.

The More game photos here.