Blue Ridge blog

Fork in the road...

My buddy Jeff from Meat Camp came into work this morning and told me that there was nearly four inches of snow out his way and suggested that I go take a quick look. I did. The photo above is of a farm that sits near the fork of Rich mountain and Snake Mountain. There was heavy cloud cover on both mountains but the sun kept on peeking out from the east. Strange light. Later I climbed Snake mountain and hiked along a pig trail for a ways. It was brutally cold and windy. I'm working on a way to photograph the wind...but just haven't figured out how. yet.

A snow day...sort of

A dusting of snow brought a welcomed two hour delay of school for my children. "It's better than Christmas," rejoiced my eldest. My youngest teenager grunted and turned over inside her down cocoon. But I knew she was delighted in her own sleepy sort of way...

This photo is taken from a hillside just east of Boone. The mountain in the background is Howard Knob which overlooks the bustling town.

Grandfather and Sun Dog

It is funny how life plays out. I was up on 7 Devils today and at the foot of the mountain took this shot of the Grandfather Mtn profile and of the Sundog above, on the right. It immediately reminded me of my weekend walk with my parents and Harley around Valle Crucis park. They referred to my dog as their grand dog. I took a photo of Harley and my father (mother in background) in the park:

Get it?

Anyways, we had a wonderful visit and particularly enjoyed having the sounds of 4 teenagers giggling in the background. Of course, all of this comes at a price. Teenagers require lots of food--this morning they ate 3 pounds of bacon, 20 bisquits, 12 eggs, 1 gallon of hot chocolate, 0 oatmeal (but the adults had some) and several handfuls of Goldfish crackers....

Congratulations to Appalachian's Jerry Moore...

Of course, we've always known that he is special.

Little Marie's Point of View...

Let me first point out that I did not take this photo, but Marie did. Not me Marie, but Little Marie. Last year I met Little Marie at Riverfest where the two of us fooled around with my camera a bit. You see, Little Marie likes photography just like me Marie. I forget how old Little Marie is, but I think she is eleven.
Yesterday when I opened my mailbox, I found an envelope from Little Marie's grandmother. Tucked inside were a couple of Little Marie's photographs she had taken from her grandparent's deck in Aho.
So, one day, when Little Marie grows up and if she is determined to become a world famous photographer, she can remember that she had her first photograph published on me Marie's Blue Ridge Blog.
Now let me present to you, in her photographic debut, Little Marie. Ta Da!

A personal note to Little Marie:
Dear Marie,
Nice shot. Keep up the good work and you will soar...
(Sorry kid, we don't pay the photographers much around here. kudos are all you get)

And on a completely different topic...
I'm not bragging or anything...but right now, as I type this, my dear husband is at home doing laundry and general housekeeping duties. I'm the luckiest woman ever.

On the Big Rock Candy Mountain

On a summer day
In the month of May
A burly bum came hiking
Down a shady lane
Through the sugar cane
He was looking for his liking
As he roamed along
He sang a song
Of the land of milk and honey
Where a bum can stay
For many a day
And he won't need any money

Oh the buzzin' of the bees
In the cigarette trees
Near the soda water fountain
At the lemonade springs
Where the bluebird sings
On the big rock candy mountain

You can read the lyrics and listen to the melody here.  I remember learning this song at Girl Scout camp (I think for sure it was a cleaned up version) and honing in on the words lemonade springs and the big rock candy mountain . I fantasized about what a wonderful land that would be to visit. This morning as I was prepping the coffee and tea, the land outside was splotched because of scattered clouds and my volcano's tip was illuminated by the sun. Big Rock Candy Mountain were the first words that came to my mind to describe the scene.

Oh happy day!

This is the view of Hanging Rock that I saw this morning while I was on my way to the Valle Crucis Post Office where inside my box I found my first seed catalogue of the season. Oh happy day!

Just before too dark...

I took this photo from my Jeep's window this evening on my way to pick up my daughter from dance lesson. Ain't great, but it is what I saw. The light was so low that I had to stop the car's engine and vicariously steady the camera on the edge of the window in order to record the scene at such a slow shudder speed. Other than a few camera adjustments, this is a point and shoot post...

Three days and no posts. Sorry ya'll. I feel guilty, but I really have been focused on other aspects of my life. I've been trying to get back into the 'work out' mode. I miss running and other cardio outlets. Don't miss the weights...at all. I've been cleaning lots of things...mostly the neglected nooks and crannies of life that often get neglected. You know, the places that gather dust bunnies and the greasy spaces beyond the reach of my ammonia-filled cloth. I'm doing an internal and external washing...kinda like an early spring cleaning, if you will.

In the end, I hope to feel spit polished and squeaky clean...

A snowy day on the farm.

I saved this photo to show you until it appeared in the local newspaperyesterday. I took the photo early on Tuesday morning. My favorite part of the shot is how the sunlight appeared on the mountain behind the Taylor cabin while the snow was still falling.

Vine and branches

I don't ususally take photos like this one. The range of focus could be a little tighter for my tastes, but I like the simple lines running through the photo. It is what it is...

Today I was assigned to photograph a female photographer. Weird, huh? It was awkward at first for both of us, but I have to tell you that for the very first time EVER, I was able to converse with another human being about geeky topics such as color spaces, Epson pro printers and fill light products...Ok so maybe I have talked some with others up here, but not with another being that utilizes these items on a daily basis and makes a living from doing so. And, she has a Mac...so it just keeps getting better. I went in with an idea and after having uploaded the photos, I am delighted with the results.

Then....

I was assigned to photograph another female photographer. Twice in one day. That is truly weird, isn't it? But this chick is also a chef and is probably the funkiest person I've ever photographed. I loved her orange and pink hair and her rhinestoned glasses. Anyway, this photoshoot was so easy. She had a large fiberglass bear outside the restaurant lovingly named Walter. She posed with Walter and then all the sudden stuck her arm in Walter's mouth and pretended to be 'attacked'. Click. Click. I knew immediately that I had scored. I took a safe shot or two and left. It is an awesome fun photo that I will share with you when my day job post's it online...

Happy Friday y'all!