Blue Ridge blog

I went to jail today...

...and took a tour of Watauga county's new law enforcement center. When I first saw the prisoner cells I briefly thought about how pleasant it would be to wonder into jail on selected weekends and be locked in with a good book. Sorta like having the carte blanche access that Mayberry's town drunk had on the Andy Griffith show. But the whole public bathroom visibility factor squashed any further desire. Plus, if people snored and I couldn't escape, then I'd have to kill 'em and I would be in a hell of a fix. I'll just stick to my private romps in the woods.

Though I'm still oddly fascinated by razor wire....

The Road to Charlotte's Greenhouse

I was rummaging through some old photos and re-discovered this one that I took back in January. I played with it somewhat--saturated a few colors but that is about it. My sap must be starting to rise as I not only ordered seeds, but I went out to the forsynthia bush and cut a few branches, brought them inside, and hope they bloom in a few days. Soon I will prep new raised garden beds in anticipation of the growing season. Down yonder this road is Charlotte's Greenhouse, a place I often visit in spring to buy seedlings...

Appalachian Artifacts

I've been playing out in the woods this week. Its like when as a child my mother would be sick of us kids being inside and would lock us out of the house saying, " There's the water spicket, don't come back in until I call you for supper or one of you is bleeding." We'd go spend hours in the forest, making forts, playing in the creek, and comfortably living in our make-believe world. 'Cept this time I'm all grown up and Harley and I couldn't have been happier with our self-imposed marching orders.
The two of us have covered just about every holler and ridge between my house, Clark's Creek Rd and Broadstone Rd-- just below Daisy Ridge. I was scared only once when I saw a tree with obvious bear claws (I think) markings high upon it.
I found delightful human objects in the woods. I found old pails, jars, pottery shards. My favorite find was an old cabin and outhouse. But like a good girl scout, I took photos and left well enough alone...

Today, I stay at home and clean (even the baseboards) but I would rather be outside playing in the woods. If I get my house tidy I may make an album of my little adventure.

Asheville N.C. 1963

I realize that this is, ummm, random, but as I was coming out of Bare Essentials this morning, I saw an old Ford bearing this oh so cute license plate. I'm thinking that the Asheville of 2006 is a tad different than that of 1963 (my birth year). Anyone from Asheville want to compare and contrast? I'm just being curious, I reckon.

The Bolick Barn

Rainy day puddles mark the path leading to the Bolick Family farm in Watauga County, North Carolina.
The barn, which sits a stone throw away from the New River, still houses several horses.

In the bag...

I was out on Dutch Creek Road Saturday and saw that some kind soul was feeding gourmet bird food to his/her feathered friends. There were 8 or 9 male cardinals in the area. I stopped my Jeep and took numerous shots from the window. This is not the best of my shots, but I had to save those for actual paying gigs, but you get the idea. So I finally bagged the elusive cardinal in the snow shot.
For the record...the snow is all gone and I will soon ditch this joint and take Harley for a long winter walk through the mountains.

Hey Fish Face!

See Orangy smile! He follows my finger each morning as I slide it across the fishbowl. I talk to Orangy and ask him if he would like to eat breakfast. He eagerly waves his fins at me and gives me a goofy little grin. I often apologize to him and beg his forgiveness for bestowing upon him an appelation so apparently lacking ingenuity. I could have named him Adonis or maybe Jethro, which would have been a more fitting name for such a studly fish.

Orangy will be two this summer. He was bought for 25 cents at Walmart because he was not expected to live long. I took this photo of Orangy because twice this weekend I saved him from the claws of Mister Man . Yes folks, it is not just a cartoon thing. Cats really do fish. And I vow to make sure my little bargain basement beta stays around for a long while...

My so-called Goth life...

Gnumoon completely had her way with me. See. How fun is that? Heh. I feel like having a juicy steak. Rare, please.

And just in case you doubt my hillbilly-ness. Take a look at this guy's site and know that his mother taught my daughter pre-school and I'm ok with that.

Behind the Mast Annex...

It was snowing heavily when I took this photo today. I noticed last week that this spot in the corn field right behind the Mast General Store Annex has been a gathering location for crows. A snow fog was gathering. My presence had scared many of the crow into the trees beyond the field. Some of the birds were still making their way into loftier perches. I like the mood here. Note: I did add a small vignette effect to this photograph.

Watching it snow...

So, it is snowing in the Appalachians. Again.
Of course if you watch the Weather Channel or any other news media, you wouldn't figure it out because 1) the tv screen conveniately chops my part of the world off with their station logo or 2) They completely have no clue what kind of weather we are going to have up here so they just kinda figure that we are gonna be somewhat like Charlotte, NC or Knoxville, TN. Either city will do you freakin' hillbillies. Just pick one and shut up. Today, all the channels announced that we are having an ice event. Cough, Cough, I beg to differ.

Anyways. I wondered out towards Dutch Creek this morning. I stopped off and chatted with my buddy, TomE, at the VC Conference Center for a little while. I then headed up the road a ways. I bagged many snow shots. I will post more later, but I liked this one of the little bird at rest in a bush. I have no clue what kind of bird it is and refuse to guess because I have been known to be wrong. Anyone know for sure?