Blue Ridge blog

Mr. Donkey

 

So here we have landed in the year twenty ten.

I could whine about how cold it is here in the Blue Ridge Mountains but a quick look at The Weather Channel's map shows others farther north are suffering far worse. Yesterday I bundled up, packed my Nikon and Annie into the Jeep, and went for a ride around Valle Crucis. The wind was fierce, though the sun was reflected through the glistening veil of blowing snow. I visited the Taylor Farm where I gave the outdoor residents, Mr.Horse and Mr. Donkey a bit of camera love. Poor Mr. Donkey quickly became my favorite as Mr. Horse repeatedly nipped and head butted his rival out of the way. That, and when I was on my knees taking Mr. Donkey's photo, the horse bit my hat off and I'm a sucker for taking the side of the under dog. 

A few photos from Grandfather Mountain the other morning...

 

I was fortunate enough to be invited up to Grandfather Mountain the other morning with the hopes of capturing the previous evening's snowfall clinging to trees. However, high winds knocked the snow off the trees so my preconceived notions were left unfulfilled. Still, I was on top of Grandfather Mountain and hello, how awesome it that? The road was ice covered but my Jeep's wheels didn't slip as it chugged up the steep winding road. Just before Forrest Gump curve I thought it wise to park in the picnic area and test the condition of the road with my feet before climbing any higher in elevation. As I got out of the car, my feet slipped and just about that time I looked up to see a pick-up truck filled with construction workers sliding backward. I've never seen folks bail out of a vehicle faster. The truck stopped on its own. Both the vehicle and the dudes were fine. They were so relieved to see me.

"Hey, you must have 4-wheel drive," said one of the fellows.

Just then, I noticed a tiny sliver of sun rising on the horizon.

I waved them over. "Come check this out," I said.

We perched on a boulder, bundled up in our coats to shield from the wind, and looked eastward for a few minutes of bliss.

So that is how me and 3 guys from South Carolina welcomed in our Tuesday.

An Attention Getter

Payday has arrived for those of us who have weathered the many bitter winter months.
Though the forecast calls for snow next week, I'm going to put my fingers in my ears and sing "La-la-la-la-la," and pretend I don't know any better.
I saw this backlit cherry tree backlit along Hwy. 105 as I drove into work this morning. I gleefully stopped my Jeep and snapped a photo.

Hillbilly Baroque

Ya know, if one could compare nature to a particular artistic style, this morning, she was opulent and waving around with dramatic flair.
Annie was with me as we made a tour of the Valle Crucis loop from Dewitt Barnett Rd, passed the Danner Cemetery then connected with Baird's Creek and back onto Broadstone. Sadly, Annie didn't have as much fun as I did. As soon as we drove up our gravel road my little pup tossed her cookies inside my camera bag.

On the home front: Two months ago my eldest daughter scoffed at the idea of using our extra stored furniture inside her apartment. Yesterday, she returned home to comb through the barn where she found many wonderful treasures hidden within. Amazing how poverty silenced her sense of entitlement yet heightened her appreciation for ordinary.

But, do you want to see a fantastic autumn portrait? Look Here. Kathleen Connally has reached rock star status in the Photo Blogging world. I am Little Cricket and have much to learn....

Doin' leaf recon...

 

I fell out of bed early Saturday morning. Without brushing my teeth or hair, I pulled on Friday's pair of jeans and stumbled into the Jeep and steered towards the Parkway. I headed north at Blowing Rock and quickly turned around because the cloud cover wasn't going to allow for a striking sunrise. I traveled south and hit Price Lake.
That's where I met the first photographer.  The light was dull and I briefly considered bagging the trip and going back to bed. But I figured while I was out there, I would do a bit of leaf reconnaissance so I would know the better areas to go to at a later time. I ventured to the boat area at the lake. That's when Mr. Sun decided to do his little thing. It was fairly magical.
After 20 minutes I packed my gear and drove to Grandfather. By the time I got to Rough Ridge I had already passed at least 20 photographers. As I crossed the viaduct, add at least 50 more lens slingers to count. I think this section of the Parkway most be highlighted as 'the place to shoot autumn,' in some landscape photography magazine. I'm gonna look for a different spot just to be rebellious.
For those keeping track of the leaves, peak on the top is just days away. Barring a major windstorm, autumn will stay around a while. It is gorgeous everywhere and you won't be disappointed.
Bring your camera.

Note to self: Your bogen tripod is tired, in fact, it is dead. Time to get a new one.

Everybody wants to know about the leaves....

Score! A barn, a mower, an outhouse and autumn leaves all in the same photo. It's this hillbilly photographer's dream come true. All are found on the Dutch Creek Trails property, formerly known as the Baird homeplace, in Valle Crucis. As you can clearly see, the autumn color is forming, but peak is at least another week or two away at the 3,000 feet mark. Gnumoon told me her visit to Beech Mountain over the weekend was looking mighty fine, yet still at nearly 6,000 ft above sea level, the leaves had not reached their finest. Here is the official fall foliage report from VisitNC website. The Fall Color Guy is ASU professor of plant physiology Howard Neufeld. He knows his leaves.
My advise: Come up the mountain sooner rather than later. And don't worry so much about gas availability. From what I can tell, the fuel crunch, though still an issue, is diminishing.
Remember the Valle Country Fair and Wooly Worm festival happen on Oct. 18th.
And here's a tip: If you can possibly arrange to visit the area during the weekdays instead of over the weekend, you will avoid the worse traffic. But do come to the Valle Country Fair and say hello to me.

I <3 Valle Crucis

It is late and I've completed many tasks today. There is much to be said about accomplishing goals. Satisfaction,  sense of relief, heavy sigh, all come to my mind this evening. But the best part of my day, aside from accompanying my eldest and husband on one mission, was to wander through the Valle this morning after shooting a work-related project at Valle Crucis School. These shots/scenes are so easy to find that I'm almost ashamed....

I love Valle Crucis.

On the Blue Ridge Parkway today...

I woke up extra early to go out to the Blue Ridge Parkway and catch some end of summer photos. I made an error in judgement and went to get onto the BRP from Bamboo Rd. Oops. I forgot the road was closed there and had to drive back on Deerfield Rd during the school traffic rush. I almost gave up because I thought I had missed the best light, but decided I had nothing better to do so headed south and picked up the BRP in Blowing Rock. I hit a dense fog bank near Julian Price Park and could tell that with a few more minutes of patience, I might sneak in a shot or two of pre-autumn delight.
So here you go...

(Scroll down on my sidebar and you might find a new photo of me, but shhhh...it's a secret.)

Hiking the Roan Highlands....

The last two days I have spent a large portion of my time on the grassy balds of the Roan Highlands photographing hikers and the environment. These 3 photos are a few of my many out takes: The top photo is of a rare Gray's Lily poking out through a field of grass. In the center are the Catawba rhodos are at their peak, if not just past it at the gardens on top of Roan. The final image is the descent from Jane Bald back to Round Bald.

I would blog much more, but Typepad is moody and I'm not willing to put up with her anymore.

Thankfully the sun still sets...

My Eldest returned home this evening, for good. Ba-bye y'all, to the way deep south university. Just now I kissed her goodnight and gave her one of my hoodies to wear because most of her clothes are still packed away.
"It's colder here than in South Carolina," she said in an almost a surprised tone of voice. My Youngest rolled her eyes in response but seemed happily irked that once again she has a sibling roomate to have to work around. Besides, it is her turn to move away next to the same deep south state yet even farther away.