Blue Ridge blog

Passing along a few Watauga County kudos....

So far November has been the month we are being paid back for all the crappy weather we endured last spring, except for today of course, because it rains. In my copious amounts of free time (sarcasm, y'all), I've taken advantage of the mild weather to plant even more rows of garlic, haul rocks from recently cleared land and walk and play with Annie. I have taken few area photographs which causes me much angst when I have time to think about it so I just won't think about it. Above is a sun dog I saw several days ago.

A couple of points of interest:

First, the Watauga County Historical Society has completed its largest undertaking thus far, a book entitled The Architectural History of Watauga County, North Carolina :

"The book is derived from several architectural surveys conducted in the past, one of which originated with the Watauga County Historical Society in the early 1980s.  Around 600 photographs and architectural descriptions along with a history essay comprise the volume, which is nearly 400 pages long."

Look to buy the book at the Jones House and the University Bookstore on campus and there is a link on the website with more purchasing information.

Next, and I hope this embedding stuff works, is a fabulous video made by Matt Powell for the Watauga County Tourism Development Authority. My interest is mostly that it was shot almost exclusively on the Canon 5D Mark2. I'm such a photo geek. In any case, it is a 3 minute film which showcases our area's outdoor recreation possibilities. Great job, Matt!

                   Watauga County Tourism Development Authority: Outdoor Recreation Video from Matt Powell on Vimeo.

A few snow photos...

The snow covered mountains of North Carolina as seen from the Danner cemetery.

A wider view from the cemetery.

This is taken from my driveway after I made my way down Killer Hill.

Three geese and a horse as seen from Baird's Creek Rd.

The Watauga River as seen from the bridge near River Rd.

Common Contrast...

The morning air was laden with the scent of milkweed, but it was the common rhododendron in full bloom along my driveway which captured my attention. In this case the word 'common,' to which I refer the flower, is with praise because having lots of them is considered welcomed. In contrast, this evening as my husband and I enjoyed quiet conversation on our deck, my husband recounted a run-in with a particularly irksome lady. "She's plain common," he commented. To which I grimaced for I knew he did not flatter her nor did he want her to replicate en masse.

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.