Groundhog Day Hike

I never get tired of our mountains and woods around here. Yesterday I took a walk with a very good friend and his dogs, and here are some photos of what we saw. I've got some good painting subjects, don't you think?

Lichens...

Beaver damage by a pond...

On one side, Hanging Rock in the distance...

On the other side, Virginia Mountains up near Stuart in the distance...

Another view of Hanging Rock...

The Saura Mountains as dusk is approaching...

And a gorgeous cloud formation as the sun begins to set...

Until next time, be thankful, be content, and be kind.

Color Explosion

Yesterday around noon my husband, who has been miserably sick with the flu, and I were sitting on the deck enjoying the warm October sun and we remarked that it just hadn't been cold enough to have much brilliant color in the landscape this year. But today, it seems that the color exploded overnight. Take a look.




This weekend I had dog-sitting duty for my friends just up the road. It's always a pleasure to stay at their house because while they are so close, they have a different view of the mountain than we do. Here's what I woke up to on Saturday morning.

And here's the meadow in the morning which is a part of my dog-walking route. The tall grass had recently been mowed.

Saturday afternoon when the sun was just beginning to set, the dogs and I went out for one more walk.


Sunday morning, Sophie-dog woke me up bright and early... I think she wanted me to see this.

So, I'll leave you with this photo of my garden as it prepares for the quiet season of winter... but the sign says it all and it's meant for any of you! (Of course you may want to wait until the flu germs have moved away!)

Coolin' It on Indian Creek Trail

Last night, just before we went to sleep, John said, "You wanna go for a hike tomorrow?" I asked questions, as I always do (often much to his dismay), and after getting some details, happily said, "Sounds good to me!"

This morning dawned gray and overcast... perfect weather for a hike. We are so blessed to live about a mile down the road from a beautiful state park, and that's where we headed at about 8:30 or so. Camera in hand, dog treats in pocket, away we went... in two cars: one to leave at the end of the trail and one to drive up into the park where the trail begins, at the Visitor Center.

From the beginning of the trail, hikers head down, down, down a path and some granite stairs to reach Window Falls. It's steep enough to give you a good workout, especially if you're going to turn around and head back the way you came, which we did not.




From there, the trail gets narrower and much more shady. The song of the water accompanied us, though surprisingly we heard few birds. And we saw no other people, though sad to say that there were signs (a plastic water bottle and a forgotten pair of socks) that people had been there before us.

Abby enjoyed the water, which was fun for us because although she has Labrador Retriever in her ancestry, she doesn't usually like to get her feet wet. Today, however, she walked right into the creek and cooled off. I tried to get some photos of her, but she just couldn't be still long enough. There were some nice little hidden pools, perfect for skinny dipping, and don't think I didn't think about it!

As we hiked, John noticed things like trees struck by lightning, places that looked burned, and we speculated about those. But typically, I turned my focus to things at my feet... like fungi.

All too soon, we reached the part of the trail where we'd parked our car. I could've spent the whole day on this trail, but Abby was pretty tired, and I was getting a little hungry too. So we headed back up to where we'd parked the truck, took in a final view of the mountain behind the Visitor's Center, and came on home, determined to do more hiking and enjoy the park and the nearby river more often.

Frozen Falls

While I was getting back into the rhythm of band practice yesterday afternoon, my husband took a little trip about a mile down the road from our house to the Lower Falls of Hanging Rock State Park. Since we've had about a ten-day long freezing cold spell, it was no surprise what he found there.




This is a lovely spot where we, on rare occasion, have enjoyed a bit of skinny-dipping during the warmer months. Here it shows the essence of winter. The good news is that at the end of this week, we are supposed to enjoy temperatures in the low 50s! Hallelujah... so looking forward to that!