Translate

Blog Archive

Thursday, October 31, 2013

SkyWatch Friday: end of October

I caught a pretty sunset from my bedroom window this week.
skywatchDSCN4178
Before long the sky will have bare branches against it.
skywatchDSCN4175
I followed the birds from the sky to the tree.
skywatchDSCN4159
Some of the trees are still beginning to change colors.
skywatchDSCN4116
There are a lot of evergreens mixed in that don't change colors.
skywatchDSCN4259
Quite a few trees are nearing their fall peak.
skywatchDSCN4226
I like the way this line of trees are different colors.
skywatchDSCN4223
Nice to have some cotton batting clouds against the blue sky.
skywatchDSCN4222
Soon the leaves below will drop and I'll see more of the sky.
skywatchDSCN4197

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

ABC Wednesday: P is for Pumpkin

Pretty Pumpkin Pile
ABCwedpumpkinDSCN4111
Click for the home of ABC Wednesday
Postscript - I noticed from early comments that it was assumed these are my pumpkins. I should have pointed out that I photographed my neighbor's pumpkins. I used to have multiple pumpkins at Halloween but at this point I don't do much in the way of seasonal decorating.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Our World Tuesday: Jack Frost Nipping

Saturday morning, October 26, we had our first hard freeze of the season.
ourworldDSCN3964
Sunday, October 27, a male cardinal took advantage of the bird bath.
ourworldDSCN4081

Friday, October 25, 2013

The Weekend in Black and White: Dog fetching stick

I zoomed in on what I thought was a water bird and much to my surprise it was a dog fetching a stick.
theweekendbwDSCN3848

Thursday, October 24, 2013

SkyWatch Friday: Blues

It's been nice to have some blue skies for a change.
skywatchDSCN3865
The first three shots were taken Sunday at Lake Johnson in Raleigh, NC.
skywatchDSCN3861
We've had so much rain that it makes sunny days especially nice.
skywatchDSCN3824
The next shot was taken at my house in Raleigh this week.
skywatchDSCN3810
The next two shots were taken on the way home from the NC mountains on Wednesday, October 16.
skywatchDSCN3774
I love clouds against a blue sky.
skywatchDSCN3761
The rest of the shots were taken in the NC mountains on Tuesday, October 15.
00skywatchDSCN3684
I like to photograph rural landscapes.
00skywatchDSCN3682
Since Bill did the driving I was free to take shots from the car.
00skywatchDSCN3679

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

ABC Wednesday: O is for Outdoors

Outlandish orange outdoors
abcwedoutdoraDSCN3622
Outdoor evening with a touch of orange
abcwedoutdoorDSCN3728

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Our World Tuesday: October 13 through 16 NC Mountains

I was out of town for the last Our World Tuesday so I'm using shots from that road trip to the NC mountains.
ourworldDSCN3323
The first 8 shots were taken on the Elk River Falls trail on Sunday October 13, 2013.
ourworldDSCN3327
We lucked out Sunday because it stopped raining after we checked into our motel in Spruce Pine, NC in time for this hike.
ourworldDSCN3329
This was a short hike but it always takes me a while when I'm watching my step over tree roots and rocks.
ourworldDSCN3340
It's nice to have a short hike after the road trip to where we are staying.
ourworldDSCN3349
It was fun to see the autumn foliage which covered a wide range since we went to both the southern and northern ends of the NC mountains during this vacation and some places were further along than others in terms of fall color.
ourworldDSCN3353
I love waterfalls although it was sad to hear on the local news that a man slipped and fell over a waterfall and died the same day as this hike.
ourworldDSCN3363
The fatal accident wasn't at any of the falls we went to but watching the news and hearing about how his companion had to leave and go get help made me feel bad for him and the woman that was with him. They weren't able to find him until the next day and then it took a long time to recover his body because it was hard to get to.
ourworldDSCN3365
Not a very cheerful subject but all I could think of was how hard it would be for me to leave Bill without trying to save him even though I wouldn't be able to save him in a situation like that and the woman did the right thing to go for help. I spotted the quilt barn below from the car after our hike.
ourworldDSCN3386
Monday morning (October 14) was rainy but it cleared up in time for a hike to Crabtree Falls off the Blue Ridge Parkway at mile marker 339.5.
ourworldDSCN3429
There were at least 4 different sets of steps like the ones below during the hike.
ourworldDSCN3447
In some ways I thing going up stone steps is easier than going down because I have to be so careful when going down.
ourworldDSCN3448
The Crabtree Meadows campground and the visitor centers with bathrooms were closed due to the Federal government shut down.
ourworldDSCN3463
There weren't any signs of the actual trails being shut.
ourworldDSCN3466
I think the logistics of closing trails would be more trouble than it's worth.
ourworldDSCN3468
We did see some other hikers but not as many as usual.
ourworldDSCN3477
Tuesday (October 15) was a beautiful day and the only day we had plans slightly modified by the U.S. government shutdown.
ourworldDSCN3540
We had planned to drive to the top of Roan mountain and walk around from there.
ourworldDSCN3581
It was nice to have blue skies after the overcast and rainy ones.
ourworldDSCN3583
We weren't surprised when we came to Carvers Gap to find the bathrooms were closed since that had been the main sign of the government shutdown on this trip.
ourworldDSCN3585
However, we didn't think we'd have to park there.
ourworldDSCN3596
I took the next shot after we walked around the bar across the road we had intended to drip up to the top of Roan Mountain.
ourworldDSCN3598
Since there weren't any signs saying we couldn't walk up the mountain we left the car in the parking lot at my own personal Carvers Gap.
ourworldDSCN3616
In a way it was kind of nice to have our own personal road to walk up since no one else seemed to think about walking past the bar.
ourworldDSCN3627
Even though we would have preferred driving to the top of the mountain, it was much easier walking than the forest hikes we'd done on the prior days.
ourworldDSCN3651
It was 2 miles to the top and a much easier 2 miles back down. I'll admit that I wish the government shutdown hadn't prevented us from driving up and walking around from the top.
ourworldDSCN3656
If we'd gone to Roan Mountain on Monday that would have been a pleasant walk but by Tuesday we were recovering from the steep forest hike we did to the Crabtree Falls the prior afternoon. Therefore we turned around just shy of reaching the very top because we hadn't planned on a four mile walk that morning.
ourworldDSCN3700
At first I though the sign on the Spruce Pine store said Crystal Palace which made me laugh. Then I realized it was Chrystal Place not Palace.
ourworldDSCN3701
We had a pretty day on Wednesday (October 16) for our drive home.
ourworldDSCN3746

Labels

Add to Technorati Favorites
Photographs on this site are by Carver © 2006 - 2019