Sunday, October 2, 2011

Autumn Photo Log, part I

Spring and summer have come and gone with nary a bit of banter on the blog. My Bantering Bibliocrat blog has always been, in my mind, more of a photo forum than anything else. But I wandered away for a while, opting since last winter to post photos on Facebook. My poor blog has been feeling rather neglected, so I'm reverting back to the ol' BB forum for most of my photos.   I tweaked the interface a bit, just to freshen things up. (A few things led to this decision - Blogspot made it easier to post photos, and the Facebook interface just seems to get stranger all the time....)

So here you go - the first autumnal photo posting, with a link from Facebook.  Oh, such social networking.

Yep, it's autumn. Suddenly autumn.  On Thursday it was warm and humid in Blacksburg, but a front came blowing in and by Saturday it was in in the 40's with wind gusts up to 30 mph. Autumn arrived with little hint of subtlety, so Asta and I took a hike to enjoy the breezy, cold weather.  I donned the fleece and parka and we headed off to the Audie Murphy section of the Appalachian Trail.

Asta on the AT - you can just see her reflective vest as an orange spot.
It was Asta's first trip since last mid-summer, when she was diagnosed with Intervertebral Degenerative Disc Disease (IVDD).  After  several months of limited activity, Asta's been feeling better and we were both ready a hike.  


We hiked to the Audie Murphy Monument on Brush Mountain outside of Blacksburg, near the site where Murphy died in a plane crash in 1971. It's a short, easy hike along a ridge.

There are several very elaborate cairns beside the Audie Murphy Monument.

Close up of the AT.

The larger cairn at the Audie Murphy Monument.
Peace sign left by previous visitors. 

Thistle beside the trail.

Wildflower bed in the backyard, catching the last of the fall wildflowers.


Also from the backyard.

2 comments:

we_be_toys said...

Gorgeous pictures, as always! Makes me want to show my camera these pictures and ask, "Why can't you take crisp pictures like Gene's camera does?" Glad Asta was feeling up to the hike, and what a cool place to go! The cairns were bizarre and wonderful - now I'm going have to go there and see it!

FairiesNest said...

So great to see Ms. Asta hiking again! How'd she do afterward? And of course lovely shots...sigh... makes me wish we could get up there. But Fall is here too, thankfully!