- Curious about something you saw while walking in the woods? Spot the coolest bug ever? The prettiest flower and butterfly? Stumble on a rock and found a fossil? Or was it? This is the place to show your discoveries and share in the knowledge of the natural world right outside our doors. Join in the fun everyday at The Daily Bucket.
Early Winter 2013
It's winter in Southwest Virginia, up in the mountains and across the valleys. Thanksgiving was spent driving the 600 miles north to VA; thankful I got a break in the weather and no freezing rain or snow. The goal was to celebrate another winter for Jackie, freed from her elderly mother who travels south each year to be put up with by her son. And the dog Buster that no one likes.
First photograph is on Grey Branch Rd which we love to take as a backway to her house. Two hills showing the winter sun, one froze, one sunny.
Jackie's Place taken from above and looking down south towards the hills across the creek.
There was a bucket on this area of VA back in August 2012. Mt. Rogers, the highest point in VA, is over to the west of Jackie. With all the twists and turns to get up into the hills, I struggle with compass directions and typically look out front and think north.
More photos below the fold ...
Back to Grey Branch Rd for more sun. In the spring, which is a late mountainous May, flowers will edge this road. It's lovely to get a second chance at spring when I visit again.
I stayed an extra day on Monday to remove old storm windows, scrape and paint and get ready for new. It got to up 50 which is not optimal for paint but at least it was dry and done. I also cleared a bank behind her house - knocked down weeds, cut back the invasive multi-foral rose, yanked and chopped the honeysuckle vines reaching down from the fence line. Just like being home - out in the woods fighting back invasive plants.......
Clouds
Photos taken on iPhone 5S using the panorama feature. Took a few practice swipes to learn how to use it, such as the camera should be held vertical, and you follow the line across, turning the camera. A little thumbnail shows the image as it stitches together.
You get interesting effects - as in this photo of Jackie's backporch, and the snowbank outside. Of course they look even better at 4k by 2k pixels on my widescreen monitor at home. ^_^
Closeups, taken & edited on iPhone and then resized for DK.
Dead bugs in the front window.
Icicles on the Butterfly Bush outside Jackie's picture window. The bush, altho nothing but branches now, helps disguise inside from the birds at the feeders outside.
Guess I try to get back in the groove again - workdays Saturday and Tuesday, a couple days out at Spring Canyon, a couple meetings I may or may not attend but will at least write out the few donations I can at yearend. All these orgs need cash to make up for federal/state cutbacks on the the environment and recreation.
And The Daily Bucket is now open for your thoughts and observations... while I start reading back on buckets I missed. Right after I do some chores; and there's the sun just in time for laundry....
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"Green Diary Rescue" is Back!
and posted every Saturday at 1:00 pm Pacific Time on the Daily Kos front page.