Happy New Year!

193/365 “New Beginnings”, originally uploaded by asterismos (Dawn).

Wishing everyone a great 2010!

Ahoy!

95/365 "humor", originally uploaded by asterismos.

“Wait a minute, garrrr…..this t’aint me sloop!”

On a visit to Price Park this past Tuesday, daughter found this flip flop downstream from Price Lake. After a short hike, we enjoyed a midday cool off in a small creek named Boone Fork near the picnic area and trail of the same name. This week is also Price Pals week on the Blue Ridge Parkway where Junior Rangers can learn all sorts of information about animals and vegetation within the forest. We plan to attend friday’s session for sure as it is “Wilderness Survival Day” which includes instruction on ways to build a shelter and fire, and also how to canoe your way around Price Lake.

Biggest Snow of the Year

The High Country near Boone and Blowing Rock received its biggest snowfall of the year on Sunday, March 1, 2009. Snow started around noon on Sunday and fell at a very fast rate with the first inch stacking up within the first thirty minutes of the storm. By 3pm roads, with three to four inches of fallen snow, were impassable because of slick conditions and stranded motorists who blocked the roadway. Watauga County residents awoke Monday morning to between 8-12 inches of snow and many stranded vehicles still on roads and highways.

Celestial Happenings

I wasn’t able to capture this celestial close encounter at its peak because our area of the globe was cloudy. However, I went out the next night and captured this scene.

Congratulations!

I couldn’t resist letting out a little creative energy by making this collage from several campaign flyers that had not yet made their way into the paper shredder. My emotions got the better of me several times while watching all the coverage of this historic event many thought impossible just a few short months ago and I believe this country is headed to a much better place. Congratulations to Barack Obama for winning the chance to repair the damage. He has a lot of work to do and we still have a duty to keep him on track. Hopefully we can all unite, stay focused on the tasks at hand and prove the doubtful nay-sayers wrong. I am filled with excitement to see the re-invention of family values by the realistic example portrayed through Michelle Obama as she becomes mom-in-chief. Also, I finally found something to be thankful for regarding the current administration, the GOP and the republican campaign ticket for the 2008 presidency. Since they all screwed up so much both here and abroad, Barack Obama now has the chance he deserves to guide our country to a better future. I welcome this change as things definitely are going to be different.

Last chance to vote!

I voted early. Not only is it convenient, it is very satisfying to have it done and over with since I had made up my mind a long time ago.

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Democracy Now! of the High Country

If you are not already familiar with the radio and tv news program  Democracy Now! it is worth checking out. This is one of the first places I go when I want to hear news not easily found through mainstream media sources.

Recently, I have had the distinct pleasure of becoming a member of the writing team for the blog Democracy Now! of the North Carolina High Country which focuses on issues paramount to democracy in our specific region. The blog has a terrific group of skilled writers dedicated to fair, open, honest reporting. DNHC also hosts movie nights in Boone periodically where they show documentaries such as The Future of Food.

Not only are there always new posts to read and watch, the content focuses on issues affecting all our lives here in the High Country. To read the first article I contributed, visit the “North Carolina Voters in Danger?” post and stay tuned for my second article (not published yet) which is about my experience at the Clinton stump speech in Boone.