Chesapeake Bay (12/30/2014)

Time to pull in one more sailing day this year!

Me (photo taken by Ben)

Ben, a friend of mine invited me to go sailing on his boat today (a Catalina 30).  It was cold, temperatures were in the mid 30s and we actually had flurries.  Wind was approximately 15 knots and it diminished to 10 later in the day.  In other words it was cold, but it was fun.  The boat had a good heel, and at times, according to our GPS, we were going well over 6 miles per hour.  We had a four our sail from the York River Yacht Haven to the Seaford Yacht Club.  A nice sail.

Here we are coming by Yorktown, I'm on the helm (photo taken by my wife)

There was very few people out on the Bay today, which is understandable, considering the weather.  We saw a few pleasure boats with people fishing, no sailboats but even one kayak, with a brave soul. There were a lot of migratory waterfowl on the bay; always a pleasure to see them.  By the end of our sail the clouds broke and there was even a peak of sun.  It was a pleasant sail, but as of this writing, I have not yet warmed up.

Yorktown (12/27/2014)

It was a wonderful day for a walk in Yorktown this past Sunday; and yes we had to bring the camera, dogs etc,  The fathers of Yorktown had the foresight to construct this wonderful walking trail along the river.  It officially goes from one victory center to the other (kind of the Feds competing with the State).  These photos were taken during our walk.  There is the one near the state's center overlooking the York River with part of the beach visible; you can barely see the rooftops of Yorktown (on the other side of the bridge.

The next two pictures were taken from the walking trail when it runs in front of the River Front Walk restaurant.  The reflections in the window were very cool and you can see the bridge and in the other the York River and my family.  Next door to the restaurant is the "Tap House".  Both restaurants are great, and they are nice places to visit with friends and family.  My only gripe still is that there is no good breakfast place in town; but then when I drive there early in the morning, there are not many people out and about (in particular in the winter).  Oh well.  At least there are no chain restaurants in our little town; although the "Carrot Tree" has another establishment in Williamsburg that carries the same name.

During our walk, the river was glass, in other words no ripples were seen for a while.  For us sailors this means there was no wind.  Sailors learn very quickly how to read the water for any wind, puff, or increases in wind that we can use to propel our boats; in particular racers.  We also saw one sailboat in the distance, which I immediately recognized as a boat of a friend (and that I've sailed on twice this year).

In all a great day to be near the water and enjoy the views; something I need, since I have "horizon deficit disorder".

Newport News Park (12/25/2014)

Christmas day and time to play with our new toy camera (an Olympus TH-3 ... kind of Olympus' answer to the Gopro).  This camera is waterproof and shock proof, and this was our chance to try it out in water.  Thank goodness it rained the day before and the ponds had some water in it.  Below are two pictures, the first one was just before I submerged the camera and the second one is actually an underwater picture in the pond.  The water is somewhat murky with leaves and pine needles sticking up.

It is definitively a camera what we will be having fun with, in particular on the boat and in other more nature oriented situations.  Everything I've done with the camera is very satisfactory.  I love it.  Time will tell is we keep that opinion.

To everyone, hope you had a great Christmas and a happy new year.

Yorktown (12/23/2014)

It is really nice to be outside in the woods early in the morning after a day of rain or when it is foggy.  Today it was both.  All the trees were still damp, which makes the bark turn really dark and makes the lichen and moss stand out.

Lichen are very interesting organisms.  They actually are a symbiotic relationship ship (you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours) of algae, bacteria and fungi.  Somehow by living together they are able to create these wonderfully colored structures that live on rock, and in our woods on the trunks of trees.  This symbiotic relationship makes them strong and able to live under very harsh conditions.  Typically they live on the northern sides of trees and rocks, where they are not baked by the sun.

Here is a picture I took today during my walk this morning.  It was great to be out in the woods again.  Life is still dry, the ponds have no or very little water in them; but regardless it is so enjoyable walking in the woods.  Foggy day walks are my favorite.

Stormwater Management (12/21/2014)

What, no location on this post?  My back yard, Yorktown or even Newport News Park would be a decent heading as well, but this post is more than that.  It speaks more to one of the things I like to do (landscaping, architecture, building, paving) and things I teach (stormwater management).

Over the past two weekends we decided that a strip of grass between two paved areas in our back yard was more of a bother than an asset.  The few things it was good for was that it had some clover (good for bees) that sometimes did reasonably well early on in the year, and that it is the area that receives the overflow from one of our rain barrels and thus serves as an infiltration area for water coming of our roof.

That water infiltrates into the soil is a very important thing to me.  I give impassioned talks about this subject in the classes that I teach and talks that I give throughout the state, in particular since we are definitively seeing a drastic drop in groundwater tables in areas that are developed.  Areas that are turned into subdivisions and shopping areas become less pervious to rainwater than the forested area or agriculture land they were before development.  Rain falls onto impervious surfaces (roofs, roads, parking lots, etc) after which it enters some form of stormwater management system and is piped into the nearest stream or river.  As a result, rainwater that used in infiltrate and recharge our groundwater tables now runs down ditches into a river and out to the sea, or in our case the Chesapeake Bay.  All this added water in the streams also causes flooding downstream and more erosion in the streams during rainstorms while in dry periods the streams are drier than they used to be.  In essence, building subdivisions is not the best for our natural environment; although it is a necessary thing to do; we need to live too.  But I believe in sensible development and less urban sprawl (search my blog for the label urban sprawl and you'll see what I mean).

What I teach is also known as Low Impact Development.  Yes, we need homes and subdivisions, but we can build them sensibly, with respect for our natural environment and for the ground water resources.  When we do that we alse take care of the water quality and quantity in our creeks, rivers and streams.  Instead of piping the water away, we need to help it infiltrate with things like rain gardens, bioretention permeable pavement and other measures.  That was what I was looking at when doing my paving job. 

In this job, I used all kinds of recycled materials.  When we lived in Cincinnati my wife and I would even clean up the Ohio River and pick up old brick that were dumped along the river.  In this job, the tiles were from a walk way we took out and the brick are all recycled from old building projects (my wife and I spent long hours chipping away the cement that clung to some of these brick). 

Giving the brick and tile a bit of a grout line will help with some water infiltration; but we had to deal with the overflow from our rain barrel.  Luckily we had what I call holy brick, or brick that is uses as veneer to a home.  These brick all seem to have three holes in them (hence the holy in holy brick).  So we constructed a slightly depressed channel of these holy brick between the tiles.  We routed the water from our rain barrel through this channel in the hope (expectation) that any overflow will infiltrate through these holes into the soil; thus achieving what I teach: runoff reduction.  We will have to monitor it and see how it works.  The photo below show the results of a two-weekend job, minus the sore back.

Yorktown (12/17/2014)

After rain the previous day, it was foggy this morning.  Conditions were just right around sunup and the moisture laden air coming off the land over the cooler water created this wonderful fog.  Naturally not a good thing, knowing there is a bridge hiding in the fog and boaters beware.  I have not sailed under foggy conditions, and reading some accounts it can be quite mystical; especially one of the accounts of a cruise in the northern Pacific/Bering Sea area. 

As usual, I had to drive by the Yorktown riverfront on my way to work, and had to shoot these familiar pictures.  Like it or not seeing the water, especially on days like today, give me this amazing feeling inside that is hard to describe.  It is the same feeling I get when looking at my loved ones; a feeling of pure bliss.  On top of that I saw two bald eagles along the parkway.  They are often there during the winter and early spring.

This morning I got the email of this week’s challenge by Cee Neuner that I sometimes participate in and it asked for seascapes.  Boy do these photos fit in; so here is my entry.

Seaford Yacht Club (12/13/2014)

The nice thing about being a member of a yacht club is the sense of community.  Research has shown that one of the things that is important to longevity is being part of a community; and while this mostly relates to houses of worship, I am sure it applies to yacht clubs as well.  The yacht club that I am a member of serves this function very well for me and its members; although one could argue that for some members it may not be good on their liver and actually decrease their longevity.

Previously I had my boat at a marina and as I described it, it was a place where boats went to die.  There was a sunken boat that stayed under water for weeks on end; there was a boat with an actual tree growing in the cockpit (being a botanist, I am fairly confident that that tree was at least two to three years old).  The owner of the marina confiscated the boats of owners who stopped paying and then sold the boats to unsuspecting people who showed up two or three times and then quit coming and paying.  The boats were then confiscated and sold again and again, thus making up the slip fee and entering this vicious circle.

Suffice it to say that I was happy to be out of there and I have never regretted my move to the yacht club now two and a half years ago.  There is always a person at the yacht club to give you free advice, give you a hand, or even offer you a beer. 

In addition, the yacht club is one of my only community type Christmas parties.  Working for the state, we do not have any of the perks like luxurious Christmas parties that I had when working for engineering firms.  We had a “Christmas breakfast” without any speeches or real community, just a quick run for the food, scarf it down and back to work.  It really had nothing to do with Christmas at all.  All the warnings about poor behavior at these kinds of parties, getting drunk, and having sex on top of the copy machine with an office partner do not apply to state employees.  Oh well, we live up to other clichés; dull and just plain boring.  On top of that, we even have not seen a real raise for the past 5 years, let alone a good party.

So we had a wonderful party it is always good to see friends, eat good food and have a few nice drinks.  Everybody behaved; my kind of office party; no stress and a great sense of community.  The photo of today was taken outside the club house.  The committee had set up one of the dinghies outside the entry and decorated it with lights.  My wife took this picture of me in front of the boat.   

Seaford (12/7/2014)

One advantage of having a (sail)boat is that I am even more intimately in-tuned with the weather.  There isn't a day that goes by that I do not check what is going on out there.  This is somewhat amazing, having a wife who is a micro-meteorologist by training.  However, like a lot of generations in the past, for me weather was something that happened; something you had to live with and could not do anything about.  When we lived in Cincinnati you were aware of large thunderstorm complexes.  Cincinnati was kind of at the far end of "Tornado Alley", so always something to be aware off.  However getting a boat, you have to keep an eye out for hurricanes in the summer and nor'easter in the winter.  On top of that you need to know if it is good sailing weather.

This weekend the wind was 30 to 40 knots (1 knot is 1.15 miles per hour) from the north and north-north-east.  A wind coming straight down the Chesapeake Bay at that force forces the water to pile up on the southern shore of the bay and in the little creeks that jot into the shore in the area.  Currently the actual tide is running 1.5 to 2 feet above the astronomic (predicted without the wind) tide (see here for the website).  I just learned that the storm is redeveloping and moving back towards us.  It seems that is will pile even more water up in our creeks,

I went to the boat on Sunday, just to check it and to get a little water out of the bilge and the front locker.  Water always seem to accumulate in these areas.  While my ports (windows) are relatively water tight, I do have a leaky anchor locker and leaky stanchions.  Moreover, my companionway hatch is not waterproof, so yes I will have to dry the boat out after a rainstorm.  On top of that, winter time also means condensation time for my boat and water will drip anywhere and from every thing on a cold day in winter.  I wonder if I can turn my boat into a whiskey still.

It was mid-tide when I got to the boat, and the water was higher than an ordinary high tide.  The wind was whipping.  Two friends of mine arrived just after me, announcing they were going for a sail (remember 30 to 40 knot winds).  They later told me they made it out to the mouth of the creek, but waves were 5 to 7 feet and they decided not to chance it.  Waves can be the general problem where we sail.  Our part of the bay is very exposed to winds from the north to the east and the waves can build pretty high when it blows out of that direction; there is nothing to stop them between us and the eastern shore.  Even in summer there are days we feel uncomfortable going out; when the wind is from the northeast waves can easily top 2 to 3 feet, and that is not much fun in a 25 foot Catalina.

Anyway here is a photo of my slip; you can see how high the water is; and this is mid-tide.  At least our marina is very sheltered and the water is relatively calm.

New Kent (12/5/2014)

Guess I should show nice pictures of New Kent County, but this is a picture of my somewhat favorite abandoned building.  I took the pictures as part of an on-line challenge by Cee Neuner; regular readers of this blog know I sometimes participate in it.  This challenge was abandoned buildings, and although I had taken a picture of this building group before (click here to see my favorite picture taken this year in August and my for my somewhat philosophical blog entry) I wanted to come back to it.  In particular since a few weeks ago the recliner was still there.  The County fathers must have read my blog and finally removed the chair.  I hoping it was still there; oh well.

What still amazes me is red metal roof on the side building.  It looks brand new.  It really looks like someone really tried to make something out of this building complex but failed.  Route 60 between Richmond and Williamsburg is very quiet and I think any commercial endeavor in the middle of nowhere would have a hard time.  I love this road because it takes me away from the stress of the Interstate; and truth be told the commute on Route 60 may take 10 minutes longer, but with a lot less aggravation.  Stress management is something I really need, so it is good to take that route.  I read somewhere once that commuting length and blood pressure have a direct relationship.  So the back roads are so much more fun (I remember so well reading Blue Highways by William Last Heat Moon; a book that made a huge impression on me).

But enough writing for today.  Here is my entry to Cee's challenge, my set of pictures of the abandoned building along Route 60 in New Kent.  It is really ashamed that these things are abandoned.  There are many groups that are concerned about them.  Abandoned in Virginia is one of those groups.

 

James River (12/1/2014)

I posted a small write up on the James River approximately 9 months ago (click here if you like to see that one).  However, here I go again.  It was such a beautiful day on Monday that I had to go for a walk that took me again along the James river in Richmond.  It was great to meditate on the old railroad bridge that juts out over part of the river and think about the force of that water and about where all those drops of water have been.  You can think about where the drop was introduced into the watershed, or even become more philosophical about it and wonder where those molecules have been in the past.  Were they in a drop of sweat that was beading up on the forehead of Leonardo da Vinci or where have those molecules been in the past.  I have mused about things like this before in a blog I did that I called George Washington's shovel.  But water is an amazing thing; without it life is not possible.  Moreover, the way it freezes is important.  If it froze like any other substance would when it cools down, life would be impossible.

We teach that of all the water in the world only 6% is available to us.  All the other water is locked up in ways that we cannot get to it.  Of the 5.85% is in the oceans, leaving only 0.15% usable/fresh water.  Of this fresh water two thirds of it is locked up in glaciers and the remaining is either groundwater or fresh water.  In other words 0.05% of the water on earth is available to us for consumption.  I guess this is why I am always a bit upset when I watch people water their lawns, and especially so when they do it with valuable drinking water.  It is such a waste in my eyes.

Anyway, this another picture of the James.  One of these days I am going to create an extensive post on the river; showing pictures of it's origin (headwaters) to it's outfall into the Bay.  The picture below shows the jumble of the various bridges that go across the river: the road bridge and the I-95 bridge in the far back; the old pilings of a railroad bridge to Petersburg within the back a railroad bridge to Danvville and on the side the main track from Lynchburg.  A virtual spaghetti bowl of bridges and ruins of bridges.  What amazes me that they were able to build them on the spot where the river goes over the fall line.  Just looking at the force f the water amazes me.

York River (11/22/2014)

This may not be the most flattering picture, but Saturday was fun.  I helped a friend with sailing his boat over from the York River Yacht Haven to our marina.  His Catalina 30 had been on the hard for some major maintenance and repairs and this was the boat’s maiden voyage after that.  It was cold (when we got to the boat there was still ice on the hull) but the wind was great (10 to 15 knots) and with a slick hull we were making more than 6.5 knots; flying down the York River.  I was actually disappointed that we got there so early.  Although the temperatures were in the low to mid 40s, if you dress right, it was doable.  Yes my face was very cold and I had to put the hoody up after a while.  What surprised me was that we were the only sail boat out at the time.  We saw a number of recreational fishing boats (power boats).

Winter sailing is apparently something for the hardy people in our part of the Bay.  Friends of mine will not go sailing when the temperature goes below 50 or so, and when asked they say something like “been there, done that, bought the t-shirt.”  Yes, it is not something I want to do every weekend; that might get old.  I much more prefer a leisurely trip followed by throwing out the hook (anchor), a swim, a beer and a hardy lunch.  But this was fun too; we had a blast!

I took this selfie and almost every selfie I take really makes my double chin stand out and causes me to grimace.  I see that many people have selfies that do that to them; you contort your face and always smile at the wrong time.  I’ll be happy when I get my new Christmas present; a new camera that uses my phone as a remote control and as remote view finder.  It should be fun to play with.

Richmond (11/19/2014)

Working in the center of Richmond can always result into some excitement, especially during my lunch-time walks.  On Wednesday their was a climate/clean energy rally on capital square and I took these photos while looking at the proceedings.

It was kind of ironic that is was about the coldest day of the current fall, temperatures were 10 to 20 degrees below normal, and I am sure it probably fueled to fire of some of the climate change deniers.  Yes it was cold, and that is exactly what is predicted by researchers on climate change.  I've seen right wing pundits on TV telling me we are going into an ice age and all kinds of other propaganda.  The Washington Post has an interesting article on what's going on (see my link above), and during my dentist visit, I found an article in Scientific American (December 2014 issue) that describes the Polar Vortex in great detail.

I am sure that others will try to find fault with discussions on climate change/global warming, but so be it.  I do not think there is one climate scientist who would be be upset if they are proven wrong; who would want to see/experience global warming.  These same people that question global warming are constantly talking about the economy and want to protect those same children and grand children from the mounting debt (which is not proven either), but then turn around and question global warming.  I rather be safe than sorry.  I am just amazed that people are willing to play chicken with their future and the future of their children and grand children in both cases.

I really think this is a sign of the times.  We have liberals and conservatives and they are so entrenched that a compromise is not possible any longer.  We have a bunch of congress men/women and senators in Washington who's mission it was "to make Obama a one term president", and when that did not work, they are fighting everything the democrats propose.  This is followed up with a push back from the democratic party, and compromise is gone.  It has become of fight of principals instead of a fight for what is good for the country and the people living in it.  I really think this lack of compromise; the disrespect for education and educated people (educated elite) or rich people; the rise in college costs; and the shrinking of the middle class are going the be the downfall of our country and turn it into a third world country that much like Russia is only noticed when it flexes its  military muscle.

Oh well, enough politics for today.  If you are a regular reader, you I do not politic that often.  But if you are interested, just open the labels tab and look for the keyword politics and you'll find a few more posts).  Guess the energy demonstration did that to me.  This group consisted on people against the proposed pipeline, clean energy people, people for sustainable energy, global warming people etc.  A diverse group, and hopefully a group with a variety of political leanings, a true compromise; although I doubt it.

Newport News Park (11/18/2014)

Have not written much lately and not sure how long I'll be able to keep this up without making it sound like too much of a diary.  Moreover, I've been asked to write a (text) book and I assume that when you start writing for a living your armature writing languish.  We'll see.

Fall is definitively here.  Tonight we get a major frost (early for this time of the year) courtesy of another year with a polar vortex.  I expect that all or most of the leaves will start raining down tomorrow after a night time temperature in the mid 20s.  Taking the dogs for a walk this morning I was struck (as most falls) by the variety of leaves on the forest floor and all the different colors.  An absolute gorgeous sight, made even better by the fact that I don't have the rake these leaves.  Leaves that I saw included those of the sassafras, sour wood, maple, sweet gun and some of the oaks (all shown in the picture below) on top of pine needles.  Further down the trail you see black gum leaves, persimmon and the sycamore.  Naturally in the woods behind our home there are a great number of oaks: red, white, water, post, laurel, overcup, and swamp chestnut oak.  I probably miss a few.  To me a great publication is booklet by the Virginia Department of Forestry on our common Virginia trees (click here for the link).

Of all these trees I mention I have a sweet spot in my heart for the sassafras and the overcup oak.  I like the trident leaves of the sassafras, it delicate yellow flowers in spring and its yellow leaves in the fall.  On top of that, when crushed, the leaves smell like root beer.  Not my favorite drink, but the smell is indicative of the plant's assumed medicinal value.  I've read somewhere that, in the deep south, the roots were ground up and drank as a tea.  Tradition tells us that the tea makes it easier for you to tolerate the southern heat and humidity.  The leaves are also used in Creole cooking.  I like the overcup oak just because the acorn is almost completely covered by the cup, and because it grows in the wettest locations.  They have been fruiting copiously, and I am sure the deer just love it.

Chesapeake Bay (11/11/2014)

I found a quote from L.A. Meyer in an article by Lisa Frost in the recent Old Boat magazine that also applies to me: "We clear the harbor and the wind catches her sails and my beautiful ship leans over ever so gracefully, and her elegant bow cuts clearly into the increasing chop of the waves.  I take a deep breath and my chest expands and my heart starts thumping so strongly i fear others might see it beat through the cloth of my jacket.  I face the wind and my lips peel back from my teeth in a grin of pure joy."

I think that most sailors feel that way.  There is something magical in sailing a boat.  For me it is when I shut off the outboard and the boat keeps going propelled by the wind.  It is an amazing thing, the silence and the feel of the boat underneath you.  I simply love it.

This was the feeling I had going out on Tuesday.  It was misty and the winds were light.  But despite all that it was still exhilarating to be out, to shut off the motor, pull it up and settle in at the helm for a few hours sail with a friend.  During our sail trip we saw lots of overwintering water fowl, a few recreational fishing boats and one of the scallop boats (pictured below).  We got a little wet but felt sad when we had to start the engine and return to port.

Virginia Wines (3) (11/10/2014)

This past weekend we spent a day tasting some Virginia wines.  We traveled to a Blue/Green resort in the Gordonsville area (near Charlottesville) and on the way we visited some wineries and bought some wines to drink that evening.  We drank wines from wines from the Rockbridge winery, Ox-eye winery (and no we did not visit either of these two wineries), Grayhaven winery and Cooper Vineyards.  It is a pity that we visited the Weston Farm Vineyards website too late, otherwise we would have noticed their announcement that Google maps cannot find them (we searched for 15 minutes and gave up).

This does not even make a dent in all the wineries in Virginia.  My understanding is that Virginia is the third or so wine producing state in the U.S, and the latest winery map touts that there are 250+ wineries in the state.  As I mentioned before, 10 years ago I was skeptical about Virginia's ability to make red wine, but they have come a long way.  I actually like a lot of the reds they produce at this time (granted I am a red kind of guy).

As with anything, I believe that education is essential in life, and that is also important when drinking wine.  I read the wine spectator and a nice assortment of books on  wines and wine making although in no way am I a wine expert of a wine snob.  The only wine I can pick out of a line up of blind taste testing is the Merlot by Boogle, but that is also because my father-in-law brings it over very frequently when he comes over for dinner.  But yes education is important even in this period of anti-intellectualism.  Why drink the same bud-dry or a cheap box wine, when with a little education and adventure you can drink something better or more interesting for about the same price?

Today's post is not a winery review, I will do one again in the near future.  In the past I reviewed the wineries and wines I have visited and tasted from the Tidewater (click here) and the wines from northern Virginia (click here).  But below are some of the Virginia wines that we still have in our collection.  It is a pity that Virginia wines are so expensive, compared with their counterparts for California or even from France, Spain or Italy; otherwise I would definitively want to drink more Virginia wines and visit more wineries.  Now I have to limit it to two or three wineries every year, and limited consumption; Virginia wines are not for the people that live on a budget, that is for sure.

The Virginia wines we still have in our collection (some date from 2006 and one from 2004)

Yorktown (2011)

Another trip to the archives, courtesy of  Cee Neuner.  I often participate in a challenge that she post on line and here is my entry for the week.  This week's challenge was bark and leaves.

Trees are amazing things.  As you can see here this tree actually appears to have grown into/over the wall.  This is not uncommon, a search on Google gives you this.  However, we have one right here in Yorktown at Grace Episcopal Church.  The church itself claims to be the oldest existing church in the US, and as you can see this eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) has done the job.  I have no idea how old it is but it is getting up there in age.  It really is a magnificent tree.  I am sure this is a combination of growing over the wall and good craftsmanship by the mason.

A lot of people don't realize that trees grow from the outside.  The bark is what is alive in a tree and the inside wood is more or less dead.  Not that the inside wood does not do anything.  This is where water and nutrients are transported up the trunk to the leaves, but all the thickening of the trunk comes from the bark and that is how it grows over and into things as we see here.  Nature is magnificent and powerful.  We humans used to be just a small part of it, although we are more and more taking over.  It was said that nature used to be in control, but we humans have gotten so far that we can control nature.  This seems scary to me, as a biologist I have found that nature is parsimonious (it does not waste anything), humans are the opposite.  Nature is efficient and very adaptable, and history will bear out how we as humans do.  A scary thought say the least, maybe not for me, but for my daughter and grand children.

Highland County (11/3/2014)

Monday was the last morning of a long weekend in Highland County.  It was fun to see our daughter, who drove over from Morgantown and to visit with friends who had decided to move away from the Tidewater of Virginia and settle in the mountains.

The morning started out nice.  We had rented a cabin in the B&B and the sun was just coming above the horizon when I walked over to the main house for a cup of coffee.  Low sun angles make amazing pictures. so I quickly walked over to a cabin that is known as the "Bird house" and shot the picture below.  The orange glow of the sun on the foreground and the distant mountains created a great picture.

Before leaving we decided to go for a walk.  The road we took was past the B&B towards what I assume is Sounding Knob, since we were walking on Sounding Knob Road.  The knob is in the Highland County Wildlife Management area and according to the map, the knob is close to 4300 ft high.  We only walked for an hour, but it was nice to be out and about.  I could not help taking the picture of the lone tree in the pasture along the road.

We ended the morning with a drive to Bridgewater Virginia and a visit to the Bluestone vineyard.  This is another winery that I have to add to an up coming Virginia wine review that I write so now and then on this blog.  But suffice it to say the wines were decent; the place is pet friendly, and it was a great place for a pick-nick lunch with a glass of cold rose wine.  Regretfully, after arriving home at 6 pm, I was back into the car to drive to Fredericksburg for two days of teaching.  I need to retire!

Bath County (11/02/2014)

It was an interesting weekend to spend in the high country of Virginia.  We stayed in Highland County but also visited Bath County for dinner, visit with friends and for a hike in Hidden Valley.

Hidden valley is a great place for a hike.  The trail we took straddles the Jackson River, which is one of the headwaters of the James River.  We hiked it in late afternoon; the weather was cold (it snowed in Monterrey), most of the trees had lost their leaves, with the exception of the red oaks.  The trail is great; it is an easy walk with the exception of crossing the suspension bridge over the river with dogs.  one of our dogs freaked out when the bridge moved.

Bath County is famous for the small towns of Warm Springs and Hot Springs, which are aptly named after the springs (and associated bath houses) found in the area.  Unlike Highland County, which seems depressed, Bath County is opulent, with resorts and a wonderful restaurant in Warm Springs that is part of the Grist Mill.  Hidden Valley also has a wonderful looking B&B associated with it.

Attached are a few photos from our trip to Warm Springs and Hidden Valley.

The Inn at Grist Mill

Highland County (11/1/2014)

We visited Highland County in far western Virginia this past weekend.  The county seat for Highland County is Monterey, but unlike the famous Monterey, this one is a small sleepy town, with absolutely very little going on.  Some statistics, it is supposed to be the highest (in average elevation) county in the eastern U.S.  It is cool in summer and in winter outright cold.

Highland County is known locally for it's Maple Festival and the Mountain Mama (a 100 mile bike ride through the mountains.  One year we did a shortened ride of 25 miles and that kicked our old low country butts.  The Bluegrass Valley (the valley west of Monterey, is the location where both the Potomac River and one of the tributaries of the James River (Jackson River) originate (less than 30 feet apart).

The photo below was taken at our favorite Bed and Breakfast, the Laurel Point Inn and Retreat.  Inn keepers Lorraine and Jim are amazing people and make you feel welcome.  They are pioneers, having a great Inn and a farm.  The photo below was taken of their Highland Cows (what else would you raise in Highland).  Absolutely a great place to visit.

I voted absentee (10/31/2014)

Having to travel on election day I voted absentee today!
I urge everyone to vote, no matter what political party you vote for.  Only then is it legitimate that you complain!
Vote!

Richmond (10/29/2014)

The one nice thing about working downtown in a larger city is often the sheer choice of places to eat lunch; although, there seemed to have been less choice when I started working in Richmond 5 years ago.  Yes you still have your Wendy’s, Hardy’s, Subways and Quiznos, but I think I have seen other places open, and then also, there has been an explosion of food carts.  Your choice is amazing, from an Indian food cart, to authentic Mexican tacos, to a Thai cart, a cart with more gourmet-like tacos, to carts that serve all kinds of wraps and salads.  It is really neat.  Contrast this with recent fights they had in Newport News about the placement of food cart placement.  I really wish there were more, as long as they are safe; but that is probably self regulating at least when they don’t kill their customers.

Regular readers of this blog know that I love to go for a walk during lunch time and I am always amazed by some of the big lines at these carts.  It is the social place to be; every so now and then on my walks I run into people I know.  They are patiently standing in a line at a cart and it is fun to talk to them for a bit.  Other times, the people standing in line take up more than half the sidewalk and it is difficult to walk.  But then on the sidewalk on the other side of the street are all the smokers and that’s a pain as well.   Breathing in secondhand smoke has been moved from the work/office environment to the environment where people do their lunch-time exercise or wait in line at food carts.  Somewhat ironic I would think, and it is the reason why I often escape to the park along the James River, or I walk around capitol square.  I need my walk and very often my Starbucks fix. 

Finally, another thing that is fairly common on the streets around lunch time are the beggars.  It is a shame that we still have people that need to collect money on the streets.  There is a lady who sells wilted roses, a guy without legs and your assortment of beggars that sit on the curb smoking cigarettes.  Being an ex-smoker, I do not think I would give to smokers in support of their habit, over food.  Others may say that giving them money support their begging habit and makes them lazy (see the article by Robert Reich that I reference below).  But so be it.  It is just sad to see that in a country as this there is still such a discrepancy in income or maybe a lack of income for some that people still need to beg.  It is a harsh reality, and it still makes me feel uncomfortable seeing them.  It amazes me too that there is such a lack of compassion and empathy (see also the article by Robert Reich).

Anyway, this is my entry to the weekly challenge by Cee Neuner.  This week’s challenge was to photograph feet.  Maybe not the best picture, but all these people are waiting at one of the favorite food carts in the area.  I like to take a picture at the time the challenge comes out.  This is not my best, but it shows what I meant when writing about the carts.  Actually amazing that everyone has their own space in this photograph and that there is obviously very little interaction going on in line.  To me everyone appears to be lonely in a crowd.

Newport News Park (10/26/2014)

Some fall we are having; blue skies and delightful temperatures.  Who needs more reasons for a nice walk in Newport News Park around our drinking water reservoir.  The reservoir is an interesting place.  It is a dammed off section of the Warwick River, and it actually has a lot of significance.  Picture more than 100 years ago this area was the site of a civil war battle between the Union and Confederate Forces.  They were dug in on both sides of the river and gunning for each other.  I understand there were much fewer trees around and it must have been an interesting sight; not something I would want to experience.  But now it is all water under the bridge, or should I say into the reservoir.

The reservoir is fed by a few stream, but mostly by a pipe line that brings water from 40 or so miles away.  From here it goes into the water treatment plant and comes out of our faucets.  While these pictures show the lake and it's surroundings in full glory, it is actually the areas far away from the dam that are the most fun.  We can reach these areas from our home as well as from the regular parking area, and we have spent a lot of time in those swamps looking at red-headed woodpeckers, herons, gannets, wood ducks, Canada gees, bald eagles and even at various plants like lizard's tails.  We have been standing in the swamp in February doing the great back yard bird count ankle deep in mud and chilled, but thrilled at all the birds.  That bird count is always on president's day weekend and it is so appropriate to count in a park where George Washington hung out at one time to make the life of the Britts miserable.

At one point the swamp/lake is fed by a spring that is located in the Yorktown Battle Field National Historic Park, a place I have written a lot about.  This spring is actually located need the encampment that George Washington used during the revolutionary war.  I am sure he drank from the spring.  This is another subject I wrote about in a post called George Washington's shovel.  The area is full of remnants of these two major wars that were fought on the Peninsula.  It is really a neat place to live and experience.

It is actually amazing knowing that drops of water that we drink and molecules of air that we breath have all passed through the body and lungs of people like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Hitler and people alike.  We are such a closed system, that we better take care of it.

Chesapeake Bay (10/25/2014)

We had an absolutely delightful sail today.  The weather was great, sunny and even forgetting our sunscreen, we did not burn to a crisp as you would in summer.

The yacht club had a wedding, so we made sure we were not in the way and we took off around 12:15 after picking up two subs at Wawa.  The wind was out of a direction that was not predicted by the weather service, so we had a half hour motor out before raising the sails and drifting for a while (the winds were very calm).  It was a great time to eat our lunch and flush it down with a beer.  After a while the wind picked up and we had a great sail with the wind coming from the south east right abeam.

At the point we were planning to turn around we encountered a pod of porpoises; they dove under the boat and one chased the boat for a while, almost touching the rudder.  Great to see that there are still many left, after last year's die off. Eventually we had to turn back, and the wind picked up to 10 knots or more and we had a great sail. Being pushed a bit of course by the current we decided to tack and, right on the dot, the wind started shifting to the west, as was initially predicted for the day.  This required that we changed plans all the sudden and we had to drop the sails to get back into the creek.  Google tells me we did 17.6 miles today or 15+ nautical miles; great for a four hour sail.

Below are two pictures one of our course.  I use a great app on my tablet called MX Mariner that allows me to record track and download them to Google Earth.  It is a great app, that helps me a lot.  I strongly recommend that app.  On the way we saw a heron on one of the channel markers.  Usually there are ospreys all over the place, but in the winter the herons appear to take over.  In general though there are so many birds on the Bay this time of year, including cormorants, pelicans, diving ducks, and we even saw two bald eagle circling overhead.  A magnificent day indeed.

York River (10/20/2014)

I’m running about two days behind in posting my pictures, but the sunrise on the York River was absolutely spectacular on Monday.  A combination of the clouds and the right timing (in going to work) made it almost unforgettable.  Add to it the sailboat that was moored at anchor balls helped in the composition and pulled at this sailor’s heart strings.

The lower part of the York and the Chesapeake are great for sailing.  You can always tie up for an hour or even for an overnight at the floating docks in Yorktown.  I am always amazed by the tidal current that clips by the docks, but boats seem to weather it well.  The advantage is that there are some pretty decent restaurants in the little town, which particularly helps with overnight travelers.  Breakfast is another story; that may be difficult to find in particular on Mondays and Tuesdays.  The mooring balls are also nice, I know the county charges for them; although I have no idea how they collect their money.  Regretfully, there does not seem to be a water taxi to bring people on shore to the restaurants and I am not sure if I would be comfortable leaving a dingy on the beach, considering how busy this beachfront is.

Of all the marinas in the area, York River Yacht Haven is your best bet for overnight visitors.  This marina has a nice restaurant and a good marine store.  The York Haven Marina and White House Cove Marina in Poquoson are pretty darn good too; White House Cove has restaurant on the premises as well.  Crown Point Marina might be another destination.  I do not think Wormley Creek Marina takes transients, but they have a great service shop.  Our Yacht Club will also allow transients, but getting to a store or a restaurant will be difficult.  However, our club has a lot of friendly helpful members so that issue could be solved (in particular if you are buying). 

Sailing in the area is great, the York is fun and so is the Mobjack Bay.  A lot of us sail year round, although the winters can be chilly at times.  I find February to be the toughest month in the area, but to each his/her own.  All together we enjoy being on the York and lower Chesapeake Bay.  It is a great place to visit and to sail.

Newport News Park (10/19/2014)

Home in Newport News Park again.  The leaves have not yet turned, although they are on the verge.  It is amazing how we are two to three weeks behind the rest of the state.  This serves as evidence that we have such a long varied state, as I often mention in my classes.  We go from the coast and coastal plains to a place like Highland County which is the county with the highest average elevation on the east coast.  Yes, there are higher locations, but still that place is high and cold.  Being a bit of a nature geek, it really is fun at times to make the drive from Yorktown all the way to Abingdon, which is about a 6 hour drive (370 miles) and you are still in the same state.  You see all kinds of vegetation types, rock formations and even birds.  The first time I traveled to the hill from the coastal plains I was amazed to see all the plants I was so familiar with when we lived in Cincinnati.

Back to Newport News Park.  Sunday we took a 2 hour walk.  We went out our back yard into the park, walked all the way on to the Yorktown Battlefield and then followed a trail that take you by a swamp, a heron rookery, an area with huge trees with a pawpaw understory that almost looks like an old growth forest, and Grafton ponds.  You can see forested wetlands, ephemeral forest streams and ponds and all kinds of things that delight the soul.  This is my kind of spirituality!

On our walk we all the sudden noticed these green patches of green moss with bright orange mushrooms popping out of them: nice and contrasting (I know I recently did a mushroom post, but here is another one).  After teaching plant evolution at the college level, I am always hesitant to call this moss; a lot of these green patches may actually be the sexual phase of a fern also known as prothallus.  I experienced this first hand: I try to grow bonsai and here I thought I had a nice moss cover on my soil, until they all turned into ferns and my pot is covered by ferns.  Anyway, this is a picture of the moss.  I am also entering it in Cee's weekly photo challenge and this week’s theme is green, kind of a strange subject for fall, but so be it.  

One from last weekend, chanterelles popping out of moss

Fincastle (10/17/2014 and 10/18/2014)

This past Thursday, Friday and Saturday I took part in a stormwater workshop that was put on by the Virginia Association of Professional Soil Scientist (VAPSS).  It was held at Camp Bethel in Fincastle.  Camp Bethel is in a great location and a well thought out camp/retreat.  As a Unitarian Universalist I will not comment about the religious background of the camp, but in no way was there any evidence of a religious message, maybe with the exception of the “no alcohol” rule.  But that was ok; my liver got a break.

The first day of the conference I gave one talk and I served on a panel.  The second day I gave two talks.  Being good soil scientists the third day it was time to look at soil pits, which was great.  I needed to participate a little, but it was a long time ago that I looked at soils in this way.  But truthfully, as one of the major contributors at the conference, you are always on, and people constantly approach you with questions or to start a discussion. 

The best thing was that my wife came with me for a change (she is a soil scientist), and regardless of all the teaching and exhaustion, we were able to sneak away after the meeting for a hike to peep at some leaves, enjoy nature, and just decompress.  There are some great trails at the camp; although the marking of the trails can be done better than just pulling a paint brush over the bark of a tree.  Regardless we had a wonderful time, being away from the hustle and bustle at the office, being in nature, but also being with peers; people with similar interests, who are pretty darn intelligent and just plain fun to be with. 

It was great to recharge the batteries and enjoy life; although it did nothing for the internal debate we both have about what to do when (and sometimes if) we retire: do we want to stay where we live; do we want to move to the mountains and keep our boat as a free motel room in the Tidewater; or shall we move back to New Mexico?  This all came back up during our drive home.  We love them all and honestly, we came to the conclusion that you can only stay (mentally) young if you have a variety of interests and hobbies and foster that in each other.

Blue Ridge Parkway (10/15/2014)

Having to travel out to the western part of the state, we decided that it did not matter what time we arrived at our motel, so we took the Blue Ridge Parkway to our destination.  It was just after a rain, and the fall colors were in their full glory.  Below are some pictures I took on my way down to Roanoke from Afton Pass.

The pictures below give you an idea of the vistas and just simply nice areas we passed by.  We crossed the James River, which was flowing lazily underneath the bridge that is posted here as well.  There is a restored lock on the other side, and that really amazes me, the human effort that was put into getting transport up these types of river.  The other photographs are some beautiful pictures of fall colors and a wall near the visitor's center near the Afton Pass.  It was a great dive and wonderful to see nature in its full glory.