Thursday, October 16, 2014

Weather Atop the Blue Ridge

Just two hours and a few miles of travel on the Blue Ridge Parkway can reveal dramatic changes in weather and the look of the landscape.


There was fog and haze, and most of the trees had not yet revealed their most intense autumn colors (this was October 7).  However, I briefly caught sight of a patch of color through a gap in the mid-ground foliage, and a long lens concentrated the view.


This fog bank followed the fence line for awhile.



My goal that afternoon was to hike to the Cascades in Jeffress Park, and I was rewarded with nice conditions at the upper and lower falls overlooks.  It was cloudy (and sometimes drizzly), which kept the contrast of the white water manageable.







I got my viewpoint very close to ground level at a feeder stream on the way back.



Here are views from inside and outside the Jesse Brown cabin in E. B. Jeffress Park.



Permalink: http://jilcp.blogspot.com/2014/10/weather-atop-blue-ridge.html

10 comments:

  1. What picturesque photos! The first photo is so vivid that it, for some reason, reminded me of Piet Mondrian (e.g., Árbol rojo, 1908 and Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow, 1930).

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    1. Wow! Well, I'm flattered, and I see what you mean about El árbol rojo. Thank you.

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  2. In looking at your beautiful water photos...rushing water...I kept hearing this song in my head by Paul Simon:

    Slip slidin' away
    Slip slidin' away
    You know the nearer your destination
    The more you're slip slidin' away

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    1. I will ponder that as I slip slide away from the computer!

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  3. The New Yorker (by Tim Long and entitled, "Don't Stop, Be Leafing" after that song, "Don't Stop Believing") posted humorous tips for Fall leaf viewing, such as:

    DO seek out an elevated vantage point from which to admire our region’s leaves, aflame with vivid purples, oranges, and reds, just like the bruises I sustained when I fell off the roof of my house and landed on my binoculars.

    DON’T fall prey to the fallacy that there is a single day on which the fall colors are at their peak. That peak actually occurs over a three-day period, from October 22nd to the 24th, during which time you should drive around all six New England states at maximum speed in a leaf-peeping frenzy. DON’T sleep, DON’T eat, and by all means DON’T stop for bathroom breaks—just fashion a crude diaper out of leaves from the red maple, the most absorbent of all New England’s fall foliage.

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    1. Hah! I managed not to slip on any wet rocks around the falls, so no colorful bruises for me. It's true that there's much more to enjoying the leaves than trying to be at a perfect site at the perfect time when all of the leaves have turned and none have fallen. That wouldn't happen even if I had complete control over my time and chose an ideal single place. I'd rather take pleasure in what I get to see, and try to see it in new ways.

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  4. Just breathtaking -- reminds me why I've always loved the Blue Ridge. Thanks again, Jess.

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  5. These photos remind me of a poem by Stephen Dobyns (How To Like It) which begins: These are the first days of fall. The wind / at evening smells of roads still to be traveled,

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    1. That is quite an amazing poem. Man and dog as ego and alter-ego (or some such parts of the human mind)? The decisions and compromises of an examined life? The tug of competing desires and interests? I wasn't conscious of such things when doing this photography, but just being out in the world of nature (whatever that is!) leads me to think about similar things. This is a poem to be lived with and pondered. Thank you.

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