Blue Skies & Sunsets Over Southwest Virginia Signal Change For The Blog

I have been waiting for a time to announce changes to the blog and my trip late last week is as good a time as any. 

I love doing the blog, but that feeling is sometimes tested as it takes time to get posts up. Writing the blog and working on pictures can get time-consuming. Besides normal life, I have other projects I want to begin work on. This means that when I put blogs up they will be shorter and most of the pictures will be linked to SmugMug and Google Photos. I will still do longer blogs when it is warranted. Also, I will have more on these projects on here soon.

The Cabin from above

The main thing to note about the trip to the Cabin was getting to fly the drone over Scott County. I flew it over the Cabin on Thursday, including for sunset. Then I took it out Friday for five different spots. The first meadow on the way up Wood Booger Ridge and the George's Meadow. Then it was down to Deer Meadow and decided here to go up to Buckner Ridge. Because it isn't totally clear on our property I got to test my pilot skills here. The final spot was on the other side of the other barn in the open road at Franklin's Place. So, enjoy some of these birds-eye views above Southwest Virginia...

View from the First Meadow

From George's Meadow on Wood Booger Ridge

From Deer Meadow

Valley view from Buckner Ridge

The Other Barn at my last stop

Photo Links: SmugMug & Google Photos

The Lummox Finds Another Way To Piss Me Off!

Well, I'm back from hiking in Southwest Virginia and Buckner Ridge. Normally it would be a hell yeah, but as always the Lummox finds a way to mess s**t up! How did he do this...with that damn drone!

I mean every time I would get in my Hiking Machine mood, he would stop to fly that drone. It is just something else slowing me down which is what the Lummox is good at! So, I know he will drone on about it...you didn't know I'm funny too. Well, with that I'm out...BITCHES!

Spring Over St. Clair (Drone Style)

Today marked the start of Meteorological Spring and while I didn't go hiking I did do something cool, played with my drone, Nostromo, again. As I said yesterday I took my drone out for its maiden flight Monday. However, I tried to err on the side of caution and not fly too high. Well, today I decided to take it higher and move it around more. Once you get the hang of it it's not too hard to fly. Oh, and interesting thing while I had it up it attached the attention of our resident Red-Tailed Hawk who circled it. But the drone came home unharmed.

Test Flight Of The Nostromo (My New Drone)

You know I bet someone will say to me you swore that you would never buy a drone. Well, technically I did as it was a Xmas Gift. So, today was the test flight of the new drone.

The drone, a DJI Mini SE, is a small lightweight beginner craft. It just weighs 249 grams which places it on the line for registering it with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), since it didn't cost much I went ahead and did it anyway. I named it after the ship in Alien, the Nostromo. This one has good battery life and a good camera that moves Like most beginner drones it uses a cell phone as the screen hooked up to the controller. I did end up getting an extra battery, landing gear, and pad. You might ask it is the end of February, so why am I now doing a test flight. Well, there are a number of reasons let's just say I needed to learn to drive it. 

Oh, when I went to finally fire it up I had forgotten I needed to charge the controller up. Finally, after I got the stuff ironed and it was time for the test flight. I decided to play it safe and do a flight that was mostly up and down and just 20 meters up (I preset the height). I mean I didn't want to break it on the first flight. I took it up and then down without breaking it. 

So, there will be pictures on this blog from the drone, but there is only one first flight... 

It's February & It is Again Time To Tap Maple Trees

It's February and besides being the last month of winter it also means tree tapping time and Sugar Maples to be exact. This is my sixth season tapping trees.

This year I was a little behind for a number of reasons. The first one of the big maples here at St. Clair is out of action as I am letting it heal after the trauma of having some big limbs removed. Two there has been work going on at the house and three I had to get some new, permanent tubing. 

So, I had one big maple to tap and after getting ready and drilling the hole it came up dry...not a good start. The following day I checked some of the younger trees and found one that was 10 inches in diameter making it ready to tap. So far this tree has outproduced the much larger Sugar Maple. Well, when it is time to cook I will give a rundown of that.

On & Off-Trail Hiking Plus A Little Snow In The CNF

It is February, while it is still winter, it can one minute be cold and the next more like Spring and that describes my day hike in the Cherokee National Forest (CNF).

The winter I mentioned was there when I left Tuesday morning as the temperature clocked in at 22 degrees. Before I had to worry about the change in them[atures I had to decide where I was going. After deciding on the Margarette Falls Trailhead I still had to pick a route. Margarette Falls was out because I went here a month ago, in the snow. So it was down to Bullen Hollow and Phillips Hollow and I didn't choose the latter trail until I reached the junction at the information kiosk. 

Snowy January trip

The trailhead for three trails

Trail junction

Before crossing the creek I had a chat with an old local guy who had hiked all over the trails in "my backyard." Anyway, once across I headed up the Phillips Hollow Trail and it wasn't long before I ran into blowdown. It was here that I made an executive decision which while not popular with Pete was to abandon this hike. You see, at this point in my life when I hit the trail some days, I feel like I'm in my 30s (like my snow hike at Roan Mountain). Then there are the days I feel my age (like recently at Beauty Spot) and then days like today when I just feel...old!

Phillips Hollow Trail

Plenty of ice

Had to cut some blowdown

Didn't feel old on these hikes...

So, I decided to go up the Bullen Hollow Trail and then do an exploratory hike up a manway that is part of a loop of the Bullen Hollow Trail to Kennedy Cabin and down Renyolds Ridge. I saw this hike on the Greeneville Hiking Club site. It is around 10 miles and since it was already noon I was doing the loop, but I wanted to see if this part is still possible. I was right about where it came down I must say it wasn't as steep as I thought but was longer. One other thing the manway is in far better shape than I expected. 

Bullen Hollow Trail goes right

Start of the manway

There were a lot of good winter views heading up and on top of Renyolds Ridge. Oh, and while I saw some aspects of snow on earlier in the day I ran into much more on top of the ridge. Most was in the shade hiding from the Sun. 

Greeneville...

...Tusculum...

...Blackstack Cliffs...

...Jones Meadow...

...Towers on Camp Creek Bald

Snow on the mountainside...

...& on Reynolds Ridge

As always the trip back was quicker than the journey up and eventually, I got back to the trailhead and looked to my right and could see where I had been. While everything didn't go as planned it was a day in the mountains, on the trail which is better than a regular day!

More Photos: SmugMug & Google Photos