Thanks, Peyton!

Great sign by Peyton Coyner!































non sequitur: the pumpkins across the road - all the big ones are gone now.

Winter Ball

Nelson County Times editor Aaron Lee writes about Lynn Hudson's first dance in Stepping Out. And Chet White's wonderful slide show is online at the News Advance.



Congratulations, Queen Lynn!

Bargains Galore!

Click on the photo to see this isn't a spoof.

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A Snow Hike

First, a reminder that Virginia Conservation Network Lobby Day is tomorrow January 21!

Yesterday Janet Hunter led a group of five on a hike through the crunchy snow. Janet decided to change the route not once but twice in order to avoid unsafe terrain.

Roughly half of the hike was on the Parkway, literally, since it was unploughed and closed to traffic. The rest of the hike was on trails, and except at the starting-end point, we encountered no one.


Janet has been leading hikes such as this for many years, so she knows the area well. In reference the earlier entry on the injured hiker, she has dealt with medical injuries two times on hikes. She decided on the alternative route since the original plan would have included steep climbs on ice covered rock. Five people times six miles is 30 miles of hiking on snow and ice without a single person falling down.

The original plan was a circuit hike along the lower of the distant parallel ridge lines. We had great visibility, and the expansive views from the Parkway were a treat since there was very little wind.


I'm more accustomed to views like this.


Yesterday we had an unexpected bounty of open space for hiking and choices to make: which track is the least slippery? For the most part we were in 4-5 inches of snow, and today I can still feel the effects from that extra bit of required leg lift.


This is a great group of hiking companions. I'm finding that the hardest adjustment to make in group hiking is when I want to stop for a minute and lean on my poles, they have an obstinate tendency to keep trudging on :) Ordinarily, my only companion is my dog who follows at my heels and stops when I stop, walks when I walk. She won't be coming on the next group hike because it is designated wilderness. Also, a dog was killed by a bear in that area.

The other adjustment is that hiking in a group is totally different head space from solo hiking.