Friday fold: flying over the Fort Valley with Michael Collier
Renowned geological aerial photographer Michael Collier gives Callan a lift over the Fort Valley and Massanutten Mountain in his two-seater Cessna.
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Springy stuff in my yard this morning
It’s been a busy week. Hardly any free time. Here are a few pictures from my yard, taken this morning. Please accept them in lieu of a real blog post: Eastern cottontail: Mountain laurel: The cicadas are trilling in a mad, constant, siren-like noise. It’s intense, and otherworldly. Talk to you later…
Monday macrobug: Flight of the termites
Termites can fly. But not all termites. Around here, the only flying termites are the reproductives – the fertile males and females that a termites colony produces periodically. It seems to be associated with the advent of spring. I spotted this group a couple of weeks ago, when I noticed the sunlight catching in their … Read more
The latest flood on Passage Creek
We had another flood on Passage Creek on Wednesday, and into Thursday morning. Here are a few photos and GigaPans for those of you who like flood imagery: link link link Making GigaPans of the scene: Some images of the flood itself: Aftermath: http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/129490 http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/129543 http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/129569 10.3 feet was the maximum gauge height this time … Read more
Monday macrobug: Twilight of the ladybug infestation
Spring has arrived in the Fort Valley. We went from snow and sub-freezing nights to two 80°F+ days in a row, and then throttled back to normal springtime temperatures. The pulse of heat brought about a big release of ladybugs from our walls, and at times it was as apocalyptic a scene as it was … Read more
Snow day II
There’s something so awesome about a heavy snowfall, so transformative – it really inspires me. I went out skiing this morning, and I’ve never seen our house looking more beautiful. The snow is about 11 inches deep so far: It’s a wet, heavy snow. Temperatures are hovering right around 32°F (0°C), so it’s sticking to … Read more
Snow day!
It’s lovely here in the Fort Valley this morning! Lily went skiing: Lola sat in the window: Yay!
After the flood
After Passage Creek receded following last week’s flood, I went down to the bridge and the floodplain to have a look around. Here’s a little bit of what I saw… Let’s start at the bridge itself. The view is to the west, and Passage Creek flows north: On the other side of the bridge, looking … Read more
Passage Creek in flood
After a night of torrential rain, Callan wakes to find his sole (vehicular) route to the outside world under several feet of flood water.
Monday macrobug: ladybug infestation
October 2012 was a bumper month for macrobugs here at Bentley Farm. But… none more so than the ladybugs: One of the downsides to living way out in the sticks is that we have to deal with a lot of insects. Mostly, I relish this interaction, as the “Monday Macrobug” series attests. But the gnats, … Read more
2012 Yard List
Here’s our “yard list” of birds since we moved to the new place in June: Pileated woodpecker Red-bellied woodpecker Eastern phoebe Great blue heron White-breasted nuthatch Scarlet tanager Whippoorwill Chipping sparrow Ruby-throated hummingbird Tufted titmouse Black-capped chickadee Indigo bunting Chimney swift Red-eyed vireo Turkey vulture American crow Great crested flycatcher Louisiana warbler Broad-winged hawk Eastern … Read more
Frost this morning
It’s a cold morning in the Fort Valley.
Living in the Appalachian Forest, by Chris Bolgiano
Last week, I finished reading Living in the Appalachian Forest: True Tales of Sustainable Forestry, by Chris Bolgiano. It’s a grab-bag of stories from the forested mountains of the south-central Appalachians, ranging from Pennsylvania down to Kentucky and maybe Georgia, too. West Virginia and Virginia get the most attention. The driving question behind the book … Read more
Monday macrobug: Brown marmorated stinkbug
These guys were all over the exterior of our house in October, trying to get into the interior. Here’s the view from the outside, looking down on the back of stinkbug: Nasty species – invasive, destructive to plants, persistent in its desire to be indoors, and most pointedly, downright smelly.
Milestones
Callan reflects on major moments this week in his personal and professional lives.
Passage Creek the morning after Sandy
The storm treated us well last night. We got some rain and some consistently moderate wind, but nothing insane. When I got up this morning, I checked the stream gauge online, and saw that Passage Creek was up significantly, and perhaps over the little low-water bridge that connects our house to the outside world. So … Read more
News
Well, it’s been kind of quiet on the Mountain Beltway front this week – but I have a good excuse. Early on Friday morning, my son Baxter was born. The little guy arrived weighing more than 9 pounds (4.125 kg), and measuring 21 inches from beak to tail. He’s very sweet and wonderful. Lily and … Read more