Fall color

For many people, Fall is their favorite season. I too love the beautiful colors and the first crisp, cool nights after the late summer heat.

This year has been a little different with cool weather in August and September and down right cold weather this first few days of October. The weather seems so unusual and yet it is probably closer to normal than the past couple of fall seasons. I can remember seeing a couple of inches of snow fall in Blacksburg on September 15 back in the dark ages of 1968.

When I first moved to Bath County 16 years ago, a September or early October frost wasn't that unusual. Much of this area is likely to see frost tonight which will speed the change in color. Already many maples have changed and all have some color. By this weekend, the mountain roads will be a living painting like this photo taken last year on the road over the backside of Warm Springs Mountain to Clifton Forge--the road locals call airport road.

This weekend I plan to head over to White Sulphur Springs to the National Fish Hatchery for the annual Freshwater Folk Festival. The people at the hatchery are doing some amazing work in trying to save our freshwater mussels in addition to all the trout they raise. Now they are planning to add hiking trails, an amphitheater and other educational facilities.

If you plan to wander into the mountains this weekend for some leaf peeping, add a stop in White Sulphur to you trip. There are other festivals in the area and any road you take coming and going will be beautiful. I plan to head up to Cranberry Glades and across the Scenic Highway Saturday afternoon. A favorite fall trip for my daughter and I.

I see that another bog is slipping off a mountain near a wind project in the British Isles. But still, the focus on opposition to commercial wind turbines is on bats and birds and view sheds. More on what I see as an equally big issue next week. Enjoy your weekend. If you can't get out to see the mountains in fall, message me and I'll point you to some photos and short video clips we'll take this weekend.