In the Air

Friday, 6 December 2024

It was a brilliantly clear day as we were flying from Roanoke to Dulles Airport on our way to Vienna (Austria, not Virginia). Our flight took a western curve and we flew over very familiar territory.

As we ascended from Roanoke the Titan America cement plant and Tinker Cliffs on the Appalachian Trail were visible.

Next we flew by Covington. The WestRock paper mill was unmistakable.

In the distance was Clifton Forge, and our house was a dot on the image.

Ingalls Field in Bath County.

Lake Moomaw is in the foreground; the Homestead can be seen in the middle of the photo.

The Homestead is at left center, with the ski slope visible as the white streak in the center of the photo.

A wildfire was active in the St. Marys Wilderness in the Blue Ridge.

A view of the smoke plume from the St. Marys wildfire.

Jackson River Scenic Trail - New Section

The final section of the Jackson River Scenic Trail was supposed to be opened in spring 2023, but environmental and construction delays postponed the projected opening to spring 2024. Then a "high water event" in January 2024 caused part of the almost-finished trail to collapse.

Unexpected drainage from below the trail eroded the base and caused a 500-ft section to sluff off.

Stabilization materials had shifted down the slope.

This trail section had to be re-engineered, completely removed, then rebuilt. It finally opened in November 2024.

The rebuilt section has new drainage structures and wall stabilization.

From the other end.

There's still a bit of silt entering the water after significant rain.

A nice set of rapids on Cedar Creek.

Water exiting a cave along the stream bank.

A closer view of the cave entrance.

Looking north along Cedar Creek to the new Cedar Creek Trailhead.

More Wildlife

 Most of the time wildlife ignores my game cameras - they're supposed to be "black", no red glow from the infrared illumination. However, sometimes animals clearly detect something they don't like. Maybe a slight glow or a high-pitched whine?

This black bear isn't sure what he's detecting.

And this coyote was also disturbed by the camera.

I think that's a bat that dive-bombed the coyote.

Sometimes you don't need sound to know what's going on!

Skywatching

2024 has been a good year for celestial phenomena, and October is the standout month!

Aurora

The aurora borealis (northern lights) were visible from most of the United States on October 10. Even our adult children could see the aurora from way south (Georgia) and light-polluted cities (Pittsburgh, suburban Chicago).

From our deck looking slightly north of east. The streaks in this 5-second exposure are airplanes. There are at least 5 planes in the field of view. The constellation Cassiopeia is at the far left.

I managed to catch an exposure mostly void of airplanes.

The sun on October 11 as viewed through a solar filter. Flares from sunspots cause the aurora a day or two later.

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS

We have a mountain blocking the western horizon, so we had to wait for the comet to rise a bit above the setting sun before we could see it. Then we had three cloudy nights, followed by a full "super" moon. Finally, we a chance to see the comet on October 17 & 18. On October 19 it was getting quite dim in binoculars.

October 17. The comet rises above Fore Mountain, which was illuminated by the full moon.

October 17. A closer view of the comet.

October 19. Venus is in the lower left.

A closer view of the comet.

I'm mildly annoyed that recent cell phones take better sky pictures than my Canon 77D - just point at the sky and click. The sensors and software are impressive. (Of course, they also cost more than my camera.)

Wildlife Videos

You never know when a trail cam video has a little surprise at the end.

Occasionally I've seen a rabbit or squirrel and a deer in the same photo, but these turkeys seem totally unconcerned that the deer is about to step on them!

Let's make it a parade!

Drone Pix

 Lon got a small drone as a birthday present - a DJI Mini 4K. It's super easy to fly and takes amazing pictures. It's less than 250 g, so it doesn't need to be registered with the FAA as long as it's used strictly for personal use. (You still have to take the TRUST safety course and exam before flying, but that's (1) useful knowledge, and (2) takes less than 30 minutes.)

Overhead view. We're flying from our deck.

Looking down Morris Hollow.

I stitched this panorama together from two photos, from Griffith Knob on the left side to Clifton Forge at the right.

Video works well, too.

Cloudwatching

One of our favorite evening pastimes is watching clouds from our deck. While we really wish it would rain here, we frequently get great views of thunderstorms off to the east.

July 10, 8:09 PM. Massive storm front to the east.

July 10, 8:21 PM. The southern end of the storm has changed significantly.

July 10, 8:47 PM. The tops of the storm are illuminated by the setting sun.

July 10, 8:33 PM. Radar shows this line of strong storms is almost 100 miles to the west of our location.

A nearly identical cloud from July 4, 2023 shows that storms frequent this area in July!