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!

High Bridge Trail

 On July 5 & 6 we traveled to Farmville, Virginia to ride the High Bridge Trail.

The trail is a rails-to-trails state park that now starts in Pamplin City and ends about a mile short of Burkeville. Originally 31.2 miles long, a recently opened (April 2024) 1.1 mile extension into Pamplin City makes the trail now 32.3 miles. Farmville is very near the mid-point of the trail, and is also about the lowest point of the trail. As the home of Longwood University, Farmville has a good number of tourist amenities and makes a good "launch site".

On Friday, July 5 we rode from Farmville to the eastern end. This section includes the High Bridge - over 2400 feet long and about 125 feet above the Appomattox River. We started early to avoid the excessive summer heat, and saw a good bit of wildlife along the trail, including deer and turkeys.

The High Bridge as seen from the eastern end.

Looking down the bridge. It seems to go on forever.

The Appomattox River is near the eastern end of the bridge. It is not a very big river and quite muddy.

There are three pull-outs on the bridge. This is the easternmost one, looking east.

The High Bridge as seen on the USGS Topo Map. The built-up earthwork on the western side is impressive - especially considering that the railroad was built in the 1850s without modern (i.e. mechanized) earth moving equipment. It has obviously held up well for over 150 years.

On Saturday, July 6, we rode to the western end of the trail. It was mostly a tunnel of trees. The best part was the downhill grade from Pamplin City to Farmville - a drop of almost 400 feet in 17 miles.

At the end of the trail we both picked up our cell phones to take a picture.

The end of the trail in Pamplin City.

An interesting map of Virginia in the breakfast room of the Hotel Weyanoke - made from "tree cookies".

A closer look at the overlapping tree cookies.

Trail camera visitors

 Caught on camera in the last two weeks.

A barred owl coming in for a landing.

New born fawn.

Same fawn a few days later.

The fawn is getting steadier on its feet every day.

We've been able to see the antlers progress from barely visible stubs to a full spike over the last month or so. They're still growing and covered with velvet.

Mid-July addition: A small bear wanders in front of the camera at the front of our house.

Aurora Borealis

The Northern Lights (aurora borealis) were somewhat visible tonight (early AM, May 11) from our location at 38°N. With the naked eye, the northern sky, normally very dark, was light. Camera sensors are more sensitive to the red colors of the aurora at this latitude, so made it more visible.

A plane crossed the field of view as I was taking this 8 second exposure.

The Little Dipper in the red glow from the aurora.

Tracing the Little Dipper in the previous photo.

Castor & Pollux (Gemini) low on the horizon.

Sunday afternoon:

The source of all the auroral activity: Lots of sunspots at the maximum of the 11-year solar cycle.