A night above Blacksburg up at Kelly's Knob

We enjoyed a day off up at Kelly's Knob, a beautiful little spot right outside of Blacksburg that offers a fantastic view as well as one of the best views of town. And it has some nice rocks to play around on.




Sweet lighting, sweeter composition.



Balance is what you make it.



Ted climbing around. Don't try this at home.



Me during the winter time at this same spot.





A snail sporting its nature designed architecture of a spiral.




The sun setting on another day, but really just us keepin' on spinning.




Lovin' the Appalachian Trail.

Summertime

Summertime is definitely upon us and in the good ole Commonwealth of Virginia that could only mean one thing, Humidity. Yes, lots of it. But it makes the evenings all the sweeter. We just wrapped up Week 9 of Konnarock and I cannot believe how fast it is flying by. The volunteers continue to amaze me in their awesomeness and every week is indeed a blessing and a treat.

Last week my dad came out to see what I was doing out in the woods and this week one of my old roommates from college, Elijah, came up to work with us. So, what has happened in the past few weeks.

Oh snap, bustin a move at Sherando Lake over July the 4th weekend.




God Beams warming some of the crew out at the Tye River project one morning. Beautiful.




Building some trail out there.



A damselfly, belonging to the Order Odonata like dragonflies, depositing her eggs in aquatic vegetation.





Walking to work via the Tye River bridge. (done by Konnarock back in the day)




Elijah pounding a stake to hold the check step in place while Ted keeps it flush. That was up above Matt's Creek Shelter in the James River Face Wilderness.




Fog over the Little Tennessee River just below Fontana Dam at the edge of Great Smokey Mountains National Park.




Luscious life.





Lovin' the trail and everything it stands for.

untitled poem

Saturn ascends
Celestial canopy hotwires my thoughts
Spinning so fast
This revolution of mass contends for stardom
I feel aphelion
The distance between the sound and the hollow stretches
Cornerstones echo to each other:

All is connected.

This bosoming blossoming blanketing web warms my soul
Spreading across my neurons and spastically spouting axons
Spreading across my veins and bronchial tubes and nerves
Stretching forth from my tips to the tips of existence
The darkest holes and coldest poles
The apex of every augmented mountain
These strings connect us all
To the cascading call of streams clinging to gravity
The breath of an ant underground
This bond cannot be broken
Only forgotten

Let us remember
Our atavistic yearnings beg of it
Clawing at the double helix wonder of our skeletal frame
So are the strings formed
Spirals
The holy vortex of creation’s prolific pattern
The ultimate arc of idea curved into creative perfection
This spiraling web consumes everything
It is everything
And so are we
Just waiting to be
Waiting to be.

A few more pictures as of late

Here are a few more pictures from the whirlwind of the last month.

A tiny fawn trying to hide in the Grayson Highlands. Baby deer have no scent as a means of self-preservation while in such a vulnerable stage of their lives.




Some of the "wild" ponies of the Highlands. A few newborn and an older one with quite the mean itch.




The butterflies are loving the milkweed. Monarchs feed almost exclusively on the plant. Notice their nice camoflage.




A snake sunning part of itself on a rock in the New River. We thought it was stuck for awhile...