Well, of course, I know it’s not autumn. And spring, I suppose, is an odd time to post autumn pictures. But since Blue Ridge Blue Collar Man has been on my mind a lot lately and since I’m trying to fill my headspace with happy thoughts to crowd out dark imaginings, I thought it’d be a good time to finally post some pictures from a magical walk we took in November. I say “magical” because, well…it was. Late fall, still a little color in the leaves, not too hot or too cold, lovely setting with forest and mountains and big, big sky, and the finest of companions. Plus, in seven miles of hiking, we didn’t meet another soul (except for the horses and mule, that is).
I apologize for not posting last week–we’ve had a few hiccups that we’re still hoping will be small ones. Blue Ridge Blue Collar Man hurt his knee, a meniscus tear, so we surely won’t be hiking for a while. We’re still trying to figure out why the Worker’s Comp people think he can work, since much of his work involves lots of walking while carrying heavy loads and crawling about on his knees. A couple of other hiccups, as well, that we won’t know the outcome of for a while, but they occupy my thoughts just enough to make it hard to write. But, back to happy thoughts…
The place where we hiked was the site of homesteads long ago, and while there were few signs of where the houses had stood, the apple trees the settlers had planted were still there, still bearing apples. Gnarly little apples to be sure, but they certainly made fine apple bread later. In fact, the only living beings (beside birds and bugs) we saw, three horses and one mule, quickly smelled the apples that we’d stuffed in our backpack and pockets and followed us all the way back to the truck. One even stuck his head through the window of the truck after I got in, and they were all staring accusingly at us as we drove away. I felt quite guilty not to give them apple treats, but I only had enough for the aforementioned apple bread. But I promised them that we’d come back next fall and would pick enough apples then to share. And, God willing, we will. I’d sure hate to break my promise to my four-legged friends, even if they only loved me for my apples. 🙂
(Follow the apple-strewn trail…)
Blue Ridge Blue Collar Girl 
