The Sun Rises, The Sun Sets

Over all for me, the best time of year is the last of October and early November when the colors have turned to oranges and reds and browns. The air is crisp, even cold. The sky is clear and bright. The sun mixes warm earth colors to shades even more golden than usual.

It all lasts such a brief time and cannot be duplicated the other 50 weeks of the year. Unlike some changes in nature - a stream or patterns formed by tree branches - the effect of autumn leaves and sun will likely return creating similar views.

I can depend and take comfort in this. But other changes, designed and implemented by man, disturb me greatly. For example -

Our federal government is putting "recovery dollars to work." They are repairing much of the stone walls along the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is a necessary effort. The walls were built in the '30s and have begun to crumble. However, this will require the closing of my favorite segment of the Parkway. The entire length of Doughton Park will be inaccessible (there is uncertainty even by the locals whether Bluffs Lodge and Coffee Shop can be reached) for a long two year period.

Many of the photographs that appear in this blog were taken in the park. It even seems the growth of my family over the years has been punctuated by visits and memories shared there.

Times do change. People seem to enjoy nature in its raw form less now than in years past. The bluffs will still be there, the grasses and windblown trees, the families of deer and of course the amazing sunsets.