Adventures with Barb ... enjoying the waning days of fall leaf season 2013

These photos were all taken in Augusta County, most of them along the western foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. What a glorious day just going where the wind blew. The Shenandoah Valley was at peak leaf color on the first weekend in November, unusually late for this area, but it's been an unusual leaf season. With sunny skies and cool temperatures, the final colors of red and gold popped out which sent Barb and me on another adventure along the back roads and up to Afton.

We found a covered bridge, visited a friend whose property touches the boundaries of Shenandoah National Park, found trees with leaves of shimmering golds and brilliant reds, observed vehicles parked at Skyline Drive overlooks along the Blue Ridge Mountains, toured the Dooleys' marble mansion on Afton known as Swannanoa, stopped for caramel corn from Afton's popcorn man, and lunched at McAlister's where our plans to eat at an outdoor table were sidelined by a prevailing wind with an exceptionally cool edge to it.

It was a fun day. More photos to come

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
#FallinVA
November 2, 2013

Adventures with Barb ... chasing autumn leaves on the back roads of Bath County, Va

 Warm Springs, Virginia, on October 24, 2013. Some trees were still green, others were showcasing their color, and some were already bare. Friend Barb and I chased autumn leaves along the back roads of Bath County on a cold, blustery day.

 Add a brisk wind to this temperatures and you end up with brrrrrr.

 Dan Ingalls Overlook at the crest of Warm Springs Mountain offered a view looking east ...

... and the view looking east was of the mountains we had just driven through. I liked the rays of sun coming out of the dark clouds that were spitting snow as I took the photo. The road in the right side of the picture is Rt. 39.

A back road in Warm Springs, Virginia.

Overlooking Warm Springs on a cloudy day. Lack of sun made autumn colors more subdued.

Snow and sleet! Blustery winds and cold temps in the mid-30s brought precipitation from the dark clouds hanging over the Allegheny Mountains.

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
October 24, 2013
#fallinva

Adventures with Barb: Rockingham County and Liskey's sweet corn

 It was pouring rain in the Shenandoah Valley today but that didn't stop my friend Barb and me from heading north to Rockingham County for some Liskey's sweet corn straight out of the field. Their popular roadside stand is usually packed with vehicles as consumers from near and far stop to buy some of the freshest, just-out-of-the-field corn around.

 Today's fog and heavy rain made it a quiet adventure today since we were the only ones under the tent picking through a heaping mound of corn as we looked for big, just-right ears. Together we bought five dozen -- some for friends, some for family, some for freezing, some for eating.

By 10:30 some of the ears I had purchased were shucked and boiling on my stove. We had corn for lunch and corn for dinner. Yum.

As we drove back through the rain and fog to Augusta with our prized ears, I told Barb about a growing-up memory when I was a little girl in Chesterfield County. My mom and aunt would buy dozens of ears of corn on the cob, parboil it, and slice it off the cobs into freezer bags for good winter eating. My sister and I would sit eagerly at the table waiting for leftover cobs that had just enough of the good kernels left for nibbling. That was some gooood eating. Barb has done her share of putting up corn in the freezer, too.

Memories and summertime corn. It was all good today.

The Liskeys have been growing and selling corn for 29 years. Mrs. Liskey said they will be there for another 10 days or so and then that will be it for this year. With Labor Day cookouts this weekend, you may want to get some for the grill.

The stand is on Rt. 11 just south of the Rockingham Farmers Market (with the windmills) and is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Corn is priced $5.50/dozen, $3/half dozen, and $0.50 an ear. The fields surround the stand ... it is as fresh as it can be -- picked each morning. Their phone number is 540.434.2196.

Summer and corn-on-the-cob. As Andy Griffith would say, "Hmm, hmm, good!"

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
August 28, 2013