Sunday, December 30, 2007
New Years almost here...
So here's a link to my sister's blog which shows Christmas at our mom's. And if you love dogs scroll through her blog and check out the Great dane - baby elephant they've been raising in the house.
Later today I'll try to salvage what's on my camera before I box her up for repairs.
Happy New Year All. Have a safe one. And don't drink and drive.
Friday, December 21, 2007
View from up top...
The photo above is of the centuries old land mark, Buffalo Mtn. And the one above that is Leslie
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Year round camping on Philpott Lake
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Philpott Lake announces the fall and winter fee schedules for parks located in Henry, Patrick and Franklin Counties . The following parks are open for use year round: Philpott Park , Goose Point Park , Ryans Branch Park , Twin Ridge Park , Deer Island and Smith River Park . Launch Ramp 1 at Philpott Park has a $3.00 Area Use Fee in effect year- round. Likewise, there is a $4.00 Area Use Fee in effect at Goose Point Park .
Goose Point Park has nine sites available for camping on a first-come / first-served basis. Deer Island has 21 sites available for camping. Camping fees are $5.00 per night from November 1 through March 27, 2008. Campers with more than two vehicles must pay an additional $4.00 per day for each vehicle over the two per site limit. For the off season campsites have been rendered somewhat primitive with no water or electric hookups available. Toilet and shower facilities have been closed to avoid problems with freezing plumbing. Portable toilets (porta-johns) have been made available for visitor use. Park regulations continue to apply to off-season use. Any questions may be addressed by calling the Visitor Assistance Center at (276) 629-2703.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Fairystone and Philpott Lake Overlook.
A week ago, October 25th-27th, relief appeared to be arriving in North Carolina and South Central Virginia as a major wet weather system blessed parched areas with a long, soaking downpour. Cameras throughout the region captured wings of water spray flying up from car wheels and shining beads of water dripping from pine needles. Dry stream beds bubbled merrily with water and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers water control managers anxiously watched lake levels creep up—just a little.
Mike Moneypenny, of the National Weather Service, called the welcome rain a ‘Rogue Storm,’ technically described as a ‘cut off low’ that became stalled by surrounding pressure patterns and stayed put to drop rain for an unusually long time. Then Moneypenny said, ‘nothing more is coming!’ The drought is not over.
“We all bought time with this rain,” said Wilmington District’s water control manager Terry Brown. “The Corps lakes have all benefited, but none are back up to guide curve, and stream flows are already dropping back.” To give an idea of the extent of the benefit from this rain, Brown showed the region-wide water management group a series of graphs charting the forecast downward trend of water in the lakes. After a brief bump upward from the rain, the graphs all are expected to sink back down, reaching their before-the-rain level on different dates depending on how much benefit the lakes had received and the types of uses expected for the water.
Philpott Lake rose 2.3 feet, but will be back to its pre-storm level by about December 3 if no more rain arrives.
“Long term forecasts continue to indicate that a dry winter and spring still could lie ahead of us,” said Wilmington District Water Control Manager Terry Brown. “We and all those who depend on the water in these lakes are grateful that we have some added time to find the best way to stretch our resources,” he said. “But we recognize that we got a little breathing space, not a rescue!”
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Fall's here and so is the rain!!
Monday, October 22, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
A Philpott Shot
Saturday, October 13, 2007
A Sure Sign of Fall...
Friday, October 12, 2007
The good old days...
Hopkins store sits right on route 8 in the Buffalo Ridge community. It's nice to see it with a fresh coat of paint. For years it sat with paint pealing and I thought , well one day somebody will think it an eye sore and want to tear it down.Bless the one who saw fit to save it and picked up that paint brush. Job well done.
I can remember when it was still a working store. Every Sunday moma would take me to Floyd see her grandma. Granny Boyd I called her.Although her name was Beaulah Epperly.After her first husband, Charlie Boyd, passed on she married Posey Epperly.
Now granny and Posey's house was fun. They had everything we didn't.Land to run around on,cows, a big old white cat and a refridgerator full of 10 ounce bottles Dr Pepper in the basement.Granny was a firm believer in that children should always drink milk. I didn't like granny's milk. You see granny bought milk from a lady named Lillian Haden.She lived a farm or two down from granny and she raised milk cows. Seemed like she charged 25 cents a gallon if you brought your own jugs. Always after supper and after suffering through a glass of that straight from the cow milk,Posey and I would would slip off to the fridge in the basement. There Posey would open the fridge,reach in and feel for the two coldest bootles.He would then pull the caps from both and hand one to me. Then we would walk over to the door that lead outside and as he unlocked and opened it he would always say"Don't let her(granny) catch you with this pop".I would go out the door and up the steps as fast as I could.To the left of the house under the grape vines is where I would hide. I wonder if she ever knew.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Monday, October 8, 2007
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
A Lake Shot
Monday, October 1, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
Fishing on Philpott
Done a little fishing on Philpott lake here while back. Caught a few fish and threw them all back. You'll see us riding mom's pontoon boat in the video.We've affectionately named her the "Philpott Princess"