Lady Bugs and Leaves

As is typical for October it always warms up which brings all the ladybugs swarming. It wouldn't be so bad if they would be kind enough to stay outside and fly around, but when they invade the entire inside of your home to the effect of millions it gets a little bothersome. I'm afraid they think that we are the mother ship and are just trying to go home.
For the most part the brilliant colors on the leaves have all but disappeared, but the area is still very beautiful and when the light snows arrive it will even be more beautiful then. This is a wonderful place to live and we appreciate it more and more.
We have made it through the month of October intact once again. It was a very busy month for us as many leaf peepers were out and about not to mention festival goers and this past week guests here to see the Martinsville NASCAR race. The weather cooperated and the races went off without a hitch. We really work hard for this month and can say I wish we had a couple of more months like it.

Foggy Blue Ridge

We have been very low on rainfall since the deluges this Spring and would welcome any rain, however to have all the cloud cover and dreary fog and no rain is horrible. The last few days has made any veiwing of the beautiful changing of the fall leaves impossible. The skyline is so fogged in that driving the parkway is really not possible and really downright dangerous with all the deer thrown into the mix. Enough of the doom and gloom on the brighter side the cool crisp air has been wonderful not to mention all the great festivals that are going on in the area. The Woolwine Octoberfest (applebutter festival) was a big hit. We peeled 185 bushels of apples and made some wonderful applebutter to sell. The Apple Dumpling festival is this weekend in Stuart and the JEB Stuart renactment in Ararat was also a big success.
The fog will soon clear and the fiery colors of Fall will once again reappear and life will move on.

Fall colors coming fast

As everyone knows our B&B is located atop a knoll which gives us a beautiful view of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and that means we get to see the beautiful changing of the leaf colors every day. This year all the colors seem to be coming fast as there are changes what seems almost hourly. The winds have also shown up early causing many of the beautiful leaves to depart early for their annual fall to the ground. So far the soft woods are changing first with the beautiful yellows and a few of the hardwoods with the reds and oranges are turning as well but not as much as the others. The weekend of the 16th and 17th are probably going to be a great time to take a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway and enjoy the colors however I suspect the colors will hold on until the end of the month, we'll see. The air is slowly getting colder and the festivals and other activities in the area are in full gear. What a beautiful place that we have chosen to live.