I’m feeling nicely tired as I download my images and pick a couple for this blog. My day started with sunrise from the Pounding Mill Outlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and I meandered all over the place from there.  Hiking in the woods, wading through streams (and getting very wet), and generally trying to make the most of every daylight minute.  In the morning I will leave the Brevard area and head west, and the plan is to stay in Murphy overnight. More adventures tomorrow.

I am traveling in North Carolina and eastern Tennessee for a few days. My “fall time”.  This spot has been on my list of places to visit for awhile and this evening I spent a couple of hours here, just sitting, thinking, praying, and occasionally taking a photograph.  It’s just that kind of place, a sacred space.  Here are a couple of the images.

I love the motion of the water and other elements in these images, and decided to convert them to black and white which lessens the distraction of the color.  Not sure which I ultimately prefer, but it’s fun to explore different interpretations.  These are of Botany Bay, Kiawah Island, and Church Creek.

Yesterday I spent some time buzzing over the barrier islands of South Carolina at a rising tide.  I was curious to see what Botany Bay boneyard beach looked like since Hurricane Matthew hit that Edisto area hard.  In fact Botany Bay, and another favorite of mine, Hunting Island in Beaufort are both closed indefinitely while officials assess and make repairs to the damage sustained.  Here are a couple of the images from that flight.

Really lousy quality because Blogger has compressed the file to the extreme.  Sorry folks.

Charleston has faced many hurricanes in her time, and now again she has readied herself to meet another in Hurricane Matthew.  We decided not to evacuate since we are on relatively high ground.  We are also well prepared with supplies.  I still can’t help feeling a little apprehensive about what the next 24 hours will bring.  It’s a strange limbo type feeling when you’ve done all you know to do to prepare, and now there’s just the waiting.  I decided to take a ride downtown this morning and it’s been awhile since I’ve seen Charleston this deserted.  Here are a few images that hopefully capture the current mood of this historic southern town.  I pray any damage will be light and that her people will stay safe.

… and this evening was just as peaceful as yesterday’s was.  The colors leaned towards the pinks rather than the goldens, but the water was still calm and our sophisticated weather forecasting technology aside, it would never occur to anyone that a monster storm is poised to unleash total chaos upon this idyllic scene.  

Looking out over the Stono River this evening, it’s hard to imagine that there is danger lurking out there, that a dangerous hurricane is inexorably churning it’s way towards our halcyon world.  Anyway, this is probably going to be the last pretty sunset for awhile.  We will see what Matthew brings us over the next few days.  Be safe out there everyone.

This is an annual fundraising event organized by and for the Down Syndrome Association of the Lowcountry.  They are a volunteer driven organization created for local families.  Their mission is to see children and adults with DS live fulfilling, empowered lives, and they strive to meet the individual needs of each family.

Since Euphrates was diagnosed at 20 weeks, our family and friends have naturally become much more attuned to the effects of Down Syndrome and the resulting special needs of all those affected by it.  Here are some photos from the event.

Things don’t always go smoothly as everyone knows.  This was the case last night after my intrepid photo buddy Raymond and I set out to photograph the Milky Way one last time for the summer.  This field trip was not for the fainthearted.  We battled swarms of mosquitos trudging through the maritime forest, and on a moonless night it was tough to work in the dark.  Finally it was time to leave the beach at around 10 p.m. and I was looking forward to the air-conditioned comfort of my car as we marched stoically back to base, dripping sweat and bug spray, only to discover that my car key fob had come loose from the mechanical key somewhere along the way.  As other unfortunates have discovered by experience, you cannot start a push-button car without the fob.  I got my money’s worth from my AAA membership with a 90 mile trip home from Hunting Island, squished with Raymond in the back of a tow truck with the car on the flatbed.  Needless to say it was a very late night.