Boat landings on the James

One of my favorite activities is taking my dog to the river. The Richmond area has a number of good access points on the James. Pictured here is Watkins Landing in Powhatan County, now easily accessed via the 288 bridge.

Springtime in my back yard

Yes! My backyard dogwoods and azaleas are in bloom!! Still too early to put the geraniums back outside -- they have wintered indoors.

Cocker Spaniels are the best!

Watching the Westminister Dog Show - here's my beloved! Anne with Hayley.

Scanning project to preserve old photographs

I've started a project scanning old photographs and am having fun posting them to a Facebook group with old friends from my hometown of Orange, Virginia. My mother Doris Farrell Green was a photographer. I am pictured here at right with Jeanette Sale holding an American flag during a Girl Scout color guard ceremony at the Orange County Courthouse in October 1965 when I was in 7th grade.

2012 Free Virginia Travel Guide

A family enjoys an overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway

The Virginia Tourism Office is offering a free and updated travel guide for 2012 with new destinations, family favorites, and attractions “that put love at the heart of every Virginia vacation”.

New features this year include vacation ideas for all four seasons, a special section on small towns, scenic drives and a listing of the newest attractions to open in Virginia. 

The guide is full of trip inspirations and travel resources. Visitors can request a free copy of the 2012 Virginia Travel Guide in print or electronic form by going to www.Virginia.org or calling 1-800-VISITVA.

Montpelier Races in Orange County Nov 2011

 Horses race toward the jump!

 Ruth and Ann chumming it up.

 Sara and Grandma Edith taking it all in.

Liz walks the children to get closer to the action.

Fall color grandeur in the Blue Ridge Mountains

Peak fall color has come on fast in higher elevations the past week according to Virtual Blue Ridge, a supporter of the non-profit Blue Ridge Foundation out of Boone, North Carolina, and this weekend may be the best time to see the season’s grandeur in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway begins in Virginia at Rockfish Gap on Afton Mountain between Charlottesville and Waynesboro, Virginia, 78 miles from Richmond. Brilliant yellows, oranges, deep scarlets and reds are reported from there south to the Peaks of Otter. Points north in the Shenandoah National Park also offer stunning vistas and there is an online update on fall foliage.

On the parkway south of Roanoke down to the Blue Ridge Music Center the scenery is also in peak color.  Higher elevations like Grandfather Mountain near Boone are past peak but still have beautiful color remaining.

The Virginia Department of Forestry offers weekly updates on its website along with a "Fall Foliage Hotline" at 1-800-424-LOVE (5683) providing the latest in fall color throughout the state from the Atlantic seashore to the Appalachian Mountains. These reports are available through early November.

Virtual Blue Ridge publishes weekly fall color reports online or you can call their fall foliage hotline at 828-298-0398.