Daily Archives: October 19, 2012

In the Shenandoah. Near the Appalachian Trail. The leaves are in full color these days. A good weekend to enjoy them. We had a date to meet a fellow radio amateur to pick up a crank up tower. He lives near Manassas. I don’t need an excuse to head west on I-66 and find some fall color.

the view from Linden

And, of course, add some chardonnay and rosé to our cellar. I like to get rosé to take to my brother’s for Thanksgiving. He cooks. I bring wine. Nice arrangement we have. The day started out a little dreary but got better as we drove west. I love sitting in the enclosed sun room and taking in the views.

Have a little cheese and sausage, with a Hardscrabble Chardonnay. Believe it or not, it does well with the sausage. The cheeses and sausage are local VA made. And, the 2009 Hardscrabble is a huge chardonnay. The type you want to put away for a few years. It will only get better.

The vineyard itself was lovely, as the grape vines are turning color as well as the trees and shrubs. The parking lot was full, so we were down in the overflow. Lots of leaf peepers out. Everyone was pouring wine today, including Jim and Shari. Haven’t seen Shari since the barrel tasting so it was nice to visit today. I bet the coming weekends are going to be crazy with the weather prediction of sunny and 70s. We did check out some of the grapes near the winery. Still a few clusters hanging. I know the late harvest grapes are still out there. The rest have been harvested.

We took the back roads home. Loving the views along the way.

leaving Linden

somewhere near Rectortown

Trying to identify what this is — have not seen it before. Off to check out my naturalist books.

Unidentified plants, all along the edge of a property near Purcellville

All in all a great day. Oh, and the second time near Atoka where an eagle flew over us. As usual, too fast for me to grab the camera, but that white head is so distinct. If you have time this weekend head west and check out the foliage. Even better, check out a winery. Grape vines are beautiful in the fall.