Driving back from Charlottesville yesterday I heard all the talk of snow; 3–4 inches, 2–8 inches in the Highlands…..

I preferred to think that the weathermen, weather-people, were erring on the promotional side of their editorial licensure. The air was 47 and the ground was too warm for the snow to stick. By dark at home they seemed to be correct; it was snowing good and sticking to the trees and car. Air temp was 32. Every time I went out for wood for the fireplace it was snowing harder and the ground was covered. It was still snowing at 8 the next morning and even though it was melting beneath, it had snowed hard enough to accumulate 3—4 inches. If the ground had been cold I think it would have measured closer to 6 or 8”.

I just don’t remember an October snow that covered the ground.

I found a site that has snow records for Hot Springs back to 1948. It shows the date of the first snow of an inch or more. The only October snow I found since 1948 was October 10^th, 1979. I ask that this evidence be recorded by the court reporter because I was accused of being a confused old man who thinks he knows everything about the weather and (rather than stop here with the inference that I could occasionally be incorrect) that I am always wrong.

Despite my ongoing battle for legal competency in my own home, the snow this morning was beautiful and every early morning animal left a clear record of their stroll for me to follow;  from walnut to drink in the river, from willow sapling to…to a home under my bridge, there’s a muskrat living under my bridge….

To have our frost as late as October 23^rd is unusual. Those tired of cutting grass had to hang in a few weeks longer and gardens gave up bonus produce. I even had tomato plants blooming again after the good rains we had in late September.

It had been cool for a week or more leading up to the frost, but nights were either overcast or windy making a good frost difficult. Saturday night I went out for more logs and the night sky was dense with stars and the air was still. Good night for a frost.

When the sun comes up over the cliff at our house it hits a big lawn bank by the orchard and the frost goes directly from crystals to vapor hurrying back to whence it came. The river valley was clear in bright sun early, but quickly developed a dense layer of fog as the same process was happening in all the meadows along the river. An hour later it had all disappeared.

Make plans to attend the Second Annual Parade of Homes scheduled for Saturday, October 15th from 10am-4pm.  Eight spectacular homes in the four Preserve neighborhoods will be open for viewing as well as The Old Dairy Community Center.

The event is free of charge, but registration is required.  Tour brochures and maps will be available at Homestead Preserve’s Main Street office in Hot Springs Saturday morning.  Shuttle vans will depart from the office beginning at 10:00am, making continous loops along the Parade route.  Participants are also welcome to drive themselves.

For more information and to register, please contact Homestead Preserve at (540) 839-2899. 

I was on one of The Preserve’s trails through Nature Conservancy lands when I kicked a rock that didn’t look like a rock.  It looked like something I’d routinely seen on rocky Bahamian beaches.  It looked like coral.  It was coral.  I was walking with Linda Crowe of The Nature Conservancy and we soon found other bits and pieces of coral and a large chunk of quartz crystal.  The piece of coral I found was half of a 3 inch diameter dome shaped coral head.  Whatever process formed the quartz seemed to have infiltrated the coral head as well;  the inside sparkled with the quartz that had filled in the tubular voids in the coral.

I called on a geologist friend who worked for the State, mapping soils in Bath and Highland Counties, and he confirmed tmy assumptions.  He said our valleys were once tropical lakes, or the space our valleys now occupy was once a tropical sea before climate and tetonic plate shifts reformed our landscape.  Barry spoke of a place near The Jackson River in Hidden Valley where the river had cut into a bank exposing a layer of coral.  I’ve found pieces of what looked like coral in gravel beds along the river and then remembered that when the County drilled a large diameter water well on Warm Springs Mountain behind Bath County High School that they went through a thick layer of mud and shells.

I have always found shell fossils along Little Back Creek in western Bath County.  It’s easy to walk along the creek and find rocks with many half  inch to one inch size shell fossils that look like ribbed clam or scallop shells we see on the coast today.

I haven’t found any brontosaurus skulls but it is interesting to think of what Homestead Preserve looked like millions of years ago.  It is amazing to me the history the mountain holds for us if we learn and look more closely.  More reasons to protect the landscape and share what we learn with the next generation.

The word community is derived from the Old French “communite” which is derived from the Latin “communitas” (cum meaning “with or together” and minus meaning “gift”). Building community is one of the four cornerstones of VHS Preservation Trust. Traditionally, a community has been defined as a group of interacting people living in a common location.

Here is my definition of community. Community is the coming together of neighbors and friends to celebrate our rich, musical heritage and artistic talents. An example of this happened at the recent Mountain Strings & Artisans Festival held at the Old Dairy.

The Trust hosted a benefit barn dance which drew in people from all over the county and beyond. Even a gentleman from the south of France managed to find his way to the barn that night. As I doe-si-doed my way through the dance line, there was the Home Oil delivery man, my favorite beekeeper, the waitress up the road with her toddler, The Homestead golf pro, The Bath County supervisor, and the auto repair man and on and on…

Ray Oldenburg states in his book, “The Great Good Place”, that people need three places: the home, the office, and the community hangout or gathering place. Some even say western cultures are loosing the spirit of community that was once found in places such as churches and community centers.

Scott Peck, author of “The Road Less Traveled”, expressed the vital need for community this way when he said,” there can be no community without vulnerability; there can be no peace and ultimately, no life without community.

No to worry here in Bath County! You don’t have to look far to see community at its best. Open The Recorder on any given week and the community calendar is chocked full of events for our area. The birth announcements, the academic achievements and school events, fill the pages.

Community begets freedom and security. In the case of this past Easter Sunday, community was a gathering of my neighbors at sunrise up on the hillside above Cleek Cemetery worshiping together and singing “I’ll Fly Away”.

Whatever your definition may be, Bath County community is a gift indeed.

This mountain first flower of spring doe it on its own in an inhospitable location.  I first see it along the verge of our gravel roads.  Not so much the gravel farm roads, but the State maintained gravel roads where giant road graders scrape and shape its home several times a year.

The stem of the flower looks like it belongs more to the armor plates of an armadillo.  It needs them to push up through the packed gravel and leaf debris. 

Sometimes you can find patches of them in the woods, but even those areas seem to remain near the road.  I’ve never found them in deeper woods.  I’d love to know their name if anyone has more information.

Homestead Preserve invites you to discover the grandeur and beauty of this special community and all it has to offer.  With limitless recreational and cultural adventures, Homestead Preserve provides abundant opportunities to be as active or relaxed as you wish.

Let us know how we can help make this your family’s ideal weekend getaway by sending us your ideas and suggestions for our next Discovery Weekend.  Respond to info@homesteadpreserve.com and we’ll plan a Discovery Weekend just for you!

Join us for an action packed weekend filled with all the things you can do when you live at Homestead Preserve and enjoy the privileges of Membership in The Homestead Golf & Tennis Club.  The weekend kicks off with a welcome reception hosted by Homestead Preserve at The Old Dairy Community Center.   Accommodations offered at special rates at The Homestead or one of our beautiful Vacation Homes in The Preserve.

Throughout the weekend, choose from an array of activities like hiking the Cascades Gorge, soaking in The Jefferson Pools, golfing in a Members’ Tournament, or enjoying a soothing massage at The Old Dairy Spa.  Cap off the weekend at Garth Newel for a Sunday Concert.

Call 877.373.2555 for more information and to make reservations.  Experience the Membership Lifestyle for yourself at Homestead Preserve!

For these reasons, Warm Springs and Hot Springs have been the favored mountain retreat for generations and that history continues today.  The conservation basis for Homestead Preserve’s design is the perfect fit for the Valley and for those who want a home surrounded by natural beauty and the full compliment of things to do with family and friends.

Beautiful homes have continued to be built in Homestead Preserve.  Our past seven purchasers have all moved directly to home construction.  The homes pictured here have been completed in 2010 or are due to be finished soon.

 With spring just around the corner, The Homestead has offered special rates for Homestead Preserve Discovery Packages.  We have listed several discovery weekends and would appreciate knowing if you are interested in attending an event, and if you are still interested in becoming an owner in Homestead Preserve.  Please feel free to share other activities that interest you.