You may have noticed a few changes to the appearance of Wythe Notes and the information we’re offering. Some were planned, some involve new software, and at least one was an accident.
One of the most noticeable of the changes is the pictures on the banner. Prior to a month ago, I used stock photos provided by Word Press, the software program I use to write Wythe Notes. I’m now using my own shots. In October, I took the one above of a bee swarm in our front yard. The wild hive that had located itself between the studs on an outside wall of our humble little cottage decided to move when we started putting up the new lap cedar siding. Pictures of wild swarms are rare, but so are many of the things I’ve observed in the mountainous micro environment of Chestnut Ridge and Galena Creek.

The picture of Galena Creek was taken  New Year’s Day. We obviously still had a pretty good snow cover from the December 18th storm, a cover that pales in comparison to the one we have now. For me, the creek is a daily reminder of  the reasons we chose to live in Wythe County.

As I’ve stated in previous posts, Anne and I love to go toodling (driving around aimlessly with no particular destination in mind). I took the shot of the red barn on one such trip this past fall. I love old barns. For me, they symbolize the rural way of life. Neither one of us remembers where the barn is located, but I’m pretty sure it’s in Wythe County.

The final picture of the three crosses was taken just over the line in Carroll County. I included it, not because I’m particularly religious, but to symbolize just how important the Christian religion is in Southwest Virginia. The history of the crosses is fascinating. Follow this link to read the story of Rev. Bernard Coffindaffer, the self-proclaimed Methodist minister from West Virginia who founded Christian Crosses, Inc. and financed the initial installations.

I’ve also made some changes to the blog roll. Unlike some bloggers who fill their sites with dozens of links, I want the links on Wythe Notes to be useful and informative to both local readers and folks from outside the region as well. Blue Ridge Muse is written by my friend of nearly 30 years, Doug Thompson. Doug chronicles the daily soap opera that is life in Floyd, Va, one of the more charming and unique towns in the state. Kevin Myatt is a copy editor for the Roanoke Times, and a self-described weather geek. His blog is informative without being condescending, is area specific, and is usually far more accurate than the National Weather Service or the voodoo-hoodoo radars of the various television stations that cover our areas.

Southwest Virginia Today links you to a number of small town newspapers and is the only way I know to read the column, A  Mountain View, by Liza Field, online. Liza is a teacher, writer, philosopher, environmentalist, and when needed, a community activist. Her column is one of the more insightful I have read anywhere, including those that are nationally syndicated. She writes with both her heart and her brain and her love of these mountains and the people who inhabit them are immediately apparent. Click on the Lifestyles section of the Wytheville Enterprise to find her column.

Aside from being my neighbor (from their driveway to mine is .06 miles), West Wind Farm is a prime example of the type of venture I intend to promote. Southwest Virginia is slowly changing, and West Wind is among the vanguard of those who are leading the change.

In the coming weeks as I become more adept with my camera and You Tube, I plan to add video to the blog. Stay tuned.

Oh…the accident I mentioned in the beginning? I wiped out the green Wythe Notes logo and replaced it with a generic black. I have no idea how the hell I managed to do that. Until I figure out what I did, the generic one stays.