Brown Motion

 Some small and some big.  Mostly native.  Enjoy!

 The Catawba River.  Source of energy and life for millenia.  First as a place to fish and around 100 years ago a hydro electric project by the construction of a series of dozen or so dams by Duke Energy.  We visited a dam close to us that created Lake Wylie.  Wylie was President of the Southern Power company which became Duke Energy later in the mid 20th century in honor of James Duke the industrialist son of the Carolinas. This dam is a masonry dam made of brick and concrete and provides power to the neighboring cities including Charlotte. Birds of many feathers were visiting this morning for what is no doubt a feast of fish churned up as the water rushes and eddies south on its journey to the Atlantic. Below are the dam pictures ... Some history  

 I came to this country in search of opportunity.  Opportunity to be recognized for my worth and earn a commensurate compensation that provided for a comfortable life. Comfort is relative but the USD income was in a manner a brand of currency that had better purchasing power than I could get with any other fiat in another location on earth.  I think I managed to do alright. What supported the thesis is the availability of brands willing to hire me and in turn rely on my expertise in some form to promote their own brands further in a competitive landscape. Such is the power of brand.  America knows it and exploits that to its fullest. To wit.  Facebook recently rebranded itself to Meta.  Not obvious on the surface but a vision crafted for what is to come next. In turn making its founders and top execs rich beyond imagination. Tesla.  Named for a not so famous electrical engineer from an even less known region of Europe but now a world wide phenom of a c...

 This weekend the weather was crisp.  As befits a fall day in the Carolinas. So we toured toward the northern border with Virginia in some more of the Blue Ridge mounts.  This spot in particular is Boone. A town known for scenic fall color viewing and some kitschy touristy things including a 3 mile railway pulled by a genuine Steam Loco on narrow gage track. Below are the scenes from the day.. local hiking and dirt biking attraction near Boone Mirror Mirror - who is colorful of them all?

 I did not have time to wait.  Once it was released in theaters nationwide I had to go see 007's newest - its 25th installment.  This was to be the last with Daniel Craig as Her Majesty's secret agent. It was long in the tooth for my liking and a tad blah.  To be honest it is hard to keep an act going this long.  Federer also has started losing in the round of 16 after all. I do think that among the handful of actors that got the chance to play this iconic character Sean Connery was truly a class act.  I think Daniel is a close second.  The others are notable mentions. And as for the five episodes in which Daniel had the license to kill he did most notably in the first attempt in 'Casino Royale'.  From there on out for me the production was losing its cachet.  This one - spoiler - was mushy and quite unlike the double O brand. All good things must end.  Here are some screen shots of the promotional material as it rolled on screen before ...

 An afternoon lunch and stroll through the varied parks and history of Charlotte.  Nice way to spend a weekend. We had Japanese fusion at a local joint called Pisces.  The fish I tried was salmon, tuna and eel.  Some shrimp.  Modern décor inside the place.  No fuss - easy service. Good parking nearby. Below some pics. Then onto some local parks for some rec.  Nice skyline views.  History and an effort to shore up old streams and foliage. All in all a good stroll for an afternoon in Charlotte. Looking at Uptown  old church Capitan Jack

 Of something good.  Morning and evening.  In the local neighborhoods.  Carolina style.  It has been so wonderful to find ourselves tree bathing often.  In our new home surrounds. Japanese call it shinrin-yoku or forest bathing.  Walk among the woods.  Reinvigorate and rejuvenate our cells.  Literally.  Sparse traffic if you go early this one is along Lake Wylie's many arms that penetrate the tupelo and maple forests like some sort of giant amoeba. It was only a few miles but got the weekend started on a good note. Calming waters of Lake Wylie formed by damning the Catawba River Egret checking for breakfast

 This weekend turned out to be a glorious wonder to take the country road to the Blue Ridge mountains.   Americas majesty on the east coast these wonderful peaks are part of the larger Appalachian mountain range that runs from Georgia all the way up to Maine. The walking trail in these ranges is eponymously called the Appalachian Trail or AT for short.  While we did not get close to the trail we were in for a treat as the fall colors in the maples, oaks and spruce trees were getting started this first week of October. Our original intent was to visit the tallest eminence on the eastern seaboard called Mount Mitchell at about 6,600 feet but we fell short of it.  The actual drive to the park where the summit is located was closed by the park rangers due to dense fog. No matter.  The entire episode of driving in the Blue Ridge mountains north of Marion, NC up to about 5,800 feet was spectacular to say the least.  Below are some of the vistas. Highway colo...