I never cease to be amazed at the variety of insects and crawly things we encounter on our walks. This guy was in a surprisingly big hurry to get across the trail when Regie and I were walking Abner and Spencer in an area of the estate called Arbor Trace.

The photo below is actually of the Bass Pond but a side that I have never shot or posted before. This is the far side of the bridge where the creek either flows into or out of Biltmore Forest.

And this shot is of the old market building where the public used to come to buy produce from Biltmore when it was a functioning farm. The enormous field around it is one of the ones planted in soybeans for the second year in a row. Apparently after each year of corn, they plan soybeans for two years because it helps replenish soil nutrients.

It seems a little early for these gargantuan mushrooms to have begun appearing again, but Regie and I saw this perfect specimen on the woodland trail at Biltmore in early September before I left for California.

On another rather toasty day, we stopped mid-hike with the boys for a little rest in the shade of a tree on the estate.

The photo below probably will only make sense if you click it and blow it up to full size to look. There are two finches each perched on top of the remains of these gigantic daisy-like flowers that come up every summer in my side yard. They apparently really like the seeds because there were dozens of them on the flowers for days after the petals fell and the centers were pretty dry.

Kim and Louise are both really excellent at hamming it up for the camera. I actually think it is really interesting that the most exaggerated facial expressions I can get out of any of my friends are from Kim and Dan, and now they are married. Can you imagine what their kids will be able to do?

These are two virtually identical shots from the front balcony of John's house in San Francisco. Great view day or night.

The photo above is Jan Waldrop's son Jeffrey who, as none of us can quite believe, is now in his mid-30s and married to Alyce, his new French wife. Both seem to be happy. Go figure. Below is a pretty typical shot. Everyone at this event has a camera and we all end up taking pictures of each other. At left you can see John's hands focusing on someone in the group, Tommy is hiding behind Kim Delaney who is doing some up close and personal photos of Rick, and sandwiched in minding his own business and his wine is Duncan Waldrop.

John's niece Katina, who is a real sweetie pie from Oklahoma, came this time and brought husband Robbie. Above she and Matt are hysterical about something. Below you can see Robbie politely standing in the background, no doubt amused by the rest of us. Pretty eclectic crowd.

Above are old buds Dan Delaney and Jonathan Boynton. These two were responsible for my becoming a rock climber. Below are Alyce, Sebastian (her friend who came to visit from France) and Matt Guerena having a good laugh.

Tommy and Rick Garlick above, checking out the scene while, in the background Matt and John Ballenger are chatting. . .as usual. Below is an intense shot of Louise Garlick and Shaghig watching Jonathan's almost nude diving stunt.

The above shot is more of Jonathan looking for abalone. Below you can see him heading down the cliffs on this harebrained attempt to win $50.

Winesong is fun for all the old friends who get together there for a weekend of obscene consumption and good company. Above are Tommy, his wife Hillary, and Shaghig Kodbashian who you all saw here back in April when she and Jonathan came to Asheville for a visit. Below, is Dan Delaney in one of his typically dignified poses.

Above is an early morning shot from my balcony at the Harbor Lite Motel. Not a bad view to wake up to. Below is one of the regular scenes as you enter the harbor in Fort Bragg. There are dozens of seals that like to play around the entrance to the harbor and actually on the docks as well. This signal buoy near the narrows where the Noyo River flows into the Pacific is a favorite spot. Usually if you get close enough to get a shot of one of these guys they dive off before you can get one, but his particular seal wasn't too interested in moving.

I believe it is pretty well established that Jonathan Boynton is nuts. Above you can see Jonathan's method for storing his catch of abalone when he is finishing his dive. Other ab divers will have a net bag or some place on the boat for their stash and will give you each ab as they bring them up. Jonathan doesn't bother with return trips to the boat. He just lets these big suckers hang onto his wetsuit until he has his limit. In the photo below you can see an almost naked man swimming through kelp and 50 degree water between rocks and swells on a dare to find an abalone at Winesong. . .that would also be Jonathan. Everyone will be relieved to know he made it back from this stunt with chattering teeth and few signs of brain damage.

This is Brandon, the latest of the Abner fan club to make it on the blog. Brandon works at the Inn at Biltmore and sees Abner frequently but wasn't around when the last group of valets and bellmen were posted here, so he gets a spot all his own. Abner, as usual, was quite relaxed for this photo.

These amazing butterflies are everywhere right now. Unlike most of the others they seem to enjoy hanging out on gravel roads which makes them far easier to photograph. Jesse Ivan, the wonderful photographer at the Outdoor Center looked them up for me and IDed them as Red Spotted Admirals. Who'da thunk it? You should check out Jesse's outstanding nature photography at his website at http://jesseivanphotography.com/.

This little snake was on Rocky Cove Road in the Arboretum when Matt, Amy, Bear, Abner and I were walking by. Amazingly enough, I was the only one who noticed. Abner almost stepped on him but he didn't budge. He is most likely a garter snake and is pretty harmless but a snake bite is a snake bite and I wouldn't want Abner to get one.

A lot of people ask a lot of questions about Abner when we walk in public places and I have gotten used to most of the remarks people make. Most people are friendly and are excited to see Abner and in general, are polite about asking to pet him or take his picture. Every once in a while though, one comes along that amazes me.

Today, we went to Biltmore for a nice hike, mostly in lightly traveled trails, but we did end up taking a break in the stable courtyard under the arch on one of the benches where we usually stop for a treat or two and some water. It is shady, frequently has a nice breeze, and I can usually get a bench to myself so I can put Abner's water bowl down next to me on the seat. The arch is also the route into the Stable Cafe and several of the gift shops so lots of people do walk by, and we are quite accustomed to chatting with passers by and answering the inevitable questions about Abner's breed and a few other standard queries.

After we had been there for about 10 minutes, and Abner had had his treats and water, I was just about ready to pack up and head back down the Ambler's Trail to the lagoon where we were parked, when a woman and her young daughter approached us. She asked me what kind of dog Abner was and I responded that he is a Great Pyrenees. She looked at me somewhat skeptically and asked if I was certain. I assured her that of this particular fact, I was absolutely certain, whereupon she began to argue with me that she thought I was wrong. It seems that Abner is a dead ringer for her dog which she informed me is an "Antarctic Sheepdog". I almost burst out laughing on the spot. I resisted asking her what a sheepdog would do in Antarctica unless they herd penguins and seals. She was positively insistent that Abner had to be the same breed as her dog because they looked exactly alike other than that he is bigger. Of all the guesses people have had as to what he is, this was the topper. Polar Bear and Newfoundland Dog are the most common guesses and one woman once concluded that if he was from the Pyrenees then he must be Egyptian, but no one had ever come up with the highly rare Antarctic Sheepdog before.

I decided that it was odd enough that the situation merited its own little post.

When I post to this blog it takes quite a long time. This post has taken about 4 hours including writing time, editing photos, and getting it posted. I really try hard to get it right, but, for the life of me, even after a year and a half of doing this. I haven't figured out how to reverse the order in which things post. Chronologically the last thing I post appears at the top of the page, appearing to be the first. It just would take too much planning and time to do it all backwards.

Both of these shots were taken on a picnic Matt and Amy, Regie and Eric, their friends Ruben and Maggie, and I went on with all our dogs (Bear, Buddy, Spencer, Maya, Mr. Dickens, and Abner) up at Craggy Gardens last Sunday. The temperature is generally about 10 to 15 degrees cooler there than in Asheville so at this time of year, if we are taking the dogs, it is a great place to go. As you might guess, Abner and I had a great time. The shot below shows me in my favorite state. . .surrounded by dogs.

I didn't take too many pictures at the wedding, partly because I was involved, and partly because Jay was taking a couple thousand that would undoubtedly be better than mine. The above picture was taken of one of the hookahs that Jason and Maren set up at the house for the Morroccan themed after party. As illicit as this looks, the hookahs were outfitted with some kind of sweet aromatic tobaccco. The guy in the shot below who is facing the hookah and looks so serious is Laurance, who is engaged to marry Jim Cardin's daugter Loren. How'd these kids get this old?

This is the "cabin" Jay and I had to find in the middle of the night. It actually was a pretty nice place, just a little hard to locate and absolutely bereft of any linens.

Lori turned 40 a few weeks ago and she wanted very few things at her birthday party. One requirement though was that she wanted to play with little pigs. Jay had to drive almost to South Carolina to pick up two young piglets to satisfy her wish. The farmer told him he could get his money back if he returned them in good condition. Lori is a vegetarian so this wasn't too risky a proposition. She was, as they say, in hog heaven. You will note that in the last shot, she is playing with the little male piggy's tail and he is responding by getting ready to excrete a nice little piglet turd on her pants. This happened right after I snapped this shot.