New Media from a Journalism Veteran
So Many Deer
The doe scrambled out of the way as I rounded the curve on Buffalo Mountain Road, but stopped just inside the woods to turn and watch.
I stopped the Liberty, pulled my camera out of the back set and rattled off about a half-dozen shots. In past years, the sound of the camera shutter would be enough to send any deer scrambling back further into the woods.
Not these days. Deer are hungry and not as easily frightened. The deer population in Virginia continues to spiral out of control.
Even with an expanded hunting season and increased kills, their numbers expand and more and more venture closer to humans in search of food.
In the Old Dominion’s urban areas, residents frequently spot deer near subdivisions and shopping areas and some cities are even appointing deer task forces while larger urban areas like Fairfax County has deer management plans.
Record numbers are also killed by cars and trucks (along with some drivers and passengers), not only on the Interstates but also on city roads. Unless Virginia finds a way to reduce the deer population, the problem will continue to grow.
Musical Heritage
Spent a good part of Thursday with folks who want to create a "Music Trail" that traces the roots of mountain and bluegrass music in Southwestern Virginia.
As proposed, the trail would start in Floyd, home of the Friday Night Jamboree, and wind through the haunts and hollows of the mountains until it reaches the Bristol, Virginia-Tennessee and the Birthplace of Country Music.
Any bluegrass fan knows the important role music played in this area’s history and that role continues today.
The Jamboree has brought international fame to Floyd but the area has a wealth of other music venues. But even those of us who live here don’t know all the bands that play in the county or when many of them are playing.
The music trail folks opened their meeting with music from a local band that just happened to feature two of my cousins — Dan and Sam Bolt. They were invited after one of the meeting participants saw the group at the VFW hall on Wednesday night. Had that person not happened by the VFW, we would have missed a chance to hear some good bluegrass to open meeting.
The music trail meeting ended with a jam session of local musicians and some folks from the committee. Thursday night, I stopped by Oddfellas Cantina for dinner and found a number of local musicans jamming at an open mike night. Long after dinner had cleared away, I sipped coffee and enjoyed good music — a mixture of bluegrass, folk, Celtic and Irish. Which got me to wondering. Why doesn’t someone compiled a directory of musical acts in Floyd County and a good, up-to-date schedule of when and where these excellent musicians and singers are playing?