Happy Halloween

Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree-Emily Bronte

Opie, you haven't finished your milk. We can't put it back in the cow, you know-Aunt Bee

We are quickly approaching snow season here in Roanoke Virginia. Part of gearing up for snow season at an airport is going over each piece of snow equipment from top to bottom. I snapped this close-up of part of the snow broom the other day. I thought the textures interesting (click on photograph to enlarge it).

Stormy Skies Over Virginia-My World

Check out That's My World where people from all over the globe share pictures of their part of the world.

Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky-Rabindranath Tagore

Another Loss for UCLA Football

UCLA Falls to Cal
Kevin Craft passed for 206 yards, but threw four interceptions...
Oct. 25, 2008
Final Stats
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - Kevin Riley threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Nyan Boateng on a flea-flicker in the fourth quarter, and Mike Mohamed returned an interception 19 yards for a score 19 seconds later in California 's 41-20 victory over UCLA on Saturday.
After taking a four-point lead into the fourth quarter, the Golden Bears (5-2, 3-1 Pac-10) scored 24 straight points to stay unbeaten at Memorial Stadium this season.
Cal's defense covered for its mediocre offense and special-teams play with four interceptions, including Marcus Ezeff's early 69-yard TD return. Mohamed then essentially sealed the win when the linebacker grabbed a tipped pass and dived to stretch the ball over the corner of the goal line.
Jahvid Best rushed for 115 yards and a score, while Riley passed for 153 yards and two TDs in his return to the starting lineup after losing the job to Nate Longshore for two games. Shane Vereen's 99 yards rushing included a 56-yard romp in the closing moments for Cal, which fell out of the Top 25 last week with a loss at Arizona.
Glenn Love recovered a blocked punt in the end zone in the first quarter for the Bruins, scoring their only touchdown until Dominique Johnson's TD catch from Chris Forcier with 1:36 left.
Kevin Craft passed for 206 yards, but threw four interceptions for the second time this season. Craft had thrown just three interceptions in the Bruins' last six games since his four-pick opener against Tennessee, but tipped balls led to two of the Golden Bears' interceptions.
Forcier, a freshman who threw his first career pass three games earlier, threw another early pass against Cal before hitting Johnson for his first career completion and TD throw.
Craft's first pass was tipped for an interception on the Bruins' first play, and UCLA had minus-3 yards of offense and no completions in the first quarter - yet the Bruins went ahead 7-3 when Sean Westgate blocked Bryan Anger's punt at the goal line on the first play of the second quarter.
Best, who's slowly getting back to top form after an elbow injury, put Cal back in front with a 34-yard sprint for a score moments later. Ezeff then returned his interception down the UCLA sideline midway through the quarter.
Cal went ahead 20-13 early in the fourth quarter on freshman Giorgio Tavecchio's 42-yard field goal. The Bears then got their first comfortable lead moments later with 9:48 left when Best took a handoff and pitched it back to Riley, who hit Boateng almost in stride 60 yards away near the goal line for the Florida transfer's third touchdown

My love has gone to the cat angels...

Lion Lee Henderson 5.26.89-10.24.08
Wonderful companion, confidant and friend.
You will always be in our hearts.

Lion...

My dear catchild is under the weather. I came home yesterday to find her having difficulties. I have had the pleasure of her wonderful companionship for 19.5 years. This is the first morning she has not awakened me for work. These photographs were taken on her 19th birthday this past May.

Virginia Republican Creed

We believe...

That the free enterprise system is the most productive supplier of human needs and economic justice;

That all individuals are entitled to equal rights, justice, and opportunities and should assume their responsibilities as citizens in a free society;

That fiscal responsibility and budgetary restraints must be exercised at all levels of government;

That the Federal Government must preserve individual liberty by observing constitutional limitations;

That peace is best preserved through a strong national defense;

That faith in God, as recognized by our Founding Fathers, is essential to the moral fiber of the Nation.

It's a California Thing...

I know, I know, what's with me and UCLA? Well, you have to go back almost 20 years now to when I first purchased my season tickets at the Rose Bowl to watch my "favorite" Southern California team UCLA play football. I also was a student at UCLA. I am an Angelino and native Californian who has re-located to Virginia. While I can't say it has been the easiest transition, I shudder at the thought we've been here seven years, I do have to say I love the open spaces, the quick commute to work and did I say the open spaces and the countryside. Other than that, I cannot say the food is great(I thought Southern cooking was supposed to be great), or the people open and friendly or that anything gets done in a timely manner. So, why did I leave California again? Oh, to get out of the long commute times, the bumper-to-bumper traffic, the taxes...more later.

UCLA 2008 Schedule

2008 Recordto Date: 3-4
Sept. 1 Tennessee W 27-24 OT

Sept. 6 OPEN DATE

Sept. 13 at BYU L 59-0

Sept. 20 Arizona L 31-10

Sept. 27 Fresno State L 36-31

Oct. 4 Washington State W 28-3

Oct. 11 at Oregon L 31-24

Oct. 18 Stanford W 23-20

Oct. 25 at California

Nov. 1 OPEN DATE

Nov. 8 Oregon State

Nov. 15 at Washington

Nov. 22 OPEN DATE

Nov. 28 at Arizona State

Dec. 6 USC

You have to have a dream so you can get up in the morning-Billy Wilder

Perserverance...

Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

It's a Win for the Bruins Today

Kevin Craft threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Cory Harkey with 10 seconds remaining to lift UCLA to a 23-20 victory over Stanford on Saturday.
The Bruins (3-4, 2-2 Pac-10) extended their win streak over the Cardinal (4-4, 3-2) to five in a row overall and six straight at the Rose Bowl.
Craft, who engineered a similar late rally to beat Tennessee in the season opener, completed six passes against Stanford during an 11-play drive that began at the UCLA 13 with 2:23 remaining. He finished it off when he sprinted toward the right sideline and, after defenders rushed toward him, threw to the wide-open tight end in the right side of the end zone.
The Bruins began their march after Stanford's Aaron Zagory kicked a 29-yard field goal with 2:31 remaining to extend the Cardinal's lead to 20-16.
Craft, despite being sacked seven times, finished 23-of-39 for 285 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
The UCLA victory overshadowed a 138-yard, two-touchdown rushing performance by Stanford's Toby Gerhart.
Kai Forbath kicked field goals of 37, 19 and 28 yards for the Bruins. Zagory made kicks of 40 and 29 yards for the Cardinal.
Stanford's Tavita Pritchard, back in the lineup after leaving last week's game with a concussion, threw only 12 times and completed five for just 51 yards and was intercepted once.
Up 17-16, the Cardinal began a march at their 20 with 7:29 remaining, and Gerhart carried seven times on a 12-play drive down to the UCLA 11. When Stanford opted to go for a field goal on fourth-and-1, Zagory made the kick, but Craft and the Bruins got the ball back with plenty of time left.
UCLA got its first lead of the game on Forbath's 28-yarder for a 16-14 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter. Stanford went back in front 17-16 shortly afterward on Zagory's 40-yarder.
The Bruins had a short drive to their first touchdown because Mike Schmitt recovered a fumbled punt by Stanford's Doug Baldwin at the Cardinal 30.
Trailing 14-3 after Gerhart's second short touchdown run with 1:42 left in the second quarter, UCLA trimmed the deficit to eight points at halftime on Forbath's 19-yarder as time expired.
The Bruins managed to cram 16 plays into the final 1:42 as they drove from their own 10 to the Cardinal's 2.
Stanford converted Craft's second turnover into its second touchdown, a 1-yard run by Gerhart. Craft fumbled when sacked by Tom Keiser and Erik Lorig recovered at the UCLA 29. Gerhart bulled up the middle for the score five plays later.
He had opened the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run with 2:28 left in the first quarter. Baldwin's 18-yard punt return and his 36-yard pickup to the Bruins' 3 on a reverse set up the score.
UCLA earlier squandered an opportunity after Brigham Harwell recovered a fumble by Stanford's Anthony Kimble at the Cardinal 42. But after moving to the 9, Craft's pass was tipped and intercepted in the end zone by Bo McNally.

Everyone who enjoys thinks that the principal thing to the tree is the fruit, but in point of the fact the principal thing is to it is the seed-herein lies the difference between them that create and them that enjoy-Friedrich Nietzsche

UCLA versus Stanford Cardinal Today

UCLA (2-4, 1-2 in Pac-10 play) welcomes Stanford (4-3, 3-1) to the Rose Bowl for its annual homecoming game on Saturday., Oct. 18 at 1:00 p.m. The game will be televised locally by FSN West. The Bruins and Cardinal will meet for the 79th time on Saturday in a series which dates back to 1925.

SERIES WITH STANFORD -- The Bruins and Cardinal will meet for the 79th time on Saturday in a series which dates back to 1925. The Bruins lead the series by a count of 44-31-3 and have met consecutively in each season, beginning with the 1946 contest. UCLA has captured wins in the last four meetings overall (45-17 at Stanford last season) and the last five straight played in the Rose Bowl (31-0 in last game played at Rose Bowl in 2006). The Cardinal last defeated the Bruins at the Rose Bowl in the 1996 season, winning by a score of 21-20. Coach Rick Neuheisel owns a 3-0 record versus Stanford, with each meeting coming while he was head coach at Washington.

UCLA AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS* UCLA has won six of its last eight home games played against AP ranked opponents with wins over Tennessee (2008-18th), Oregon (2007-9th), Cal (twice, 2005-10th, 2007-10th), USC (2006-2nd) and Oklahoma (2005-21st) and the losses to ASU (2007-9th) and Fresno State 2008-25th).
* UCLA has defeated three of the last five Top 10-ranked opponents it has faced.
Won against Oregon (No. 9 AP, No. 10 USA Today/ESPN) on Nov. 24, 2007
Beat California (No. 10 AP, T-No. 9 USA Today/ESPN) on October 20, 2007
Defeated No. 2 USC on December 2, 2006.
Lost to Arizona State (No. 9), 24-20, on Nov. 10, 2007
Lost to USC (No. 8 AP, No. 9 USA Today/ESPN) on Dec. 1, 2007.
* UCLA's last road victory over a ranked team (AP) came on Sept. 29, 2001 at #19 Oregon State (38-7).

Beauty is a primeval phenomenon, which itself never makes its appearance, but the reflection of which is visible in a thousand different utterances of the creative mind, and is as various as nature herself-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

It's going to be one of those seasons....

and, look who's at spot number 17, those dang Virginia Tech Hokies!!!! Please excuse my enthusiasm for college football. It's one of those things that's hard to explain but, you got to love it!

Associated Press Poll-Week of October 12, 2008

Rank
Team
W-L
Points
Previous rank
Next game
Last game

1
Texas (39)
6-0
1599
5
Arkansas
W45-35 at Oklahoma
2
Alabama (26)
6-0
1582
2
Mississippi
W17-14 Kentucky
3
Penn State
7-0
1492
6
Michigan
W48-7 at Wisconsin
4
Oklahoma
5-1
1306
1
Kansas
L35-45 Texas
5
Florida
5-1
1284
11
Kentucky
W51-21 LSU
6
USC
4-1
1247
8
Washington State
W28-0 Arizona State
7
Texas Tech
6-0
1210
7
Texas A&M
W37-31 Nebraska
8
Oklahoma State
6-0
1184
17
Baylor
W28-23 at Missouri
9
Brigham Young
6-0
1131
9
TCU
W21-3 New Mexico
10
Georgia
5-1
1081
10
Vanderbilt
W26-14 Tennessee
11
Missouri
5-1
984
3
Texas
L23-28 Oklahoma State
12
Ohio State
6-1
908
12
Michigan State
W16-3 Purdue
13
LSU
4-1
893
4
Troy
L21-51 at Florida
14
Utah
7-0
834
14
Colorado State
W40-7 at Wyoming
15
Boise State
5-0
714
15
Hawaii
W24-7 at Southern Miss
16
Kansas
5-1
620
16
Oklahoma
W30-14 Colorado
17
Virginia Tech
5-1
540
18
Boston College
W27-13 Western Kentucky
18
North Carolina
5-1
416
22
Virginia
W29-24 Notre Dame
19
South Florida
5-1
397
19
Syracuse
L21-26 Pittsburgh
20
Michigan State
6-1
371
23
Ohio State
W37-20 at Northwestern
21
Wake Forest
4-1
330
21
Maryland
W12-7 Clemson
22
Vanderbilt
5-1
258
13
Georgia
L14-17 at Mississippi State
23
Pittsburgh
4-1
182
24
Navy
W26-21 at South Florida
24
Ball State
7-0
166
25
Eastern Michigan
W24-7 at Western Kentucky
25
California
4-1
115
29
Arizona
W24-14 Arizona State

oh my...we lost again...sniffle...sniffle...dang it!

Oregon's Late Start Pushes the Ducks Past Bruins
MEDICAL UPDATE: UCLA wide receiver Terrence Austin was injured in the fourth quarter of UCLA's game at Oregon. He was fitted for a neck collar, placed on a spine board and transported from the field to RiverBend Hospital. While on the field, he was conscious and able to move his arms and legs.
Tests at the hospital were negative. He was diagnosed with a neck strain and a mild concussion and released from the hospital in time to fly home to Los Angeles with the UCLA football team late Saturday night.
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli ran for 170 yards and a touchdown in ther Ducks' 31-24 victory over UCLA on Saturday night.
Masoli, who entered the season as the third-string quarterback, also completed five of 19 passes for 42 yards and a score for the Ducks (5-2, 3-1 Pacific-10).
Kahlil Bell and Derrick Coleman each ran for a touchdown for the Bruins (2-4, 1-2), hit late in the game by a scary injury to receiver Terrence Austin, who had to be carted off the field at Autzen Stadium.
The Ducks did not use quarterback Justin Roper, who had been out the last four games with a knee injury and a lingering illness. Given the starting spot just before the opener after Nate Costa had knee surgery, Roper returned to practice this week.
Instead, Oregon stayed with Masoli, who had a 5-yard TD run in the first quarter.
But Oregon was generally lackluster until the waning moments of the first half. Matt Evensen missed a 42-yard field goal and had a 50-yarder blocked.
The Bruins weren't any more inspired. The closest they came to scoring early was a missed field goal by Kai Forbath, a 47-yard attempt that went wide left.
Bell, who injured his left ankle in the opener and aggravated it last weekend against Washington State, was hit late in the first half and had to be helped off the field.
Oregon made it 14-0 with 22 seconds left before the half when Masoli hit Chris Harper - who has played at backup quarterback this season - with a 24-yard scoring pass. Harper, a true freshman, last week asked coach Mike Bellotti if he could play more at receiver.
UCLA scored its first touchdown on the road so far this season on Coleman's 1-yard run, but Oregon answered with LeGarrette Blount's 6-yard scoring run to make it 21-7.
Oregon cornerback Jairus Byrd was called for pass interference on what had looked like an interception of Craft in the end zone, and Bell subsequently ran 2 yards for the score to make it 21-14. The call was loudly booed by Ducks fans at Autzen, who were also warned for throwing items on the field.
In the fourth quarter, Austin was hurt when he was trying to make a catch and got hit by Oregon rover T.J. Ward. The ball tipped off of Ward's helmet and was intercepted by Byrd.
Austin was knocked headfirst into the turf. He remain prone on the field for several minutes, but could be seen moving his feet, before he was placed on a stretcher and taken from the field on a cart.
At the same time, a fan involved in an apparent scuffle was taken from the stadium on a stretcher, but further details were not known.
When the game resumed after a lengthy delay, Evensen hit a 32-yard field goal to make it 24-14, but Forbath answered with a 28-yard field goal for the Bruins.
Blount sealed it for the Ducks with a 69-yard scoring run.
Craft, pressed into duty this season after Patrick Cowan and Ben Olson were injured, hit Jeff Miller with a 1-yard touchdown pass with less than a minute left. Craft completed 27 of 43 passes for 288 yards.
The game is just the second on the road for the Bruins this season.

Spent today out and seeing the progress of Fall here in central Virginia. While some of the trees have turned it will probably be another couple before we have the full Autumnal effect which I am so looking forward to. Found this abandoned building outside Abingdon Virginia located south and west of us. Was fortunate to capture the photograph as the building was located along a road that was pretty overgrown and lacked much sunlight. But, managed to at least get this.

Buchanan is a town in Botetourt County, and located in the greater Roanoke metropolitan statistical area.

The community was named for John Buchanan, surveyor and son-in-law of Colonel James Patton who came from the north of Ireland in 1736 and one of the first and most influential settlers in the Valley of Virginia.

In 1745 Colonel Patton secured a grant from the Governor and Council of Virginia, for one hundred and twenty thousand acres of land west of the Blue Ridge, and he and son-in-law John Buchanan, who was also deputy surveryor for Augusta County, located lands on the James River, and founded and named Buchanan and Pattonsburg villages that were built on opposite sides of the James River now in Botetourt County.

UCLA TOPS WASHINGTON STATE 28-3

Oct. 5, 2008
Box Score Game Action
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) -Kevin Craft threw two touchdown passes to Ryan Moya, Kahlil Bell ran for a pair of 1-yard scores and UCLA defeated Washington State 28-3 Saturday night, ending a three-game losing streak with its first victory over the Cougars in the Rose Bowl since 1998.
The Bruins (2-3, 1-1 Pac-10) won at home for the first time since their season-opening upset of Tennessee in Rick Neuheisel's coaching debut at his alma mater.
Craft was 23-of-36 for 225 yards and did not throw an interception before leaving with 5 minutes remaining. Moya caught six passes - one off his career high - for 57 yards, while Terrence Austin had seven catches for 77 yards.
The Bruins took a 14-0 lead in the second quarter. Craft hit Moya for a 15-yard TD on UCLA's first possession. The Cougars were then forced to punt before Craft handed off to Bell, who plunged 1 yard for his third touchdown of the season.
Bell injured his left ankle in the season opener and missed losses to BYU and Arizona before scoring twice in last week's loss to Fresno State. The Cougars beat UCLA 27-7 last season in Pullman, Wash., where Bell sustained a season-ending knee injury.
Washington State (1-5, 0-3) narrowly avoided its first shutout since 1984 with Nico Grasu's 47-yard field goal in the third quarter.
The Cougars managed just 11 first downs and 177 yards of total offense, and had eight penalties for 69 yards. They were 2-of-14 on third-down conversions.
Alterraun Verner's interception of Marshall Lobbestael at the WSU 27 set up Craft's third TD at 6:40 of the third. Craft found Moya alone in the right corner of the end zone for a 12-yard score, extending UCLA's lead to 21-3.
Bell scored again early in the fourth with his second 1-yard plunge that made it 27-3. He had 21 carries for 43 yards.
Lobbestael was 15-of-31 for 151 yards and one interception in the redshirt freshman's second start. Dwight Tardy was the Cougars' leading rusher with 17 carries for 50 yards, while Brandon Gibson was their top receiver with six catches for 62 yards.

Mountain Magic in Fall-Buchanan, Virginia

Today husband and I ventured out to the Mountain Magic in Fall festival in nearby Buchanan. The weather was gorgeous and we loved spending the day on Main Street and listening to some wonderful blue grass performers.

If It's Saturday...It's Time for UCLA Football...GO BRUINS

UCLA FOOTBALL... Fight On~

Favored UCLA desperate for a win
Sam Allen, Bruin Sports senior staff (Contact)
Published: Friday, October 3, 2008
Oddsmakers favor the UCLA football team to beat Washington State by 17 points when the two teams meet Saturday night at the Rose Bowl.
The Cougars (1-4, 0-2 Pac-10) lost their first two conference games, 63-14 to Oregon and 66-3 to California. Their top two quarterbacks sustained serious injuries in the first month of the season, and the team has now turned to redshirt freshman Marshall Lobbestael.
Washington State is also in the midst of a rebuilding process under first-year coach Paul Wulff.
But none of that matters to the Bruins (1-3, 0-1 Pac-10).
“I didn’t know we were favored at all,” linebacker Reggie Carter said. “I haven’t won a game in three weeks. I’m just looking for a win. I couldn’t care less if we’re favorites. I just want to win.”
After a daunting nonconference schedule, UCLA shifts into Pac-10 play this week against a listless Washington State team. But the Bruins cannot afford to take this game lightly, not after a September month in which they lost badly to Brigham Young and Arizona, and then missed an opportunity to upset Fresno State.
Washington State knows that kind of hardship just as well; the Cougars haven’t reached a bowl game in four years, and they lost eight scholarships this offseason because of poor academic progress.
“Sometimes, when things are struggling, it can be an advantage to go on the road, just because you can circle the wagons with your team,” UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said. “So we expect a great effort from (Washington State).”
Players and coaches pointed to their rushing attack as the key to the offense this week. The Bruin runners were ineffective in the first three games of the season before gaining 246 yards last week against Fresno State.
The Bruins hope that rushing performance is an indication they are starting to improve. This week, senior Kahlil Bell will start at tailback, with freshman Derrick Coleman as his backup. Washington State has allowed almost 270 yards rushing per game this season.
“We just want to go in and get 300 yards rushing, that’s our goal,” freshman offensive tackle Jeff Baca said. “We came close last week. But we want 300. We want a steady number every week from now on and, of course, good pass protection for Kevin Craft.”
The UCLA defense has a lot to prove, too. Last week Fresno State cruised to a 36-31 victory with a long, crushing drive in the fourth quarter that ran out the remaining 8 minutes, 55 seconds on the clock.
Carter said that pressuring the quarterback and limiting big plays will be the biggest goals this week. The Bruins have emphasized defensive assignments and discipline this week in practice.
“Pass rush and pass coverage go hand in hand; we need to get more pressure,” Carter said.
Carter also said that confidence is not an issue for the team; they’re just desperate for a win.
“Washington State runs and passes just like any other team,” he said. “For some reason we’ve had problems stopping that the past few weeks, so we have to do it this week.”