Rockland Community Prayer Garden

Rockland, near Front Royal 

Rockland is a village amidst farmland in Warren County. The Community Church there dedicated a prayer garden on Saturday. I stopped by late that afternoon to take a look. I plan to go back in the summer to see how the flowers are doing.

Links: 

Article on Dedication 

Shadow Shot Sunday

Garden Affair

My 2013 Post on Rockland Church

 

Rockland Rurality

Rockland is a small town not far from Front Royal. I've posted pictures of Rockland before but it merits some more. 

Rockland Community Church

Barns Along Ashby Station Road

Churches of Rockland

Old Methodist Church

Rockland Community Church

We saw these churches on Rockland Road in Warren County. The older one is no longer used but a page on it's history tells us that land was deeded for it in 1891. In 1948 the church members joined with the members of the town's Baptist Church to form the nondenominational Community Church.

Rockland is an unincorporated community north of Front Royal, Virginia.

Rockland Rail Crossing

I was driving on Rockland Road yesterday when the lights at the railroad crossing starting flashing and the gates came down. Knowing that the trains that go through there are often very long, I shifted into "park" and got out my camera. I could take a few pictures and listen to the radio.

The trains there go to and from the nearby "Inland Port," a major train to truck transfer point. Years ago, I lived near Potomac Yards in Alexandria, which then served the same purpose. It closed in the 1980s, but I can still hear the sound clanking and squealing sounds that the trains made there. They are engraved in my memory. I didn't mind them though; there was something comforting about the noise.  And I knew people who worked for the railroad, and I was thankful that they had jobs.

These green freight cars remind me that the March theme for City Daily Photo is "Green."

As you can see, they are stacked two-high, and they are the same containers that cross the ocean on gigantic cargo ships and are unloaded by cranes. Trucks hook onto them and they become the trailers on tractor-trailers. Very practical!

This particular train did something odd. It stopped and sat still for a while, and then backed up, clearing the road so the gates could go up and we could pass. I guess it had to wait for the track to clear farther ahead and the engineer did not want to block traffic. I am thankful for that! 

Thankful Thursday.

Can you see the horse logo of Norfolk Southern?

Today's final picture was taken within earshot of the railroad, from Rockland Park.

Sharing with Fences around the World.

Rockland Park is Now Open!

Warren County has a new park! Located between Front Royal and the Inland Port, Rockland Park features picnic facilities, a playground, a disc golf course and trails. Today a ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the opening of phase I of the park.

Plans for future phases of the park include athletic fields and camping facilities.

Park Entrance is at 706 Rockland Road, Front Royal, VA

The Carson Trail winds through the park and connects with the old portion of the trail behind the Front Royal Golf Club. I've been there a number of times to walk along the Shenandoah River, or sometimes just to eat burgers that we bought at the nearby Roy Rogers. (See all Carson Trail posts.)

I'm proud of Warren County for their progress on expanding recreational opportunities, particularly trails. Nearby Shenandoah National Park is a magnet for hikers, but if it's too expensive or you just want to stroll along the river, Warren County offers some lovely trails.

Here's a closer look at the county logo, suggesting the meeting of the two forks of the Shenandoah River and the mountains nearby.

Sharing with Good Fences and Signs, Signs

Update on Rockland Park

I recently stopped at Rockland Park and saw that a new paved trail or road is being constructed. As you can see in the first picture, it is lined by an anti-erosion fence for now. The park itself is new and being completed in stages over a period of years.

There is already a playground, walking trails, picnic shelters, and a  disc golf course. Warren County has a page about Rockland Park.

Sharing with Good Fences and Seasons

Clover Hill

A week ago I learned there was a pick-your-own flower farm on Rockland Road so I drove out to take a look.

There's a mural with a bench so people can get a cute photo of the family. 

Monday Murals / The Barn Collective

Tulips were in full bloom. There were even some late-blooming daffodils. 

I bought some tulips and double daffodils.

Mosaic Monday

Clover Hill Farm has a Front Royal address but it is out in the country. 

This barn is across Rockland Road from the flower farm. 

End of April: Good, Random, and Fun.

Random-osity.

The Good: Springtime has arrived in Virginia and trees are blooming. It really is pretty out there!

Sharing with Floral Bliss and Mosaic Monday.

The Random: For Monday Murals, I've got a horse race mural in a restaurant in Luray. I'm sorry about the lights that are in the way.

The Fun: Rockland Park has a new feature. A cluster of exercise equipment beckons to youngsters and adults alike. It is across the road from the children's playground.

Rockland Park is near Front Royal at the end of Fishnet Road.

Lights, Camera, Music.

It's Willy Nilly Friday.

1. I don't know the name of this tower. It's a musical instrument that you play with a mallet, like tubular bells.

The shape is interesting and contrasty enough for a black and white shot. It looked exotic to me but it's in Rockland Park near Front Royal.

2. I saw a recent announcement about the dedication of the Music Park and I was curious, so we went there yesterday. It's behind the playground at Rockland Park and features a number of metal instruments that you play using mallets. Fun!

3. I like seeing Tiffany-style lamps. This dragonfly-design one is in a restored house in West Virginia.

Orange You Glad It's Friday?

4. I liked this reflection on Clifford Street in Winchester last weekend.

5. The deadline for changing your Medicare plan was yesterday. I added a prescription plan, since mine was suddenly dropped last year because I was not informed about a rule about Medicare Advantage. This year I changed back from Medicare Advantage to Supplement Plan F because a number of local doctors won't even see you if you have Medicare Advantage! This cleared the way for getting prescription coverage again.

Health insurance is confusing, but the cost of not having it here (in the USA) can put you into bankruptcy.

For this tedious topic I leave you with a picture that Frank took of me.

The Old Rockland School House

This old-time school is on Rockland Road near Front Royal. Now an antique shop, it was still a one-room school in the 1960's. The store has a display of photos from when it was a school.

The hand-operated pump would have supplied water.

A Heron at Lake Frederick

On Monday afternoon I ran a few errands and then decided to have a cup of coffee and spend a few minutes reading in a sunny spot. I got the coffee (actually decaf) at Royal Farms and drove up to nearby Rockland Park. Unfortunately the parking lot was full because some sort of high school athletic training was going on, with kids jogging and using the exercise equipment. I decided to drive a little farther to Lake Frederick.

Hardly anyone was there and the water was deep blue. And there was a Great Blue Heron! I took a picture from the car window and then quietly opened the door to get a few more shots.
 

 He walked up on the floating pier and down the other side. It happened that I had accidentally turned on "continuous burst mode" on my camera last week and had not bothered to look up how to turn it off yet. Good! A moving bird is a suitable subject for taking multiple shots continuously.

I think the heron heard me and took off! This is where continuous shooting is an advantage. The camera caught several images of him in flight! Pictures 3 and 4 are the best of them. I cropped them in Photoshop to give you a closer look.

Thank you, heron!

Indoors and Outdoors, Late Winter

Random-osity, Front Royal, VA.

  
The Good: My dentist's office has some artful touches. Here's one of the walls.

Monday Mural.

The Random: I was at the dentist today to have a crown replaced. I grind my teeth in my sleep and had ground down the old one to the point where it was damaged and was weakening the tooth.

Blue Monday.

The blue image shows the crown being made. A computer guides the machine in shaping the porcelain to the exact fit for what remains of my tooth. 

A 2.5 hour dental session is not fun, so let's go outside!

The Fun: We've had some nice days recently and on one of them we went to Rockland Park for a short walk.

Mosaic Monday.

Bonus pictures: I drove down to the boat landing in Front Royal and took a few photos of the Shenandoah River.

Cloudy, Round, Colorful.

Willy Nilly Friday.

1. I am so glad the government shutdown is over, for now. Our national parks will be staffed again, and other government services will get back underway. My friends who have government jobs will get paid again. I hope that politicians will stop playing power games with people's lives.

Skywatch: Clouds seen from Shenandoah National Park. I was up there on Wednesday afternoon. I took a trash bag with me just in case I saw litter, but the grounds were clean. Skyline Drive was only open as far as Dickey Ridge because there is still snow to be cleared from the road, and with the government workers furloughed, the work did not get done.

2. For Black and White Weekend, I chose a picture with symmetry and contrast. These are outdoor cymbals at the Music Park at Rockland, near Front Royal.

3. Another blogger has mastered the art of creating beautiful frozen bubbles. Before I saw her instructions, I tried blowing regular bubbles on a freezing day. This is the only one that landed where I could photograph it.

I haven't tried her method yet of thickening the mixture with corn syrup. Watch Rosemary's video on How to Make Frozen Bubbles.

Sharing with Weekend Reflections.

4. I went to the post office to get stamps before the price goes up on January 27, and what did I get? John Lennon stamps!

5. Not many flowers are blooming in our frigid weather so I took pictures of artificial flowers in a local big box store.

Floral Friday and Friday Bliss.