Getting the Lake House ready to rent

I couldn't get Craigslist to work for me tonight but I was able to enter our new investment property in Postlets.

Work is ongoing at the house. The painters (Sonny and Billy) should be done on Tuesday. The yard is cleaned up and Dwayne will powerwash the siding any day now. The family room will get carpet by next weekend.

Sears has delivered the range and fridge; both have a silvery finish that looks like stainless steel. A plumber is getting replacement parts for the Kohler toilets, which don't work with "universal" parts. And Frank and I did a lot of spiffing up in the house and yard.

I walked around the lake today. It was amusing hearing the ducks quack - they sound like they're laughing!

Views of the Lake

At Shenandoah River Lakes, Waterlick, VA

One nice thing about our new property being on a lake is the photo opportunities offered by the water. Changes in light and clouds are doubled by reflections.

Frank's Like-Kind Exchange

There's a rule in the tax code that provides a way to put off paying tax on the profits from selling an investment property: The "like-kind exchange" (also called 1031 or Starker exchange). Basically you buy another investment property following rules that the IRS spells out.

This is the property Frank sold in Dale City: a house that he rented out. The rent covered his mortgage and there was a little left over. Meanwhile the house went up in value. Eventually it dipped down a bit but since he owned it a long time, he still made a decent profit.

This is the replacement property. It cost close to the same amount as the house he sold, even though it's larger and is nicely situated on a lake. It is farther away from DC so the price was reasonable, plus there were some cosmetic issues keeping the price down. But the location is great for us because it's an hour closer to our home than Dale City was so we can drive there to take care of it much more easily.

Another plus is that we can enjoy looking at the lake whenever we spend time working on the house. We've been fixing it up over the past week. It should look pretty good in a few more days. Frank has already placed it in the multiple listings (MLS #WR7203627).

I'm still looking for an exchange for the house I sold. Ideally, it will be within an hour's drive of our home in Basye AND an hour's drive of Northern Virginia (like the one above which is near Front Royal), will be in good shape, and will have features that make it likely to appreciate in value. I found this one for Frank and insisted that he see it because it's waterfront and within commuting distance from No. Virginia. He loved it as soon as he saw the lake!

Old Mills at the Stickley Farm

On the Stickley Farm along Cedar Creek stand the ruins of two mills, the Stickley Mill and the Bowman Mill. They were burnt during the "Burning" in 1864.

Our group visited on a damp cloudy afternoon so the images looked rather dark. I added an edge filter (in Photoshop) to the upper image to give it definition.

Historic House

This is the historic Stickley house at Cedar Creek. It's a private residence.

I used a dry brush filter on the picture in Photoshop.

Lone Confederate Grave

This grave is inside a rail enclosure on the old Stickley farm between Strasburg and Middletown. The marker tells us that John Helms was killed at the battle of Cedar Creek.

According to Professor Noyalas, Helms was brought to the farm by his brothers, who buried him under an apple tree and said they would return for the body when they could. However, they never returned and their fates are unknown.

Sheridan's Ride

Professor Noyalas pointed out this point on the Valley Pike as the place where Phil Sheridan's famous ride ended. You probably heard the romanticized poem by Thomas Buchanan Read, Sheridan's Ride which concludes:

Hurrah! hurrah for Sheridan!

Hurrah! hurrah for horse and man!

And when their statues are placed on high,

Under the dome of the Union sky,

The American soldier's Temple of Fame;

There with the glorious general's name,

Be it said, in letters both bold and bright,

"Here is the steed that saved the day,

By carrying Sheridan into the fight,

From Winchester, twenty miles away!"

Cemetery Overlooking Middletown

Professor Noyalas Lectures at Mount Carmel Cemetery

Shenandoah at War summarizes the action here in this sentence:

The Federal line began to stabilize as elements of the Federal VI Corps fought hard in and around the cemetery on the west side of Middletown.

Several months ago I stopped by and made this brief video to record the setting of this cemetery. It has a distant view of Signal Knob on the Massanutten Range.

Meadow Brook

Meadow Brook near Middletown was one scene of activity during the Battle of Cedar Creek. See the US Army's staff ride description.

128th New York Monument

This Civil War memorial is located south of Belle Grove on US 11.

The 128th New York Volunteer Regiment Monument

"In memory of the men of this regiment who lost their lives at the Battle of Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864. Erected by their comrades and friends, dedicated in 1907."

Belle Grove in Autumn

Belle Grove Plantation, Middletown, VA

You can see more photos of Belle Grove on my Civil War field trips site or at the official Belle Grove website. Also, you can search this blog for all posts mentioning Belle Grove.

Trouble at the Trenches

Old Truck Abandoned at Civil War Trenches

There's a trail at the 128th New York Monument at Cedar Creek Battlefield that goes to the Union trenches. Here Federal soldiers faced a Confederate attack from an unexpected direction and had to rush to the "wrong" side of their trenches in order to mount a defense.

Prof. Noyalas is seen at the marker entitled Union Trenches.

Monument to the 8th Vermont

Near Middletown, Virginia

Cedar Creek

The 8th Vermont Vol's,

Genl. Stephen Thomas

Commanding Brigade

Advanced across the Pike

The morning of Oct. 19, 1864.

Engaged the enemy near

and beyond this point,

and before sunrise lost

in killed and wounded 110 men...

Hear the short video in which Professor Noyalas reads an account of the struggle for the flag in this early phase of the Battle of Cedar Creek. Behind him is Mr. Ratcliff, who kindly hosted our visit to this site.

Tour at Thoburn's Earthworks

The Federal entrenchments still exist but are hard to discern among the trees and natural slope near Cedar Creek.

  Previous Post introducing this tour

Later: Living History at Thoburn's Redoubt

Civil War Field Trip Noyalas-Style

The most exciting parts of Saturday's field trip were visiting places I've never seen before because they were not open to the public. Professor Noyalas had obtained permission for our group to tour there: Thoburn's redoubt position (now pasture-land along Bowman's Mill Road). The 8th Vermont Monument (on a hill behind a private home) The Stickley Farm (Residence and farm along US 11 southbound at Cedar Creek)

We also went to Belle Grove, Meadow Brook, the end point of Sheridan's ride, Ramseur's position at Miller's Mill, Cemetery Hill, and we followed the trail at the 128th New York monument.

Above: Jonathan Noyalas lectures at Thoburn's Final Position

I enjoyed the field trip. Noyalas is very knowledgeable about Cedar Creek Battlefield and just had a book published called The Battle of Cedar Creek: Victory from the Jaws of Defeat.

Other Posts about this Cedar Creek Tour:

• Monument 8th Vermont and Fellow Students
• View from Thoburn's Camp and Earthworks
• Trouble at the Trenches
• Belle Grove and 128th New York Monument
• Meadow Brook
• Cemetery Overlooking Middletown
• Sheridan's Ride
• Lone Confederate Grave
• Stickley House and Old Mills

Related Links:

• Self-Guided Tour, Cedar Creek by J. Whitehorne
• Press Release: SVBF Protects Additional Land on the Cedar Creek Battlefield, 2007
• Cedar Creek (on Johns Military History

View from Thoburn's Camp

Seen from Hill above Bowman's Ford, Cedar Creek

Looking toward Massanutten Mountain

Site of the first attack at Cedar Creek Battlefield, October 1864

See Wikipedia Story about Cedar Creek

A Barn near Middletown, VA

Fellow Students

These young women were on the LFCC field trip Saturday. As you may notice, we were in a light rain in the afternoon.

I didn't take photos of the people who carpooled with me, but they were very knowledgeable about local Civil War sites. One of them, Fred, was a re-enactor and had a Stonewall Jackson beard.

Resource: Old Photos Related to the American Civil War

Today I opened an email that announced an interesting online resource at Southern Methodist University in Texas. The first link I clicked on brought up old photos of the Fishers Hill Battlefield.

The Civil War: Photographs, Manuscripts, and Imprints digital collection contains a variety of photographs related to the people, places and events surrounding the U.S. Civil War. For example, the collection includes a unique set of cartes-de-visites of Civil War generals and related officials. The collection also contains an album of photographs by T. Dwight Biscoe (1840-1930) and Walter S. Biscoe (1853-1933) on a trip through Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania primarily of Civil War battlefields and locales in 1884. Mounts include detailed descriptions about the battles, and the date, time and weather when the photographs were made. Sites include: the battlefields of Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek near Winchester, Virginia, Harper's Ferry, Antietam and Hagerstown, Maryland.

Ducks with PaintShop Pro Effects

I'm just learning Paint Shop Pro. I altered this image for a lesson requiring saturation and filters.

Now I wish I'd made some photographs of just the water plants. I could filter them and come up with a Monet look.