Wetlands Boardwalk and Charlie’s Report

After an appointment in Winchester yesterday, I decided to make a brief visit to the Trails at the MSV. I happened to be at a medical building next to the wetlands, so I walked down the boardwalk. When I was there four years ago, it circled a pond, but the pond has gotten so low that it’s now a marsh..

I admired the tall steel sculpture of a great blue heron. It’s the work of artist David Groenjes.

I saw this frog in some shallow water. The water doesn’t really show in the photo. I saw minnows too.

I’m feeling tired so I’m going to let Charlie the beagle take over.

Hi! I’ll tell you about some things I saw this week. Look at this giant rabbit! I saw it from the car and I didn’t get out because it was taller than my mom.

We went up to Skyline Drive and saw some deer. Miss Deborah took me for a walk while Mom went in the store.

There were two days when I went to day boarding at the veterinary. I’d rather go play with Sadie at Deborah’s house, and I did get to do that one day. That was fun! I also got to go to a dog park, but no dogs were there to play with.

Today we walked around by the courthouse in town. It was noisy because there were horns honking and some people making noise and talking. I was glad to leave and go to the state park by the river.

I hope that next week I have some quiet times and some fun times too.

Waiting on a Bench

Blog Post 9250

This gentleman was passing the time by scrolling on his phone outside the hospital when I went for my MRI on Monday. I don’t know whether he was waiting for a ride or perhaps waiting for someone who was inside.

The MRI took half an hour and was noisy. The staff was helpful, so I can’t complain. The results showed that there was a severe compression fracture in L1, subacute but healing. This is why I haven’t been able to walk with my back straight since falling four months ago. Physical therapy hasn’t helped much, but I’m going to try it a little longer. The MRI also showed spondylosis in L2-L5, but that had showed up in the CT scan that I had in June. 

I met with the orthopedic doctor yesterday and there isn’t much else we’re going to do right now. An epidural is a possibility, but needs to be given while I’m actually in pain, and usually the pain doesn’t hit until late in the day when I’m tired, or after I’ve been driving too long. I guess it’s a good thing that it doesn’t hurt all the time, but I sure would like to be able to walk without feeling bent over. And I’m still having pain in one knee when I walk. (Sigh!)

I’m glad I retired early rather than later. I was able to do things that I’m not able to do now. Maybe someday? 

“Enjoy yourself. It’s later than you think.” --Herb Magidsen, Lyricist

Mid-October on Skyline Drive

The leaves are turning color a little earlier this year, perhaps due to the dry weather. Unfortunately, some of them are going straight to brown, but there are plenty of yellows and reds at the higher elevations of the Blue Ridge.

Shenandoah National Park is still open, at least for now. Our national politicians are squabbling over budget cuts, and the government is partly shut down. The private companies that run the restaurants and lodges at the park are advertising that they are open, and autumn is their busiest season. I was pleased to see that park rangers are still on duty, although I believe their talks and tours are suspended. 

I went up there on Tuesday. Plenty of other people were there there, although it was not as crowded as it will be on the weekend.

 This couple was having wedding pictures taken.

I didn’t see much wildlife until we got to Big Meadows. 

At some of the overlooks, the sun was in my eyes, so I did not try to take pictures. At others, I took advantage of cloud cover to grab some snapshots.

Bird Art for Wednesday

Although I already posted some images from this season's Art At the Mill, I have some pictures of art with birds in them for Wild Bird Wednesday. 

I refrained from buying any artwork this time. I still have paintings from previous shows that I have never hung.

Many of these are by local artists. I hope you enjoy them.

Decorations at Flotzie’s

Soft Serve Ice Cream Stand, Luray

Wordless

Mount Jackson’s New Mural

A postcard-style mural in Mount Jackson was recently painted on the side of a building on King Street. I’ve been watching it take shape from the new dog park. 

Here’s a closer look at the lettering, which features local landmarks. 

Mount Jackson was named for Andrew Jackson when he was a hero of the War of 1812. Located along the historic Valley Pike, it is known for its apple industry, covered bridge, and Route 11 potato chips.

Monday Murals

Cityscapes: Europe 2000 and 2001

As I mentioned in Friday's post, I went through old images to find some cityscapes. These are from trips to Europe in 2000 and 2001. 

I haven’t traveled internationally since then. After the 911 attacks in 2001, airline travel became less comfortable and less fun. Not only did the extra security measures mean more standing in line, but the airlines lost money and decided to make up for it by making seats smaller and offering fewer services. I have flown within the USA to visit relatives, but even these flights were not comfortable.

Frank and I went to France and Belgium in the year 2000. I had been to Paris once before, on an educational tour with a group from Northern Virginia Community College. We visited Belgium because Frank’s daughter Susan was there with her husband, who was stationed there with the army. We enjoyed having them as our tour guides.

A year later, we returned to Europe for two reasons. One was that Marie was spending time in Berlin as part of her first world tour, and  the other was that Susan had her first baby. 

We also made a visit to London on that trip. 

Mosaic Monday

Little Frogs and Dogs

What are these people looking at?

Fortunately, they were glad to show me. There were tiny frogs in the creek under the bridge. This is in the Carrier Arboretum.

Can you see the little frog? It’s on a rock. The next one is on a leaf on top of a rock. It seemed like there was one on almost every rock!

Now I’ll turn the post over to Charlie.

Hi, it’s Charlie! Something happened that I don’t like. The mornings got very cold. I don’t wanna get up out of my chair when it’s cold, but Mom insists that I go out for a walk. I wish she would make the sidewalk warmer so that my paws don’t get cold.

Here’s a picture of the river that I saw when we went to Seven Bends State Park this week. The trees are starting to look yellow.

One day I went to the veterinary and got my nails trimmed. They gave me a bandanna for being brave. .

Today we went up to Basye to play in the dog park. Sadie went too. 

I ran really fast and got tired. Now it’s time to go to bed.

La Tour Eiffel

A local photography group has the theme of “Cityscapes” this week. My first thought was, “I don’t have very many.” because most of my city pictures are limited in scope, such as showing a particular building or, people walking together. Then I remembered my European trips from decades ago. This picture is from Paris in the year 2000.

Back then, I was not using a digital camera. I did have the foresight to have my film scanned to disk or CD at the time of processing. I was already enjoying Photoshop or Photo Deluxe, which was an early predecessor to Photoshop Elements.

I guess I’m telling my age, but that’s okay. I have passed the point of being able to pretend that I’m young.

Living History with Captain Mercer’s Company

 French and Indian War Weekend

These pictures are from an event in Winchester on Sunday. It seemed a little odd to see “our side” dressed as British soldiers, but they are dressed for a war that ended in 1763, thirteen years before our Declaration of Independence.

Historians consider the French and Indian war to be related to the Seven Years War that took place in Europe. In North America, the French and British were in competition for territory and trading rights. Although Britain won the war, they decided to keep a standing army in North America and tax the colonies to pay for it. Your may remember how that turned out.

You may have seen my recent post about Fort Loudoun in Winchester. The town is proud of its association with young George Washington, who had an office in Winchester and supervised the building of the fort.

I always enjoy seeing the costumes at living history events. This pretty lass was kind enough to pose for me.