Lake Shenandoah on a Sunny August day.

Yesterday, Rockingham County

Originally I had two medical appointments near Harrisonburg, but yesterday morning I got a call saying one of them had to be rescheduled. Unfortunately, the first availability is in October. We have a real shortage of medical providers right now, and often I have to wait several months for an appointment.

After my morning appointment, I drove to nearby Lake Shenandoah. Water level is down due to storm damage near the dam.

I took a few pictures of water lilies, and then crossed the parking lot to the Pollinator Trail. It was too hot to walk very far, and the sun was so bright that I couldn’t see the image on the screen of my phone, so I snapped pictures and straightened the crooked ones later.

Mural No Longer There

This mural used to be on South Street in Front Royal. Painted in 2019, it disappeared a few years ago and is now a plain wall.

Monday Murals

I don’t why it was replaced, but the building was for sale or rent at the time. Perhaps the seller felt that a blank slate would attract more buyers. 

The street is busy route that carries tourist traffic to Shenandoah National Park. Frankly, South Street is not very attractive, with the sort of unplanned commercial sprawl that we see so often along heavily traveled routes. It’s a shame because there are some very charming streets a few blocks away, but tourists don’t see them unless they seek them out. Merchants in the historic part of town have expressed concern that visitors don’t know their shops exist. Not long ago, news videos showed King Charles and Camilla  visiting the historic Main Street, and many viewers were surprised at how nice it looked! 

So here’s a tip: When you travel through an old town, check out the historic district. It has more personality than a row of service stations and drive-in restaurants!

More Pictures from a Busy Week

Over the past week, I took a lot of pictures because my sister was visiting. We went to Shenandoah National Park twice, once from the Thornton Gap entrance and the next day from the Front Royal entrance. Then on Thursday, we had a picnic with Lynn before going to the Quilt Museum. 

These are various pictures, mostly from SNP. 

In the visitor center at Dickey Ridge, I found the plaque from King Charles’ visit.

Sharing with Mosaics

A Busy Beagle Week

A Report from Charlie

My week started out rainy. We need the rain, but I don’t like getting wet. On Sunday, we went to Seven Bends State Park when the rain went away for a little while. We did not stay long because the rain was coming back again.

On Monday, we went outside and I saw my friend Tripod. 

Late that afternoon, my Aunt Peggy came to visit! The next day, we went to the National Forest for a walk, and then we went to the mountains. 

I got to walk on the Appalachian Trail! 

I could smell some animals. We saw deer along Skyline Drive.

That reminds me, Mom wants me to show critters for Eileen’s blog hop. Here’s a bug on a leaf.

Aunt Peggy left on Friday. I miss her because we had good times. 

Today Mom took me to the dog park in Mount Jackson. We saw cows along a back road.

There were no other dogs playing. I did meet a white dog when we first got out of the car, but he was leaving to go home, so we had to say goodbye. 

So long!

Boat Landing with Bicycle

 Front Royal

This is next to Eastham Park on the South Fork of the Shenandoah. 

New Market Picnic and Silver Lake Mill

Today Peggy and I met Lynn for a picnic lunch. There’s a sign about the Civil War Battle of New Market because this was the place where Confederate General Breckinridge launched the first attack of the battle.

After a leisurely lunch and conversation, I drove Peggy to Silver Lake in Dayton.

The Virginia Quilt Museum is there, and I wanted to see the exhibit, "250 Quilts Commemorating the Commonwealth of Virginia." These are contemporary quilts, and they are fabulous!

Taking Peggy to the Mountains

My sister said she misses the mountains, so of course we went to Shenandoah National Park. 

Here she is at Dickey Ridge. I liked the pose so much I switched to “Portrait mode” and stepped closer.

We went in the Visitor Center so she could buy a postcard and were lucky enough to catch a screening of a film about the CCC. Then we looked at the exhibits, plus we caught part of a ranger talk.

Models of birds include a ruffed grouse, a screech owl, and a falcon.

I did not get pictures of real birds except for one flying in the distance. I think it was a crow.

I was delighted to see a monarch butterfly.

As usual, I took too many pictures for one post, so I’ll close with a trio of wildflowers. 

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