Robins and Excuses

Today I'm sharing pictures of American robins, and I apologize for the quality. My excuse is that I was excited that my experiment with the Birdfy cam was successful in getting pictures of birds at the birdbath.

The Birdfy device had to be moved when the painters re-stained the deck, and I decided to place it on the patio table facing the birdbath. So far, the only birds that it has captured are robins.

This evening, I took a cell phone picture of a bird on a streetlight. Again, I’m offering an excuse, and that is that the light was quite dim at 8:45 PM, so don’t look too closely. I’m pretty certain that this is a robin as well. I see them often, and they don’t seem to be as shy of people as many birds are.

For a closer look, here’s a robin that I photographed last year.

Arts and Flowers

Crape myrtle is blooming! These blossoming trees are not native to Virginia, but have been widely planted, often along roads and parking areas. 

I noticed them in Harrisonburg yesterday. I actually arrived in the town early because I allowed time for traffic and a long detour around the Route 33 overpass, which is a construction zone. I decided to stop at a cemetery to look for interesting memorials. I found a lovely version of a traditional mourning sculpture. 

This is part of the Floros family memorial group. I learned that they owned a popular lunch spot.

Also in Harrisonburg is this sign, displayed in the food co-op and numerous other places. 

“No matter where you are from, we’re glad you’re our neighbor.”

Available as a yard sign, it was co-created by Pastor Matthew Bucher and members of the Immanuel Mennonite Church community in Harrisonburg, Virginia. It became popular locally in 2016, and then nationally. The creators were glad to share the design and it is available online.

Back at home, I found some flowers blòoming, and some weeds too.

Garden Affair / Mosaics

Today I took some close-up shots with my iPhone. The spotted lanternflies are starting to morph into adults. They are colorful but invasive, and not only eat leaves of the tree-of-heaven, but also feast on grape leaves and Virginia creeper.

Is it a Dogwood Tree?

No, it's a tree of dogs!

Monday Murals

This is painted on the wall of a dog boarding facility call All Pawz. Photos of doggie guests are affixed to the branches. 

I took Charlie over there for a tour last week while his regular daycare was closed for a thorough cleaning operation. I wanted to have a backup plan in case they are closed when we have an emergency. Often my sister-in-law is able to watch him, but sometimes she has important things to do. Charlie still has severe separation anxiety. I cannot leave him alone for very long because he panics and tries to get out the door. He has damaged the door frame, and I worry that he’ll get hurt.

Charlie was nervous touring the place, and was startled when he heard big dogs barking. He does not want me to leave him anywhere, but this place seemed nice to me.

Charlie the Beagle

In the Strasburg Museum

 Strasburg, VA

The museum is open in the summer on a limited schedule. Note that the big display area is not air-conditioned, although the gift shop is. 

Also, there is another museum in town at the visitors center on Hupps Hill. that one is dedicated to the region’s Civil War history, while this one covers the broader history of the town, including manufacturing and commerce. 

The building was once a pottery factory, and later served as a railway depot. There’s a nice stoneware display, plus numerous artifacts of everyday life in the Shenandoah Valley.

Trains don’t run on this line anymore, but there are some old railroad cars that you can see.

Another Deer Picture and Charlie’s Report

A week ago we shared a cell phone picture of the deer that visits our backyard. I also took a few shots with my Nikon. This is one that I took as I stepped out on the deck. She saw me and ran off seconds later.

I know some of you are waiting for Charlie’s report so here it is!

Hello, friends! I had some fun this week, but the weather did not cooperate. It got very hot every afternoon, and then yesterday the air was smoky. It was still that way today until a thunderstorm came. There wasn’t much rain, but the wind blew some of the smoke away. 

I went to the state park a couple of times. I like to get a good view. 

Mom takes a lot of pictures. She tried to get a picture of both of us, but I don’t really like to pose. She gets enough handsome pictures of me when I’m not paying attention.

Some days it was too hot to go to a park so we stayed home. I take walks early in the morning, first with my mom and later with Miss Deborah, unless she has to go somewhere. We usually go out on the deck at lunchtime so I can watch for critters. I saw a groundhog today but it ran off, as critters often do.

The place where I sometimes go to daycare was closed this week, which was fine with me. I like to stay with my mom or go play with Sadie. On Wednesday, Mom had to go to Harrisonburg and I got to go with her. We met my sister Lynn for lunch, and the I stayed in the car with her while Mom went in a building. We took a walk, but it was hot. I climbed on the seats and tore my harness. We had a good time.

The next day Mom took me to the state park. It’s a little cooler by the river but we didn’t stay long. I got to lie in the grass.

Yesterday and today the air was smoky so we didn’t spend time outside except for walks in the neighborhood. I saw a rabbit.

That’s all the news I can think of. Oh, we found a picture of a horse to show you.

And that’s all for now!

More Scenes at the River

Today started out hazy and quickly got worse as the smoke from Canada's wildfires reached us. First I noticed the acrid smell, then the irritation in my eyes. By late morning, the haze was thick and air quality was rated as unhealthy, so we didn’t go to a park today. These photos are from yesterday‘s visit to Seven Bends State Park. 

The person in the blue shirt was fishing in the Shenandoah. Just a half hour later, I crossed back over the bridge and shadows had gotten darker.  A photo of the water looked almost black and white, so I went ahead and desaturated the trace of green that still showed in the grass and dark trees.

Fishing by the Lupton Road Bridge

North Fork of the Shenandoah

With the temperature at 93°F, the most desirable outdoor activities this afternoon involved water. These young men were fishing next to the low-water bridge at Seven Bends State Park.

Skywatch / Water H2O Thursday

Birds on Boards

It’s Wild Bird Wednesday, and I only have two bird photos to share. I haven’t been filling the bird feeders because it’s better for birds to eat their natural diet in the summer. Yesterday I moved the automatic Birdfy camera back to the deck, but so far the only pictures it took were of me pouring water into the birdbath. 

 Using my camera, I took one picture of this cute downy woodpecker before it flew away.

I got several pictures of the house sparrow, but they’re just cell phone shots and this is the clearest one. 

Our weather has turned very hot again, and smoke from distant wildfires is predicted to reach us soon, so I probably won’t spend much time outdoors until things clear up. 

Floral Combos

Summer Blossoms

Assembled using PhotoCollage for the Mosaic Linkup

Scenes of Historic Leesburg

This mural is on the side of a parking garage in downtown Leesburg. The artist is Penny Hauffe. 

Artist’s Gallery / Monday Murals