A Pretty Nuthatch

Although I see nuthatches now and then, I didn't recognize this one from the video on the feeder camera. It was close to the lens and looked larger than a nuthatch! Plus, I rarely see them up close; often they're clinging upside down on a to a tree trunk.

After the Photos app identified this as a white breasted nuthatch, I confirmed it on a second app to make sure.

You can ignore the arrow on the second shot. I tried and tried to get this pose from the video, and finally resorted to telling Siri to take a screenshot. Doesn’t it look colorful in this lighting? Usually, they are not so blue.

Speaking of lighting, this mourning dove stood in the sunlight, looking quite charming.

Wild Bird Wednesday

Things are Getting Squirrely

Also Spelled Squirrelly

Wordless

Longing for Sunny Flowers

There is no Monday Murals linkup this week or next because Sami is traveling, so I'm going to post some flowers today. Nothing is blooming here, but I saw flowers for sale in the supermarket.

Garden Affair / Mosaic Monday

I also looked through some summertime images for sunflowers.

Speaking of sunflowers, I recently used them as a theme for my header on one of the social media platforms, which I shall not name because I’ve been disappointed in it in any number of ways.

I added a clipart dove as a wish for peace.

The First Integrated Church in the County

New Market, VA

Manor Memorial Methodist Church was integrated in 1965. I was surprised to see a marker about this story that was erected by Shenandoah Valley Battlefields organization because they usually stick closely to Civil War history. It turns out that this church was in existence during the Civil War and was probably used as a hospital, like every public building and many homes. The valley saw many battles in 1862 and 1864, and a significant battle raged through the town of New Market.

I’ve submitted the sign and complete text to the Historical Marker Database and it should be available there in a few days. There’s a QR code on the sign for an audio description and here are some excerpts, transcribed by software.

The Methodist congregation in New Market built their first church, a log building, on Lee Street around 1831. In 1857, they purchased this lot to build their new church, completing the original wooden part of the structure in 1861, the first year of the Civil War. That original structure stood here during the Battle of New Market on May 15, 1864. While there is no known account of the church during the battle, it no doubt experienced the same trauma as other buildings: Artillery shells exploding around it with thunderous ear-shattering concussions, and musketballs rattling off the walls.

After the war, an African-American Methodist congregation was formed in New Market by African-American ministers who visited the area to serve recently freed slaves and local black communities. In 1873 the congregation opened Asbury Methodist Church on Cadet Road.

The African-American population in New Market declined in numbers over the years and by 1965 the congregation of Asbury Methodist was too small to remain in operation. Historically black Cavalry Methodist Church in Mount Jackson faced the same challenges so in that year, both churches merged with Manor Memorial Church here.

Keyword: “Fire”

The March theme for City Daily Photo is Fire. 

I thought of that when I was walking Charlie at the state park this week and spotted a grill in the picnic area.

Open Fires Prohibited 

Except 4 PM until midnight.

Charlie waited while I took close-up shots of the remains of the last fire. You can see that the charcoal was once part of a tree.

I’ve been letting him ride in the front seat because he stays calmer there. I drive extra carefully because that is said to be the most dangerous seat in the car.

Filtered in Picsart for Caturday.

One the way home I saw a sign with the word Fire.

Note for foreign readers: This guy is responsible for firing some 30,000 government employees in an unfair fashion. 

I support our federal employees. One particularly upsetting aspect is the firing of many National Park Staff and Forest Rangers who had not reached permanent status. We need these people! We need more of them, not fewer.

I’m definitely a fan of park staff and the great job that they do.

I am fortunate in that there is both a national park and a national historical site within 40 minutes of my home. I have attended a variety of excellent ranger-led programs.  Rangers also are responsible for looking after the natural resources in our public lands.

I’ve covered two meanings of the word fire. Both of them can be very destructive.

Mt. Zion in Strasburg

Yesterday’s post mentioned several old cemeteries in Shenandoah County.  Since I was in Strasburg today, I went by the Mount Zion Methodist Church to take a picture of the old African-American cemetery.

Interestingly, the church building dates back to 1869 but it was not on this site. According to Shenandoah Stories, the original building was dismantled and moved to the present site, where it has been improved over the years.

Grave Matters

A View of African American Burial Grounds

On Tuesday, there was a talk at our county library for Black History Month. As a history enthusiast, I look forward to special events like this.

The presenter was Zachary Hottle, archivist at Shenandoah County Library. His talk was entitled “Grave Matters, An Exploration of Shenandoah County’s African American Burial Grounds.” He told us about the ones that have been identified so far. No doubt there were other cemeteries that have been lost to time. Even some of the ones that he listed have disappeared from view, as wooden markers disintegrated and stones sunk into the earth. 

Today I took a few photos at Riverview Cemetery, which I’ll share below. On Sunday, I posted pictures of the Mount Jackson Colored Cemetery. Two years ago, I wrote a post on the Corhaven Graveyard. 

The Riverview Cemetery is scenically located at the top of a hill. Unlike most of the other burial grounds on Zach‘s list, it does not date back to the time of slavery. It was established in 1906 and is still in use. There was an earlier cemetery in Woodstock before this one was established, but that one was not preserved.

Yellow Wall with Birds

Today was busy because I had physical therapy for my knee at 9 AM, and then this afternoon, I went to the dentist to have a tooth pulled. It was way in the back and my dentist felt that I would be fine without it. The other option was to get a root canal and I’ve been through that enough times. They don’t last a lifetime for me. I’ve already had a couple that went bad and had to be replaced with implants.

The procedure was not pleasant, of course. At least there was a birdfeeder outside the window for me to watch. I saw sparrows and other small birds, plus mourning doves and a cardinal feeding on the ground. 

Ii

Now I feel very tired. I'm going to go to bed soon. But first, here's a white throated sparrow that landed on my automated feeder.

Reflection Collection

 Pictures from Past Posts

Mosaics / Wordless

Mac’s Roller Rink

 Near Front Royal 

I took these pictures a year ago and apparently forgot to post them. Mac’s is one of the few rollerskating places that are still left around here.

Monday Murals