From Loud Noise to Stuffed Toys

We had a chaotic morning here! A work crew showed up in front of my house before 8 AM and started  breaking up sections of the curb with a loud jackhammer. I had already scheduled a visit from Shillingburg HVAC to replace my old central air-conditioning unit, which has been limping along for the last two summers. This meant they needed to access my garage because the AC is in the attic directly above it. My plan had been to park my car on the street, but I learned yesterday that I could not do that due to repairs to the curbs. Then I thought I would just have Ronnie park his truck in the garage and I would park my car behind him in the driveway, but it turned out that his helper had a second truck. So I parked up the block past today’s construction zone and walked back. 

Between the racket outside and the sound of men working in the attic, Charlie was worried and nervous. Fortunately, the jackhammering was finished by early afternoon. The new air conditioner was installed and tested. I got a new thermostat that I can actually read without a magnifying glass! 

Well, I read this morning that Seven Bends State Park had a family program today about birds, so I walked to the car with Charlie and drove to the park to get a few pictures. Families had been there earlier and had left, but Ranger Megan was still there and happy to see us.

Some of the kids had woven imitation bird nests using pipe cleaners and other materials.

Megan had devices that played four bird calls, but I failed to recognize any of them. The bald eagle sounded like a songbird to me! It’s nothing like the sound you hear in movies, which is actually the call of a hawk. 

She also had feathers, real nests, and some toy birds, as well as a toy bat.

Since the Wild Bird Wednesday linkup will bring some real birders to this blog, I will show some pictures of a real cardinal, Canada geese, and a mallard duck.

And for a bonus, here are photos of Ranger Megan and Charlie, who always enjoys an outing in the park.

Blogging Notes and Changing Seasons

 BlogPost #9655

1. I read that November is National Blog Posting Month. If you post every day, link up with Lisa's List.

2. I love getting comments. I’m often slow at commenting back, but my intention is to do so. It really helps if your Blogger Profile links to your current blog. If it doesn’t, please leave your URL, if you have one.

Meanwhile, Change is Happening Fast.

I already miss the long days of late summer.

The first signs of autumn were exciting. I photographed red leaves as though I had just discovered a new species. But the maple leaves did not stay red for long this year. In fact, some of them just turned rusty brown and fell. I suppose they were stressed by the drought.

We had some lovely fall days, but the season changed quickly. Although I made several “leafing” trips, I wish I had made a few more. I regret that I was so busy with appointments. Time flew by!

South Fork of the Shenandoah

W.O. Riley Park

North Fork of the Shenandoah

To Every Thing, There is a Season.

Second Story Beach

Merrifield, VA

Here’s a mural that I almost didn’t see. It’s not noticeable from ground level, but you can view it from the parking garage. I assume that there is a hotel pool there; thus, the beach scene. 

I took these pictures a month ago when I ventured up to Northern Virginia to buy some grocery items that I cannot find in my rural county. I braved the traffic to drive to the organic market in the “Mosaic District,”  a planned urban area in Merrifield. The parking garage is across from the store, and other shops and a hotel are clustered around it.

Monday Murals / Mosaic

 

From the upper levels of the garage, I could see people below. I also noticed interesting shadows on a wall, which I thought was worthy of its own photo

I probably won’t drive there to shop on a weekday again. It was easy enough getting there, but coming back, the traffic was awful! I wasn’t surprised because I have sat in that traffic before, but there was a vehicle on the edge of the road from an earlier accident, causing everybody to slow down even more than usual. 

I used to work in Merrifield, but it was decades ago, before nice restaurants and stores came in. The area was mostly industrial and downtrodden, and the modern building where I worked was near a recycling facility that attracted a flow of old diesel trucks with smoky exhaust. We also had pollution from the intersection of I-66 and the Capital Beltway. I referred to the area as the armpit of Northern Virginia! 

Today in Rappahannock County

I love art studio tours, because I get to see the places where artists work and live, and they're very often extremely scenic. Artists, after all, have an eye for beauty. 

The Fall Art Tour organized by RAAC is a favorite of mine. Rappahannock County is in Virginia’s Piedmont Region and remains stubbornly rural and beautiful.

I went this afternoon, and had noted a couple of places that I thought I hadn’t seen before, and the online examples of the artwork were impressive. It turned out that I had been to both of these studios, but had forgotten the names. In one case, I recognized the pond along the road leading there, and in the other case, I didn’t realize I had been there before until I actually walked in the door. Well, I looked back on my blog and saw that I was there 10 years ago, so no wonder my memory was a little hazy.

I didn’t take very many pictures this time. In fact, when I went in the headquarters gallery, I accidentally left my phone in the car. I had been using it as a GPS, or rather had tried to, but had lost the signal at some point and then the app basically collapsed and wouldn’t recognize the signal after it came back. I finally had to reboot the phone, but I didn’t really need the GPS because I had a general idea of where I was and had saved the addresses and basic map ahead of time. I know better than to count on a GPS in the shadows of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

First Week of November

A Beagle's Report

Hi, it’s Charlie! Last week’s painting turned out well, so today we told the chatbot to imitate the artist Gustav Klimt. I look fancy, don’t I?

Here’s something else that almost looks real, but isn’t. This is too big to be a real pig.

 

Mom took me to Seven Bends State Park again, so I’ll show you some pictures from there.

We saw a grasshopper, but it jumped away as soon as I tried to say hello. We walked just a little way on the trail.

There used to be a farm here and a farmer still takes care of some of the land. It’s been very dry, so his machine made big clouds of dust. We decided to go home. The car windows were already dusty. 

We crossed the Shenandoah River on a bridge for cars, not the swinging bridge that you see here.

The rest of my week was pretty good. I took walks with Sadie and Deborah. I spent one afternoon at daycare, but I don’t like the part where I have to rest in my room. They call it a room, but it’s really a cage, because it has a jail door. I like the part where I play with the ladies and help them with their chores. They gave me a nail trim and they made it fun. 

I went to some other parks with my mom too, but now it’s nap time. I hope you are going to parks and taking naps too. Those are good things to do!

Entry Hall

My house is ordinary, and I don't particularly care for the layout. The location, however, is good, and I like living on one level. 

This is the front door and part of the entry hall. I was pleased when I found a mirror that mimics the archway in the door. 

This is probably the least cluttered part of the house. There are only two bedrooms, and not enough closets. I miss having a linen closet and a pantry.

Leafing Between Appointments

You know how they say "Stop to smell the roses?" Well, right now we have fall colors that are more spectacular than roses, so I pause to appreciate them even when I have other things to do.

Yesterday I had an important medical appointment in Harrisonburg, but since I am a photo blogger, I took time to get a few autumn pictures. The first one is at a rest stop along the interstate. Then, when I got to the medical building, I admired the leaves on the sweet gum trees.

I left Charlie at the veterinary yesterday, and he got his nails trimmed, along with staying in daycare. This morning I left him with Deborah, which he really enjoys because he gets to play with Sadie. I had to go to Front Royal for a podiatry appointment.

Afterward, I didn’t have time to shop, but I took time to stop in Middletown to eat a protein bar for lunch. Knowing that I needed to be home by 1 o’clock because the HVAC guy was coming by, I kept an eye on the clock. 

I picked up Charlie and got home on time. Ronnie was a little late, but he rechecked measurements so that he can install the new AC unit next week. After he left, I read my email and took a nap on the couch.

When I woke up, I remembered that I had left my car parked on the street so that Ronnie could access the attic from the garage. Now that daylight savings time has ended, darkness descends early, so I also wanted to take Charlie for a walk before 5 o’clock. We got in the car and I couldn’t help noticing that the golden-hour light was pretty.

I drove to the county recreation building and took Charlie for a walk in the grass. The sun lit up the ridge to the east.

That didn’t last long, and sun got low in the sky.

A Sparrow and a Meme

It's been a slow week for taking bird photos. By the time I raise the camera or phone, the bird is gone. I did take some pictures of a cardinal through the window, but they were blurry. My birdcam took a video of a squirrel and a few of the lawn guy and the handyman, plus way too many of me and Charlie. 

This picture is from a couple of weeks ago.

 Here’s a meme from the Internet.

Blandy’s Golden Grove

Boyce, VA

Ginkgo leaves have turned yellow at Blandy Experimental Farm, a research station for the University of Virginia. Blandy is also home to the State Arboretum.

When I first started coming to see this golden wonder in 2014, it was uncrowded and practically unknown. In recent years, it has become locally famous, probably due to glorious photos on social media. Even on a weekday, it’s crowded. Most people park a quarter mile away and walk through the Arboretum, but there is adjacent parking for people with mobility challenges, or even pushing baby strollers.

These photos are from yesterday. I picked up Frank, leaving Charlie with Deborah since she had things to do and seemed quite willing to exchange her brother for my dog, at least for the afternoon. We found that the leaves were almost totally yellow, but there are still small traces of green. Many people were there and most were taking pictures. Some folks were dressed up to have their pictures taken in this little patch of paradise.

These children are picking up leaves in order to toss them in the air, just as their dad clicked the shutter. It took a couple of tries, but they finally followed the script perfectly!