Beagle Drama

Before I turn the blog over to Charlie for his brief report, I feel compelled to say something about the Ridglan Farms beagles. They are confined in a breeding facility in Wisconsin which is similar to the place in Virginia where Charlie was born and spent his puppyhood. Both facilities got in trouble for not treating the dogs humanely. The one where Charlie was born was closed after repeatedly failing to keep their promises to bring the conditions up to acceptable levels. Ridglan Farms has denied the charges against them, but agreed to give up its breeding license on July 1st as part of a deal to avoid prosecution for animal cruelty.

The beagles are bred to be sold to laboratories or veterinary schools, where some of them will suffer painful experiments. This is sad enough, but made worse by knowing that the breeders are not meeting government standards for animal care. (I try not to think about the awful details because it’s painful to picture my own dog being hungry and dirty and traumatized, with his life and health in danger. There were undercover videos made at Envigo in Virginia, but I decided not to watch them.)

Activists are concerned about the health and safety of the dogs at Ridglan Farms. There are no guarantees as to what will happen to the beagles, and a couple of attempts have been made to rescue them. Last weekend, a protest turned violent when some animal lovers attempted to breach the fence around the facility. They were met with rubber bullets and tear gas from law enforcement, and  some of the activists suffered injuries requiring emergency room visits. Photos from the scene showed law enforcement officers  brutalizing civilians. 

I have no answers for questions of when do wrongs make a right. Personally, I would probably not trespass or try to steal puppies, but I understand the motivation of the people who did. The animal welfare system is not working fast enough in this case. And once again, we saw policemen acting like sadistic bullies. Ugh!

They are political leaders in Wisconsin who are trying to get the beagles free before they suffer any more. There are questions about conflict of interest in the Dane County sheriff’s department. I hope the beagles are released soon, and placed with animal rescue organizations that can get them adopted.

I’ll turn this over to Charlie now. I didn’t tell him about Ridglan Farms. I think he still has bad memories of his own.

🐶 Hi! Here I am coming back from one of my walks with Deborah and Sadie. Good times!

I have a couple of animals to show you, a cat and a horse.

Let me tell you about my afternoon yesterday. Mom took me to Seven Bends State Park again. It was warm so we went down to the river for a while.

We watched some birds, but they didn’t come very close. 

After that, we went to the car wash. Usually I keep my head down and try to nap, but I decided to watch this time.

It was noisy, but I was brave. Mom says I am growing up.

Bright Walkway, Dark Trees

 Lindale Mennonite Cemetery 

Linville, VA

This cemetery on a hill "began in 1788 when pioneer Abraham Brenneman was bereaved of his wife Marie and newborn daughter. For their burial he set aside a small plot of his large farm. It became the oldest Mennonite cemetery of the area." It is next to Lindale Mennonite Church.

North Fork at South Hollingsworth Road

Woodstock, VA

This view changes with the seasons. Here we are in April, and the water level should be a little higher, but we are in a severe drought. 

By a Pond Beside a Road

Rockingham County

I didn’t take very many pictures on yesterday‘s Garden Week tour because interior photography is not allowed, and we were asked to not take pictures of the exterior of private residences. The building that you see here is an inn, originally built as a residence in 1789 and enlarged in 1840.

It’s the 22nd of April

Today is Earth Day! I am grateful for the beauty and bounty of this earth.

Today is also the birthday of my younger daughter, Marie. She continues to surprise me with her accomplishments. Since she stated clearly that she did not want any gifts, I made a donation to Heifer International in her honor, specifically to provide chickens and bees to a family to raise and make their lives better.

It’s Wild Bird Wednesday, so here are a couple of goldfinch pictures. The first one Is from three weeks ago, and I think the finch was just coming out of moulting. 

The next picture is an earlier one.

It’s Historic Garden Week in Virginia so today I went on a house and garden tour. It was lovely but involved a lot of walking and I have to say, I am getting too old for this! I was exhausted by the end of the day.

Thunderbird at Valley Overlook

Skyline Drive

When I was in Front Royal on Saturday, I drove into Shenandoah National Park because it is so close. I only drove about 15 miles south and then came back. Most of the views were quite hazy. Although I saw a deer and a wild turkey, they both disappeared into the woods in a matter of seconds. Consequently, I didn’t take any pictures until I pulled into the last overlook and spotted an old T-bird convertible. 

I didn’t want to stare at the people, but I assume that they were taking pictures after a wedding. Behind the men on the right is a woman in a white gown, probably the bride. There was another antique car off to their right, but it was not elegant like the Thunderbird.

Lanterns to Liberty Part Two

Yesterday I shared some portraits of participants in the Lanterns to Liberty celebration in Front Royal. Here are some event pictures starting with a mural by Eliza Dorsey.

Mosaic Monday / Murals

A band was playing and there was more going on than I expected. I got tired walking around on a hot afternoon, but it was an enjoyable event.

Portrait Mode at Lanterns to Liberty

Front Royal, VA

As part of the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, a living history event was held yesterday. I did not stay for the evening events which included a ride by “Paul Revere,” but I took plenty of photos during the afternoon. These are pictures that I took using my iPhone’s “Portrait” mode. You need to be fairly close to the subject to use that mode, but people wearing costumes are usually willing to pose. 

I dialed in the solid background because the real background was distracting and clearly not 18th century.

I plan to share regular snapshots of the event later.

Charlie’s Report on a Sunny Week

Hi! I thought I’d start my report with a picture of some boys playing in the river. We’ve had some really hot days already and the river is cool.

Here I am at the State Park looking at my mom. She’s always taking pictures of me, and I think she has enough already

I visited Sadie several times this week. I like staying there a lot more than going to the kennel at the veterinary.

One afternoon, I went to Timberville with my mom. We went to the dog park and after a while, another dog came to play. His name was Tater.

Mom says I should show you something besides dogs and so here are some geese. They are bigger than the birds in my yard.

Well, I am tired from playing with Sadie today so I will say goodbye for now.

From Stark to Soft

Images for Weekend Linkups

Black and White Weekend 

Skywatch

Reflection 

Floral Friday and Garden Affair

Iris have begun to bloom. My bleeding heart have been blooming for several weeks. 

Oh! Historic Garden Week begins tomorrow.

Another History Truck

This year is the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, so special events and exhibits are taking place. In late March, I posted pictures of the Freedom Truck that visited Middletown. It turns out that Virginia has its own traveling exhibit, and it was in Woodstock on Saturday. 

Since I grew up in Virginia, I’ve studied Virginia history, yet the exhibits here told many stories that I had not heard before. I was impressed with how interesting it was.

For those who did not grow up here, I should explain that the first permanent English settlement was Jamestown in Virginia, established in 1607. There were already people here, of course, Native Americans. The Jamestown settlers would not have survived without the early cooperation of the Powhatan tribe. 

The exhibit tells stories of Native Americans and enslaved people, along with the expected stories of our founding fathers like George Washington. 

Other events are planned in Virginia in the coming months, and I’ll probably attend a few of them.