Orchid Show at the MSV

Winchester, VA

On Saturday, there was a colorful show and sale at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, put on by the Lord Fairfax Orchid Society. I did not buy anything because I don’t want to accumulate any more things in the house. I’ve been trying to simplify my life, but progress has been slow. 

Colorful Sights, Hupps Hill

This afternoon I ran an errand in Strasburg and Charlie came along. I decided to stop by the Visitor Center on Hupps Hill to take a picture of the redbud grove. But first, I spotted a painting on the back of a trash enclosure.

Monday Murals

Three years ago, I photographed the front of this box. Since then, it has been exposed to exhaust fumes and dirt from the parking lot, which is just a few yards away.

Some painted critters have appeared, a big caterpillar and a brilliant snail.

Charlie and I walked to the redbud trees. There’s an interpretive trail that goes in front of them. Charlie stopped to investigate the signs.

Here’s a close-up of the sign on the left. You can view the older sign, How Strata Shaped Strategy. on HMDB. It is one in a series telling about the caves here and the role that Hupps Hill played in the Cavil War.

Signal Knob is visible in the distance. I also took a picture of the flowering pear tree in front of the visitor center. 

Bunny Decor with Trees

A creative person decorated this medical office in Winchester.

I don’t know how to interpret the aquarium. The bunny is on the outside trying to figure out what’s going on.

I didn’t do anything special for Easter. It rained part of the day. I did some chores and paperwork. After the sun dried things out, I took Charlie to W.O. Riley Park for a short walk. Just before we got back in the car, I took a couple of pictures of flowering trees.

Heidrun’s Blog Hop

Beagle, Bunnies, Birds.

Hi! I had a pretty good week. I hope you did too!

Today I spent the afternoon with Miss Deborah and Sadie. That was fun!

Yesterday we went to recycling and then took a walk in Woodstock. Here is the store that we visited.

O

On the day before, we went to the state park. 

Mom wanted to find flowers so I helped her. She already showed some other pictures.

Sometimes she stops to look at birds, like this red one. I don’t know why she stopped when we have red birds at home.

Finches:

Cardinal:

Well, I don’t have much else to show you. I hope you get some good treats for Easter if that’s something your family does. 

Street Scene, 5 PM

Woodstock, VA

“Wander Woodstock” is an event where merchants and crafts people set up booths on the sidewalk near the courthouse. I took Charlie to investigate. He sniffed all the smells, and we briefly went in a store where dogs are welcome. 

I remembered to take a picture. I don’t get as many street scenes as some photographers do, partly because I don’t like to intrude, but also because there’s not as much street life here as you see in a place where people walk around town a lot. Most people drive their cars, park near a store or restaurant, and go in without lingering outside. It’s kind of a shame because many towns are charming if you take the time to explore.

Events like this one seek to bring people downtown. Much of commerce today takes place out by the interstate exit, where the fast food chains and big box stores can be found. 

Virginia Bluebells along the Gokotta Trail

Seven Bends State Park

Although I was tired this afternoon, Charlie really wanted to go out for an adventure, and we didn’t take one yesterday because it rained just as I was preparing to go. I’ve been working on my taxes for a few days, and I was ready for a break this afternoon. I’ve seen pictures showing that bluebells are blooming, so we headed for the state park. 

The flowers are blooming along the river.

The redbud trees are blooming too. It was a lovely day!

Entertainment

Well, I missed City Daily Photo’s Theme Day. It’s always the first of the month, and I forgot to post a picture for it. I suppose I could say that birdwatching was a form of entertainment, but the bird pictures I posted were taken automatically so that would be a stretch.

My entertainment these days is pretty subdued. I read things on the Internet, and I go for rides and explore places. That’s pretty much it.

I used to go to shows, though. We went to some Broadway shows when I was a child, because my aunt was a singer in some of them. As an adult, there were long stretches when my budget did not allow for shows. Much later, there was a year when I went to many popular concerts, probably because I had access to quite a few free tickets. I worked for a company that had a number of season tickets to Wolf Trap Center and the Nissan Pavilion (later unglamorously named the Jiffy Lube Center, after its sponsor). 

A few years ago, I came across my collection of those tickets and grouped them together to take photos before I threw them out. 

Some of these shows were great! There’s a few that I don’t remember. 

Starling, Grackle, Squirrel

At the Birdfy Feeder

It’s easy to get the starling and grackle confused when you can’t get a good look at them. They both look black on a cloudy day, But let the sun come out and you see that they have iridescent feathers. The starling looks speckled, and often travels in a large flock. Their beaks are both pointy but different in color, and the grackle has bright eyes that look cartoonish.

I can’t resist showing another picture of the grackle because it looks funny when it gets close to the camera.

The squirrel also gets close to the camera, usually so close that all that shows up in the photo is fur! Here’s a shot which finally showed part of the face.

Flowers that Bloom in the Spring

Spring Bulbs and Phlox

Redbud

Phlox

Trout Mural

Waynesboro, VA

This mural is called “The Lure.” The artist goes by the name Humble. 

Monday Murals

Credit it for the photo goes to my daughter Lynn. You can read about the artist on the Visit Waynesboro site.

250 Years …

Of No Kings

The Freedom Truck is a mobile museum about the American Revolution. On Friday I saw it parked in Middletown, and even though I didn’t have much time, I made a brief stop to see the exhibits.

Coincidentally, “No Kings” protests took place yesterday throughout the country and even overseas. Huge crowds showed up in large cities, and even my small town’s event drew over 300 participants. 

I drove past, and only got a few pictures through the windshield. Walking over to get better shots would probably have required more effort than I could handle, unless I parked illegally which I did not want to do. 

The focus of the demonstrations has expanded due to the attacks on Iran. Most people don’t want a war. I realize that current readers are aware of this, but future readers may come across this blog and not understand the time frame.

Speaking of war, today is Vietnam War Veterans Day. I happened to glimpse an event at the Veterans Memorial in Middletown, and realized what it was. I stopped and took a few pictures. 

Most of these people are members of the SAR, Sons of the American Revolution. The town’s mayor is in the group shot and I don’t know if he’s a member or simply there in his official role. 

I’m glad that SAR put on this event. Many Vietnam veterans are around my age, and that war was hard on my generation. Not only did people die, but soldiers who came back had a high rate of illnesses and post-traumatic stress. They had to struggle to get recognition that their health problems were due to the war, including to “Agent Orange “ defoliant exposure. 

Thank you for your service. Let’s hope for peace!

Note: I try to keep my posts fairly short, so I often leave out things that I might say in conversation. Also, I took a lot of pictures over the past three days, so I combined quite a few into collages (mosaics).