Ruby’s Fortune Teller

Harrisonburg

This dramatic mural dominates the covered walkway at Ruby‘s Arcade. Here we are directly across from Massanutten Regional Library. 

Large metal gates are decorated with fiber art.

On the front of the building is an interesting cartoon portrait which I suppose is Ruby, peering out of a hole in a brick door, oddly enough.

Monday Murals / Mosaic

New Exhibit, New Season at Belle Grove

 Middletown, VA

Saturday was opening day for Belle Grove Plantation after a winter break. I’ve been there many times, but I wanted to see the new quilts on display. These were stitched at community events and venues as part of a project to honor the memories of the enslaved workers who kept Belle Grove flourishing from 1783 to 1851.

Names of 270 people are on the quilts, organized by family groups. Their names were discovered through years of research using local records, news articles, and other sources. 

In the next room is an archaeology exhibit called “Unearthing Enslaved Lives.”  I’ve been following the research here for quite a few years. Historians, archaeologists, and students have done an impressive of reconstructing stories that were almost lost to time.

The property is on the Cedar Creek Civil War battlefield.

First Critter Report of Spring

 Hi, it’s Charlie! The week went by quickly. Our weather has gotten pretty nice, although it rained yesterday.

Did you know that Queen Elizabeth I had a small beagle?

AI Picture for Women’s History Month

Spring is here and we see lots of birds. I haven’t been able to get close enough to one to sniff it. They are strange creature.

We saw some more sheep.

This is a short report because it is already bedtime. Happy spring! 

No Bones About It

This print shop in Strasburg often decorates their window. Here you can see the daycare building across the street reflected quite clearly.

Yellow Signs of Spring

Daffodils in Winchester

Forsythia in Front Royal

Skywatch / Floral Friday

Grackle Visits the Feeder

These are stills from a video that was automatically recorded by my Birdfy device. There are unfortunate glare spots because the sun was shining on the lens, including a round orange spot that makes it look like it has a red breast like a robin. I can’t avoid placing the camera where it gets sunstruck because the only direction that never gets direct sun is north, and that would be looking toward my neighbor’s window. 

This bird has character! The long beak and bright eyes give it a cartoonish look, so I found it worth the trouble to make still pictures from the video. Actually, this isn’t difficult once I download it. I just stop it where I want and tell Siri to make a screen shot, which I crop and save.

Speaking of Siri, she failed at identifying the bird when it faced downward, guessing that it was a beetle or a bear!

A Bit of Green for St. Patrick’s Day

Although it was very cold today, I took Charlie for a short walk at Seven Bends State Park this afternoon. I saw that the Virginia bluebells are getting ready to bloom. They are often found along rivers because the conditions in floodplains are ideal for their growth.

The sign for the trail is green. Gokotta is a Swedish word that refers to waking up early in the morning to listen to the birds sing and enjoying nature.

Sorry, Charlie did not pose because he was busy sniffing the ground in order to figure out what dogs had been there previously. 

Here’s an AI drawing of a beagle dressed for St. Patrick’s Day. 

Belonging in Harrisonburg

These murals are both on a wall that faces a parking lot across from the Discovery Museumin Harrisonburg. They both have a red border, but the style is quite different.

Downtown Harrisonburg is an interesting place to visit, although a series of one-way streets can make navigating a challenge.

Murals

Patsy Cline Park

Winchester, VA

This park was just opened in late summer of 2025. I didn’t know it existed until the other day. This afternoon I went looking for it.

The park features a modest amphitheater. A path connects it to Shawnee Springs, or you can walk up to the house on S. Kent Street where Patsy lived with her mother. It’s currently a museum.

Patsy was a singer from Winchester and had several hit records in the 1950s and 60s. Tragically, she died in a plane crash in 1963. 

Mosaic Monday

Charlie’s Report with Sheep Pictures

Hi, it’s Charlie! Here I am at the dog park in Strasburg. This was mostly a good week except it got cold again and then yesterday afternoon the wind blew so hard that we couldn’t go to a park at all. 

Mom takes a lot of pictures of me. She used a solarize filter on this one. Ha, I look blue!

One day I was so good that we went to Strasburg and to Petco and to Skyline Drive.

We found the Appalachian Trail. I wanted to hike to the end, but Mom said no. She said that dogs don’t get along with bears, which is not fair because I get along with almost everybody.

This afternoon we went to Mount Jackson, but first we stopped so Mom could take pictures of some sheep.

Then we went to the dog park in Mount Jackson. A black dog came to play with me. Her name is Stella and she can run pretty fast.

I’ll close with a picture of me in the car.