Post #6633.

Willy Nilly Friday

1. Today's is George Washington's real birthday, and here are some flowers I saw in front of his office in Winchester. They are part of a wreath placed in honor of Presidents Day.

Floral Friday and Friday Bliss.

2. Not far from Winchester is Blandy Experimental Farm, which I have shown numerous times on this blog. It's scenic even in winter.

Skywatch and Weekend Reflections.

3. I went to a meeting this week at the Friends of the North Fork to hear an update on the new state park coming to Woodstock. The opening keeps moving farther into the future because of weather-related construction delays. We just had the wettest year on record, so crews were not able to tear down the old buildings on schedule. The property has been a farm and a summer camp, and there were many unrepairable buildings, like the one seen here. I photographed it last year; I think it is gone now.

4. There are two roads leading to the new park, but they both pass over low-water bridges. We had over 20 days last year when the bridges were closed due to high water. This may be a record, but it made construction impossible.

5. I scanned in some photos from 1998. This one shows a meal at Larry's house near Germantown. This was when my parents were still living and we see them across the table, along with Marie.

In the Fair City of Winchester

Little Things Thursday and Fences.

The Hexagon House was completed in 1873. It is owned by the nearby Museum of the Shenandoah Valley.

Winchester features a walking mall which is popular for public gatherings. It has a number of restaurants and shops.

The stone steps and little building attracted me. I believe this is privately owned.

The final image is near Shenandoah University. I was running some errands in Winchester one afternoon and saw that the sunset was going to be pretty. Where to get a good view? Oh, a friend had recently taken a picture of the duck pond at dusk, so that seemed like a good place to try. Yep!

I'll take my bow and sign off now.

A Snowy Wednesday

Sharing with Wordless Wednesday

and Wild Bird Wednesday.

A Stop in Stanardsville

Last week I showed you the chimney-style memorial in Criglersville, Virginia. On the day I took those pictures, I decided to continue south a little way to Stanardsville where there was another memorial.

It's been years since I've been in downtown Stanardsville because there is a bypass for Route 33. The town is actually cute and has barn quilts on many buildings.

I located the Blue Ridge Heritage Memorial near the Greene County Administration Building. It is built in the same style as the other memorials honoring the people who had to leave their homes when Shenandoah National Park was built.

On a plaque are surnames of families who owned mountain land but had to leave. The state of Virginia paid them for their property and helped them relocate.

Here are a few of the names: Adams, Armentrout, Baugher, Breedon, Burke, Collier, Comer, Conley, Davis, Dean, Delaney, Frazier, Funkhouser, Haney, Hensley, Hinkle, Jarrell, Marshall, McDaniel, Reynolds, Samuels, Shaver, Shifflett, Taylor, White.

There are books on the history of the park that provide stories about these residents, and there is also an exhibit at Big Meadows Visitor Center along Skyline Drive.

Nightfall at Sheetz

Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday.

Presidents Day Random-osity

Good, Random, and Fun.

The Good: For Presidents Day, I took a picture of a statue of George Washington. This is young George, working as a surveyor. Washington surveyed much of Virginia north of the Rappahannock River and across the Blue Ridge.  A plaque states that "In March of 1748, George Washington, at age sixteen, arrived in Winchester, then called Frederick Town. During the next four years, he worked as a surveyor throughout the colonial Virginia frontier."

This statue is next to Washington's Office in Winchester.

The Random: A fast food restaurant near Boyce was recently remodeled. On the wall is a mural of the Burwell-Morgan Mill in nearby Millwood.

I've visited the mill a number of times.

The Fun: Squirrels are always stealing bird seed. I spotted this one in the supermarket and moved him just a little bit to reveal his mischievous nature. (I put him back after I took the picture.)

Church, Barns, Fences, Shadows

Near Stephens City, Virginia.
 

Linkups: Shadow Shot, InSpired Sunday, Barns, and Fences.

 This is Friendship Chapel and it dates to about 1830.  It sits on the corner of Double Church Road and Grim Road, not far from another charming church. 

This is in a rural area that appears threatened by spreading housing developments, but for now there are still some country homes and farms.

Geese and More, Here and Blandy.

The geese and ducks are acting aggressive at times. They know that spring is coming and they are interested in breeding. There's splashing and honking and chasing!

It's not often that a train passes our lake during the day. Usually we hear one going to and from Strasburg's factories around 1 and 2 in the morning. When I heard one blowing the whistle during the day, I got my camera ready at the window and zoomed in.

 The Bird D'Pot and Saturday's Critters.

I heard there are bald eagles at Blandy and when I go that way, I keep an eye out for them. I drove around the loop road there on Thursday but did not see any eagles. I did spot some deer and cows in the fading light.

Blandy Experimental Farm is both an arboretum and an agricultural research farm.

Strasburg Scenes and Valentine Flowers

Willy Nilly Friday.

1. Rainy days aren't the best time for taking pictures, but rainy nights can produce interesting reflections. Here I pulled off onto Founders Way to capture some lights, including the distant three crosses on a hill. 

Black and White Weekend and Skywatch Friday.

2. On Tuesday I pulled into Strasburg Town Park and saw an unexpected waterfall. Normally it is not there, but heavy rains had formed a cascade on the mountainside where it comes down to the North Fork of the Shenandoah.

(I apologize for this not being sharp but it's a cell phone image taken in the rain.)

3. The next image is also from Strasburg Town Park, but on a sunny day. I saw a crow who seemed willing to pose in front of a fence.

4. Frank gave me flowers for Valentine Day. Here they're under a hanging lamp in the kitchen. I added the sparkles with a cell phone app as I uploaded the picture.

Floral Friday and Floral Bliss.

5. The same flower arrangement combined into a collage.

Mosaic Monday.

Love is...

Wishing you a nice Valentine’s Day!

Little Things Thursday

Junco, Mourning Doves, and Carolina Wren.

Sharing with Wordless Wednesday

and Wild Bird Wednesday.