A Bear and Some Flying Critters.

For today's Camera Critters blog hop, I'm happy to say that I managed to take a picture of a small bear crossing Skyline Drive. Yes, I've gotten photos of bears up there before, but I've missed many more. Bears move quickly and often they disappear into the woods before I get the car stopped or the camera turned on. I must say we see more bears now than we did ten years ago. Last month Frank say one crossing our back yard!

Also seen along Skyline Drive was this bright butterfly. He was moving pretty fast also, but he did stop and light on the weeds now and then.

The wren in the next picture was in our yard.  Below that is another bird that was perched over a store entrance.

The rainbow appeared today as a brief storm moved away. We were doing some shopping after attending a talk and having lunch in New Market.

There weren't any critters in the rainbow picture, as far as I could tell. It did remind me of Flash, since he "crossed the rainbow bridge" on Monday and I miss him.

Is Summer Almost Over Already?

Yes, but today we celebrate Willy Nilly Friday.

1. The sun was hot today, the air was humid. Then a breeze picked up and dark clouds blew in. Uh-oh, a hard rains gonna fall! It did, but it didn't last long. I took this cell phone picture in a parking lot just as the clouds in the west started to pull apart, letting patches of sunlight break through. 

Sharing with Skywatch and Black and White Weekend.

2. I just read something surprising about carrots: they contain cannabinoids. So do cloves, black pepper, echinacea, broccoli, ginseng, and (of course) hemp. Don't worry, carrots won't make you high, but they might make you healthier.

Orange You Glad It's Friday?

3. Gabriel Arthur was an English colonist who explored the colonial frontier in 1673, reaching the Little Tennessee River. Here we see him portrayed by history enthusiast Doug Wood.

Arthur came to Virginia as an indentured servant. When he was only 19, his employer Major General Abraham Wood sent him and a small team to explore Indian-occupied areas west of the Blue Ridge. His remarkable year of adventures was written down by his employer after he returned.

4. The pretty landscaping is at Eastham Park in Front Royal, overlooking the South Fork.

Floral Friday.

5. This highly-altered peony is an old image I made around 1998. I used Adobe Photo Deluxe, the predecessor to Adobe Elements.

The View from Hollingsworth Road

East of Woodstock, VA.

North Fork of the Shenandoah.

Muse Vineyards.

Sharing with Fences Around the World.

Views Near the Valley Regional Airport

Weyers Cave, Virginia.

SHD.

Sharing with Wordless Wednesday

and The Barn Collective.

Farewell to Flash.

Yesterday I wasn't ready to write a post about it, although I alluded to our loss with an image of Flash joining Benny over the "rainbow bridge." Sweet Flash was ill for a while and we took him to the vet yesterday knowing that there was probably nothing else they could do for him. He would barely eat and was having trouble with steps, and often he did not want to even get out of bed. Dr. Vick showed me how he reacted whenever she touched his hips, snapping his head around to look at what she was doing. This was his way of showing the touch was alarming him because something hurt.

He was not a fellow who complained about pain, although his behavior had changed and he was clearly uncomfortable at times.

The top picture is from a year ago. He was still doing pretty well then, although he had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure months before that. He was on multiple pills for it.

The second picture was taken automatically with a Moultrie trail cam that I have aimed on our front walk. It is the last picture taken of him.

The collage is made up with other cropped photos from the trail cam, all taken this summer.

We miss dear Flash. 

My Dogs Over the Years

Methodist Church in Upperville, VA.

Upperville UMC Church is said to date to 1832, although it was damaged during the Civil War and rebuilt afterward. Like many buildings, it was used as a hospital during the war.

There is a cemetery on the grounds.

Sharing with InSpired Sunday.

A Brief Critter Update.

Saturday's Critters

I'm experimenting with a new placement for a trail cam. So far it's only taken pictures of my husband mowing the lawn and a variety of images of geese.

In other local news, Flash has been acting very tired and his appetite is even worse than before. He is on a bunch of medications for congestive heart failure, which he has survived since being diagnosed in February 2017. I hope he's not in pain. He does not complain.  He's a good dog.

Flowers and Other Pretty Things.

Willy Nilly Friday.
 

1. This trumpet vine photo is from a month ago but I wanted to share the bright orange flowers.

Sharing with Orange You Glad and Floral Friday.

2. I think these purple flowers are phlox.

3. These fellows are fishing in the North Fork at Strasburg Park.

Weekend Reflections.

4. I came across this old picture of Marie when she graduated from high school. I had not put it in the album at the time because it was printed too dark but I took a picture of it yesterday and edited it to be a shade lighter.

Black and White Weekend.

5. The final image is a cell phone picture that I took this evening.

Skywatch Friday.

View from the Goose Creek Bridge

Blog Post #6,430.

This historic bridge is no longer open to vehicles but you can park nearby and walk over it.

In June of 1863, Lee's army was on their way to Pennsylvania, where a battle wound up taking place at Gettysburg. It was important to Lee's strategy that he reach the ShenandoahValley ahead of the pursuing Union Army, so his cavalry under JEB Stuart was tasked with protecting the main body of the army.  The cavalry delayed the Union Army in a series of skirmishes along what is now Route 50. One of these was at this bridge across Goose Creek, now a small historical park.

Sharing with Fences Around the World.