Moorefield to Lost River State Park

Since autumn leaves first change color at higher elevations, I drove into nearby West Virginia on Tuesday to view foliage and take pictures. I found a mural in Moorefield, which I’ll show some other day. Then I drove back eastward on a mountain road that I traveled once before, in 2020.

On that occasion, I followed the route from the other direction, starting in Lost River State Park. If you want to try this road, I recommend starting in Lost River because that way, you are navigating narrow curves next to the mountain rather than next to a cliff. I did meet another car on one of those curves this time, but fortunately the driver was cautious and stayed in his own lane.

Sorry, I don’t have any pictures of the scary parts of the road. There was no room to pull off. I had to wait until I found a driveway or a wide shoulder before I took pictures

For most of this route, my navigation app did not get a signal, but I remembered the road from six years ago. From Moorefield, you take South Fork Road to Lost River State Park Road. At some point up in the hills, it changes into Howards Lick Road, which eventually reaches the park. (For those who don’t know the term, a lick is a spring or a creek.)

In Lost River State Park, WV

A few words from Charlie

Hi, it’s me! I’ll give you a quick update on what is going on

I saw my friend Tripod a couple of times.

Such a friendly cat deserves a special portrait.

Mom took me to the state park a couple of times. As you can see, I am alert in the car and ready to drive.

I also got to play with Sadie. She likes to show me her toys, and then pretends to be mad when I play with them.

Yesterday, Mom and I picked up Mr. Frank and Miss Deborah and we all went up to to Skyline Drive. I did not see any deer or bear, but I could smell them.

I saw farms and cows like I do all the time.

Here I am at Riley Park today. I sniff everything. That’s how I explore. You should try it!

Return to Capon Springs Pond

Hampshire County, West Virginia

This pretty little pond is in the resort town of Capon Springs, on the western side of Great North Mountain.  Since the foliage is beginning to change there, I should probably show some views in color.

 

I just realized that I took similar pictures last October.

Cosmos and Sky

I’ve been taking these pretty flowers for granted, but when I looked closely, I saw that it has wonderful blossoms. 

I held it up to the sky to get a back-lit picture. (This was shot using my phone and no tripod, so I set a three-second delay in order to press the button and then move the flower into position. One disadvantage of phone photography is that it takes two hands!)

The sky deserved its own picture.

Birds of the State Park

This afternoon I picked up a flyer at Seven Bends State Park titled "Common Birds of Seven Bends."

There are many different kind of birds at the park, partly because it offers a diverse habitat, including wetlands, meadows, and forests.

The brochure states that there are over 165 species of birds that have been found at the park, and it has pictures of these common ones: Canada goose, belted kingfisher, common merganser, red-tailed hawk, turkey vulture, bald eagle, pileated woodpecker, white-breasted nuthatch, red-bellied woodpecker, Carolina wren, mourning dove, song sparrow, and tree sparrow.

I didn’t get any bird pictures today, partly because I had my dog on a leash. I took a picture of one of the bird houses. The tube deters animals from raiding the nest. 

The rest of today’s pictures are from my files, starting with a bluebird. 

I took the picture of Canada geese in winter. We see them here year-round.

I saw a kingfisher by the river, where they like to watch for fish. This is a cropped cell phone picture from last year. I don’t capture photos of  kingfishers often, although I regularly glimpse them before they fly away.

Autumn Comes to Great North Mountain

Great North Mountain divides Virginia from West Virginia for 50 miles. The colors of autumn change first at the higher elevations.

View from Lutheran Church on Fairview Road

Woodbine Farm Market

Fall Foliage on the Mountain 

Pumpkins and Mums

On Saturday we mentioned a visit to a pumpkin patch. Today I want to show you a mural that is painted on the side of the truck there. The sale is a fundraiser for Strasburg Presbyterian Church.

Mosaic Monday / Murals

No Kings in Woodstock

There were thousands of local demonstrations yesterday for “No Kings” Day. The emphasis this year was on encouraging people to vote.

Americans, of course, are well aware that we do not have a king. Here they are using the term to mean dictator or tyrant.

Let’s look back to our Constitutional Convention and the discussions that went on and on as a constitution was hammered out.

“Americans are like other men in similar situations… posterity will find that great power connected with ambition, luxury, and flattery, will as readily produce a Caesar, Caligula, Nero, and Domitian in America, as the same causes did in the Roman empire.” – Cato, 1787. Cato was a pen name of a writer arguing against a Federalist approach to the constitution. He is often assumed to be New York Governor George Clinton.

“History will teach us…those men who have overturned the liberties of republics the greatest number have begun their career, by paying an obsequious court to the people, commencing Demagogues and ending Tyrants.” – Alexander Hamilton, 1787.

October Days with Charlie

Hi, it’s Charlie! One day it rained and I was bored.

 Mom took me to a big store where dogs are allowed. Uh-oh! The scary things are back.

We got away and went to the back of the store.

On another day the weather was nice. We went to Shenandoah National Park because Mom wanted to see if the trees had changed color. Some of them have. 

We saw some deer, but they left in a hurry.

Yesterday we went to a pumpkin patch so I could help find a good pumpkin. 

We got a big orange one and some little ones and some flowers. 

Today the weather got cold so I’m glad I have a warm place to stay.

Ghostly Storefront

Winchester, VA

Halloween seems to get bigger each year. People start decorating early and elaborately. 

These ghosts look pretty friendly.