Some Martinsburg Treasures

In Berkeley County, WV.

Sharing with Tuesday Treasures
and Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday.

Random Photos from October

Random-osity

The Good: Although today was wet and cold, I have recent memories of warm days before the leaves began to fall. 

Sharing with The Barn Collective and Mosaic Monday.

The Random: Restaurants seem to come and go in Strasburg. There's now one serving Guatemalan cuisine and they have a tropical mural.

Monday Murals.

The Fun: I enjoy educational tours. Here are a few more pictures of the October 27th seminar in Martinsburg with the McCormick Civil War Institute. (See yesterday's post.)

Thank you, PhotoCollage and the Noyalas Family.

Green Hill Cemetery, Martinsburg.

A few weeks ago I went to a Civil War Seminar in Martinsburg, WV.  Jonathan Noyalas of Shenandoah University gave a morning lecture and led an afternoon tour. Our final stop was Green Hill Cemetery, designed by David Hunter Strother in 1854.

The grave of Strother is seen in the second photo. He is best known as a Civil War journalist and illustrator. He served in the Union Army under his distant cousin, General David Hunter.

You can read about Strother's interesting career and view some of his sketches at images.lib.wvu.edu/.

We also stopped at a monument to Captain W. F. Baker. He was a native of Pennsylvania who fought with the U.S. Army during the Civil War and settled in Martinsburg after the war. A number of Union soldiers settled in the Shenandoah Valley and took part in rebuilding the region's economy.

The final photo shows a monument to Confederate soldiers.

InSpired Sunday.

Backseat Driver and Other Critters

Blog Post #6525

The dog was in the car ahead of me at a red light.

The cats were at RappCats, a cat rescue in Rappahannock County.  I've never been a "cat person" but I think they are pretty.

RappCats is in the same building as Mullany Art Studio in Flint Hill.

I've seen several blue jays lately. I really zoomed in on this one. In the last image you can see that I was not very close.

Sharing with Saturday's Critters 

and I'd Rather B' Birdin'.

Five Topics, Six Linkups, Seven Pictures

Willy Nilly Friday

1. This little dog was looking out a car window in a parking lot. Since I couldn't eliminate the reflection on the glass, I decided to get in it. 

Weekend Reflection.

2. This fine old bridge is north of Wardensville, WV. It is no longer open to traffic but has been preserved.

Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge

"First erected in 1874 as a two span bridge on US Route 50 near Romney, one span was moved here in 1938 and re-erected on a new foundation. the 17' wide by 176' long bridge is a Whipple-Murphy Truss. The state’s oldest extant metal truss, the bridge is one of only a few of its type in WV. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2011."

Sharing with Signs, Signs 

and Black and White Weekend.

3. This painting was created by students at Rappahannock County High School.

Orange You Glad It's Friday?

4. Speaking of Rappahannock County, here's a scene there that I caught with my cell phone. The name Rappahannock, by the way, has a Native American origin, like many place names in Virginia.

5.  I drove down Hollingsworth Road yesterday afternoon to see how the new state park is coming along. A parking area has been cleared but is now closed due to construction. Contractors are putting in a canoe launch and a building.

The Massanutten Mountains looked red in the "golden hour" sun shining on fall foliage. Seven Bends State Park is scheduled to open in Summer 2019. It is on the North Fork of the Shenandoah near Woodstock. 

Skywatch Friday.

So Far this Month...

We've had some pretty fall color so I've been taking plenty of photos. Here are some from various locations. No doubt I'll show some more as time allows.

This afternoon we were back in Bryce Resort, where we still own the house we used to live in. It needed paint and a little more work before winter. After getting several estimates, we hired Frank Dodson, who has done handyman work for us in the past. Today we met him at the house to take a look and give him a check. Here we see him and Trent putting the final touches on the deck. 

Just up the road from Bryce is Orkney Springs. I posted some pictures from there on Sunday and here's one more.

"Depart in Peace."

Next are three scenes from the little town of Paris. You may have seen my "critter" pictures from there.

I'm sharing today's photos with Fences Around the World. In  the vertical shot, the fence is almost lost in the shadows. That scene is in Blandy Experimental Farm and I hope to post more pictures form there soon.

The final picture is from Saturday evening on Skyline Drive. There are several overlooks with a sentinel tree; this one is Devil's Stairs Overlook.

When I visit Skyline Drive in autumn, I either avoid weekends (because of the crowds) or enter late in the day from Route 211.

Some Birds at Sky Meadows

Views at Hughes River Farm

Rappahannock County, Virginia.

• Hughes River Farm.
• Tuesday Treasures.
• Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday.

A Few Sights from the RAAC Art Tour

The Fall Art Tour in Rappahannock County is always worth doing. Not only do they have some fine artists, but the scenery is lovely! 

The tour started in the old school in the village of Washington. They included some examples of student work. I liked this one by elementary school students.

The tour includes studios in residences. I spotted this painted gable. 

This year the tour was blessed with peak foliage! The leaves were brown on the mountains above, but in the Piedmont, they were in full color.

Links: Artists of Rappahannock,

Monday Murals,

The Barn Collective. 

Autumn Trees and a Chapel

This has been an autumn unlike any I've seen. The colors came very late, and some trees shed their leaves as soon as the temperatures dropped. Still, we have some nice colors now. The collage shows some leaves at Shrine Mont in Orkney Springs, Virginia.

This little chapel is used in inclement weather. On nice Sundays, services are held in the outdoor cathedral. 

Next we see the view looking downhill from the chapel's entrance. Finally, we have interior views of the little chapel, which I've always found to be open.

I'm sharing the collages with Mosaic Monday, now hosted by Angie for the first time. This post is also joining Black and White Weekend and InSpired Sunday.

I hope you had a nice weekend and the coming week is peaceful!