Bird Haven Featured

Doorway to Old Workshop

Funny how things happen together. Just four days ago I posted Bird Haven Revisited and got a response from a reader saying that the property had been purchased by some people who were fixing it up to run as a tourist farm. Then today I picked up the September edition of the Mountain Courier and saw the lead article is Bird Haven Revitalized and a photo of a young family who are managing a new farm on the property.

Bird Haven was purchased by Tom and Leslie Carr of the D.C. area. They hired local farmer Jordan Green to manage the farm in a way that replicates his own environmentally sustainable farm.

The article also gives some of Bird Haven's history and has a picture of some of the crafts made there. A sidebar features an excerpt from Paul Hannah's 1929 article about the crafts center entitled "The Shenandoah Community Workers." If you are interested in reading Hannah's article in it's entirety, you can find it reproduced in "Shenandoah County Geography Supplement" which is sold at the Mt. Jackson Museum. That booklet was originally published by the Shenandoah County School Board in 1931 and was reprinted in 2007 by the museum.

Links: Living in Mt. Jackson, VA

Mountain Courier email

Cape Henlopen 2000

This pictures are from 12 years ago when we visited Cape Henlopen in Delaware. We were younger then (of course).

I came across these photos as JPEGs but unfortunately they are small. Still, I think you can see that Cape Henlopen is a lovely place.

Link: Cape Henlopen State Park

FCW on Picnic Table

Sandy Beach Plus...

We haven't been to the beach this year but I've been thinking about it lately. After all, summer will be over very soon and I'd like to visit Chincoteague and Assateague again.

I don't know who Angie is, but her design in the sand reminds us that all our works are temporary. No doubt the tide washed this away within a few hours.

I liked the determined way this bird was marching across the beach at Assateague.

See all my Assateague Island posts.

The Docent

In Winchester, VA

Right after I took this picture I was told that photography is not allowed inside this building. With that in mind, I have cropped out the furnishings.

Bird Haven Revisited

I came across pictures I took at Bird Haven two years ago. Back then we had a connection with the owners of the property so we were able to look at the old buildings, although this house was the only one we could safely enter. The others could only be photographed from the outside.
From time to time I get an email about Bird Haven because I mentioned it on my blog before. I don't know if it was ever sold; it was in foreclosure at one point. Anyway, I want to put these out there for posterity.
	Taken through the windshield

Once an Arts and Crafts Center

Seen through the Door

Bird Haven is near Bryce Resort in western Shenandoah County.

Previous Posts: Historic Bird Haven for Sale, 2010

Timberville, Bird Haven and the WPA

Ben Sleeping

Our cocker spaniel looks sleek with his short haircut. He doesn't like being groomed so we let him go a long time between haircuts, but it does make housekeeping easier. When his coat is long, I find dog hair in dust-bunny clumps all over the place.

Battlefield Under Construction

Fisher's Hill Battlefield

Fisher's Hill is just south of Strasburg, Virginia. Right now the park is closed but I could not find any information on the web about what is going on. I assume that some improvements are being made to prepare for the 150th anniversary of the battle in 2014. I have read that a new trail will be built to connect this battlefield to the one at Cedar Creek.

My 1996 pictures of a tour of this site are posted on Civil War Field Trips - Fisher's Hill.

Small Clouds Floating

Mt. Jackson, VA

Peggy at the Pool

My sister came over Saturday and we enjoyed the swimming pool. Fortunately it was a sunny day.

Another View of the Lake

Seen from Our Yard

The fountain adds oxygen to the lake. That's the Massanutten Range on the horizon.

Path Through High Grass

Frank found it impossible to keep our spare lot mowed so he just cuts paths through it.

Geese on a Cloudy Day

We've had a number of brief rainstorms this month. Fortunately our lake still looks pretty in rainy and cloudy weather. And the geese don't mind a bit! That's the north end of the Massanutten Range partially masked by the clouds.

Fuchsia Encore

Two of my fuchsia plants survived the winter in our garage in Basye. I brought them here with us and finally they are blooming.

See this plant a year ago.

Some Scenes in Bill's Yard

Bill and Frank

Fake Squirrel, Real Phone

Bill's kitchen phone is a modern one made to look like an antique. The "dial" is actually made of buttons arranged in a circle. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't spin the dial like I remembered from my childhood.

A Photo of Frank and his Brother

FCW and Bill

View from Clark Mountain

Craig Swain has linked to me from his post about Clark Mountain. The view used to be open to the public but is now restricted. When I took this photo over a decade ago, the top of the mountain was reachable through an orchard. It was a beautiful view!
(Click on the image to see it full-width.)

It's County Fair Season

I took pictures at the 2011 Shenandoah County Fair. Some of the hardest-working folks you'll see are youngsters getting their animals ready to show. And if you like to see farm animals, this is the place to be! I posted other pictures of the fair previously.

This last picture looks a bit strange to me. I suppose these sheep have been carefully sheared and are ready for their grand unveiling. Or perhaps they had poodle cuts and are too embarrassed to be seen.

Pigs and Piglets

More Scenes from Last Year's County Fair

Shenandoah County, Virginia

The county fair is an old tradition in rural Virginia. I took these photographs at the 2011 fair in Woodstock but didn't get around to posting them. This year's fair is coming up soon!
Shenandoah County Fair	Crested Ducks

	This 4-H Poster caught my eye. I have a soft spot in my heart for 4-H kids because my first job was as a 4-H club organizer and my children enjoyed the program. That was many years ago in Alexandria, VA. Fairs and other events offer youngsters a chance to develop skills in preparing projects and making presentations in public.
Click to See Larger Version	4-H in Virginia

Fair Alpaca

County Fair Camel

Changing Franks Sites

Now that Frank has retired, we are updating his websites so people can see that he is no longer an active realtor. While we were at it, I posted Nancy Meyer's article on the Basye and Bryce Resort Community. When she wrote it, she asked us to give it exposure, and I put on this blog in installments. We also used it in some real estate listings online but we aren't posting any of those now.

Moon in a Crater

I played around with an ordinary shot of the moon and came up with this image. Steps included using a Stained Glass filter and a Plastic Wrap filter in Photoshop — on duplicate layers, of course.

What I Like Best about the iPad

I like the portability of the iPad and being able to connect to the internet while traveling via cell signals. Neither of Frank's siblings has wi-fi so I purchase a data plan before going to visit them.

Frank likes using the iPad as an e-reader. He downloads books regularly (often for free) and reads them in bed at night.

The problem that arises is when we are traveling, we both want to use it at the same time. Since ours is not the latest edition, I vote that we get a new one for me (of course). Then we'll each have one!

Old Holiday Photo from 2000

Lynn in 2000

Three Thoughts

The illness and then death of a friend made me ponder some of life's biggest questions. I'm not so much of a cynic that I'd say "Life sucks and then you die," but I can recognize a grain of truth in that saying.

Serious Thoughts

1. Strong love usually ends in heartbreak for someone.
2. If we didn't already have religion, we would need to create it in order to get through the agony of losing our loved one.
3. When you reach your final days, what matters to you are relationships: those close to you, those who are special in some way, those who are supportive. Everything else in life is just wallpaper.

Frank, Bill, and Mary in Happier Times

Frank's sister-in-law passed away today at the age of 71. She's on the right in this picture I took a few years ago.

Photo of Me and My Mom, circa 2000