Linking to: CDP Theme Day
May 31, 2014
May 30, 2014
Skywatch: Woodstock Water Tower
You can see this water tower from I-81 just north of Woodstock, Virginia. See more photos with skies in them at Skywatch Friday.
A Bear Butler
We were greeted by this fellow on Sunday in Coolfont. We were on a studio tour near Berkeley Springs, West Virginia.
Linking to: Orange You Glad It's Friday
May 29, 2014
Blog Post #4400
I've been blogging for nearly 9 years! I didn't post very often during 2005, my first year. We didn't have a fast internet connection at first, and the idea of blogging every day did not even occur to me.
At some point I'll probably stop blogging so often. But for now it gives me a reason to process my digital photos, and I enjoy the interaction with other bloggers.
I've been participating in various blog linkups (or Linky's, or blog parties, or blog hops, or whatever you want to call them). They provide an extra challenge: Can I come up with an interesting picture of a fence today? A bird? A flower? A sign?
As another blogger pointed out, a restriction (in this case by subject matter) can encourage creativity. It can also add variety to my blog.
I've been tagging these posts as Linky's and Memes, and I've labeled 260 of them that way so far. However, after this post I'm going to stop tagging them that way because around 90% of my posts are fitting that category and I indicate what they are linking to within the post, usually at the bottom as "Linking to" another site.
I appreciate the folks who host the linkups and also the visitors who come here by way of those pages. I also appreciate all the people who take the time to write comments. Thank you!
And now, here's a picture I posted in 2005. It's a Photoshopped combination of two other photos that I took.
At some point I'll probably stop blogging so often. But for now it gives me a reason to process my digital photos, and I enjoy the interaction with other bloggers.
I've been participating in various blog linkups (or Linky's, or blog parties, or blog hops, or whatever you want to call them). They provide an extra challenge: Can I come up with an interesting picture of a fence today? A bird? A flower? A sign?
As another blogger pointed out, a restriction (in this case by subject matter) can encourage creativity. It can also add variety to my blog.
I've been tagging these posts as Linky's and Memes, and I've labeled 260 of them that way so far. However, after this post I'm going to stop tagging them that way because around 90% of my posts are fitting that category and I indicate what they are linking to within the post, usually at the bottom as "Linking to" another site.
I appreciate the folks who host the linkups and also the visitors who come here by way of those pages. I also appreciate all the people who take the time to write comments. Thank you!
And now, here's a picture I posted in 2005. It's a Photoshopped combination of two other photos that I took.
A Bridge in Edinburg, VA
The Valley Pike crosses Stony Creek here next to the historic Edinburg Mill. I was attracted to the old stone walls and the wrought iron fence.
Not far from here, the creek joins the North Fork of the Shenandoah River.
Linking to: Good Fences
May 28, 2014
Sign of the Times: 3 Businesses in One
Creative thinking: To save on rent, move in with someone else!
Linking to: Wednesday Around the World
and Signs, Signs
May 27, 2014
Goslings Yellow and Gray
Two weeks ago I shared pictures of the Canada Geese and their goslings. Well, a gray goose couple also has babies, and they are really cute! Some of them are yellow but others are gray or partly gray.
Linking to: Nature Notes
and Camera Critters
May 26, 2014
From Great-Grandmother's Scrapbook: A Hero of Andersonville
Great-grandmother Hammer kept detailed scrapbooks and recently my sister gave me one. I glanced through it and found a newspaper clipping that relates to Memorial Day because the holiday has origins in events that honored soldiers who died in the American Civil War.
I don't know why my great-grandmother put this clipping from 1910 in her scrapbook. I do know that she remembered the Civil War because she had mentioned it in her diaries, and her first husband had served in the Union Army.
[Here Dorance is spelled differently than it is in Wikipedia, which spells it Dorence.]
Excerpt:
"Mr. Atwater was taken prisoner in February, 1864, and sent to Andersonville prison, where he was detailed as clerk to make a record for the prison of the deaths among the federal prisoners. Mr. Atwater made a duplicate of the list given the prison authorities, keeping it from their knowledge. His list contained 13,000 names."
I looked up Atwater's story on Wikipedia and it is fascinating. He not only smuggled his list out of Andersonville, he later spirited it out of Washington in order to work with Clara Barton to mark graves at Andersonville.
I don't know why my great-grandmother put this clipping from 1910 in her scrapbook. I do know that she remembered the Civil War because she had mentioned it in her diaries, and her first husband had served in the Union Army.
Hero of Andersonville Pen Dies: Made Secret Records
Dorance Atwater, Who Gave U.S. Government True List of Prisoners Who Died, Succumbs in the West
[Here Dorance is spelled differently than it is in Wikipedia, which spells it Dorence.]
Excerpt:
"Mr. Atwater was taken prisoner in February, 1864, and sent to Andersonville prison, where he was detailed as clerk to make a record for the prison of the deaths among the federal prisoners. Mr. Atwater made a duplicate of the list given the prison authorities, keeping it from their knowledge. His list contained 13,000 names."
I looked up Atwater's story on Wikipedia and it is fascinating. He not only smuggled his list out of Andersonville, he later spirited it out of Washington in order to work with Clara Barton to mark graves at Andersonville.
New Sign at Fisher's Hill
You can read about the battle on the Civil War Trust website. I've posted photos of Fisher's Hill before — see our April 2013 visit, for instance.
Linking to: Black and White Weekend
May 25, 2014
May 24, 2014
May 23, 2014
A Selfie with Lynn
Earlier this week I met Lynn (left) for lunch in Harrisonburg. She's my older daughter. No, she's not as tall as she looks in the picture!
It was a coincidence that we both wore orangey colors but at least this qualifies for the linkup, Orange You Glad It's Friday.
May 22, 2014
Beware of Geese!
In Winchester, VAI saw this hand-made sign at Glen Burnie. Let's focus in so we can read it.
Looks like a goose is sitting on her nest! How sweet! But the sign is serious — geese can be quite aggressive, and daddy goose is no doubt lurking nearby, ready to attack anyone who threatens the nest.
Linking to: Signs, Signs
May 21, 2014
Water Features at Glen Burnie
One thing that makes the gardens of Glen Burnie so delightful is the series of water gardens. A natural spring on the property was diverted to form ponds and even a waterfall.Designed by Julian Wood Glass, Jr., and R. Lee Taylor, the gardens were created in the second half of the 20th Century. Mr. Glass bequeathed this spectacular property to a foundation in order that it could be enjoyed by the public. Tickets are available at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley.
See also: Visit to Glen Burnie (2007 post).
Linking to: Wednesday Around the World
May 20, 2014
Iris Season in the Shenandoah Valley
Mid-May is a great time to see irises blooming in Virginia. I photographed all of these at Glen Burnie Gardens in Winchester. Did you know that the name iris comes from the Greek word for rainbow? Irises come in many colors. Here we see a few of them.
May 19, 2014
Selfie and Myself
FW and LW at Glen Burnie
In order to take a selfie, I asked Frank to hold the camera because his arms are longer than mine.
He also had me pose under the branches of a flowering tree. The location is the garden at Glen Burnie in Winchester, Virginia.
May 18, 2014
Walkway Shadows
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| At Glen Burnie, Winchester, VA |
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| The Pleached Allée |
Linking to: Shadow Shot Sunday
and Scenic Weekends
May 17, 2014
May 16, 2014
Frank's Full Moon
I'm giving my husband credit for this picture. He spotted it two nights ago while walking the dog, came in and got the camera and took a picture.
Linking to: Skywatch Friday
A House in Mt. Sidney
Architecture in Black and White
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| Along the Valley Pike, Shenandoah Valley, VA |
Linking to: Black and White Weekend
May 15, 2014
May 14, 2014
Snapshots from the 1980's
I scanned in a couple of photos that I took around 1988. First, we see my mom playing Frisbee with her grandchildren. I was taking a photography class at the time and was probably trying to get an action shot.The second picture is a selfie, long before anyone called them that. My camera is on the windowsill behind me — it had a timer.
Linking to: Black and White Wednesday
