A Landmark in Forestville

This old school sits high on a hill in Forestville, Virginia. It was restored and is used by the Ruritan Club. 

I've posted pictures of this school before.  One of my images was used (with permission) by a television station when they reported on copper gutters being stolen from here. 

I'm sharing this post with Skywatch Friday and the current City Daily Photo Theme: Landmark. 

Oh, since it's Halloween night, here's an alternate version of the picture "in disguise." 

Pumpkin Patch at Hollin Farms

It was rainy a couple of weekends ago but Fauquier County was having Farm Days so I took a look at their brochure. One of the participants was Hollin Farm near Delaplane, and I was intrigued to read that it was founded by developer Robert Davenport, the man who built the community where I grew up. He's not around anymore but his sons and their families run the farm so I decided to take a look. 

The farm grows apples and other crops as well as pumpkins, but with Halloween coming, families were out in force in the pumpkin patch. Of course, it's easier to buy your pumpkins in the supermarket, but this is a outing that children will remember.  They hunt for the perfect pumpkins to take home.

Sharing with: That Friday Blog Hop 

and Orange You Glad It's Friday!

Altered Cat

Altered in Photoshop

Linking to: Thoughtless Thursday

Wagon Wheel and Rail Fence

Near Mt. Jackson, Virginia

Sharing with: Good Fences

Signs, Signs... at Shenandoah National Park

Lately I've noticed that some signs were blank in the National Forest and National Park near us. This one gives an explanation of sorts.

Your Fee Dollars at Work
A new sign for this site is on its way!

I can't help wondering why they didn't just leave up the old sign until the new one was ready to be installed. 

At least the overlook signs are still in place. Frank is sitting next to one for The Massanutten, which is the mountain range across the valley. It also happens to be the range we can see from our house. (If you want to read the sign, you can find it on Historic Marker Database.) This sign says the origin of the name is not known, but local lore says that Massanutten was a Native American word meaning bread basket, referring to the basket-shaped valley within the mountains.

If you've gone hiking in Shenandoah National Park, you've seen concrete trail markers. A metal band around the post gives information about the trails.

The AT symbol indicates Appalachian Trail. It runs the length of the park and then continues on both northward (to Maine) and south (to Georgia). I've hiked on parts of the trail on many occasions.

I was curious about this note pinned under a rock at an overlook. It says that a cell phone was found here and taken to the entrance station.

Sharing with: Signs, Signs

and Outdoor Wednesday

I Don't Require Word Verification but You May See it Anyway

Well, Blogger has changed something and now some readers are seeing word verification show up when they start to comment. I dislike those confusing little things as much as anybody does and I set my preferences years ago so that those puzzles are not supposed to show up, but Blogger now makes it appear if they think you are anonymous. The work-around is to sign in to Blogger or OpenID before you start commenting. I'm sorry if this is inconvenient for you but I don't have a way to prevent this other than what I have already done. I don't even accept anonymous comments so I don't know why my blog host thinks I want this feature.

By the way, you can always refresh the coded words (using a little button) until you see one that's readable. Many of them aren't, so I when I come across one I often feel I am seeing some weird combination of a vision test and a sobriety test!

Some bloggers have had huge problems with spambot comments so I understand why they desire a CAPTCHA. So far I have been able to control spam by (1) not allowing anonymous comments, and (2) having comments held for approval on posts that are more than a few days old.  Spammers generally comment on an old post because they have used a search engine to find posts related to the item they are advertising.

Sharing with: Wednesday Around the World

Sliver of a Moon

Sharing with: Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

and NF Inspiring Photography

Crow at an Overlook

Skyline Drive, Northern Section

Our weather has been beautiful the last few days and we don't want to waste it by staying indoors. Yesterday I had an appointment in Woodstock and afterward we drove south to Route 211 and east to Shenandoah National Park. Skyline Drive is always enjoyable there and in the autumn it's spectacular! 

We didn't see much wildlife this time; perhaps the influx of fall tourists had sent them deep into the woods. This crow made an appearance at an overlook and posed for me on a tree. 

The fall foliage has passed it's peak at the higher elevations but as you can see, there's still some fine color on the slopes.

Sharing with: Our World Tuesday

and The Bird D'Pot

Parks and Recreation Mural

This colorful mural is in Shenandoah County Park in Maurertown, Virginia. It was painted at "Summer Art Mural Camp" in 2013.

Sharing with: Monday Mural

The Stickley Farm on Cedar Creek

The final program of the 150th Anniversary of the battle that I attended at Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park dealt with the aftermath of the battle.  We started at Belle Grove and then went to the Stickley Farm and St. Thomas Chapel in Middletown.

Like the church and Belle Grove, this farm was turned into a hospital site, as there were thousands of wounded soldiers needing emergency care.

The farm is privately owned but the park service had permission to bring the tour there. I've been there on tour before (see Lone Confederate Grave and the Stickley mills).

The Confederate grave in the yard is a bit mysterious. Long ago a marker was placed there inscribed "John Helms of Atlanta, GA [who] was killed Oct. 19, 1864 in the battle of Cedar Creek", but Ranger Driscoll said he has been unable to find a John Helms in Confederate records of the battle. (A clear picture of the marker is in the Handley Library collection.)

Since Cedar Creek Battlefield is not far from our home, I've done many posts about it over the years. In contrast to it's dramatic history, it's now a lovely and serene place, unless you happen to arrive during a reenactment. 

Sharing with: The Barn Collective

St. Thomas Chapel, Middletown

This church in Middletown was used as a hospital during the Civil War. Like many buildings, it was needed to shelter the wounded after the Battle of Cedar Creek. 

The man in the photo is a park ranger who gave a couple of talks here as part of the 150th anniversary of the battle. He explained that the pews were destroyed during the war but the chandelier survived, and still looks as it did when it was included in a sketch by artist James E. Taylor in 1864. 

(See Taylor's book: With Sheridan up the Shenandoah Valley in 1864: Leaves from a special artist's sketchbook and diary)

We also visited this church in December 2012 — look for more photos. 

Recreating a Battle

The Battle of Cedar Creek
150th Anniversary

I've been showing pictures of cavalry but of course much of the battle was fought on foot.  Of course, the actual battle was much larger than the reenactment, and much more serious and terrible. Almost a thousand men died and well over four thousand were wounded. 

I've often thought about why men joined the armies to fight this war, this wasteful brother-against-brother tragedy. I believe that many of them simply felt loyal toward their own communities, and the side they joined often depended more on the accident of where they lived rather than any deep political philosophy.

Linking to: Weekend (No Rules) Blog Hop

Here Comes the Cavalry!

I've been posting pictures from last weekend's reenactment of the Battle of Cedar Creek. I love seeing the horses — such magnificent animals! And they are well cared for so don't worry about that!

Linking to: Camera Critters

Fine Horses in Sepia

Battle of Cedar Creek Reenactment

Sharing with: Sepia Saturday

and Saturday's Critters

The Wounded Drummer Boy

At the Cedar Creek Reenactment

Sharing With: That Friday Blog Hop

Roofs and Steeples

Middletown, VA

Sharing with: Skywatch Friday

and Orange You Glad It's Friday

People-Watching at Cedar Creek

150th Anniversary of the Battle of Cedar Creek

We went to the reenactment near Middletown on Sunday. It was a beautiful afternoon and Frank and I both took pictures so I have many images to go through. I decided to show you some spectators first.

"Living History" demonstrations are part of the show and I enjoy seeing 19th-century costumes. This woman was kind enough to pose for me.

The mock battle took place on the historic Heater Farm near Belle Grove.

The Last Major Battle in the Shenandoah Valley

If you love historical costumes, you might want to scroll through my living history posts or check out these: Young Reenactors and Dressed for History.

I enjoy the incongruities in pictures like the one below. It's a fun time-warp effect.

Sharing with: Good Fences