Near the Mouth of Passage Creek

Seen from Bucks Mill Road.

Sharing with Fences Around the World and Little Things Thursday.

End of May, Shenandoah Valley

Sharing with Wordless Wednesday and
The Barn Collective

Charles Town Courthouse, 1836

Sharing with Tuesday Treasures and 

Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

Mosaic Mural in Progress

Charles Town, West Virginia
 

I read about this mural that was being created in Charles Town (not to be confused with Charleston, the capital of West Virginia). Since we were going to dinner in nearby Rippon, I made a side trip to find this. It was not finished when I saw it on Saturday but about 50 people had been helping so it would be done soon.

The designer is Isaiah Zagar of Philadelphia. He is working with schools and local citizens to create a mosaic that represents the community. Huge letters of mirrored glass spell out Charles Town. Other elements swirl around, and I noticed a theme of history, particularly referring to the abolitionist John Brown, who was tried and hanged in the town after he attacked Harpers Ferry in 1859.

Sharing with Monday Murals and Mosaic Monday.

A Lost Generation.

History at Sunset.

Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park,

"The Tragic Deaths of Stephen Dodson Ramseur and Charles Russell Lowell, Jr."

On Friday I went to Ranger Shannon's presentation at Belle Grove. She used the deaths of Major General Steven Ramseur, CSA, and Col. Charles Russell Lowell, Jr., USA, as examples of the tragic deaths of young men as a result of the Battle of Cedar Creek in 1864.

It was the losses of the American Civil War that led to the establishment of Decoration Day, which is now called Memorial Day.

The talk began on the lawn of beautiful Belle Grove, Middletown, Virginia. We made a couple more stops via car caravan. It was a perfect evening for an outdoor program.

Belle Grove Road, seen from the Valley Pike at dusk.

There is a monument to Ramseur at the corner of Belle Grove Road and U.S. 11 (Valley Pike). Here we see a monument to Lowell which stands by the Wayside Inn.

Commanding Reserve Brigade, 

Cavalry Corps,

Army of the Shenandoah.

Fell in action near this place, 

October 19, 1864.

Useful Citizen * Gallant Soldier 

He died too early for his country.


Links: Visit Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park.
Through My Lens.

Capon Bridge Christian Church

InSpired Sunday

This handsome brick church is on Cold Stream Road in the West Virginia town of Capon Bridge. It's near the site of historic Fort Edwards.

Trail Cam Surprise

I have a trail camera set up in our back yard, only a few steps from our deck. I just reviewed 3,600 images from the memory card, covering March and April. I haven't reviewed May images yet because I wanted to share this one right away.

The bear is just moseying through our yard. He may have been disappointed that I had already taken down the bird feeders for the season. I do this in mid-April, or earlier if neighbors report bear sightings. We aren't far from a national forest so wildlife comes with the territory.

The camera responds to a motion detector. I have tons of images of moving branches, birds, squirrels, rain, and Frank cutting the grass. It's caught other animals including a bear previously.

I'm sharing this image with Black and White Weekend even though it's not very sharp. I just think it's cool!

Ordinary Day, Incredible Sights.

Blog Post #6350!

Saturday is a good day for sharing birds and other critters. This first beauty is not a real bird. It's a peacock made of Legos and I saw it today in Glen Burnie Gardens in Winchester. We didn't get to tour the entire exhibit because a thunderstorm moved in, so I plan to go back again before the show closes on September 3rd.

Sometimes I feel very lucky. The other day I glanced out the window and saw something tall and straight out by the lake. It was a Great Blue Heron, and my camera was handy. (I keep one with a zoom lens on a table in front of the window because our community lake attracts many birds.)

After I took a few almost-identical shots, the heron lifted up and flew. I didn't have time to focus so I just snapped a picture before he disappeared behind the trees.

I don't get lucky shots every day, but I believe that you increase your chances of seeing something remarkable if you go out and look. I took the last four photographs on Dickey Ridge in Shenandoah National Park. The cute squirrel seemed to pose for me.

The wild turkey did not, however. He was running in the picnic area and I grabbed a shot as soon as the car stopped. Although wild turkeys are not a rare sight these days, they are shy so I don't get photos of them very often.

Then I saw a mother deer and her child. She was licking him tenderly. After a while he licked her too!

I suspect the origin of "love" is the caring that a mother has for her child. It has tremendous survival benefits, keeping the offspring safe until it can take care of itself.

Isn't love incredible?

Five Colorful Images

Willy Nilly Friday

Weekend Reflection ~ Orange You Glad It's Friday?

1. The first image is a puddle that I spotted at sunset. I snapped this from the car, attracted to the colors but unable to pause for much longer than I normally would to cross the tracks and make a sharp turn.

2. I grabbed the sky shot from my back yard, shooting hurriedly because a plane doesn't wait around.

3. Wildflowers in Shenandoah National Park are the focus of my photo collage for Floral Friday.

4. Today was the last day for a local store that dealt in pet supplies and ponds. The owners of Noah's Ark have retired. I took this picture through the fence from the parking lot.

5. Same place... most of the pond supplies and statuary were gone but the little bridge was still there. Back in 2014, I posted some photos of the lily ponds there.

Thankful Thursday in Late May

I like having a theme for my post. Sometimes they consist of barely-related items, so I look for some way to make them into a group. Today I'm presenting four things for which I'm grateful, plus one thing that's a nuisance but at least it's not uncontrollable.

1. Flowers are plentiful right now. I spotted these roses at a fast-food place. Since roses are a common subject, I had a little fun with the image using Movavi software.

2. Flash visited the vet today for his yearly check-up. He's doing okay considering his age and congestive heart failure. Dr Jim said we can increase the Lasix a little to see if it helps with his cough.

3. I am so fortunate to have such beautiful views around me that sometimes I take them for granted. The cloudy view is from our window.

4. I grew up in a family where I was loved. Here's a picture of my mother taken long before I was born.

Thankful Thursday

5. Spammers are a nuisance. Lately they've been commenting on blogs, and I've heard that if you follow their links you may download something that damages your blog. Fortunately it's not hard to delete their comments, and most of them never get published because I have a setting that holds comments on older posts until I approve them.

If you see a suspicious comment, do not click on the link!

Iris, Goose, Cardinals, Worms.

Sharing with Floral Bliss, Wild Bird Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, Through My Lens, and Wednesday Around the World.

Rivers High and Muddy

Sharing with Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday and Our World Tuesday

Mural in Progress

A new mural is underway in Strasburg! It will depict a potter (sketched in on the right) at work. Strasburg was once known as "Pot Town" because of the pottery made there, and the high quality clay.

The artist is Resoborg from South Africa.

Since I don't want to disappoint mural fans who are visiting from Monday Murals in expectation of seeing complete artwork, here's another mural. I posted this deer scene several years ago but the artist's name was blocked. It's Roger Heishman. This is on a wall in the Star Mercantile in Wardensville.