An Egret at Blandy.

October Scenes in Loudoun County

Join the Barn Collective and
Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday.

Brightening Up.

Random-osity

The Good: After running errands today, I drove up to Bentonville to view a bit of fall color. A deer posed for me! The light was already fading so this picture was a shade dark, but I was able to lighten it in Photoshop.

Yes, I am using Photoshop again, because my Movavi software trial expired on the same day I got an email for a trial version of Photoshop CC. I'm not sure whether I'll subscribe yet. I really don't see where it's better than Photoshop CS6, and I'm not a fan of paying a monthly fee. I may just revive my old CS6, which is already paid for.

The Random: The old Henkel Press sign in New Market has been revived after decades of fading.

In 2016, I posted this photo of the ghost sign. It dates to the 1930's. I read that restoration was done by Fine Line Architectural Detailing.

Sharing with Monday Murals. 

The Fun: I grabbed a shot of graffiti on a passing train on Saturday. I did not have time to get an overall shot (through a fence), but the message Happy Halloween was painted on the railroad car.

The View Near Capon Springs.

Late this afternoon we headed west of Route 55 into West Virginia. Let me share a couple of buildings near Capon Springs plus some autumnal scenes on the mountain above that town.

Willow Chapel School

The light was fading by the time I spotted this old school so I rendered it in black and white. 

For Inspired Sunday: Heritage Independent Baptist Church.

Background: My goal for this short trip was to see some autumn color. I found it on Great North Mountain, where the foliage is just about at its peak color. Shortly after crossing into West Virginia, I turned right into the forest on a narrow road that leads to Hawk Campground.

 I did not drive down the lane that leads to the camp but instead continued to Capon Springs Road, which Lynn recently told me about after she and her dog camped at Hawk. That road goes through the charming village of Capon Springs and ends at WV 259, which took us to Wardensville. From there it is an easy ride up US 48/ WV 55 and back into Virginia. 

Odd Creatures, Dogs, and a Deer

It's almost Halloween, so here are some spooky critters that I saw in a supermarket.

In a different store, I saw this sign and wondered, "Who would put their service dog in a grocery cart?"

Here's a dog that I saw at Blue Ridge Mac. Daisy seems to be their official greeter.

I was glad that they fixed my Macbook. The display kept blinking and dimming. They had to replace the logic board.

Speaking on dogs, here's one following a couple in Strasburg.

 The final photo shows a deer I saw next to Skyline Drive.

Autumn Creeps In.

Willy Nilly Friday.

1. This cell phone picture turned out prettier than I expected. I took it from the car at Blandy Experimental Farm.

Skywatch Friday.

2. The vertical image just shows a reflection that caught my eye. This was at Lake Frederick, which is near White Post.

3. The autumn-themed fireplace is inside a farm market near Purcellville.  It has a warm look, doesn't it? Orange you glad it's Friday?

4. I went up to Skyline Drive very briefly yesterday to see if the fall colors were finally showing up. I saw a nice yellow tree from the Valley Overlook, but that was about it.  Most trees are still green, although some are yellow-green.

5. Today it rained. I had errands in Harrisonburg and spotted this yellow leaf in the Kroger parking lot. It seemed to match the painted line on the asphalt.

Sunday in Loudoun County.

Gotland Sheep at Shepherd's Corner. 

Sharing with Fences Around the World. 

A Heron at Lake Frederick

On Monday afternoon I ran a few errands and then decided to have a cup of coffee and spend a few minutes reading in a sunny spot. I got the coffee (actually decaf) at Royal Farms and drove up to nearby Rockland Park. Unfortunately the parking lot was full because some sort of high school athletic training was going on, with kids jogging and using the exercise equipment. I decided to drive a little farther to Lake Frederick.

Hardly anyone was there and the water was deep blue. And there was a Great Blue Heron! I took a picture from the car window and then quietly opened the door to get a few more shots.
 

 He walked up on the floating pier and down the other side. It happened that I had accidentally turned on "continuous burst mode" on my camera last week and had not bothered to look up how to turn it off yet. Good! A moving bird is a suitable subject for taking multiple shots continuously.

I think the heron heard me and took off! This is where continuous shooting is an advantage. The camera caught several images of him in flight! Pictures 3 and 4 are the best of them. I cropped them in Photoshop to give you a closer look.

Thank you, heron!

The Well on Gooney Manor Loop

Near Browntown, VA.

Linkups: Tuesday Treasures and Image-in-ing

Front Royal Karate Club

These painted windows bring attention to a karate school on an alley just off Main Street in downtown Front Royal, Virginia.

 

Sharing with Monday Murals. 

Relief UMC

Relief United Methodist Church is on Middle Road near Stephens City, VA. This part of Virginia has a number of Methodist churches. One source lists it as the most popular Protestant religion in the Winchester area, although almost twice as many people identify as Catholic.

One Bear and Some Birds

I drove through Shenandoah National Park today. I didn't see much autumn color (the leaves have barely started turning), but I did see a bear. He's a small one and he hurried across the road.

The other two photos are from my large archive of unused pictures. The first one shows an American Robin and the second shows a mixed family of geese in my yard.

Sharing with Saturday's Critters

and I'd Rather Be Birdin'. 

Leftovers from 2015.

Since my newer laptop is still in the shop, I'm on an older one. That makes it easy to pull some photos from three years ago to share with Willy Nilly Friday, Skywatch, Black and White Weekend, and other linkups.

1.One morning our view was partially obscured by clouds. It made a virtually monochromatic scene. 

2. We have a bench down by the lake. It's a lovely spot for gazing at the reflections in the water.

3. In 2015 we had fall foliage in time for Front Royal's Festival of Leaves. This year's festival was last weekend and the leaves were all green -- nothing like this.

Orange You Glad It's Friday?

4. Here a woman is photographing flowers at Glen Burnie in Winchester.

Floral Friday.

5. More flowers, The season for flowers blooming is ending. 

The Season Changes in West Virginia

On Sunday we drove west to Blackwater Falls State Park. I posted a few pictures yesterday of the river there. My intention was to get there while fall foliage was bright, but it was just starting to change there. When we went there two years ago, the leaves were already down because winter comes earlier there. 

As we crossed the mountain into West Virginia, we saw few signs of autumn. The leaves and grass were still green until we reached the Allegheny Front near Mount Storm. Here U.S. 48 crosses a windy ridge and reaches the Appalachian Plateau.

The western side of the ridge appeared to be in late fall. Many trees were already bare. However, as we descended toward Davis, the season changed again. It was autumn!

Sharing with Fences Around the World.

It was early autumn, though, with many trees still green and some gold, We viewed the river and canyon but did not walk the trail to see the famed Blackwater Falls because we've done so before and I wanted to see the small falls near the lodge. I'm still having trouble with my ankles wobbling, making my feet and hips very sore, so one short hike was all I felt I could do.

The Elakala Trail turned out to be manageable, just a short walk to the falls. A light rain earlier in the day had made the ground a bit slippery so we walked cautiously. We could hear the falls ahead and soon came to a footbridge.

The bridge crosses over a waterfall. On one side the water is plummeting downward. Some people were far below and they looked very small. We did not attempt to hike down there; that's for younger folks.