A Church and a Drive through Shenandoah National Park

Inspired Sunday

 

Mt. Olivet Christian Church is near the town of McGaheysville in Rockingham County. The older part of the building dates to 1900.

I took these pictures a year ago after an errand in Harrisonburg. I drove east to Shenandoah National Park and followed Skyline Drive north towards home.

Even in February, the views are lovely. I saw some deer, which I often do up there.

 

Hungry Critters, Snowy Backdrop.

Most of our snow has melted but I love bird photos with a snowy background, so I'm showing pictures from when there was still snow in our yard, starting with a blue jay.

Saturday Critters / I'd Rather Be Birdin'

Squirrels are cute but voracious. They show up at my feeders in the morning and eat all they can, spilling seed all over the ground. Sometimes I see four at a time. Fortunately they like to go home early and usually disappear by 4 o'clock, leaving the feeders to the birds. 

The cute bird on the suet feeder is a Carolina wren. 

There is still snow in the mountains and on north-facing hills. I saw this man and dog walking at Dickey Ridge in Shenandoah National Park. The park just reopened to traffic a few days ago. They close Skyline Drive when it is too icy to drive safely or when there are trees blocking the road. Up there, temperatures are colder and winds are stronger. 

Caturday: Today's final image features a cat from my archives. I experimented with Photoshop filters and layers on this. 
 

Trees and Collages

How to title a post can be a puzzle. Today I thought I didn't have a theme, but then I saw it after I put up the pictures. Here we have trees including a collage, and that segues into another collage. 

Skywatch / Willy Nilly Friday

The first image shows a tree at Blandy and I took it yesterday. The black and white photo is from many years ago and I took it at Cameron Station, a military base in Alexandria which closed in 1988. I was taking a black and white photography class at Northern Virginia Community College and this was part of my portfolio. 

The sunset collage has pictures I've shown here before but not together. And the second collage has two stuffed animals and two plants. 

 

Good things, Sad things.

One of the places I went today was the Timbrook Public Safety Building in Winchester. The reflection in the glass doors shows a flag, which was at half mast.

The flag across the street was also lowered. This was in remembrance of the half a million Americans lost to Covid-19. How sad that we have reached this high number! 

I noticed a plaque next to the entrance. It honors Police Sargeant Ricky Lee Timbrook, who was killed in the line of duty in 1999. The building and a park are named for him. 

The reason I sought out this building is that it's a collection point for old prescription medications. I've been saving unused ones, including two that were for our dog who died two years ago. It took me a long time to deal with some of the leftover dog stuff because it was sad. 

Fortunately the collection box is outside so I did not even have to enter the building. I am thankful to have a way to dispose of medications without polluting our waters.

I also want to share a sticker that I got a week ago when we received our Covid vaccinations. There are people who point out the death rate for the virus is "only" one or two percent, but the disability rate is much higher. Also, if I had to be hospitalized I would probably suffer for my food allergies because very few institutions can deal with multiple allergies like I have. They can deal with a wheat allergy but a corn allergy is very difficult because corn is in ingredients like citric acid, fructose, and dextrose. So I am very thankful that we got vaccinated.

Thankful Thursday / Signs 2.

"Live Your Life in the Meow."

Other good things:

• I got the oil changed in the car. 
• Frank got it inspected. 
• Keith's Appliance Repair fixed our oven. 
• The sun came out and melted most of the snow.

Goldfinch and Chickadee

Wordless / Wild Bird Wednesday

 

The Zirkle Mill in Forestville

Over 250 Years Old. 

Links:

• Our 2008 Post on the Mill. 
• Tuesday Treasures Linkup.
• Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday.

February Weather Keeps Coming.

Good, Random, and Fun.

Snow was not in today's weather forecast. I was surprised when I looked out the window this morning and saw snow coming down. I had an appointment an hour away and traffic reports were not good. I rescheduled my appointment for next week. 

The first photo in this collage was taken this morning. The other is from late afternoon. Not only had the snow stopped, but the sun was had melted it down quite a bit.

Mosaic Monday and Blue Monday.

Monday Murals: The hornet is the mascot of Shenandoah University. We were there for our covid vaccinations last week. I felt very tired the next day but did not mind.

After a nurse administered the vaccine, she instructed us to sit down for 15 minutes before leaving. There was a slide show running with health reminders so I took some pictures of it, having little else to do. 

"Wear Your Face Mask."

Snow in the Country and Middletown.

Frederick County, Virginia

Yesterday was too cold to do much outdoors so I took my car for an oil change. The sun was shining so I decided to get some photos of farms in the snow. Unlike northern bloggers (such as Tom), we don't get many snow days in Virginia, and when we do, the back roads are often not cleared for a day or two. 

These scenes are from Middletown area. 

This church is in the town of Middletown. It is the Valley Assembly of God on 4th Street.

Middletown is a small town with a rich history. It is known for the Wayside Inn and Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park. It is also home to a busy community college.

Inspired Sunday / Shadow Shot Sunday

 

Cold Days are for the Birds

We still have snow on the ground and temperatures tonight are well below freezing. During the day they crept up over the freezing point and we had a little bit of thawing.

Snow gives pictures a simpler look that can be elegant. It can fool the camera's controls though. Some of my cell phone pictures have a blue cast. I decided to brighten this first shot and make it black and white.

Saturday Critters / I'd Rather Be Birdin'

 

Sometimes "happy little accidents" make fun pictures. This sparrow was perched on a branch when I pressed the button.

I found Renard sitting in the snow. He's the fox statue that we brought back from the house we sold in Bryce Resort. 

Our back yard is covered with tracks of geese and ducks. Here I found some wing marks. I guess he took flight. 

Just outside our neighborhood I saw a different kind of tracks.

Since I mentioned geese and ducks, allow me to switch back to a "real" camera for two photos of them. The geese are marching across my yard.

The duck was eating under a bird feeder. I believe it is a muscovy hybrid.  

Sigh! It's still winter!

Our cold weather continues and we still have snow on the ground. The roads are clear now so Frank was able to get to his doctor appointment today. (He was told that the endoscopy did not show any problems, which is good.)

Our electricity has stayed on so we are fairly comfortable, although I am often chilly in spite of wearing a cardigan sweater over a long-sleeved shirt and pulling a quilt over me while sitting, like right now. I feel bad for all the folks in Texas who have been without power during an unusual cold spell.

Weekend Reflections / Willy Nilly Friday

Skywatch: Our View this Afternoon.

Friday Bliss / Garden Affair / Friday Flowers 

The roses are some that I saw in the store. 

I photographed a page of valentines from a scrapbook I made in the fourth grade. I didn't continue scrapbooking very long, but I did maintain photo albums for decades. 

The blue heart is hanging in my kitchen window. 

Thank you for visiting and stay safe!

Signs of Love

As you may know, there is a tradition in Virginia of signs that say LOVE. This one is in front of the United Methodist Church in Toms Brook. 

On the other side of the Valley Pike, I noticed another LOVE sign in front of a house. 

In Strasburg, someone at Solarcrate was glad to see the New Year come. (There's a reflection in the image but it is almost lost in the shadow of a building.)

My blog stats show I have shared 590 posts tagged Signs. 

Here is something I am thankful for: We got our second dose of the vaccine for Covid-19.  They were administered in the athletic building of Shenandoah University. 

Thankful Thursday / Signs, Signs

We'll still wear our masks when in public. Here's a sign on the door to a convenience store.

Here's a sign on a display of books. (Remember books?) February is Black History Month.

I found a cute heart-shaped sign in the Dollar Tree and got it for Valentine's Day. 

Before closing this post, I want to mention that we got several inches of snow last night with a layer of sleet on top of it. The roads were slick and dangerous from the ice so we stayed home. Here's a picture of our shed today. Yes, I've got a barn quilt mounted on it.