The Lodge at Melrose Caverns

Rockingham County, VA

The lodge and caverns opened as a tourist attraction in 1932. Last week this building served as the tour headquarters for the Harrisonburg garden tours. I hope to return when I have time to tour the caverns. One of the attractions is graffiti from 1862, inscribed on cave walls by soldiers who camped on the grounds.

Eatery Murals in Staunton

The town of Staunton is known for its historic district and its public art.

This mural at Marino’s Lunch was photographed by my older daughter, Lynn. The blue mountains behind the musicians are a reference to the nearby Appalachians.

The second photo is one that I took, but regrettably the flowery painting is partially blocked by the red patio umbrellas. I did not take notes, but I believe this is Chicano Boy Taco. Their website shows that their other location has a spectacular mural inside.

Monday Murals

Note on Photos Hacks: I used the Photos App on my iPhone to find the location and name of the taco shop. When you view a photo in it, there’s a little circle around the letter i.  Pressing it can bring up useful information including a map.

I used the same app to straighten and crop these pictures. Taking a cell phone picture from a parked car is not ideal, and buildings tend to have exaggerated slants in phone pictures anyway. That app does a good job, and if it’s not enough, I have an app called SKRWT that can correct for distracting angles or parallax.

Views along Palmyra Church Road

Edinburg

Palmyra Church was organized in 1885 and the current building dates to 1942.

The property has views of farms and mountains.

The scenic road that bears its name stretches from Mt. Jackson to Edinburg. It is east of the Valley Pike, mostly across the Shenandoah River.

It reaches Edinburg near Stony Creek Campground.

Mosaic Monday

Last Weekend in April

Hi, it’s Charlie, bringing you an update. Today we picked up Miss Deborah and Mr. Frank and we went to Winchester. But first, Mom changed the backseat of the car. She took out the seat cover that I had customized and put in a doggy car seat. It could be zipped up to be a box, but I took care of that right away by chomping a buckle. I didn’t wanna ride in it. I had to sit in it when Miss Deborah sat next to me so that she had room, but that was okay because I really like her. She even put her jacket over me to keep me warm. When she got out of the car, I got back on her seat.

I took a short walk in Winchester. It looks like a nice town

We stopped at a food place and I had some snacks. After that, I took a long nap because the car is not my favorite place to be.

This week has been okay, but I stayed at day boarding three times instead of just two. I don’t like that my mom doesn’t stay there with me, but there are ladies who play with me and that’s fun. I see other dogs, but I don’t get to play with them. 

Monday was National Beagle Day and also Marie’s birthday and Earth Day, so Mom fixed up a picture.

We went to the state park a couple of times. There’s always interesting smells there. 

Mom said I should show you some critter besides dogs, so here is something that we saw from the car.

I hope your week was a good one. Be kind to animals!

Dear Friends

Sometimes I can't find you.

This is a note to fellow bloggers who leave comments but don’t get views or comments in return. Check your profile page. If it does not link to your current blog or website, I probably won’t be able to find it. 

I’m not great at leaving comments because I often run out of time. But I do enjoy finding bloggers who have common interests,  or who post interesting images. If you have not been able to update your profile page, please put your URL at the end of your comment. Thank you.

Views of Court Manor

Rockingham County

This grand estate was on the Harrisonburg Garden Tour so I finally got to visit the manor house. The property also features a farm across the road which was once a zoo, and I was able to tour that in the fall when they had a pumpkin patch and petting zoo.

The house was built around 1797 and is now an event center. There is a lovely bridal suite, but the garden tour has a policy against taking photos indoors. The backyard has marvelous views of the Massanutten mountains.

The address is on Valley Pike in Timberville, but this is actually between the Mauzy exit and New Market.

Birding Beats Boring

This afternoon I spent over three hours in the dentist’s office. It was rough because I had two large cavities and both were under crowns. That’s how they got to be so large: they were hidden by the crowns and did not show up in x-rays for a long time. Both crowns had to be removed and replaced, which is why it took so long. (And also cost so much.)

My dentist now makes crowns while you wait, so I spent some time waiting in the small treatment room. Fortunately, there was a window with a squirrel feeder in view. There’s also a birdfeeder nearby, but I could not see it from my chair. I took out my cell phone when I saw a bluejay, but I never did get his picture because he flew away. Other birds were more cooperative, including this mourning dove.

A starling came by a few times, and of course a squirrel visited.

It was nice to see a downy woodpecker at the feeder. There were also quite a few house sparrows hopping around.

Wild Bird Wednesday

A Walk Through Hillsboro

Loudoun County, VA

Population 114

See Yesterday’s Post: Hope’s Garden.

Also: Wordless / Tuesday Treasures

Virginia Garden Week

Hope’s Garden in “The Gap”

Hillsboro, VA

Historic Garden Week has begun. Today I went to Hillsboro for a walking tour of homes and gardens. This mural greeted me at the old school that served as to headquarters. I regret that a vendor’s booth is blocking the word Hillsboro.

“The Gap” was the original name of the village, which sits at the southern gap in Short Hill. It was established in 1752. 

Since I am tired from walking up and down hills and stairs all afternoon, I’m not going to write up the whole tour yet, but instead I am showing the first stop, a brand new little park called Hope’s Garden. 
 

The garden features native plants, although the growing season is just beginning right now. We actually had a frost last night and there may be another one tonight. Phlox are blooming though.

Sharing with Monday Murals and Garden Affair

Near Chantilly

Rajdhani Mandir

This temple was built in 2000 to serve the Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist communities in Northern Virginia. 

I stopped there to take a picture last month when I made a short side trip on my way to Herndon. I had turned off Route 50 to take a look at a community near South Riding. I was curious because the neighborhood was built on a farm once owned by Charles and Becky Poland. I went on many Civil War field trips with them some years back.

When they sold the land in order to move away because Chantilly was choked with traffic, they envisioned that a senior community might be built there due to the fact that the school system was already up to capacity. The developer had other ideas and the housing there is closely packed. I was shocked at how dense it is.

I noticed that streets and a pond were named after members of their family. The farm is gone, and I didn’t recognize anything except for a few turns on the road leading there. I have many fond memories of summer cookouts in their yard at the end of each season of field trips. I took those trips every summer for 20 years. Great people.