Wading in the River

Strasburg, VA

 On Thursday, I took Charlie to the Strasburg Town Park, and after he ran around in the dog park, I drove down to the river to see what was going on. It was a hot afternoon, so people were wading in the water. The water level was pretty low because we haven’t had much rain lately.

The park also has a swimming pool and it gets very busy. I think some people just like the experience of getting in the river.

North Fork, Shenandoah River 

For Charlie’s fans, here is a picture of him in the dog park. No other dogs were there so we only stayed about 20 minutes.

Charlie Reports on a Groundhog and Raccoons

Hi, it's Charlie. I hope you had a good week. It was hot here, but we still had some fun at the park.

Filtered with Picsart for Caturday. 

 I did something brave. I had my nails trimmed at the veterinary and they said I did great. I used to be very scared about getting that done, but now I am gotten older and bolder. Also, I have learned what “sit” means, and I can stay my by myself for a while.

I didn’t have much for Saturday’s Critters but today Mom got some pictures of the groundhog that has been badgering us. She said it was hard to get a picture because I wanted to chase the groundhog and she was holding my leash. It went through our garden and then across Cheron‘s yard. Here I’m looking at it, but it is past her driveway

It is bigger than a rabbit. Mom doesn’t like it because it made a hole under our house.

Made with StarryAI

Both of my human sisters have a different kind of critter that visits their yards. It is called a raccoon and Lynn’s doorbell cam got a picture of one hanging out with her cat at night. Then Marie came back from a trip and checked her trail cam and saw several raccoons on her patio. I have not seen a raccoon, but I have smelled them at the park.

Mom says I am old enough to go to school now, but I am still scared of riding in the car. I do okay as long as she is feeding me treats, but they have to be really good treats

Well, good night! I hope that if you have a doorbell, a raccoon does not ring it and wake you up.

Downtown Decor

Front Royal, VA

Many people come through Front Royal en route to Shenandoah National Park and never see Main Street. But it’s worth seeing, so seek it out when you’re in town. Enjoy the history, restaurants, and quaint shops. 

You may also see lovely seasonal decorations, like flowers in the summer and holiday lights in the winter.

Linkups: Reflections, B&W, Floral, Garden

 

Pink Cloud at Dusk

Tuesday at 8:54 P.M.

Skywatch / Wordless

Bluejays and Standing Squirrel

Since I still have many unused images on my hard drive, I'm sharing from there again. The bluejay pictures are from June, 2022.

It's been a while since I showed you a squirrel, so here's one who looks alert. 

I'm still having problems with my vision so I'm keeping this post simple. My left eye is still blurry from having cataract surgery eight weeks ago, and that was my stronger eye, so eyestrain is a constant problem. I won't bore you with retelling how frustrated I am, except to say I wish I had delayed the surgery until I was half-blind. I go back to the doctor next week. 

Tuesday Afternoon Along the North Fork

By late afternoon today, Charlie let me know that he was getting tired of hanging around the house. I took him down to Seven Bends State Park for a short walk along the North Fork of the Shenandoah.

Charlie checked out the Old Geezers Bench, donated by a group of retirees who like to fish there. We have an active bench donation program at the park.

I thought it would be amusing to pose as an old geezer on the bench, but then I saw that I looked ancient in the picture, so I filtered it in the ArtCard app. Ah, that’s better! 

The water level is getting low in the river, but it still looks nice.

Water H2O linkup

Small Murals in Strasburg

I think both of these paintings are new. I don’t recall seeing them before. There are other butterfly paintings in town though. 

I like Strasburg. Here’s a collage of a few other scenes from there.

Sharing with Mosaic Monday / Murals

Yes, It’s Summer!

Today was hot, but there were clouds and an occasional breeze, so it was not as bad as yesterday.

Farm near Woodstock, VA

This evening our electric power went out. It was out for thousands of customers. Fortunately, the power was restored within an hour, so my house did not get very hot. I have a rechargeable electric fan that lights up, and that provided enough of a breeze to keep me comfortable.

Hot weather puts strain on the electrical grid. We all need to be prepared for outages in the summer, just like we would be during hurricane season.

Charlie the Fixer

Hi, it's Charlie! Did you know I can fix things with my teeth? Mom put a new cover in the backseat of the car and it had a thing blocking me from seeing her, so I fixed it. This was important because she needs to feed me treats when I get nervous in the car. I also took the straps down that were holding it up in front of me. I don’t like feeling confined, plus I like to crunch the plastic buckles. They make a neat sound, and sometimes Mom stops the car to talk to me.

She also got me some kind of shirt that straps around me and she had trouble figuring out the straps so I made a hole in the shirt and pulled off the loop. Ha, she didn’t even get it on me!

It’s been really hot here and today Mom went downtown without me. She said that the pavement was too hot for my paws. We still take walks near our house, and yesterday we met Tripod out there at 6:30 in the morning. I guess his people let the cats out early while it was still cool.
 

Filtered for Caturday art.

Before the days got so hot, we went to the dog park. I mastered the ramp! I can run right up it now.

Sometimes another dog is there, which is fun if they are nice. This small dog worried me because after we ran, he started making snorting sounds.  

When other dogs are not there, I still get to run. I think I was born to run.

I have one more critter to show you, and that’s a butterfly.

Hackberry Emperor

Another Look at the Gardens of Glen Burnie

MSV, Winchester.
(Blog Post #8750)

On Tuesday I posted photos of the glass flowers in the garden. Today I will share a few pictures of the gardens themselves.

One of my favorite spots in the gardens is the pond at the bottom of the hill. It’s very peaceful. I have two versions of the long view of the pond.

B&W / Weekend Reflections / Garden Affair / Floral Friday

There is a collection of sculpture in the gardens. I used an app to modify one for Friday Faces. 

Down by the Riverside

North Fork of the Shenandoah

 Skywatch / H2O Thursday

The heatwave continues. Fortunately, I know of several shady places where I can take Charlie for a sniffari walk. Beagles love sniffing new things and it helps tire them out.

There is a short section of trail at Seven Bends State Park that is shady and has places to rest. The shade makes the heat tolerable.

Ducks Relaxing

Mallards

Although I don't have anything clever this week for Wild Bird Wednesday, I want to support the linkup by posting something. All I've got is mallard ducks, a common species around here.

I am still struggling with my vision, although it has been seven weeks since cataract surgery. I don’t see as clearly as I used to, and my right eye gets strained from working extra hard to make up for the blur in my left eye. I had side-effects from the prescription eyedrops and stopped taking them. I have a call in to the doctor’s office. 

Meanwhile, I depend on my phone’s camera to focus for me. It seems that it gets thrown off sometimes by mist rising from water, or perhaps from the glare. I am also concerned that I might be making pictures too bright or too dark because right now, everything seems super-bright to me. 

 

Gardens of Glass

An Exhibit at the MSV

Wordless / Tuesday Treasures