Return of the Pumpkinheads

Woodstock, VA

“Keep Calm and Eat Cookies”

Lineman

 

This must be Dorothy and Toto.

I happened to see these park rangers putting the bee veil on the beekeeping bear. They were kind enough to pose for me.

Passage Creek and a Duck Pond

On Saturday, I went to Fort Valley and drove through the Elizabeth Furnace area. I enjoy driving through there in the autumn when the foliage is colorful. 

Passage Creek winds its way through a cleft in the Massanutten Mountain Range. 

I exited the forest at Waterlick and decided to check on the lake at the entrance to Shenandoah River Lakes. I don’t know the name of the lake, even though we used to live next to it. Some people call it the duck pond. I miss seeing the water birds that I used to see every day.

A diverse group of ducks greeted me. They are probably descended from farm ducks, but now live as free birds at the lake. 

Trick or Treat in Strasburg

Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

A Mural at Natural Chimneys Campground

Augusta County, VA

Earlier this month, I shared photos of Natural Chimneys Park. On that same outing, I took mural pictures, plus a few photos of the North River. 

As you can see, the top part of the mural was in deep shade. I lightened it in my Photos app, but the detail shows up better in the close-up shots of the cute characters. I’m including the base of the tree because that’s where students of Stuarts Draft High School signed the mural.

Mosaic Monday / Murals 

Elkwallow to Thornton Gap

Shenandoah National Park

This post is a continuation of yesterday‘s account of my autumnal journey on Skyline Drive. I took way too many photos for one post, even after winnowing them down to my favorites. 

I stopped at the store at Elkwallow Wayside and then drove through the picnic area. There are no elk here, although they have been re-introduced into Virginia in a far corner of the state. 

I stopped at a few more overlooks.

By the time I reached Pass Mountain Overlook, I was ready to stretch my legs, and there’s a short trail that is not strenuous. 

From there, it’s a short drive to the exit to Route 211. I’m glad I went when I did. The colorful foliage does not last very long and I avoided the weekend crowds.

A Quick and Colorful Week

How can it be Saturday already? The days are flying by. Well, I have some more pictures from Skyline Drive to share, but first here is a picture of Charlie, with a colorful filter from Picsart.

The colors of autumn are in their glory in the mountains. I went up to Skyline Drive twice this week. On Tuesday, I invited Deborah and Frank to go with me because they had expressed an interest in doing so. She brought her cute dog along. 

We entered Skyline Drive at Thornton Gap and drove south to route 33, where we exited. The skies were clear and the views were colorful.

On Thursday, I had a dental appointment in Front Royal, the town at the northern end of Shenandoah National Park. I have a National Parks pass, so I couldn’t resist going back up on Skyline Drive again. I covered the northern section of the park this time, exiting at Thornton Gap. 

I ate lunch in the picnic area at Dickey Ridge, and then continued south. The tulip poplars were in their golden glory at Low Gap, and I took way too many pictures. I won’t bore you with all of them, since I have featured them on my blog several times in the past. 

A few miles south of there, I saw deer beside the road in spite of it being busy with autumn tourists. I pulled into the parking lot at Jenkins Gap, and spotted a buck browsing nearby. He did not run off when I quietly got out of the car to take pictures. He moved away and then returned, looking at me curiously

Thank you, Mr. Buck, for trusting me and posing. 

I continued my journey, but I’m going to stop this post here because my eyes are getting tired, and for all I know, maybe yours are too.

Reenactor and Son

Middletown, VA

I didn’t go to the reenactment of the Battle of Cedar Creek last weekend because I’ve seen it a couple of times. But I did drive through Middletown the day before. I saw this man in Civil War garb walking with his small son, and I thought it was cute. 

It was also anachronistic. That shows up better in the next shot, especially in full color.

Dusk from Caverns Road

 Shenandoah County

We’ve had clear skies all week, so I scrolled back to last week’s pictures to find an interesting sky for Alan’s Skywatch linkup.

Fantasy Birds and Real Vultures

The first three pictures are from a colorful painting that I bought in June. 

Today’s final picture is one that I shared a few years ago. These are vultures taking off, recorded by my trail cam.  I’m bringing it back because Halloween is only a week away and I think they look creepy here, although vultures are beneficial birds.

Wild Bird Wednesday