Red Sky Exaggerated

One evening I was sitting on a bench while Charlie rested on the grass. I took a cell phone picture of the darkening sky. The phone made the red look more intense than it really was.

When I focused on Charlie in the foreground, the camera lightened everything. The actual color of the sky was in between what you see in these photos.

Different Birds, Same Perch

This could almost be one of those little games where you find the differences between the two pictures.

These photos are from February. Both birds are perched on the same shepherd’s hook, And both are gray with a little black, and a white front.

The first bird is a tufted titmouse. The second one is a northern mockingbird.

The View from Spring Valley Lane

Near Woodbine Farm Market

Shenandoah Daydream Mural

Woodstock, VA

Last month I read that there was a new mural in Woodstock, but the location was not specified. I kept my eyes open as I drove around town, and one day I happened to see it on East Court Street. 

It is signed by the artist, Rachel Rebecca [Fitzsimmons], and the title is Shenandoah Daydream. Rachel also painted the LOVE sign that I showed last week.

Monday Murals

The location is behind the Chamber of Commerce and next to Emmanuel Lutheran Church. There is a very small cemetery in front of the mural. Here’s a picture of one of the gravestones with the name Mary Spengler. It dates to around 1883. 

Scenery, an Irresistible Subject

I take a lot of scenic pictures, even though I'll never find fame or fortune from them. I'm not Ansel Adams, and after all, anyone with a cell phone can take decent landscape photos. I do make an effort to take pictures of other things, but pretty scenes are irresistible, and I think that people like seeing them as a virtual tour, especially when there is text explaining where they are.

Below our three collages of landscapes that I published on this blog in the past. These all happen to be in West Virginia because I grouped them together. I guess I like categorizing things, and the first set features black and white pictures with bodies of water in them. I wasn’t even aware that they all had water when I put them together, but I guess that water helps provide contrast and patterns that show up well in black-and-white.

Next we see Seneca Rocks and a winter view from Panorama Overlook near Berkeley Springs.

West Virginia is known for its beautiful mountain scenery. It’s known as the Mountain State, as well as Almost Heaven and God’s Country. If you’ve ever flown over it, you may have marveled at the endless rows of ridges. 

The larger pictures in the last collage show the Blackwater River and the much-photographed mill at Babcock State Park.

Sharing with Mosaic Monday

Kitten, Charlie, Zebras

Charlie has a few things to say, but first here’s a kitten for Caturday.

Hi, it’s Charlie! Mom has already told you about our week in her earlier posts. I had a tummy ache, but I’m feeling better today. When we went to the vet, I was surprised because instead of going back to daycare, we went to see Dr. Jim. We left with some pills and they’re okay because Mom puts them in yummy cashew butter. 

I go to daycare about twice a week. On other days, Miss Deborah comes and takes me for a long walk in the morning. Her dog Sadie does not come with us because she is little and not fast like me.

One day we saw some ducks but I did not get close to them because they were afraid of me.

Mom put a new picture on the wall. I think it shows neat looking horses, but she called them something else.

She already had one of a horse on the other wall. She has a lot of pictures.

Well, I feel like going to sleep now. Have a good night!

Birds on Bare Branches

Although I love the green leaves of summer, a bare tree allows me to see birds which are otherwise hidden. This tree may be dead, but it still has value to wildlife.

The Artist

Today in Winchester

I had two appointments today and stopped to eat a snack in between. I parked in one of the lots for the trails at the Museum of Shenandoah Valley, where I could sit and look at wildflowers. I watched this young woman set up her easel and begin to paint.

By the way, I finally saw an orthopedic doctor this morning for my back pain. They took an x-ray and he said I have spondylolisthesis. It’s not the serious grade of the condition, but it does help me understand why my back is still hurting.

Update At the Vet’s and in Edinburg

Here's Charlie as he waited to see the veterinarian today. He was a good boy, and you couldn't tell that his tummy was bothering him, but he didn't eat yesterday except for chewing on grass, and he had other signs of digestive issues. Dr. Jim examined him. Tests indicated bad bacteria, so we got prescription medication.

We also stopped by the condo. Lynn brought her friend Barb to help her replace the bathroom vanity. Lynn has already replaced most of the lighting fixtures. As with many home improvement projects, we found that there was more to be done than we expected.

Lynn is my older daughter, and she learned DIY skills from working on her own house. She must’ve got the talent from her dad, or perhaps from my dad and it skipped a generation because I can barely replace a light bulb!

The last picture shows the turn on the way to the condo. It’s so easy to miss that I took a picture of it. It’s at the town limits and across from Cook’s Trailer Sales.

Getting Ducks in a Row

My older daughter has been replacing fixtures in my vacant condo. On Monday, she asked for some measurements because she was going shopping for additional items at Habitat’s Restore and Mercy House Building Supply Store. They both carry used home improvement items, and also brand new overstock items.

I put Charlie in the car to head for the condo, but first we stopped at the county landfill to drop off recycling, including a defective battery from a drill. (Did you know that lithium batteries have caused house fires? And you’re not supposed to put them in regular trash because they can explode in the garbage truck!)

After we did that and took a few measurements at the condo, I headed for nearby Edinburg Mill. There is a picnic table near Stony Creek where I could sit with Charlie for a little while. Ducks who were on the shore hurried into the water when they saw Charlie, except for a single brave one.

After sitting a while and taking a short stroll, I put Charlie in the car and walked closer to the creek to take a few pictures. The ducks are not afraid of people, but they don’t trust dogs.

There were some cute little ducklings. My cell phone pictures were not as sharp as I’d like, a problem that I’ve noticed around bodies of water before. Here’s an explanation from Bing:

“Cameras often struggle to focus on water because water surfaces create reflections, low contrast, and refracted images that confuse the autofocus system, making it hard to determine the true subject to focus on.”

Rose of Sharon and Daylily

Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

Bringing Fire Back to the Mountains

George Washington National Forest

This sign is across the parking lot from the Lion’s Tale Trail. It explains about intentional fires conducted by the Forest Service.

"Fire has been an essential natural process in Appalachian oak and pine forests for thousands of years. Lightning caused some fires, and Native Americans intentionally set fires. Fires opened the forest understory, which increased plant diversity, improved browse for wildlife and made traveling easier. Early European settlers continued to use fire as a tool to shape their surroundings. 

Teams of skilled fire experts are using controlled burns to safely reintroduce fire to these forests. Burns take place only when the weather conditions are best to control smoke, manage fire behavior, and ensure the safety of the fire team, nearby residents, and private property."

Nearby I saw scorched trees that are recovering from a fire in late 2024 that burned a significant portion of this forest in the Massanutten mountains. It was a wildfire, not a controlled burn, but fortunately firefighters were able to keep it away from homes and businesses, although some of them suffered smoke damage. The forest is already recovering.

A short drive away, I pulled over to admire a pretty creek that  passes through the forest.

More Changes in Mt. Jackson

Yesterday Charlie told you about going to the new dog park in Mount Jackson. There’s a LOVE sign there, which is actually how I learned about the park, when an artist posted that she painted the letters on the sign at the dog park.

Mosaics  / Murals

There are pictures of cute dogs on the letters.

Also, the old mill in Mount Jackson has finally been renovated. A mural now decorates the side that faces Mill Creek.

We returned to the dog park today so that we could share it with Sadie.

Belgravia Road.

Heading Toward Normal

It was a fairly busy week, with a visit to the dermatologist, several afternoons at the condo where Lynn is replacing old lighting fixtures, and a few local expeditions with Charlie. I still can't walk very far without aching, but it’s getting better by the day. I've been having prescriptions and groceries delivered with a trial membership to Walmart+. That's a big help when you have back pain.

Charlie is going to tell you about our expedition yesterday, but first here is a picture of him that I edited using a filter called Technical in the BeCasso app.

Hello world from Charlie!

Here I am on the way to a new dog park in Mount Jackson. We had to wait for the rain to stop before we went. There was a lot of rain this week.

The dog park is grassy, and there is a water fountain. I met a little dog named Ponzi and his people. I showed Ponzi how to run fast.

Today we saw Lynn and her friend Barb and we walked in Edinburg Park, but it started raining. Mom drove back to the state park and talked to the ranger, but we didn’t stay because the rain was coming that way and the river was high at the bridge.

I hope we start having adventures every day like we used to. It is more fun to go to parks than it is to stay home or go to the vet.

Overlooking

Shenandoah National Park

These are pictures from last month that I took along Skyline Drive. The first one is converted to monochrome for the Black and White Weekend linkup.

Mountain laurel was blooming. I’m very fortunate to live near this national park. I can be there in about 40 minutes. It’s one of my favorite places