Bright Red Caboose

Seen Last Month in Haymarket, VA

Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

The Playground at Riley Park

Usually when I take Charlie to W.O. Riley Park, we go to the arboretum area to walk. Last week I had a couple of books to drop off at the little free library, so we went to the upper area where the playground is.

We found a chalkboard with a colorful collage on each end. 

Mosaic Monday

The book box/free library was also brightly decorated.

Witch hazel was blooming. It is known as one of our few trees that blossom in the winter. 

Charlie found a water fountain with a ground level basin for pets.

Lutheran Church between New Market and Forestville

Mount Zion is a common name for churches around here. This one is a Lutheran church on Ridge Road northwest of New Market. It had its roots in 1853, and early services were held in a school house. The present church was completed in 1872, with the bell tower added in 1918.

There is a blessing box on the grounds, which is fairly common at churches in our region. You can leave non-perishable food there for people to pick up if they need it.

The stone wall looks like it could have been a foundation at one time, or perhaps it is just part of the cemetery.

A Note and Charlie’s Day

With our country in turmoil, I try to quiet my mind by posting positive things. This evening I'm going to let Charlie tell you about his day, but first I would like to voice support for our nation’s veterans, many of whom are federal employees. It is a horrible injustice that they and other loyal government workers were let go under an ill-advised plan devised by Elon Musk, who isn't even from this country.

As promised, here’s Charlie!

<<We had a busy day today. We got in the car and drove to a dog park. I ate a hamburger on the way.

I ran around the dog park, but no other dogs came. Then I was ready to go. Mom said it was time to go to Petco to meet my teacher.>>

We met a lady, but I was really nervous. For the first half hour, I was shaking. The lady left for a minute and I saw that there was a gate so we were not in prison. Then I felt better and I ate some treats. The teacher did not show me anything new. She just talked to my mom and gave her some homework. 

Mom drove to Skyline Drive. We had to stop at the entrance and show the ranger a card. 

We drove up a really big hill. You can see a long way from up there.

We saw some deer. I knew what they were because we saw some the day before in Woodstock.

Now we’re tired so I’ll say good night!

More Shots with Yesterday’s Sky

Here is a different view of the fallen tree that I showed yesterday. I looked at that rootball to try to spot artifacts, but the only evidence of the old farm that I saw was a piece of wire, which was probably from the fence that once went through there.

A few minutes later I was in Strasburg and I made a quick stop at the grocery store to pick up some items that I did not find at Sprouts Farmers Market earlier. The sky was reflected in the windows.

Dark Clouds, Dead Tree

This morning was busy: Physical therapy at 9 (for my sore knee), then podiatrist at 11 in a different town. (Fortunately, what I thought was an ingrown toenail turned out to just be a “Lister’s corn,” which the doctor removed.) I stopped at the library. This afternoon I went grocery shopping, which involved three different stores just to get what I wanted.

On the way home, I decided to take a break, which I need to do fairly often when I’m driving because my eyes get really tired. Some dramatic dark clouds were forming, so I headed for Cedar Creek Battlefield to get a “big sky “ photo. This view is looking towards Signal Knob from Claven Lane.

 
In the opposite direction, the view had changed since I was last there. A large tree had fallen over.

I remember when that tree shaded an old farmhouse. In 2017, the park service had the house demolished because it was dilapidated and not of historical significance.

I guess that tree died and blew over in the wind. Rest in peace, old tree. 

A Pretty Nuthatch

Although I see nuthatches now and then, I didn't recognize this one from the video on the feeder camera. It was close to the lens and looked larger than a nuthatch! Plus, I rarely see them up close; often they're clinging upside down on a to a tree trunk.

After the Photos app identified this as a white breasted nuthatch, I confirmed it on a second app to make sure.

You can ignore the arrow on the second shot. I tried and tried to get this pose from the video, and finally resorted to telling Siri to take a screenshot. Doesn’t it look colorful in this lighting? Usually, they are not so blue.

Speaking of lighting, this mourning dove stood in the sunlight, looking quite charming.

Wild Bird Wednesday

Things are Getting Squirrely

Also Spelled Squirrelly

Wordless

Longing for Sunny Flowers

There is no Monday Murals linkup this week or next because Sami is traveling, so I'm going to post some flowers today. Nothing is blooming here, but I saw flowers for sale in the supermarket.

Garden Affair / Mosaic Monday

I also looked through some summertime images for sunflowers.

Speaking of sunflowers, I recently used them as a theme for my header on one of the social media platforms, which I shall not name because I’ve been disappointed in it in any number of ways.

I added a clipart dove as a wish for peace.

The First Integrated Church in the County

New Market, VA

Manor Memorial Methodist Church was integrated in 1965. I was surprised to see a marker about this story that was erected by Shenandoah Valley Battlefields organization because they usually stick closely to Civil War history. It turns out that this church was in existence during the Civil War and was probably used as a hospital, like every public building and many homes. The valley saw many battles in 1862 and 1864, and a significant battle raged through the town of New Market.

I’ve submitted the sign and complete text to the Historical Marker Database and it should be available there in a few days. There’s a QR code on the sign for an audio description and here are some excerpts, transcribed by software.

The Methodist congregation in New Market built their first church, a log building, on Lee Street around 1831. In 1857, they purchased this lot to build their new church, completing the original wooden part of the structure in 1861, the first year of the Civil War. That original structure stood here during the Battle of New Market on May 15, 1864. While there is no known account of the church during the battle, it no doubt experienced the same trauma as other buildings: Artillery shells exploding around it with thunderous ear-shattering concussions, and musketballs rattling off the walls.

After the war, an African-American Methodist congregation was formed in New Market by African-American ministers who visited the area to serve recently freed slaves and local black communities. In 1873 the congregation opened Asbury Methodist Church on Cadet Road.

The African-American population in New Market declined in numbers over the years and by 1965 the congregation of Asbury Methodist was too small to remain in operation. Historically black Cavalry Methodist Church in Mount Jackson faced the same challenges so in that year, both churches merged with Manor Memorial Church here.

Keyword: “Fire”

The March theme for City Daily Photo is Fire. 

I thought of that when I was walking Charlie at the state park this week and spotted a grill in the picnic area.

Open Fires Prohibited 

Except 4 PM until midnight.

Charlie waited while I took close-up shots of the remains of the last fire. You can see that the charcoal was once part of a tree.

I’ve been letting him ride in the front seat because he stays calmer there. I drive extra carefully because that is said to be the most dangerous seat in the car.

Filtered in Picsart for Caturday.

One the way home I saw a sign with the word Fire.

Note for foreign readers: This guy is responsible for firing some 30,000 government employees in an unfair fashion. 

I support our federal employees. One particularly upsetting aspect is the firing of many National Park Staff and Forest Rangers who had not reached permanent status. We need these people! We need more of them, not fewer.

I’m definitely a fan of park staff and the great job that they do.

I am fortunate in that there is both a national park and a national historical site within 40 minutes of my home. I have attended a variety of excellent ranger-led programs.  Rangers also are responsible for looking after the natural resources in our public lands.

I’ve covered two meanings of the word fire. Both of them can be very destructive.