Spring Beauties and a Park Mural

Maurertown, VA

My dog loves to go to parks to walk and investigate. Sometimes we visit Shenandoah County Park, partly because it is near a recycling center. There are various paths to walk there, so it’s not the same experience each time.

The first picture shows wildflowers we call Virginia spring beauties, although it has other nicknames. I just read about them and found that Native Americans consumed the roots, both medicinally and as a starch. The Iroquois believed that eating the raw roots would prevent conception. 

I took a picture of Charlie in front of a mural there, and wasn’t going to share the mural again until I realized that I last posted it in October, 2014. That’s long enough that few will remember it. Students painted it the year before that. 

Monday Murals

In case you don’t recognize the disc golf target, here’s one in the park. The players aim a plastic disc, which we used to call a frisbee. The rules are modeled after golf, and I often see a boy or man practicing by himself. 

I posed in front of the mural too, using the timer on my phone so that I didn’t need both hands.

Pink Dogwood

Not a Perfect Header Collage

At least It's Colorful.

This collage is an experiment. Maybe I will do it again with a better understanding of how to proceed.

I used digital images that I created using AI and combined them in PhotoCollage. I tried another app first, but it was not intuitive and I didn’t want to waste time trying to figure it out. Since I could not create the long image that I wanted, I combined two collages using Adobe Photoshop. 

My intent was to create a social media header that reflected my blogging interests. Out of curiosity, I asked Claude, an AI app, to list my top 10 interests based on my blog posts. It actually did a decent job. (I won’t get into why I think Artificial Intelligence is a misnomer, but I will say that its attempt to be ingratiating sounds insincere.)

So here is “Claude’s” analysis:

<<What a lovely blog! Based on the recent posts and post labels, here are your top ten interests as they come through in The View from Squirrel Ridge:

1. Birds — birdwatching, feeders, and identifying species like cardinals, finches, and sparrows comes up constantly 

 2. Dogs — Charlie is clearly a beloved companion and frequent star of the blog 

 3. Nature & Wildlife — squirrels, deer, cats, farm animals, and all kinds of critters 

 4. Gardens & Flowers — visiting gardens, photographing blooms, seasonal plants like Virginia bluebells and redbuds 

 5. Photography — the whole blog is built around daily photo-sharing 

 6. The Shenandoah Valley / Local Exploration — state parks, Woodstock, Strasburg, Winchester, and the surrounding area 

 7. Trees & Skies — a recurring subject in posts and photo linkups 

 8. Civil War History — you have a whole separate site (civilwarfieldtrips.com) and it appears as a post label 

 9. Arts & Crafts / Murals — street art, decorations, and creative sights you encounter on outings 

 10. AI / Technology — you have a separate AI image blog (Imagecroft) and tag posts with “Artificial Intel” 

It’s a beautifully consistent blog — clearly a daily practice you’ve kept up for many years!>>

I see that I left an important image out of the collages: a beagle! I did have one in the first attempt, the one I abandoned. I’ll just have to try again another day and put Charlie’s picture in it.

Oh, wait! I have some beagle pictures so…

Mosaic Monday

Another Critter Collection

Hi! It's Charlie here with a report and animal pictures. 

Today I spent a lot of time with Miss Deborah and Sadie. We had fun!

 Here’s a cat that lives in my neighborhood.

Yesterday Mom took me to the state park along the river.

On the way home, we drove past a farm. I like to see cows from inside the car. Some of them like to see me too!

Here’s a squirrel that looks friendly, but it doesn’t come close enough to say hello.

I hope you got to see some friends this week.

Tall Grass and Clouds

The tall decorative grasses are still almost colorless, as though winter pulled out all their green life, but soon they”ll be replaced with new green shoots. 

We had a frost warning last night, but it didn’t happen, and temperatures this afternoon were warm. I have a comfortable chair on my deck, and I sat out there for a while, soaking up the sunshine. 

This picture is from a few blocks away.

Open for Spring

Winchester, VA

The gardens of Glen Burnie have reopened for the season.

The walk down to the water garden is far enough that I took a cane with me. I’m still having mobility problems, so I was glad to have it for the walk back up the hill. 

Virginia bluebells and spring bulbs were blooming around the pond. 

Two Birds as the Feeder Season Ends

My supply of sunflower seed is gone now, and I am not going to replenish it until fall. I still have a little nyjer seed left, so the finches can feast for another week or so. There’s natural food available that birds can enjoy. Feeders carry a risk of spreading illnesses among birds, plus they can attract unwanted animals. We probably won’t see bears here like we did in the country, but certain rodents are a concern. I will still be refilling the water dish and putting out sugar water for the hummingbirds.

The white-throated sparrow has a striking yellow stripe over each eye. The males and females have the same coloring, so birders look for behavioral clues to determine the gender.

I’ve shown a female cardinal multiple times, but I wanted to show off the magnolia tree in bloom. It’s not actually in my yard; it’s across the property line in the neighbor’s yard.

Orchid Show at the MSV

Winchester, VA

On Saturday, there was a colorful show and sale at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, put on by the Lord Fairfax Orchid Society. I did not buy anything because I don’t want to accumulate any more things in the house. I’ve been trying to simplify my life, but progress has been slow. 

Colorful Sights, Hupps Hill

This afternoon I ran an errand in Strasburg and Charlie came along. I decided to stop by the Visitor Center on Hupps Hill to take a picture of the redbud grove. But first, I spotted a painting on the back of a trash enclosure.

Monday Murals

Three years ago, I photographed the front of this box. Since then, it has been exposed to exhaust fumes and dirt from the parking lot, which is just a few yards away.

Some painted critters have appeared, a big caterpillar and a brilliant snail.

Charlie and I walked to the redbud trees. There’s an interpretive trail that goes in front of them. Charlie stopped to investigate the signs.

Here’s a close-up of the sign on the left. You can view the older sign, How Strata Shaped Strategy. on HMDB. It is one in a series telling about the caves here and the role that Hupps Hill played in the Cavil War.

Signal Knob is visible in the distance. I also took a picture of the flowering pear tree in front of the visitor center. 

Bunny Decor with Trees

A creative person decorated this medical office in Winchester.

I don’t know how to interpret the aquarium. The bunny is on the outside trying to figure out what’s going on.

I didn’t do anything special for Easter. It rained part of the day. I did some chores and paperwork. After the sun dried things out, I took Charlie to W.O. Riley Park for a short walk. Just before we got back in the car, I took a couple of pictures of flowering trees.

Heidrun’s Blog Hop

Beagle, Bunnies, Birds.

Hi! I had a pretty good week. I hope you did too!

Today I spent the afternoon with Miss Deborah and Sadie. That was fun!

Yesterday we went to recycling and then took a walk in Woodstock. Here is the store that we visited.

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On the day before, we went to the state park. 

Mom wanted to find flowers so I helped her. She already showed some other pictures.

Sometimes she stops to look at birds, like this red one. I don’t know why she stopped when we have red birds at home.

Finches:

Cardinal:

Well, I don’t have much else to show you. I hope you get some good treats for Easter if that’s something your family does. 

Street Scene, 5 PM

Woodstock, VA

“Wander Woodstock” is an event where merchants and crafts people set up booths on the sidewalk near the courthouse. I took Charlie to investigate. He sniffed all the smells, and we briefly went in a store where dogs are welcome. 

I remembered to take a picture. I don’t get as many street scenes as some photographers do, partly because I don’t like to intrude, but also because there’s not as much street life here as you see in a place where people walk around town a lot. Most people drive their cars, park near a store or restaurant, and go in without lingering outside. It’s kind of a shame because many towns are charming if you take the time to explore.

Events like this one seek to bring people downtown. Much of commerce today takes place out by the interstate exit, where the fast food chains and big box stores can be found. 

Virginia Bluebells along the Gokotta Trail

Seven Bends State Park

Although I was tired this afternoon, Charlie really wanted to go out for an adventure, and we didn’t take one yesterday because it rained just as I was preparing to go. I’ve been working on my taxes for a few days, and I was ready for a break this afternoon. I’ve seen pictures showing that bluebells are blooming, so we headed for the state park. 

The flowers are blooming along the river.

The redbud trees are blooming too. It was a lovely day!