St. Paul's in Haymarket

St. Paul's Episcopal Church has an interesting history. Originally built as a district courthouse in 1802, it became an academy and then was purchased by an individual who deeded it to the Episcopal Church in 1830 as a memorial to his wife. 

 During the Civil War, it was used as a hospital after the First and Second Battles of Manassas, as well as during the measles epidemic that swept through the Confederate camps in 1861. According to the Historical Marker Database, it was burned in November 1862 along with the rest of the village in retaliation after Confederate bushwhackers fired on U.S. troops nearby. Only the brick walls remained, and in 1867 the church was rebuilt.

Saturday's Critters, late December.

It's still quiet around here so I'll share a few birds plus some horses.

I believe the little bird is a white throated sparrow. The red one is unmistakably a male cardinal. 

The picture of the young women riding horses is from a year ago at Blandy. It was a much warmer day than today, which started at ended with temperatures below freezing.

The plump bird with a red breast is an American Robin. 

A Very Quiet Christmas

We did not have any visitors for Christmas. We did not go outside, except for feeding birds and turning on holiday lights. It was a very cold day.
 

Blog Post 7380: Willy Nilly Friday.

 
Behind the giant snowflake decoration is the night sky with a sliver of light left by the setting sun. 

I really missed seeing my daughters. I did exchange emails with Marie, and Lynn called on the phone. Her voice sounded better than the last time we spoke, another sign that she is recovering from Covid. 

The black and white snapshot of them is from last Christmas. I enjoy the way they joke with each other.

Below we see blossoms from my Christmas cactus, which actually bloomed on schedule. 

Floral Friday / Garden Affair

The snowy scene is from a week ago. I took this through a window and the red orbs are reflections on the glass.

 Our mail and delivery services were overwhelmed this year because so many people canceled their usual holiday visits plus many of us did most of our shopping online because of the pandemic. Some gifts haven't arrived yet. All I've gotten so far is a gift card from Frank's youngest daughter and a framed picture from Frank, which I picked out. This is a quilted landscape by my friend Ann Heap. 
 

I hope your day was pleasant. Stay safe and make the most of what little bit is left of 2020.

It's an Odd Christmas Eve

Socially Distant

Usually I'm looking forward to family visits on Christmas, but there are no visits this year. I feel sad about it but eventually this pandemic will be under control. In the meantime we can chat online, at least.

Do you like my antlers and mask?

Sigh! Lynn is still struggling to recover from Covid. Her temperature went down yesterday but today it went back up a little. I know she's tired of staying home and feeling ill.

Well, I have a few cell phone pictures of sights and signs to show you, starting with two from Fishers Hill.

Someone dresses their geese statues for each season.

I could have cropped out the dirty snow below the JOY sign but it seems fitting for this year. We look for a little joy where we can find it. 

The final two images are from downtown Front Royal. Shop windows on Main Street are decorated for Christmas.

I hope that if are celebrating Christmas tomorrow, you do it safely but also feel warmth and joy.

 

It's Festivus!

This evening I felt rather sad because we won't be getting together with family on Christmas due to Covid. Then I read that December 23rd is Festivus, and Lynn and I joked about it via text, so I laughed and felt better. 

Since Festivus involves a metal pole instead of a Christmas tree, I decided to select photos with poles for today's post. If you are wondering what I am talking about, don't worry. It's a fictitious holiday that was an elaborate joke on a sitcom "about nothing."

The first two photos are from five days ago when we had plenty of snow. Most of it has melted now. The bluejay and Carolina wren are striking the same pose. 

By the next day, birds and squirrels had worn away much of the snow around the poles. Mourning doves often find seed that's spilled on the ground.

On Monday I bought another pole so I could put up additional feeders. Tractor Supply only had two styles left and one was too long to fit in my car so I had to get the other one, a fancier design with a weather vane on top.  

Squirrels are very good at climbing poles. They eat more than their share of bird seed. This one just about emptied the feeder.

May every holiday you are celebrating be pleasant and safe!
 

Holiday at Peggy's, 1999.

Art: Outdoorsy and Outside.

Random-osity

Monday Murals: These large paintings are mounted just below the ceiling in Appalachian Trail Outfitters, a shop in Luray catering to hikers and campers.

 

 Here's a couple of the store windows decorated for the season. 

Speaking of decorations, we drove around a couple of Strasburg neighborhoods the other night to view the lights.

Mosaic Monday

As Autumn Ends, Some Page County Pictures.

Tomorrow is the first day of winter, but we've had some wintry weather already. I'm taking a break from the snow and showing some earlier photos.

Much of Page County is rural, with winding roads and charming farms.

The Barn Collective / Inspired Sunday.

 Luray United Methodist Church is on Main Street in the center of Luray, the county seat. It is built of cut stone, probably limestone. 

It Looks Like Winter

Yesterday there was ice on the lake and the geese were able to march around on it. Today some of it melted but we still have a few inches of snow on the ground.

I'd Rather Be Birdin' / Saturday's Critters

This little sparrow is waiting for a turn at the bird feeder, or perhaps for some seed to fall onto the snow.

The squirrel doesn't wait for a turn. He takes what he wants until I scare him away. He comes back, though.

I need to get him some peanuts. I don't mind feeding him but I want to see birds on my feeders.

Blog Post #7373: A Quiet Snowy Day.

For the third day in a row, I stayed home. That's unusual for me because I get restless and like to get out, but the roads were treacherous for two days and still slick today. Frank went out this morning to see the doctor and reported that shady sections of the roads are still icy. (He's okay; Dr. Spriggs thinks his symptoms are due to allergy.)

Willy Nilly Friday / Skywatch / Black and White Weekend.

I put on my boots this afternoon, replenished the birdfeeders, and walked out by that bench. Here we see the view looking west toward the dam. The lake is partially iced over.

 This picture with a reflection of lights on the window is from yesterday. 

I want to share with the flowers I got for my birthday, which was Tuesday. 

Floral Friday / Friday Bliss / Garden Affair

Stay safe and have a pleasant weekend!

More Snow and Some Holiday Lights

We had about six inches of snow yesterday and a couple more inches during the night.  

 

This morning I heard an engine running in our driveway. I looked out and saw our neighbor clearing our driveway with his snow blower. I guess one of the perks of getting old is that younger people do acts of kindness for you! (Thank you, Tony!)

The day before the snow we took a ride to Winchester to view holiday lights. We stopped at Martin's Supermarket on the way home to pick up a few items that we did not find at our local Food Lion the day before. (I try to minimize shopping in person but it is difficult because no store carries everything we want, and there are still shortages. I have not found any goat milk in a week or so and Frank did not find a certain cheese that he wanted.) 

Anyway, we went to Jim Barnett Park where they have a drive-through lights display. In non-pandemic years they have a walk-through lights show.

The light display was enjoyable although fairly modest. Afterward I drove up White Oak Road in Stephens City where a family has an amazing Christmas display in their yard, but there is no place to pull over to safely take a picture.

Today's closing photo is also pre-snow. A neighbor puts seasonal signs on his fence and this one represents a decorated Christmas tree. 

Sharing with Signs 2 and Thankful Thursday.

First Snowfall of the Winter

Today was our first real snow. We had advance warning so yesterday we put up the bird feeders. I'm counting on the local bears to stay in their dens for the most of the winter instead of raiding our feeders.

Wild Bird Wednesday

The geese and ducks do not seem to mind the snow. Visitors to our feeders included juncos, Carolina wrens, and woodpeckers. 

We got about six inches of snow. It was over my hiking boots when I trudged through it to get the mail.