A Quiet Walk in W. O. Riley Park

Woodstock, VA

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Student Murals and Displays

Blog Post #9299

These pictures are from an art show on November 1st, one month ago. Professional art was featured, but there was also artwork on the walls that was done by local students. Let’s take a look.

Sharing with Mosaic Monday / Murals

There was a lot to see so I won’t try to explain it all. You can read the typed papers that explain the objectives.

Hearthstone students also featured a tree, but used a collage to tell stories about their environment and local history. 

Their school is near the Thornton Gap entrance to Shenandoah National Park, so they chose to tell the story of Franklin Roosevelt and the CCC, which played a huge role in building the park. 

They also focused on the Native American tribes that lived in the area. 

Looking South from Riley Park

Woodstock, VA

Shadow Shot Sunday

I had to look at the map to see which direction I was facing when I took this. The reason is that the mountains here don’t run north/south or east/west but my mind tells me that they should. Indeed, the Massanutten Range is said to have a northern section and southern section, but it runs northwest, or specifically NNW. Our other mountain ranges here run the same way, yet writers usually refer to them using the four main points of the compass, so I often struggle when I try to be accurate yet clear.

Anyway, I took this picture yesterday while walking Charlie. He likes to go to various parks and smell all the different smells. 

Our weather has turned cold. There was a little bit of snow on the ground this morning. I wish the warm weather had lasted longer.

Posing as the Pumpkin Queen

Long Ago near Winchester

Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

Charlie and a Story Trail

Seven Bends State Park

These pictures are from two weeks ago on the Hollingsworth side of the state park. Charlie and I went for a walk along the Shenandoah River. Story Trail signs had been installed, telling a new chapter of the adventures of two dogs at the park.

Sharing with Mosaics / Shadow Shot / Sunday Best

The final shots are from Hollingsworth Road after we left the park.

Seven Bends Skies

The days are so short now. It was almost 4:30 yesterday afternoon when I arrived at Seven Bends State Park with Charlie. I had already dropped off a box of donations at Goodwill, but I'm not sure what else I did to get out of the house so late. I do recall that I checked several items off my list and ordered some groceries.

The water level of the North Fork is fairly low, although we did have some rain the other day.

I took Charlie for a short walk, and then sat on a bench for a few minutes. By 4:45, the sun was already setting.

Recently Seen in Our Town

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November Views from Shenandoah River State Park

 Near Bentonville, VA

The peak of fall foliage has passed and I didn’t get to Shenandoah River State Park in time to catch it this year. I have photographed this view at the optimal time previously. This time was windy and cold so I didn’t stay outside long. At least the oak trees still had red leaves.

It seems like our autumn colors didn’t last long, perhaps due to the drought. I did see spectacular foliage in a number of places, so I can’t complain,

This park is on the South Fork of the Shenandoah. If you could fly, you could be in Seven Bends State Park in a few minutes, but driving there takes about an hour because you have to go around the Massanutten Mountains and across two rivers. 

The first two pictures are from Cullers Overlook and the last one is looking toward the Blue Ridge from Daughter of the Stars Drive.

Skywatch / Water H2O Thursday

An Unusual Baker

One day I was driving through Strasburg and this scene caught my eye. Looks like the bake shop was decorated for Halloween! I took this two weeks ago.

On that same afternoon, I paused in the county park to capture a picture of autumn trees and shadows. Since then, many of the leaves have fallen. We’ve had a frost, but not a hard frost yet. There are still a few flowers blooming.

Shadow Shot Sunday

Going to See a Zedonk

We’ll start with a picture of Charlie at the Bark Park in Mount Jackson. I filtered this in PicsArt and then added a border in Photocollage.

Charlie is still nervous about riding in the car, but after he runs around at the dog park, he calms down and rests. Last weekend we started our adventure by going to the dog park and then driving further south to the pumpkin patch at Court Manor. I’ve been there before but I really wanted to see their zedonk. 

It was their final weekend of the season. My plan was to just see the animal from the parking lot and take a picture, since dogs are not allowed in the petting zoo area. 

Some friendly goats came up to the fence, but I wanted to get a closer look at the zedonk, So I bought a ticket and went inside. Charlie was resting in the car and the temperature was cool enough to leave him there for a few minutes.

The zedonk’s mother was keeping an eye on him. He’s a year old and his father is a donkey. The owner does not know which donkey is the dad. This animal only has stripes on his legs, but some zedonks have more stripes.

There are also called zonkeys, and sometimes have been bred on purpose in order to produce a hybrid that can be trained like a donkey but has the disease-resistance of a zebra. 

I snapped some pictures of other animals, of course.

Charlie was waiting in the car, fairly patiently. He looked out the window as we left.