Dark Clouds, Silver Lake

Dayton, VA

This afternoon, dark clouds signaled that rain was coming, but it didn’t start until tonight. So far, it hasn’t amounted to much.

Lake Shenandoah on a Sunny August day.

Yesterday, Rockingham County

Originally I had two medical appointments near Harrisonburg, but yesterday morning I got a call saying one of them had to be rescheduled. Unfortunately, the first availability is in October. We have a real shortage of medical providers right now, and often I have to wait several months for an appointment.

After my morning appointment, I drove to nearby Lake Shenandoah. Water level is down due to storm damage near the dam.

I took a few pictures of water lilies, and then crossed the parking lot to the Pollinator Trail. It was too hot to walk very far, and the sun was so bright that I couldn’t see the image on the screen of my phone, so I snapped pictures and straightened the crooked ones later.

New Market Picnic and Silver Lake Mill

Today Peggy and I met Lynn for a picnic lunch. There’s a sign about the Civil War Battle of New Market because this was the place where Confederate General Breckinridge launched the first attack of the battle.

After a leisurely lunch and conversation, I drove Peggy to Silver Lake in Dayton.

The Virginia Quilt Museum is there, and I wanted to see the exhibit, "250 Quilts Commemorating the Commonwealth of Virginia." These are contemporary quilts, and they are fabulous!

Red Canoe and Ducks

Weekend Reflections

Our weather has been very hot and muggy, occasionally interrupted by a thunderstorm. A mountain lake looks like a good place to cool off.

End of May Critter Report

Hi, it's Charlie! Let's start with a fancy picture of me.

And here’s the gray cat who lives with Tripod, but isn’t friendly. We went out our door for a walk, and the cat was sitting on our sidewalk. Usually it goes away, but this time it just sat there and stared at me. It’s kind of scary.

Sometimes I sit on the back deck with Mom. We see birds, but they fly off as soon as they see me. 

This week we went to the state park two times. There was extra water in the river from all the rain that we had.

I got to play with Sadie this week, and we went for walks too!

Today Mom took me to several parks. We started with the county park, so that I could take a walk.

Then we went to Shenandoah National Park. It’s farther away, and on a mountain.

I saw some pretty dogs there, but we did not get to play. 

On the way home, we saw some geese in a pond. I was really hungry when we got home because it was past my dinner time.

By a Pond Beside a Road

Rockingham County

I didn’t take very many pictures on yesterday‘s Garden Week tour because interior photography is not allowed, and we were asked to not take pictures of the exterior of private residences. The building that you see here is an inn, originally built as a residence in 1789 and enlarged in 1840.

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. 

Lake Frederick in the Snow

 Taken on February 10th

I found myself on US 340 on Tuesday, traveling from Winchester to I-66. I made a brief stop at Lake Frederick to eat my Aloha bar and see the lake. It was covered with ice and snow.

I’m sure by now most of that has melted because we have had a couple of days of warmer weather and today it rained all afternoon.

The state game commission maintains a public access point for fishing. A single lane of the road had been cleared, and part of the parking lot was clear.

The state of Virginia owns the lake and the perimeter, but beyond that are housing developments.

Pond in Autumn, Capon Springs

 Hampshire County, WV

Capon Springs is a charming town known for its mineral springs. It was established as the town of Watson in 1787, but eventually became known as Capon Springs after the nearby Cacapon River.

I drove there on Thursday to enjoy the autumn colors. I decided to go through Wardensville on the way home and take Trout Run Road over the mountain. On an impulse, I turned up a steep driveway to a small church that I had noticed before but had never photographed.

This is Mount Vernon Union Church near the mountain community of Perry. I was unable to find any information online except that it has a cemetery. A sign by the road says that the church is open from June through October. I imagine that the driveway becomes impassable In wintry weather.