Deer, Dogs, and Other Fine Things

First, some deer at Bryce Resort.

Next, a report from Charlie.

Hi! I had a pretty good week. I got to play with Sadie several times.

On Sunday, Mom took me to Strasburg Town Park. No one was at the dog park, so we went down by the river where all the people were. 

I saw another beagle! Her person said she was shy so I barely got to meet her.

At home, we still see the little hummingbirds sometimes.

Mom asked StarryAI to draw a paisley cat. I don’t know why she said that.

Here is something about beagles that she found on the computer.

Beagles are famous! Yesterday we were walking on this road at Seven Bends State Park. A man got out of his car and came over to ask, “Is this Charlie the famous beagle?” He said I was even more handsome than my pictures! He has seen me on this blog.

I think I can rest on my laurels now.

Tree Mural Redone in Luray

It’s been a while since I drove through a particular parking lot in Luray, so when I saw that the tree mural had been replaced, I stopped to take a picture.

I posted a photo of the old mural way back in December 2014. There wasn’t as much foliage then, but it was winter, after all. Here’s a screen shot of that post.

It looks like I’ve been linking to Monday Murals since late summer of 2014. At that time it was hosted by Oakland Daily Photo. Sometimes I think I’m running out of murals to share, but then I see something like this one. Outdoor paintings don’t last forever.

Patch of Blue

This is my contribution to Skywatch, which has remained popular even as blogging in general is declining. This blog hop has been around since 2008 (under different management). 

The challenge of finding an interesting sky photo each week has helped me to pay more attention to the skies. 

From Stark to Soft

Images for Weekend Linkups

Black and White Weekend 

Skywatch

Reflection 

Floral Friday and Garden Affair

Iris have begun to bloom. My bleeding heart have been blooming for several weeks. 

Oh! Historic Garden Week begins tomorrow.

New Valley Health Building

Strasburg, VA

I’ve been linking up to a blog hop called Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday on a fairly regular basis. Recently Sue, the hostess, announced that she is going to discontinue blogging. I thank her for hosting for a long time.

There are other blog hops called Wordless Wednesday, so obviously, I can link up somewhere else. The idea behind these link parties is to let other people see your blog. I enjoyed hers because she always shared interesting pictures of her own and also showed thumbnail pictures for each participant.

The number of people posting blogs appears to be declining. There are easier ways to share your thoughts and pictures on social media, but often your work gets lost in the crowd. I like the structure of blogging, and the interaction with others who have similar interests. I appreciate all of the hosts and hostesses out there in the blogging world.

A Breakfast Place

The November 1st theme for City Daily Photo is “Breakfast.”  I puzzled over how I could depict this. My own breakfast is usually a protein shake, and I tried photographing it, but really it just looked like beige foam.

I don’t normally photograph food, so I didn’t have breakfast food pictures in my files. I’m not a “foodie” and I have multiple food allergies, so meals to me are sustenance rather than something that excites me. 

I remembered that I had a couple of pictures from a restaurant from a few weeks ago. This is one of the chains that is known for breakfasts, and has waffle in its name. Another breakfast chain has pancakes in its name. 

I don’t think I had been in this particular place before, but I stopped in for lunch on the way to an art show. I was surprised to see that they had a modern version of a jukebox.

A Few Shadows

Charlie

A local photography group had “Shadows” as a theme. Below are two collections of shadow shots that I’ve published previously on this blog.
 

Mosaic Linkup

Does anyone know what happened to Lisa’s Shadow Shot Sunday blog hop? I only participated sporadically and now the link is broken

Update: I found Lisa’s new blog through Alana’s blog. Some of her old posts can be seen on the Internet archive. 

Bubbles in a Pan

City Daily Photo Theme: Bubbles / Wordless 

Today I Looked for Stripes for Theme Day

CDP Theme Day / Wordless

Fruit Stand

The August theme for City Daily Photo is Fruit. Today I stopped at Mowery Orchard to take some pictures of fruit for the theme because I don’t happen to have any fresh fruit at home. Sadly, I can only eat cooked fruit because raw fruit makes my gums sore and swollen. (This is a form of oral allergy syndrome.)  Yes, that’s pathetic, but as I often remind myself, there are many people who are practically starving, and at least I can afford to buy food. 

The apples look good, don’t they? I eat applesauce almost every day. 

I noticed a curtain that I thought was clever and appropriate.

Mowery’s is on Senedo Road, Woodstock, VA.

Pharmacy

CDP Theme: Medicine

Since I neglected to take pictures in advance for City Daily Photo’s monthly theme day, I walked into a pharmacy today and took some pictures for the topic “Medicine.” Most folks around here still get our medicine from pharmacies, although we can also get medication delivered. 

I did not see any other customers in the store when I went, which was late afternoon, although quite a few items were marked down to tempt purchasers. This store is part of a large chain, but it’s not where I go for prescriptions because I usually get a better price somewhere else. 

This particular store also has a drive-through.

Reflection in Windows

Mt. Jackson, VA

CDP Theme Day / Reflections

If you look closely, you can see that a railroad runs behind the Mount Jackson Town Hall. (This is the rear entrance.) The tracks are no longer used, and may become a bike trail/walking trail.

Skywatch Photo from Monday

This shows an early morning sky from early this week. Skywatch Friday is one of the more popular blog hops, or linkups. Many other ones have suffered for lack of participation. I think that admiring the magic of changing skies is a universal human trait.

 

Photo of the Year 2023

Choosing a Photo of the Year was not easy, even though I've been doing this linkup for 10 years! It’s the City Daily Photo Theme for New Year’s Day. I narrowed down my favorites to a handful of images, and finally decided on this one because it represents one of my favorite places, Shenandoah National Park, and the composition delighted me when I happened to spot it at Pass Mountain Overlook. I'll show you the runner-ups below.

A black and white photo from Shenandoah National Park was a runner-up, and it drew a number of positive comments when I posted it. I know how the young lady must feel, standing at an overlook with a beautiful view below. I have taken selfies in that situation myself. “Look! I’m on top of the world!”

There were a couple of pictures of Charlie that I was drawn to because his character traits shine through. The sad story that led to him being rescued along with 4000 other beagles left him with fear of confinement and separation anxiety. Yet he loves playing and running and is very friendly.

There were several pictures of the Shenandoah River that I really like, but I chose an image of the river last year for photo of the year so I wanted to do show off a different subject.

This landscape pleased me with its shapes and colors.

The little bird made the final batch. I have 1140 images tagged Birds and the tufted titmouse has a quizzical look that I can relate to.

Here’s some pictures from my semifinal batch. It was really hard making a choice, so I had to remind myself that it doesn’t really matter a whole lot.

Well, that’s enough. I have been very fortunate in being able to see beautiful things and find other blogs that interest me. I hope you have a very good year, a peaceful year, and reasons to hope for a better world.