Playground Tunnel

Yesterday I took Charlie to a local park. I saw a child go in the tunnel and thought maybe I’d get a silhouette picture. She happened to turn her head to look back. 

Solemn Tourist with Reflection

Flight 93 Memorial

Today was the 25th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It was also the day that Flight 93 crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought the hijackers. 

I visited the Flight 93 Memorial in 2022 and posted pictures a few weeks later. I did not post this one the time, but today I cropped out some distracting parts of the image to make it cohesive. 

Twenty-five years is a long time, so perhaps now that we’ve made it through a quarter-century, I’ll be able to handle the future remembrances without crying. No guarantees though.

I remind myself that I was very fortunate that no one close to me was a victim of the disaster. My daughter Marie was traveling overseas, but she had lived and worked in New York City before she embarked on a world tour.

Harrisonburg Rectangles

Lines, rectangles, and right angles catch my eye. Not as much as triangles, but still… Shapes are interesting.

The first photo shows a reflection of a sign that happens to be suspended from an overhang. The second picture shows the entrance to a parking garage.

Kids on Bikes

Strasburg, VA

They’re riding behind the Valley Milk plant, which closed a year ago. 

 

Ranger with a Fiddle

 Middletown, VA

Today I went to a talk on “Music and the Civil War” at Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park. In addition to the discussion, there was music so the audience could hear actual songs that the soldiers sang. This ranger’s fiddle playing and singing was accompanied by Ranger Chris playing rhythm on”bones,” which were two pieces of hickory. He was skilled at clacking them like castanets. 

Coming soon: The 110th Birthday of our National Park Service on August 25. Admission is free on that day. Actually, admission to the Cedar Creek Battlefield is always free, except for tours of the Belle Grove Manor House. Nearby Shenandoah National Park usually charges per vehicle, so a free day is a great benefit for visitors who don’t have an annual pass.

A View of Mount Carmel Cemetery

This cemetery stands on a hill overlooking Middletown, VA.

It was the site of Civil War clash in October 1864, during the Battle of Cedar Creek. At that time, this was the Middletown Cemetery. It became Mount Carmel Cemetery in 1896. An interpretive sign provides a summary of the action here:

The Middletown Cemetery, on a knoll west of the village, was the only point where Union officers believed they could establish a strong position and attempt to slow the Confederate advance. They hoped to halt the momentum that had propelled the Southern troops since the beginning of their surprise attack. From this high ground General George Getty's division, approximately 2,500 strong, repulsed two Confederate assaults. Frustrated, General Jubal Early massed nearly 30 cannon near the Heater House and along Valley Pike (ahead of you and to the left). 

The 30-minute cannonade, along with a third Confederate attack that threatened to turn the Union right, finally forced Getty to order a withdrawal.

Link: National Park Service page with illustrations.

Boat Landing with Bicycle

 Front Royal

This is next to Eastham Park on the South Fork of the Shenandoah. 

Moms at the Playground

 Riley Park

Shortly after I took this picture, they were joined by a couple of children, and they all left together.

I think this pair may be mother and daughter.

Beagle and Reflection

Poor Charlie! He gets tired of me taking his picture.

Here he was watching me through the storm door, but he looked away when he saw the phone pointed toward him.

More Scenes at the River

Today started out hazy and quickly got worse as the smoke from Canada's wildfires reached us. First I noticed the acrid smell, then the irritation in my eyes. By late morning, the haze was thick and air quality was rated as unhealthy, so we didn’t go to a park today. These photos are from yesterday‘s visit to Seven Bends State Park. 

The person in the blue shirt was fishing in the Shenandoah. Just a half hour later, I crossed back over the bridge and shadows had gotten darker.  A photo of the water looked almost black and white, so I went ahead and desaturated the trace of green that still showed in the grass and dark trees.

Corridor, WMC

My eye exam was at Winchester Medical Center. Afterwards, I spent a few minutes walking around because I needed to be sure that my pupils were normal enough for me to drive. This corridor connects the office wing with the Surgi-Center.

A West Virginia Town, Reflected

This is Thomas, West Virginia. I took this picture some time ago and just came across it in my ridiculously large collection of digital photos.

Running on Empty

Lately I've been so tired that I haven't done much exploring. Consequently, I couldn’t come up with a satisfying photo for Black and White Weekend. I wound up with this shadow shot, turning it and cropping so there’s a diagonal to add a sense of movement.

This was just a snapshot I took to illustrate my complaint that the deck was too hot for bare feet. The planks are newly painted, and the sun was very bright that day. 

Doctors haven’t been too helpful in explaining my fatigue, but tests continue to show that my protein and sodium levels are low. I’m supposed to take sodium pills, but they upset my stomach, So I’ve tried to increase my dietary salt, plus sodium bicarbonate in place of Tums. 

I still go to physical therapy to try to improve steadiness and strength, but it leaves me exhausted for a day or two. I keep trying because I really want to be able to walk farther. 

Under the Table

Composed while Waiting.

Yesterday I went to another new doctor, an orthopedic specialist in Harrisonburg. I’m switching much of my medical care to the Sentara system because I’m getting frustrated with Valley Health. I realize that all medical conglomerates have similar problems: long delays in getting an appointment, busy offices that may not respond to questions, and short appointments due to insurance requirements. I hope to at least find practitioners who respond to questions.

This doctor seems willing to listen, and at least did not push surgery as a solution. But no one seems to comprehend that pain is not the biggest part of my problem. I just want to walk without losing my balance. Well, I have an appointment in the future with a neurologist, and I am continuing with physical therapy. It’s hard to get motivated to do the practice exercises because I get tired so easily, and then I can’t do  things I want to do. 

Don’t get old; it’s hard! I tried to put it off as long as possible, but time caught up with me.

Garage Corridor

Large parking garages can be disorienting. You drive around in circles, watching for a parking spot. When you finally find one, you're in a dark area with no particular clues as to which direction is which.

This one in Leesburg had a map posted, but there was no “You are here” indicator. I asked a passerby, but they did not understand the map either. So I walked toward the light until I came out near the street. Fortunately, I saw that I was near the place where I wanted to be.

A Moment at the Edinburg Pool

 Blog Post 9490

Local swimming pools have opened for the season. Most of the larger towns here have outdoor pools. There are very few indoor pools that are open to the public.

Monochrome Views, Stony Creek

Edinburg, VA

This is the Stony Creek bridge by the campground in Edinburg. 

The second picture is not quite monochrome, but it is so full of spring green that it’s almost monochrome.

Dianthus

These are actually pink carnations, but I’m showing them in black-and-white. Carnations are a type of dianthus. (Or nations of vehicles, if you can’t stop thinking of old jokes!)

Our power is out right now so I’m making this a short post. 

Watchful Beagle

A Report from Charlie

Hello! Here I am in black and white. My friend Sadie is black and white all the time.

Mom used an ArtCard filter on this picture of me looking serious. Want to know what I was doing? I was out on the deck and a squirrel showed up on the railing. 

It didn’t see me at first. It was coming over to get a drink out of the birdbath.

When I stood up to see it, it ran away. I went to the railing and watched for it, but it was gone.

I also saw some deer this week. They did not pay attention to me because I was in the car.

Yesterday I went to the dog park in Mount Jackson. There were no other dogs there, but I found some things to do. Here I am watching some small birds.

I also got to lie down on the grass and climb on the bench.

Today I went to Sadie‘s house and played. When Mom came back, she took a picture of me looking out the door. Sadie is there too, but she is short and you can barely see her.

I hope you got to see some interesting things this week too.

Fruit and Patterns

The City Daily Photo theme for May 1st is "Fruit." I took a picture of apples in a grocery store, but I hoped to find something more interesting.

 I stopped at a produce stand today, but they just had some melons and one other fruit. I don’t have any fresh fruit at home because I can’t eat raw fruit without my gums swelling, and my tongue feeling sore. I can eat certain cooked fruits, and my standby is applesauce. That’s definitely not photogenic.

I looked around my kitchen and found some canned cherries. I opened them, but they were dull-colored and mushy. I ate some with dinner. 

I did notice that a pan full of water caught a reflection of the window blinds. I shook it lightly and created patterns.