More Snow Scenes, Shenandoah Valley

I took these pictures along the Valley Pike (U.S. 11) north of Mount Jackson. Left: Hawkinstown Methodist Church Below: Snow-covered farm with Massanutten Mountains in the distance

Mention of the Basye Vortex

I mentioned the Basye Vortex before and I still don't understand it. But since I spend a lot of time in Basye (Bryce Resort), when reminded by something on David Pierce's site, I searched and found our town mentioned on this list of vortices at the starseedlightworkers blog:

• Sedona (said to have highest vortex energy in the world
• Byron Bay and Uluru in Australia
• Macchu Picchu and Marcahuasi in Peru
• Mt. Shasta and Santa Cruz in California
• Lake Titicaca
• Avebury, Stonehenge and Glastonbury in England
• Mt. Kailas in Tibet
• Table Mountain in South Africa
• Lake Rotopounamu in New Zealand
• Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt
• Haleakala in Hawaii
• The Church of St. Sulpice on the Left Band of Paris (this is the church from the book The Da Vinci Code, where it's said that Mary Magdalene was)
• Basye in Virginia
• The Oregon Vortex in Gold Hill, Oregon
• Devils Tower in Wyoming
• Fajada Butte, New Mexico
• Tonasket, Washington

I've only been to a few of these (Sedona and St. Sulpice in addition to Basye). They did have a memorable quality. Daughter Marie has been to many of the places... most recently, Lake Titicaca in Peru - see her blog posts.

Our View, February Snow

Our view at 8 AM yesterday.

Although the sunlight had hit Great North Mountain, our yard was still in shadow.

Trees in the Snow

Yesterday's fluffy snow clung to tree branches for hours. The dogwood (above) looked like it was abloom with cotton balls.

I took these pictures from our driveway around 8:30 in the morning.

A Farm in the Snow

Mt. Jackson, VA

View Behind a Shopping Center, Mt. Jackson, VA

While Frank was at the dentist yesterday, I walked to the rear of the shopping center and took this very short video.

The treeline beyond the field borders the North Fork of the Shenandoah River. That's the Massanutten Range that you see in the distance.

Any of the frames in isolation tells you a different story than the whole video, such as the post below, which does not show any clue that it was photographed from beside a dumpster.

Winter View Near Mount Jackson

Snow Scene along Mt. Jackson Road

This morning we paused to take this shot on the way to the dentist. I believe this pond is an old quarry.

Animal Buddies

Seen today near Edinburg, VA

"Are you my mother?"

My Oddest Ashby Photo

The Historical Marker Database requested a color photo of the Chestnut Ridge marker so I uploaded mine to their site. I also contributed a few related pictures, including this one that I took a few years back in Port Republic, VA.
This exhibit reminds us that the body of Turner Ashby lay in state at the Kemper House, where he was taken after being shot at Chestnut Ridge. Today that same building houses the Port Republic Museum.

Offering for General Ashby

On one visit to the Turner Ashby Monument, I saw these items carefully placed on the memorial.

I'm not a fan of displaying the flag of the Confederacy, but here it seems appropriate since Ashby died serving as a Confederate officer.

This flag means different things to different people, just as people fought for different reasons. I like to point out that the reasons that the Civil War occurred are not the same as the reasons that individuals joined in to fight in the war. For many people, the side that they joined was based on where they happened to live when war broke out, an accident of geography. So those of us whose ancestors happened to serve on the winning side need not get particularly righteous about it.

Yours Truly at the Turner Ashby Monument

I've been posting pictures of Chestnut Ridge and the Ashby Monument in Harrisonburg. Since I'm on the subject, I've prepared a few more photos from visits to that site.

This one shows me at the monument on a NVCC field trip in 2000. It was taken by classmate Leona Strich or her husband. They had a digital camera and later gave me a CD of the season's field trip photographs. That was before I got a digital camera.

Up on Chestnut Ridge

Yesterday I posted a photo of Chestnut Ridge in Harrisonburg. Here are a couple of pictures I took in September on the ridge. I was checking out the new access road to the Turner Ashby Monument. The old road had to be blocked to make way for construction for a new university facility. A new (and much nicer) road has been built off Neff Avenue.


General Ashby's Monument has stood on the ridge for many years. It says:

Gen. Turner Ashby
C.S.A.
was killed on this spot
June 6, 1862
gallantly leading a charge.

This event was part of the Battle of Harrisonburg, one of a series of struggles for control of the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War.

(GPS Coordinates: N 38.423, W 78.865)

A View of Chestnut Ridge

I took this photo at Outback in Harrisonburg yesterday. We are looking southwest across University Boulevard. 

Chestnut Ridge is known as the place where Confederate General Turner Ashby was killed during the Battle of Harrisonburg (June 1862).  Obviously the scene has changed since then. The long building just left of center is Costco; the tall lights on the right are illuminating JMU's softball field.

Chestnut Ridge Historical Marker on HMDB.org

A View along University Boulevard

This scene is in the part of Harrisonburg that's east of I-81. The historic district is west of the interstate. 

That's one of my favorite restaurants on the right. I like Outback because they serve good prime rib and baked sweet potatoes, and they have a gluten-free menu. 

Waving at the Camera

I was in the yard feeding the birds when Frank asked me to wave. He was on the deck with a camera.

Our yard is still very slippery, thanks to a glaze of ice on top of the snow. The front walk and driveway are pretty much clear though.

Snow Day at the Library

Basye-Orkney Springs Library and
Sky Bryce Airport

Here we see our local library and airport. I decided to make the picture look even more snowy so I filtered it in Photoshop (Filter: Distort: Glass).

Our library is located in the Resort but it is a county library open to the public. Vacationers often stop by to use the internet.

If you missed my story about flying in one of those small planes, read it here or go to November 2008 and scroll to the bottom of the page to see all my aerial photos.

Ski Lodge, Bryce Resort

This is down at what we call the "core" of the resort. Here folks buy their lift tickets and eat lunch. In the background is the restaurant where you can enjoy a quieter meal.

Planter in the Snow

Shoulder Surgery Scheduled

I am scheduled to have surgery to repair the torn shoulder tendon in mid-February. I'm not looking forward to it but will be glad to get the chance to start healing. The shoulder hurts in the morning when I wake up, and of course the arm is weak all the time.

The doctor thinks that I probably injured the shoulder playing tennis. The only time I played any tennis this year was in July. I think it re-injured it in August, maybe completing the tear, either when we practiced golf or when I was walking the dog.

Frank took the photo during that fateful tennis session.

I have a reprieve from physical therapy until after the surgery. That's a relief because going twice a week took a lot of time. The physical therapist says if I play tennis again, I need to serve underhand, not overhand.

Rotator Cuff Repair