Wayback When

15 Years on the Web

The first website I ever posted was devoted to my dog Guppy. This was in 1997 and of course it was a learning experience. Back then AOL offered free website hosting to members and that's where I put it. Eventually they stopped offering the space and I let the site die. But it still exists on the Internet Archive and I found it using the Wayback Machine by searching for the URL members.aol.com/pupguppy. Here's a clip from the opening page.

You can click on these to see them larger. Here's part of the second page. (The links don't work because this is only a screenshot.)

I've mentioned Guppy on this blog. He's not around anymore but you can see him playing with Benny at Orkney Springs here.

Drawings for the House on Strudel Court

The house we moved out of this spring is now occupied by a tenant! I'm happy because he appreciates the house and its mountain view. I loved that house, although the one we have now is nice too and also has a great view.

One of the things that came with our former home was a set of the original plans. Here we see the elevations. The architectural firm was Vosbeck Vosbeck Kendrick & Redinger, which I am familiar with because I used to walk past their office every day in Alexandria. A note identifies the house as "Ski Cabin for Mr. & Mrs. R. R. Vosbeck." (It is located in Bryce Resort which offers downhill skiing.)

A Glimpse of the Daylily Festival

We went to the Daylily Festival last weekend. It was at Viette Nurseries which is between Staunton and Waynesboro, VA. This festival features wine tastings but we did not take advantage of them; rather we went in as "Designated Drivers" which saved us a lot on the tickets. I had intended to go to Viette's at some point anyway to see the daylilies so this was a good excuse to go. The video I made of the festival is only 39 seconds long, so take a look!

Posing With a Pig

Gardens at Viette's

Viette Nurseries, Fisherville, VA

Look Who's Retiring!

Frank is retiring for the second time. The first time was in 2004 when we moved to Bryce Resort from Prince William County. After a few years he decided he wanted to work again, just part-time. He joined Creekside Realty and stayed there until recently. But now that we have moved to Warren County, it's impractical to work an hour away, so he is giving up his license.

If he ever gets the lawn-mowing finished, I have a list of things for him to do.

Spectrum in the Sky

We've had more storms than usual this summer.  Sometimes you can spot a rainbow if you know where to look! With the sun at your back, look into the sky after the rain has passed (or nearly passed, at least). If there are still raindrops in the air, they just might break up and reflect enough light to form a rainbow.

We saw this one in Harrisonburg last week and took pictures from the car windows.

We Toured the Cromer Trumbo House

On a recent Saturday we visited the Cromer Trumbo House in Dayton, Virginia. My favorite room was the kitchen which has log walls; it's the oldest part of the house from when it was just a cabin.

The house is filled with Victorian furnishings and objets d'art.

Rosemarie Joswick Palmer was our tour guide. When she showed us a book she had edited called Civil War Stories, I just had to buy it from the Heritage Museum's store. It consists of articles and brief reports on the war years in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.

A New Ladder for the Pool

Frank ordered a sturdy ladder to replace the rickety one in the pool. We had to assemble it but it's done.

I've been enjoying the pool, thanks to chlorine-free sanitizer.

Anser Anser

The grey goose has a scientific name: Anser anser. To me that sounds more amusing than technical but I got that from a reputable source on geese.

This goose didn't answer when I approached, he just turned his back and stepped away.

According to the Cornell page on Confusing Domestic Geese, "their bodies are very bulky with extreme bellies on land and a big butt on the water."

Our lake has domestic geese, Canada geese, and hybrids of the two.

Variegated Pink and White Rose

I don't know what variety this is. It's growing in our yard.

Joel, Me, Lynn

Both of my children do a good job of staying in touch with their childhood friends. Here I am standing between Lynn and her friend Joel. They've been friends since high school.

Woody Guthrie, Songwriter

This month I've heard several tributes to Woody Guthrie on the radio because it's the centennial of his birth. Tonight's broadcast of Sidetracks just reminded me of how inspiring Woody was to many, many people. And I thought about the influence of songwriters.

How many writers of prose have the influence of someone like Woody Guthrie? Only a handful. Woody's audience over the years probably numbers in the billions. Most of us know the lyrics to This Land is Your Land, and it's been recorded by numerous artists all over the world.  And Woody helped bring the social commentary type of song into the mainstream of music plus his influence on other songwriters is still significant 45 years after his death.

I think songwriting in general is under-appreciated. A good song (and sometimes even a not-so-good song) can cheer, inspire, educate, and invigorate many people. A listener can draw comfort from a song, and even find healing from lyrics, especially since they are easily repeated over and over. What could be more therapeutic? 

So let's hear it for songwriters! And hooray for Woody Guthrie, one of my heroes.

Link: Guthrie Center on Facebook

A Welcome Flag

Twilight Time at the Lake

I'm getting used to having a view of a lake! Even so, there are times when I'm struck by the prettiness of it, like in the early morning or at dusk, or even when a light rain is falling on the water. The fountain in the lake is not there for looks. It's actually an aeration system, adding a bit of oxygen to the water which tends to get high in algae, thanks to the natural fertilizer contributed by our friends the geese.

North End of Massanutten Range Seen at Dusk

Torch the Bridges!

One day we came across this marker in Front Royal near a park maintained by the VFW. It tells the Civil War story of an attempt by Federal forces to burn the bridges across the Shenandoah in order to slow down Confederate troops who were pursuing them.

“Torch the Bridges!”

— Battle of Front Royal - May 23, 1862 —

	Flanked out of his position on Richardson's Hill, Union Col. John R. Kenly hurried his command north to the bridges spanning the forks of the Shenandoah River. At this spot on the South Fork stood the Front Royal Turnpike Bridge, and the Manassas Gap Railroad bridge was located just east.
The Bridges	Another bridge led over the North Fork.

As the Federals crossed the bridges, the 1st Maryland Infantry (CSA) pressed the Union rear and the Louisianans attacked the flanks.

...The Federal attempt to burn the bridges failed when the Louisianans, led by Gen. Richard Taylor, charged into the flames to beat them out.

The North Fork Bridge was damaged enough, however, that it and the cannon and musket fire from Guard Hill slowed the Confederate crossing. The Federal advantage evaporated when Lt. Col. Thomas S. Flournoy's 6th Virginia Cavalry swam the rain-swollen river and formed for the pursuit.

Present-Day Bridge

You can read the rest of the marker on HMDB.org.

Rented is Good

It looks like we've found a good tenant for our house in Bryce Resort. He is excited about living in the mountains and having a great view.

I love that house and I'm happy that someone will appreciate it.

Parade Pictures, Stephens City

I snapped these pictures at the Heritage Day Parade in late May. Stephens City is located on the Valley Pike (US 11) south of Winchester, Virginia. It's right off I-81 and has expanded in recent years to the point where it has seemingly endless suburbs. But the historic core of the town is pleasant and interesting. The town dates back to 1758. We were fortunate to discover that the local bargain outlet was providing free seating and even free water to those of us who turned out to view the parade.

Town of Stephens City Website

Parade in Stephens City (Encore)

We went to the Newtown Heritage Parade in 2008 and decided to go again this year. Below is a brief video of some parade highlights.

 

Before I built the video, I looked up "fair use" information to figure out if I'm violating any copyrights. Since the band music is heard in excerpts as part of a report on the parade and does not compete with any commercial uses, I'm sure this falls under "fair use." (Posting an entire music video would not fall into that category.)

If you'd like to see more about Stephens City's celebrations of history, see all my Newtown posts. (Newtown was once the name of Stephens City.) You might also want to view pictures of this parade in May 2008 and a short video of the Sherando High School Band in that parade.

View Over the Pool