Bird Feeding

One of the pleasures of winter is feeding birds. I don't feed them in warm weather because bears will come and destroy the feeders to get the seed. It's now illegal in Virginia to feed bears, even unintentionally!

Here we see a blue jay on a log and a junco on a new feeder that I bought because it's cute. This was before the squirrel pulled off some of the decorations and dumped out all the seed.

The Carolina wren is perched on a cage that holds a seed bell. This one is seasoned with red pepper so Mr. Squirrel does not bother it. However, I have seen Mrs. Squirrel nibbling red pepper suet, and I guessed she was very hungry because she had babies to feed.

Uh, oh! A hawk is in a tree. That day there were two of them, so perhaps they were courting. It's that time of year.

They flew away after a few minutes, fortunately for my little bird friends.

The red bird feeder is said to be squirrel proof. Here Charlie is learning that his weight pulls the levers closed, shutting off access to the seeds that are inside.

Squirrels are persistent and have nothing better to do than figure out how to get food. I watched Charlie spend some time exploring the bolts on the feeder, trying to see if he could take the contraption apart. I gave up watching him but he did not succeed. The feeder is still intact.

Sharing with Wild Wednesdays

 and Wild Bird Wednesday.

Farm Buildings at the Lincoln Homestead

See also: Wordless Wednesday, The Barn Collective,
and Rainy Day at the Lincoln Homestead.

A Rainy Day at the Lincoln Homestead

Last week the annual Lincoln Cemetery event had a big bonus attraction: a tour of the house that has been closed up for years. The house was once the home of President Lincoln's great-uncle.

I've been to the talk at the cemetery once before, but his year the crowd was huge. As soon as the talk ended, we headed toward the house. Frank did not feel up to standing in the long line so he went back to the car. Then a light rain started. I reached the porch before it got too bad, which was a good thing because I had left my hat and umbrella in the car. 

Tuesday Treasures.

The house has deteriorated over the years but it has new owners who are determined to bring it back to life.

I read later that 700 people toured the house that afternoon!

Here's what a nearby historical marker tells us:

In 1768, John Lincoln moved here with his family from Pennsylvania. His eldest son, Abraham, grandfather of the president, might have remained a Virginian had his friend and distant relative, Daniel Boone not encouraged him to migrate to Kentucky by 1782. Abraham’s son, Thomas Lincoln, born in Virginia (ca. in 1778), met and married Nancy Hanks in Kentucky, where the future president was born on 12 February 1809. Nearby stands the Lincoln house built about 1800 by Captain Jacob Lincoln, the President’s great-uncle, near the original Lincoln homestead. Five generations of Lincolns and two family slaves are buried on the hill.

STOP and See the Sky!

Washington's Office, A Barn Mural, and Gifts.

Presidents Day Random-osity

The Good: Today we celebrated the birthdays of Presidents Washington and Lincoln. I went to an open house at George Washington's Office in Winchester, Virginia.

The older portion of the building was George Washington's office in 1755-56, while Fort Loudoun was being constructed nearby. He was a young officer in charge of building the fort as a defense against the French and their Indian allies.

The Random: Oh, look! A mural of cows! And it's on a barn! This gem is near Winchester along U.S. 522.

Monday Murals

The Fun: I received a couple of nice gifts for Valentine's Day. The roses are only a duo because I had stated that they are expensive and I'd rather have something else. After much thought, I asked for a bird feeder. I really enjoy seeing birds at our feeders. This is a squirrel-proof feeder, a smaller model than similar ones I've seen. Here we see a goldfinch trying it out. 

Mosaic Monday

Christ Episcopal Church in Luray.

Inspired Sunday: This church was built in 1922, replacing a previous building located on Main Street that had its beginnings in 1872.  The present building is on Amiss Avenue, Luray.

The Latest from the Trail Cam and CWD Update.

Last night I checked the motion-activated trail camera and didn't find as many images as usual. I don't understand those things! There were five images of interest, starting with one of ducks in flight. 

Next we have a flock of birds, which I think are starlings, judging by the ones on the grass. As you can see, the camera was facing the sun, which is not recommended but the only way to avoid that is to aim it north and then I wouldn't get any lake pictures.

Here's a blue jay in flight. I cropped all these pictures, by the way.

I believe this one is a hawk flying low. I've seen a couple of hawks out there.

The camera only got one deer picture this time. It didn't pose very nicely, did it?

Speaking of deer, I went to a program last weekend on Chronic Wasting Disease. This is a contagious illness that kills deer, and it has showed up a few locations in Virginia.

Overpopulation of deer contributes to the spread of the disease, so scientists are monitoring it as well as they can.

The final pictures are deer I saw in Shenandoah National Park.

So far the disease has not shown up in the park. They have been tracking the movement of deer using radio collars. It is illegal to feed deer in Virginia because that can encourage them to crowd in one area, leading to the spread of disease.

See more nature at I'd Rather Be Birdin' and Saturday's Critters.

Valentine Friday

Willy Nilly Valentine's Day.

1. Skywatch: Yesterday's sunset turned red before it dimmed to darkness. I grabbed a cell phone picture of it while waiting at a stop light.

2. Black and White Weekend: This is Lynn's cat who passed away today at the ago of 18. I took the picture in 2011.

Lynn, my older daughter, has had a rough week. Her friend Timmy died early Wednesday morning. He used to live next door to her and helped her out after she had wrist surgery. She visited him in the hospital while he was ill and then in hospice.

3. Friday Bliss and Floral Friday: I made an arrangement of flower arrangements. These were in a store. They seemed overpriced to me for something so ephemeral.

4. We had an early Valentine's dinner at John's Family Restaurant. Yum!

5. Weekend Reflections: I didn't have a reflection shot from this week so I went back in my files to find one from a previous February. (I keep digital files in folders by month.)

The location is Cooks Creek Arboretum in Bridgewater.

February at Jewell Hollow Overlook

Shenandoah National Park
 at Mile 36.5 on Skyline Drive

Jewell Hollow Overlook offers spectacular views. There are two parking areas, and the Appalachian Trail is nearby.

Notice the rock wall. Now let's see what that sign says.

If These Walls Could Talk

"The hand-cut walls have stories to tell for those willing to listen."
Reed Engle, The Greatest Single Feature… A Sky-line Drive 

May 15, 1933 saw the first Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps established in Shenandoah at Skyland and Big Meadows. Young, strong men were now available to help turn the dream of Skyline Drive into reality. Under the leadership of National Park Service landscape architects, CCC enrollees and engineers helped build Skyline Drive's stone walls and overlooks, including the one where you stand now—Jewell Hollow.

As you drive through Shenandoah National Park, you'll see plenty of the fruits of the CCC's labor—re-placed boulders, graded slopes, and transplanted trees and shrubs. While much of the boys' work blends seamlessly with the natural landscape, the walls stand out as visible testament to the quality and permanence of the CCC's work.

Wall Construction

In the 1930s stone walls in Shenandoah National Park were built in two styles of masonry: dry-laid and ashlar. Dry-laid walls, like those here at Jewell Hollow Overlook, could be built by less-experienced stone workers, like the young men of the CCC, since they require only moving and aligning heavy stones—more muscle than skill. Mortared ashlar masonry walls require more expertise and had to be built by experienced masons.

Sharing with Fences Around the World 

and Little Things Thursday.

Cardinalis Cardinalis

Sharing Northern Cardinals with

Wild Bird Wednesday,

Wordless Wednesday,

and Wild Wednesday.

A Marker for Someone You Never Heard of.

Followers of this blog may have noticed that I like historical markers. A few days ago I saw this one in Upperville for the first time. I turned around and went back to get a photo. I was struck that the subject was a woman I knew nothing about but who had a last name that I recognize. The Mellon family is well known for their philanthropy, and not far from the sign is a beautiful church that was rebuilt in 1951 largely with gifts from the Mellon family.

Sharing with Signs, Signs.

Mary Elizabeth Conover Mellon

1904-1946

Mary E. Conover Mellon lived nearby with her second husband, the philanthropist Paul Mellon. Interested in the humanities and deeply influenced by the work of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, she was instrumental in establishing the Bollingen Series of books in 1943 to publish Jung’s writings in English and to disseminate works on anthropology, art, literary criticism, philosophy, and comparative religion. She was the series’ first editor and the first president of the Bollingen Foundation, founded by the Mellons in 1945 to support the publishing enterprise and to issue fellowships, grants, and prizes in the humanities. Mary Mellon died in 1946 and is buried here at Trinity Episcopal Church.

Mary Mellon is barely mentioned in an online bio of Paul Mellon. She died fairly young from asthma.

Marys Rock Tunnel in Winter.

Tuesday Treasures.
 

This tunnel on Skyline Drive was completed in early 1932. Dynamite was used to blast through the granite, at a rate of 15 feet or more per day. the tunnel is 670 feet long and the interior is lined with concrete. In winter, icicles form on both openings, making the road slippery below them. 

Just south of the tunnel you can find some nice views of Rappahannock County.

If you want to take pictures inside the tunnel, plan on having someone else drive or use a dash cam.

This is near milepost 32 of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. I've posted pictures of it before, notably in October 2017 and January 2013. 

Strasburg at Night.

Sharing with Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday.

See also my 2017 Post: A December Night in Strasburg.