Signs of Car Trouble

So this happened...

Signs / Skywatch 

 

My "Check engine" light came on. Lynn told me that certain auto parts stores would diagnose the problem for free! I went to the closest one and they showed me how to use their diagnostic device and then they analyzed the code. I needed new oxygen sensors but they did not have them in stock. We discussed where I should get the car repaired and they gave me a number for a local mechanic. I called him and made an appointment.

Ronnie turned out to be skilled and reasonably priced, and his garage was only a few miles from my home. 

One Bird and Two Collages

Song Sparrow, I believe.

The collages contain pictures that I have shared here separately. The first collection features hummingbirds.

And this second collection shows hawks. 

Wild Bird Wednesday

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Edinburg’s Old Fire House Bell

1929.
The original fire bell Dedicated to the founders and members of the Edinburg Vol. Fire Co. 1985.

Tuesday Treasures / Wordless on Tuesday 

 

Stories On the Walls

Recently I was in a convenience store and noticed a wall was covered with an illustrated history of the chain. It was something I was curious about because the first Sheetz store I’d  seen was in Romney several decades ago. Since then the chain has expanded and I have stopped in many of their locations because I can count on finding a decent restroom and a cup of coffee. Here I learned that their first location was in Altoona, Pennsylvania 65 years ago.

I have read elsewhere that the name Sheetz was derived from the name Schultz. Here in the Shenandoah Valley, there have been families named Sheetz for over 250 years. (See my post about the last Indian Settler Conflict.) 

Well, that is interesting but not as artistic as most murals, so let me share some art from my own collection to make up for it. I bought the vertical painting many years ago when we lived in Alexandria. The signature appears to say Sylvia Barnes. I’m not sure anyone else likes it; it has gotten some quizzical looks over the years. 

Let's see what else is hanging on my walls. The sheep picture is made from wool and I bought it from the artist.  The blue picture is a collage that I bought when a gallery in Mt. Jackson was closing. The white goose picture is one of my photos. Next to it is a mirror that looks like a window that I got to brighten the hallway. 

The long painting over a door is by Keith Patterson and I bought it in Berryville. The sunset photo is one I took at Tom’s Cove, Assateague Island. 

I have more pictures that I have not hung yet, and I don't know where I'm going to put them all.

Along Lee Street in New Market

Emmanuel Lutheran Church in New Market dates to 1848. I posted pictures of this church before but that was six years ago.

Also on Lee Street is a Veterans Memorial. 

 

Lamb Time along Ox Road

Between Woodstock and Edinburg

One of the delights of springtime in the Shenandoah Valley is seeing baby animals. I felt fortunate that there was a place I could pull off to photograph these.

I know of other roads named Ox Road, and there is a story behind it. Ox carts were the tractor trailers of their day. Oxen are large and strong and can pull a heavy load, especially when harnessed together as a team. Some roads were well suited for this sort of traffic and might become known as ox roads. Here in the valley, Ox Road ran parallel to the Valley Pike, which was paved in the 1830’s and was better suited for horse traffic than livestock. 

Did you know that oxen have cloven (2-section) hooves and can be shod with split shoes, while horses wear single shoes (which are in a horseshoe shape, of course)? I don’t know how common it was to nail special shoes on oxen, but they were not as amenable to it has horses. In any case, paved roads are hard on animals like cattle and sheep, so they were walked along unpaved roads.

Saturday Critters

A Walk at Passage Creek

This afternoon I ran errands and drove through Fort Valley on the way home. I stopped at Elizabeth Furnace and walked the short trail to the swinging bridge.

Black and White / Weekend Reflections

Although we had rain this morning, the afternoon was pretty. Sunlight brightened the wildflowers and cast reflections on the creeks. Birds were singing and I even saw some butterflies.

I’ve done several posts about this place before. It is a beautiful spot in in George Washington National Forest.

Friday Bliss / Garden Affair / Floral Friday

A Moon and a Marker

Yesterday afternoon was warm and sunny so of course I took a few pictures. By late afternoon, the moon made an appearance.

Skywatch 

Sometimes I give myself photo assignments for this blog. In the case of this marker in Woodstock, I also wanted to take an overall shot of the Sandie Pendleton marker because I had read on  Historical Marker Database that they needed a picture of the marker in its surroundings. I like to contribute to their site sometimes because it has provided useful information to me many times.

Pendleton was wonded in 1864 at Fishers Hill. He was Chief of Staff  to Confederate General Jubel Early. He was brought to Dr. Murphy’s house on this site but passed away, just five days before his 24th birthday.

On the back of the marker, I found text indicating that it was erected by the “Stonewall Brigade Foundation, Stover Camp Chapter, Daughters of the Confederacy, Strasburg Guard, Sons of the Confederacy.”

Signs

Nearby is a plaque for the Murphy House. Apparently it stood where the Methodist Church parking lot is today.

Cardinals, Hummingbird

Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal are lovely birds.

Wild Bird Wednesday

I've seen hummingbirds at my feeders but so far they've buzzed away as soon as they spotted me. I hope they'll get used to me so I can take some pictures. In the meantime, here is a picture of one that I took a year ago.

Portable Marimaphone

Tuesday Treasures. This instrument is one of a handful of items I inherited from my grandfather. It is portable and I show it partially assembled, with the left side still in disarray from being carried around.

You tap the steel bars with wooden mallets. If you can play a piano, you can play this instrument. Personally, I'd much rather listen to a piano because these keys sound high and shrill to me.

I've seen this described as an obsolete instrument. It has a lot in common with a xylophone or a glockenspiel, but Cap called this a marimbaphone so that's what I call it.

He also played piano and accordion. He would entertain us kids by pounding out ragtime on my mother’s piano.

Stoney Creek at Columbia Furnace.

Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

Neighbors in Letters

Fairfax County

Monday Murals: The Neighbors mural is in the West Springfield area. The post office is nearby.

The scenes in the collage are within a few miles of there.

Mosaic Monday

Bird Shadow

Do you ever stage a photo for a particular subject? A week ago the CDP theme for the first of the month was "shadows" so I staged this shot. Then I saw that I already had one that I wanted to use so this one languished until now.

 

It looks intriguing but it isn’t a real bird.
 

Shadow Shot Sunday 

My Mom before my Time

Happy Mothers Day

The first picture shows my parents ready to leave on their honeymoon from her home near Chicago. That would be in September, 1940. Her father loaned them his car to drive around the Great Lakes, but they only made it halfway when he needed the car back. He was in the Naval Reserve and was called into active duty because World War II was heating up in Europe. 

Skipping forward a few years, we see my mom with her first child, my older brother. A caption said “We found the Appalachian Trail.” Mom loved the mountains and passed that on to her children.

 

Menagerie

Saturday Critters

A week ago the Mini Menagerie Petting Zoo set up in front of Tractor Supply, so of course I stopped to see the animals. I only petted a few of them because some preferred to be left alone. Or perhaps they were on lunch break.