Photography

This deer photo is actually a composite that I made using Photoshop.
But yes, the deer was very close when I took his picture.

Shenandoah Valley residents who are interested in learning nature photography should check out the courses at Lord Fairfax Community College. Rob Simpson is the instructor and he is not only an awesome photographer, he is also experienced in digital technology.

When I lived in Alexandria, I took many photo courses at Northern Virginia Community College. They have an excellent photography department.

Charter Oak State College

I found a fundraising appeal in my mail from the Charter Oak State College Foundation. It reminds me to mention that Charter Oak is a good place to combine college credits and CLEP exams into a bachelor's degree. Those of us who have taken course from a variety of institutions find this a handy option.

Natural Chimneys

It's cold here in western Virginia, but a few weeks ago we enjoyed warm and sunny days. Here are a couple photos of Natural Chimneys, Mt. Solon, Virginia.

Sounds of war and peace

I was listening to a compilation CD of Joan Baez recordings. Right after a disturbing protest song about Bangladesh came a rambling soundtrack of her visit to Vietnam in 1972. She had gone to Hanoi to distribute mail and Christmas presents to American prisoners of war, and the tape player was running when American bombers flew over, dropping their deadly bombs on the city. This track is a chilling reminder of the danger, bravery, and tragedy of war, and the horrible effects on civilians including children.

Baez has a gift, an exquisite voice. Some of her songs are pure entertainment, and some are very thought-provoking. I am a long-time fan of folk music and protest songs - well, many kinds of songs. Sometimes I think singers and songwriters are among the most important people in our society.

BrainTalk

I just came across BrainTalk Communities. They have a number of discussion boards for neurological conditions, emotional support, and other challenges. These include Gluten Sensitivity/Celiac Disease (wheat-free living) and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

Autumn in the Shenandoah

Autumn is over but let me share a few photos we took while the leaves were still on the trees. Above is a view of the Great North Mountain as seen from Sky Chalet in Basye.

The pictures below were taken in Bridgewater, Virginia.

Helping animals

I just posted the Spiritual Singles Calendar of Events for December. One member will report on helping the Humane Society rescue pets who were left behind during Hurricane Katrina.

Did you know that you can see auctions that benefit the Humane Society of the US on ebay?

Pushing drugs LEGALLY?!

Teens are encouraged by drug companies to seek psychiatric screening with the ultimate goal of getting them to take psychotropic medications. The questionable ethics of this practice are explored at www.psychsearch.net/teenscreen.html.

Avoid chemical injuries

Dr. Grace Zeim has a new website: www.chemicalinjury.net.
It's full of information on what may be toxic and how to avoid chemical injuries.

Civil War sites along Route 50

Sometimes I get emails from visitors to my Civil War Trips website. Today I heard from a fellow who wants directions to Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville. Here's what I told him:

"Fortunately, there is an information service that can send you useful information and maps. Just fill out the form at
www.civilwartraveler.com/request-form.html and they will help you. You will also see a link to maps at the top of that page; you can download them in PDF format, and there is even a link to a map of the Route 50 area in interactive web format. It was developed for Mosby-related sites, but the Jeb Stuart-related campaign sites of Aldie, Middleburg and Upperville happen to be interpreted at the same places. You can zoom in on this map using arrows on the left side of the page - very handy! And you can even see a satellite photo although not at the highest zoom levels. (I will add a link to this map on my site.)

You can also order a map from the Mosby Heritage Area Association.
.

New Market Battlefield Photos

I've been working on a page of New Market Battlefield photographs. I use Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Dreamweaver to create my Civil War pages.

Shopping online

I Give is an online shopping mall that donates to charity. Most of your favorite stores are here. Try it!

If you want to buy books, please use the Amazon link on my Civil War Sites page or the one on Marie's Comic Book Cows.

Thank you!

Waterfront Home for Sale, Virginia

Glebe Harbor Waterfront near Montross

The house next to our vacation home is for sale for $425K. It's a one-story 3-bedroom house on a quiet cul-de-sac. It has a water view and a dock with a boat lift.

The picture above was taken from our deck. The dock on the right belongs to the house that is for sale. The swans are frequent visitors.

The location is near the Potomac River in Virginia's Northern Neck.

Some other blogs

I came across these blogs:

• the Festivus pole
  
• Got Mercury (What's in your fish?)
• Bill Schell in Regensburg, Bavaria
• Life with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities
• Gluten Free Girl
• Natural Pet Care

Little Josie

Here's little Josie and her mom Susan. For tons of pictures of Josie and her brother Ryley, see the Boyles Blog.

Marie comes home

Marie Javins completed her sojourn in Africa and is coming home. Yay! Uganda has some unrest so I am relieved that she has left there.

I added an event to the CSDA page, a lecture on Lyme Disease. Also added a link to ChemTracker (chemical research tool at ToxLaw.com) and a link to the very useful Google Scholar for searching scientific papers.

Someone sent a around a link to a prolotherapy site. I had prolotherapy several years ago for carpal tunnel and found it incredibly helpful.

The beauty of the valley and mountains

It's still warm here in western Virginia, more so than usual. We had a beautiful autumn in spite of the summer's drought. Frank has posted a bunch of nice photos on his walcroft blog.

Nanotechnology for Novices

I saw an article reporting that nanoparticles of silver may inactivate the HIV virus. Well, I didn't know how small a nanoparticle was so I searched the web and found some facts. The dictionary defines nanoparticle as "a microscopic particle whose size is measured in nanometers," and a nanometer is a billionth of a meter.

I found a FAQ on nanotechnology at www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/nanotech/faq.html. It's actually pretty interesting. For instance, it says:

Nanoscale titanium dioxide for instance is finding uses in cosmetics, sun block creams and self-cleaning windows, and nanoscale silica is being used as a filler in a range of products, including dental fillings. Recently, a number of new or “improved” consumer products using nanotechnology have entered the market (such as stain and wrinkle-free fabrics incorporating "nanowhiskers"..

The FAQ continues with concerns about the mostly-unknown possible hazards for workers in plants where nanoparticles are used. More information on products using nanoscale materials can be read at www.nano.gov/html/facts/appsprod.html. I had no idea that this technology had become so important.

A British magazine on workplace hazards summarizes ongoing work on health risks of nanoparticles at www.hazards.org/nanotech. Looks like nanotechnology may cause some diseases AND cure other disease. Environmental Defense writes about it as a "double-edged sword" at www.environmentaldefense.org/article.cfm?ContentID=4449

Books for Katrina's kids

Book Relief for Hurricane Katrina is helping schools to replace books lost in the recent hurricane. They are looking for donations via credit card. I found this site through a link on The Literacy Site, which is one of those sites where your click generates a donation to charity.

John and Elizabeth Hammer, 1800's

Our public library is small but they offer a range of internet services, including access to genealogical sources. I found the following story about my great-great-grandparents:
"John and Eliza (Witmer) Hammer, both of whom were natives of Washington county, Maryland, the former born in 1806 and the latter in 1813. They were married in their native county, and in 1838 moved to Illinois, locating in Springfield, and there resided until 1842. John Hammer was a harness maker by trade, and was working at his trade while residing in Springfield. Leaving that city, he came to Ogle county and settled in Mount Morris where he continued to work at his trade for about three years. During that time he entered eighty acres of land, which was a portion of the farm now occupied by our subject. In February, 1845, he removed to the tract that he had purchased, erected a small frame house, and there resided while otherwise improving the place. He later purchased more land and had a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres. On his farm he commenced the manufacture of brick, which he continued three seasons, during which time he made the brick that went into his own brick residence that he had built. On that farm he continued to reside until his death in January, 1879, at the age of seventy-three years. "

Suiter genealogy

I came across a note that my late aunt wrote in 1979 to my daughter. She mentioned family history and says that she previously left out the name of "Israel Luke Suiter, father of Dr. James P. Suiter. Israel Luke Suiter's father was Jacob Augustus Suiter and his wife was Margaret McMasters. Jacob A. Suiter would be your mother's great, great, great, great grandfather."

My aunt had been doing some genealogy and hopefully I'll find some other notes she sent us one of these days. She was my dad's sister and her name was Clarice Suiter Rose.

Dangers of Arctic oil drilling

The senate has approved oil drilling in the Arctic. Environmental organizations are still hoping that people will convince the House of Representatives that they do not want to endanger the Alaskan wilderness for a few-months supply of oil, which won't reach the market for ten years anyway.

I am starting to feel very sad for the environment. Human beings seem bent on destroying the climate and our most precious resources. What will future generations do when ocean levels rise and animals and plants die off to the point where our food supply shrinks? Well, that nightmare is for future generations.

Union of Concerned Scientists | Environmental Defense

History on cassette

Listen to history!

I'm a fan of books on tape and I like to just browse Amazon for a history book to listen to when I'm driving. This is a lot safer than talking on the cell phone!

Report unsafe products

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission gives you a place to report unsafe products. We have a tendancy to assume that products sold in stores are safe, but 'taint necessarily so. And we should always glance over labels for warnings and if there are any, read and heed!

Historic Preservation

The Civil War Preservation Trust is working to purchase historically significant land so that Civil War sites are not spoiled by development. Here in Virginia this is a definite problem. This snapshot at Wilderness Battlefield shows the entrance to a subdivision next to a Civil War site.

Meanwhile, the National Trust for Historic Preservation is dealing with the damage that hurricane Katrina did to our country's historical landmarks along the Gulf Coast.

Leaf peeping

We went out today and enjoyed the fall leaves. The colors are lovely in spite of a very dry summer. Some of the leaves are mottled but they still glow with color. Even walking the dog is a beautiful journey. Virginia in Autumn is a marvelous place.

Tonight I posted the November Calendar of Events for Spiritual Singles.

Web updates

Today I updated the Maryland meetings list for the Chemical Sensitivity Support Group. Also added pages covering the Wilderness Battlefield to my Civil War website. The picture above is the view from Clark Mountain, a Confederate Lookout Post. I took this in 1996 when their was an orchard there so the view was accessible to the public.

Site meter added

I added a counter from sitemeter.com. This was recommended by Marie Javins.

Meanwhile, Frank is adding pictures to his Walcroft blog.

Spotsylvania Photo Pages

The "large" photos of the Spotsylvania field trip are up and linked, starting with Todd's Tavern and progressing past battlefield monuments and landscapes.

I get emails from folks who visit my Civil War website wanting to know the best sites to visit, how to get to certain places, and so on.

Shultz History

We spent some time in the Shenandoah County Library today looking for information on Frank's ancestors with the surname Shultz. I was surprised at the large amount of Pennsylvania and German-American genealogical information that they have here.


Last week we visited Marklesburg, PA to see the old Shultz cemetery. The image at left is the marker on route 26 that led us to it. It was erected by Lawrence Shultz of Indiana in the 1960's. He also published a family history which we located in Huntingdon. Here's what the marker says:

Shultz Cemetery
------->
John Shultz, 1791-1851
Mary (Beaver) Shultz, His Wife

Henry Shultz , 1762-1830
Salome, His Wife, Mother of John

Anthony Beaver, 1761-1839
Susanna (Clapper) Beaver, His Wife
Mother of Mary

Lawrence Shultz of Indiana, A Descendant

The cemetery is on private land and is overgrown. Across the road is a lovely pastoral view which probably hasn't changed much since the Shultzes saw it.

Spotsylvania

I'm posting photos of Spotsylvania Battlefield on my Civil War pages. A good overview of sites can be seen at www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/bycampgn.htm

We're supposed to follow more of Grant's Overland Campaign this weekend but rain is forecast. Stay tuned.

Back home with our dogs

We just spent a few days in Pennsylania, a state rich in history and greasy restaurants. Today we went to the Seven Bends Kennel to pick up our dogs only to find no one there! It was 4:20 PM and we had been told to come between 4 and 5. Apparently someone did not show up for work, but other customers kept arriving to pick up their pets. We all had to wait. Finally the receptionist arrived just before 5:00, so we were able to retrieve our dogs. It's good to have them back.

I just posted the October list of Spiritual Singles Events. I see that Marie has some new adventures in Africa. Visit her blog to share her visit with some friendly seals.

Film Processing and Scanning

I received my prints and CDs today from A&I Photo and I am pleased. The colors are nice in the prints and the scans have good resolution.


In the past I have used Photoworks and Kodak Gallery. Photoworks offers nice features but their prints lack snap. Kodak Gallery has gotten very slow and the colors aren't as good as when they were Ofoto. (I'm not even linking to Kodak Gallery because their customer service is so bad, I can't recommend them.)

This is my first print film order with A&I and I am happy that the results were so good. I used them before for slide processing when I was taking a photography class at Lord Fairfax Community College.

The pictures you see here were taken at Assateague Island, a barrier island on Virginia's Eastern Shore. It is near Chincoteague and it's a beautiful place to visit.

Relative's blog

Kate and Rusty have posted a blog at http://rustyandkatieashley.blogspot.com/.

I just posted a couple of changes to Chemsense.com.

Here's a picture of swans that I took in Glebe Harbor. Of course, I played with it in Photoshop, making it lighter.

We're back in Basye and I love it here, but I will miss the great water birds that we saw in the Northern Neck. In addition to the swans, we had regular visits from Great Blue Herons and some ospreys, and we occasionally saw a bald eagle.

I read in the Gloucester paper that many of southern Virginia's old oak trees are dieing off. Apparently a combination of drought and bad storms is too much for them. We're having a very dry spell here in Shenandoah County. Hope it doesn't hurt the trees.

More photos

I added a page of photos of Civil War sites at VirginiaPhoto.com. I've still got some work to do because they don't look as good on a big screen as they did on my laptop.

Meanwhile Frank has posted a blog at walcroft.blogspot.com.

Peggy goes to Germany

Peggy has published the story of her trip to Germany at pegsadventures.blogspot.com.

Meanwhile, I updated my Civil War Tours homepage, enlarged the thumbnail pictures of Belle Grove and added a new post to the Javins genealogy page.

Eastern Shore of Virginia

We just spent a couple of days on the Eastern Shore, that peninsula of Virginia below Ocean City. It has changed little since we last went there a couple of years ago, except that Cape Charles has had some new developments added.

The town of Accomac is still charming and undeveloped and Chincoteague is a fun place to visit. We saw both a sunrise and sunset from Assateague Island, a wildlife refuge on the ocean.

Miskel Farm

I have posted some more photos of Miskel Farm, where Mosby's Rangers narrowly escaped capture in 1863. It is located near Leesburg Park and Route 28 but is not open to the public. However, you can stand on the edge of the road (I think it's called Dairy Lane) and read the historical marker.

Great Blue Heron

We have been honored by visits from large birds here in the Northern Neck. I got some pictures of the Great Blue Heron. I saw his shadow as he flew over and heard him land in the creek beside our deck.

At first he was hard to see because he stayed in the shady little creek, standing still for long periods of time, watching for a tasty fish to come along. Finally he ventured out into the cove.

Some other birds flew into the cove, diving down to snatch up some fish. I think they were ospreys. Eventually the heron grew tired of their antics and rose into the air, honking at them. Another heron joined him in the air, probably his mate. She had been hiding in a nearby bush.

Hurricane!

Like many people, I've been watching the reports on Hurricane Katrina and getting depressed. What terrible suffering and loss!

There are a number of agencies helping people such as the American Red Cross. A small group is trying to help pets, such as the Humane Society. If you cannot afford to donate, you can at least click to generate a small donation at pets.care2.com and theAnimalRescueSite.com.

Modest Needs is raising funds to help individuals who have specific requests for temporary help and they accept Paypal.

Belle Grove Plantation in Middletown

I've been working on my photographs of Belle Grove and have finally posted them on my Civil War battlefields website. Belle Grove is a lovely old manor home in the Shenandoah Valley where the Battle of Cedar Creek was fought. The house has connections to Presidents Madison and Jefferson.

I also posted a page from a Civil War encampment at Belle Grove. There are some cute shots of a little girl taking hay to horses as well as some photos of reenactors in uniforms. I almost took a photo of a Civil War soldier talking on a cell phone in front of his SUV, but it didn't seem right! It was strange seeing soldiers haul cannons away on trailers behind their pickup trucks too.

Belle Grove is on the Valley Pike (U.S. route 11) between Strasburg and Winchester, VA. It's run by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. They close it during the winter although there are a few weekends when it's open for holiday-theme tours.

Civil War battles of 1861- Dr. Poland's book

I
posted a book review on Amazon for The Glories of War - Small Battles and Early Heroes of 1861. The book is quite interesting and I'm a fan of Dr. Poland so I gave it 5 stars. Charles Poland is the history professor at NVCC Annandale who leads Civil War Field Trips. This year's series of trips will begin on Saturday.

Arctic drilling

I realize that we face energy shortages, but drilling in the arctic won't help us this decade, plus even its supporters admit it will produce only a small amount of oil. Why risk ruining this unique wilderness? Sign the petition at www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/297924977

Chatham Manor photos

I just posted a page of photographs of historic Chatham near Fredericksburg. Chatham was visited by many famous people including George Washington, Robert E. Lee and Walt Whitman.
Chatham is now hosted by the National Park Service and is well worth a visit.

Alaska and Bears

I see that a movie is out about Timothy Treadwell, "Grizzly Man." He was a friend of Alaskan bears and was killed by them in 2003. Marie posted some photos of bears on her Alaska tour and mentioned Treadwell on her message board.

The D.C. City Paper has an interesting interview with the filmmaker Werner Herzog called Bear Witness.

Potomac Heat

It's hot here in the Potomac River region. I've lived here all my life and this is the hottest August I've ever seen.

When I was a child, we didn't have air conditioning, but electric fans kept us comfortable most of the time.

The Ecostewards Alliance is helping Northern Virginians to preserve the environment. Check out their site.

Stonewall Jackson Shrine

I posted photos of the place where Stonewall Jackson died on my Civil War Field Trips site. The National Park Service maintains the Jackson Shrine at Guinea Station near Thornburg, VA.

Marie's adventures

Marie Javins continues to entertain us with her adventures in Africa. Reminds me of one of her earlier trips which seems riskier now than it did at the time: an expedition to northern Pakistan near the Afghan border.

House for rent, Glebe Harbor, VA

We are making our house at Glebe Harbor available for rent. See SunnyHarbor.com for details.

The URL is redirected from Javins.com.

Domain Names

I've decided to sell the domain name EncouragementPlace.com for a bargain price. Write to me if you're interested.

I also have some names listed on Afternic and others listed at AlphaName.com.

Marie learns not to hurry in Uganda

Marie Javins has created a blog for her visit to Africa. It will no doubt be informative and fun to read, like her world tour using local transit in 2001.

Meanwhile, the Boyles family continues to post their family photos and Alice has started posting photos of the grandkids.

Revised sites

I posted the August events for singles in the DC area for Spiritual Singles.

I posted a new homepage for Frank Walcroft.

Preservation

It's hard to believe but someone wants to build a casino at Gettysburg. The Civil War Preservation Trust has an article on this threat to hallowed ground.

Temperatures here in Virginia have been unusually high, around 100 degrees F. Let's hope that global warming is not coming faster than predicted. Yes, there are skeptics. Read about who is financing the opposition to global warming science.

Great photos: wild animals and locales

Marie Javins posted photos of her Antarctica tour and they are delightful to see. From there you can also find her travel photographs of
Tanzania and Kenya Cats,
Ethiopia, African Animals, Tribes of East Africa, Papua New Guinea,
Australia, and Sri Lanka.

Northern Virginia Physicians

It's been a year since we moved from the D.C. area but I still drive up there to see two favorite health professionals: my allergist Pierre Gagnon and my dentist Bob Johnson. Today I drove the two hours each way for my quarterly visit to Dr. Gagnon in Alexandria. His office recently moved from Belle Haven to 312 S. Washington Street in Old Town. He is one of the few allergists I've met with an understanding of food allergies and digestive issues.

Last week I drove 2 hours to Fairfax to have Robert Johnson, D.M.D. replace a crown. He is now at Natural Horizons Wellness Center. He is sympathetic to my allergies and sensitivities.

American girl in Nairobi

The Fourth Rail has posted a review of the Comiculture Anthology which includes Jambo, I'll Have Your Money Now by Marie Javins. The narrative version of this story was told on MariesWorldTour.com and can be seen as one of her journal entries.

Cinquain

I'm struggling to keep up with my poetry class at Virtual University. Finally wrote a cinquain:

White quartz
Dark waterfall
Swish, rattle, roll, hiss, shake.
Thundering Zeus throws rain washing
Clothes clean.

Class Schedule

Dr. Poland gave me the tour schedule for this fall. See www.civilwarfieldtrips.com/moreabout.html for a list. First trip is August 27.

Community College Registration Opens

The Civil War Field Trips course offered by Northern Virginia Community College is open for enrollment for the Fall semester. Visit www.nvcc.edu/schedule/crs2054/ and select HIS (history) and Annandale, then scroll down to the last course, section 298. Click on the 50360 to see the full listing or try this direct link.

Back from the Northern Neck

We spent a week in Virginia's Northern Neck. This is the peninsula between the Potomac and the Rappahannock River. I was surprised to learn that broadband internet is not available to the Mt. Holly area except for satellite.

I have some pictures of our property and neighborhood posted at SunnyHarbor.com.

The Northern Neck is largely rural with waterfront communities and farms. It's a good place to see water birds.

The farm where Stonewall Jackson died

Wednesday we visited the Stonewall Jackson Shrine in Guinea Station. There we toured the small building where the famous general died of pneumonia after being wounded at Chancellorsville. The site was being painted and spiffed up by the National Park Service, but the tour guide was a volunteer.

You can find Guinea Station from I-95 south of Fredericksburg. Just follow the signs. You can also combine it with a Chancellorsville battlefield tour; pick up information at the Chancellorsville visitors center west of Fredericksburg on route 3.

I got an email from someone needing directions from I-81 to Brandy Station. Just drive east on I-66 to route 17 towards Warrenton. Then take US 29 south to Brandy Station.

You can see photos of these sites at CivilWarFieldTrips.com.

Guestbook Spammers

Let me rant for just a minute about guestbook spammers! They are spoiling guestbooks for everybody, filling them with ads for software, casinos, and other junk unrelated to the site that created the guestbook. I've been reading about ways to defeat them but the only effective ways take time and money. For now I am removing the submission forms from my guestbooks and asking readers to email their comments instead. I put the email link in javascript to discourage robots from harvesting my email address.

Since my email address is at aol.com, I expect AOL will filter out most of the spam anyway. AOL is agressively blocking spam - sometimes too agressively, since legitimate email often does not go through, but that's another rant.

Here are the guestbooks that I have: http://members.aol.com/linja/messageboard/post.htm, a Chemical Sensitivity Comments Board, and http://members.aol.com/ljavins/genealogy.html, Javins Genealogy.

BryceFest

We attended an early 4th of July celebration at Bryce Resort (Basye, VA). Took a brief but scenic helicopter ride and browsed the crafts fair. For some photos of Bryce see www.javins.com/basye/bryce.html. Well, they don't do it justice. It has a beautiful little valley and some mountain ridges with nice views.