More California Photographs

I am still working on the digital pictures from our California trip in January. It takes a few minutes to process each image:

• Brighten using shadow-highlight in Photoshop.


• Crop or saturate if desired.


• Save the picture with a name more meaningful than a string of numbers.


• Sharpen.


• Save as large JPEG in my To Print folder.


• Resize to 4X6 inches and save in my California folder.

Above is a sunset seen from the plane just before we landed in Long Beach. And to the right is another view of the mausoleum at the Huntington Museum. The picture below was taken nearby.

Update on Guppy

A year ago I wrote about my dog having to take medication for seizures. At the time he had experienced a number of episodes which the vet thought were seizures, during which he frantically grazed on the carpet, licking up lint and sometimes foreign objects. When he swallowed a tiny battery and a piece of cloth he wound up in the animal hospital.

At the time my husband thought that the carpet licking was a response to a tummy ache. Later I read that some dogs were having problems after swallowing Greenies without chewing them up, so I stopped feeding them to Gup. I also stopped feeding him chicken-based dog food because one book links chicken allergy to seizures. Eventually I weaned him off the medication and the problem did not return.

Over six months have passed with no further carpet-licking. I don't know for sure what caused the episodes but I don't give him hard chew biscuits or chicken anymore.

Jessica Simpson's Food Allergies

Celebrity Jessica Simpson has revealed to Elle Magazine that she has food allergies. Other commentators have noted that Simpson was recently featured in a pizza commercial, but it turns out that she cannot eat pizza.

This from Elle.com: Recently, Simpson tells me, after she was still feeling not quite right, an allergist delivered news that would chill the heart of anyone reared on Texan cuisine: She's allergic to cheese. And wheat. Oh, and tomatoes, hot peppers, coffee, corn, and chocolate.

Since I don't tolerate pizza either, I find it comforting that a celebrity cannot eat it. I used to enjoy pizza and even now when I smell it, I wish I could eat it. I'm not really tempted though - the wheat would make me sleepy but the stomach pain from eating cheese would probably keep me awake. And then there's the watering eyes from the yeast and the itchy skin from eating tomatoes. No thank you! I'll find something else to eat.

Squirrel on a Branch

Contrails Over Great North Mountain

Yesterday evening the conditions must have been ideal for contrails, which I sometimes call jet trails.

The term contrail is a shortened version of condensation trail. NASA says that Contrails only form at very high altitudes (usually above 8 km) where the air is extremely cold (less than -40 degrees C).

A few Audio Books for Presidents' Day

These are good audio books on Washington and Lincoln. Usually Amazon has used copies of these at a bargain price.

Here's another one - no picture was available: Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America

The more I read about Washington and Lincoln, the more I realize that they were truly remarkable men.

The Garden Angel

Frank purchased this angel at a hardware store a few years ago because, he said, she looked like me!

I don't get compared to an angel very often, so I remembered the compliment. I posed my valentine flowers with her for a photo.

Civil War Book Lists

I'm working on an Amazon Associate's Store for my Civil War Website. Right now the books are coming up according to keywords but to make the selection accurate I need to go back and select them manually or create a "Listmania" list of books.

There are pages of books to choose from. If you want to buy a book or audiotape on the American Civil War, visit my Civil War Reading Room.

CPR Course

Yesterday we attended a CPR-AED course sponsored by the Basye Lions Club. Our teacher was neighbor Norm Butman, a Red Cross instructor. It's been decades since I took a CPR course, and back then there were no AED's (portable defibrillators).

The AED is a remarkable machine. It is computerized and once you turn it on, it talks you through the entire process. It can analyze the victim's heartbeat and decide what kind of a shock to administer, if any. Many public places have AED's available in case someone has a heart attack.

You can actually purchase an AED from Amazon.com.

Blue Jay Visits

The blue jays have been fairly shy so I was delighted when this one landed on the rail of the deck and visited our feeder.

Colen Javens

Colin Javens traveled overland from the UK to Cape Town despite a spinal injury that left him paralyzed. I couldn't help thinking he must be a distant cousin of Marie Javins who traversed around the world using surface travel in 2001.

Of course, they spell their surnames differently, but not too many generations ago, name spelling was not standard. They share courage and determination along with a love of travel.

See Marie's book about exploring Africa.

Red Cardinal

Gray Squirrel Cafe

Fringed Cyclamen

Sometimes a dream comes true

I may be jaded about some things, but I've got to admit: I just love the view from our house!

My parents instilled in me an appreciation of mountain views, and I remember longing for trips to Skyline Drive or the Blue Ridge Parkway, places that seemed to satisfy some spiritual longing. How nice it would be to live in the mountains, I thought.

So now we do. And the view is a source of joy and surprise. It changes every time the clouds roll by.

Ice at Bryce

After staying home yesterday to avoid the sleet, we drove out to the post office this afternoon. We took Frank's car which he had left parked on the road - our long steep driveway was still covered in a couple of inches of ice over a couple inches of snow. However, when we returned home, the good folks from Macanie Trucking were clearing our driveway. We have a snow-clearing contract with them, and well worth it. Even walking the dogs is easier after the driveway has been cleared.

I took these photographs along Resort Drive today.

Happy Valentine's Day

Birds on the a Snowy Day

Birds flocked to our feeders today. Snow seems to make them go food shopping like it does to us.

When Lynn saw my bird feeders, she said I was getting to be like my parents. There is some truth to that.

Wintry Mix

About an inch an a half of snow fell this morning, followed by sleet this afternoon. It was pretty to look at, slippery to walk on.

Photo: Ice on the windshield.

It's a hat, not hair!

Frank says this blue hat makes me look like Marge Simpson!

Picture of Lynn

Lynn picked up some furniture today. We also had lunch down at Braxton's.

The Cutest Squirrel

Look at his little pink mouth!

This little guy was so excited to find a pine cone smeared with peanut butter and seed that he ventured within a few inches of our sliding glass door - and my camera.

I love having a flip-out LCD screen because I can hold the camera away from me and either down or up and still preview the image. I'm sure little Charlie would not have let my head get that close to him!

Allergy links

Someone emailed me suggesting a link to Healthopedia.com/allergies. From there I found a link to the Food Allergy Initiative, a non-profit organization that raises funds toward the effective treatment and cure for food allergies.

Also, I ran across a site for Ecochem "An earth friendly company... Nature Friendly Agro Nutrition." Their page on pesticide news summarizes a number of interesting articles: http://ecochem.com/t_news.html.

Talk on Shenandoah Life during Civil War

Mr. Troy D. Marshall will present an illustrated lecture on "Valley Citizenry and the Civil War". Many people are aware of the battles that occurred in the Shenandoah Valley, but may not know much about what the citizens of the area went through at that time. The program will include information gleaned from citizens' diaries, letters, and other documents.

Mr. Marshall is the Supervisor of Historical Interpretation at the New Market Battlefield State Historical Park and a long-time Civil War Historian.

This library-sponsored talk will take place on SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24th at 10: AM at the Orkney Rescue Squad Building on Route 263 (Orkney Grade Road) between Bryce resort and Orkney Springs - across from Blue Ridge Truss Company


Frank Walcroft is the organizer of the monthly lecture series sponsored by the Basye Orkney Community Library.

February Snow

Yesterday we woke up to find about 4 inches of snow on the ground. The sun was out and the snow glistened.

By afternoon the roads were passable so we drove to the post office and had lunch at the 263 Diner. We also made a drive through Orkney Springs and stopped at the pond to take a few pictures.

Pond in the Snow

Orkney Springs, VA

This is a spring-fed pond, frozen with a coating of snow.

Benny acts weird, so we go to the vet

Ben C. Spaniel had been cranky and suffered from a digestive problem off and on since our return from California. Sunday night he tried to bite me when I too off his leash (!), so I made an appointment with his vet, and yesterday we took him in to see Dr. Beach.

Her examination revealed that Ben had an overgrowth of "bad" bacteria in his gut which had caused him diarrhea and pain. We left with three medications, one to kill the bad bacteria, one for inflammation, and one to replenish good bacteria. I started the first two medicines yesterday, and by this morning he was already feeling better. I can't say that he's back to his pleasant self, because he's not a particularly sweet dog, but at least he's not trying to bite and has stopped whining to go outside every few hours.

More Shabby than Chic

It's been cold here, often close to zero, and the casement window in the kitchen was noticeably cold. I hate to obscure the view, but a cold draft is unpleasant so we discussed putting up curtains for the remainder of the winter.

I stopped in Wal-Mart yesterday after we went to the veterinarian next door. I bought a couple of little tension rods for the kitchen windows but did not see curtains that I liked in anything near the right sizes. So I picked up some clip-on cafe' rings, figuring I might have something at home that would do for temporary curtains.

Sure enough, I found some pillow cases that the previous owners had left (the house was sold to us fully furnished). I clipped the rings onto the ends and presto - instant curtains! They're a wee bit faded but I kinda like them.

A Couple of Blog Directories

You can submit your blog to directories such as LS Blogs and GetBlogs.com Blog Directory /

Pileated Woodpecker

I hung a suet feeder in the yard and it's turned out to be popular with woodpeckers. Our largest woodpecker here is the pileated woodpecker, over a foot long with a handsome red crest.

Below you see one hanging onto the suet feeder, no doubt eating some yummy morsels.

Frank's site

I made some minor changes to Walcroft.com, mainly to reflect his current association with Creekside Realty in Basye. I'm sure he has some additional changes, and maybe we should change the picture to one with a beard. He has had a beard ever since we moved out to the mountains.

Guppy has a new coat

I got my dog a new coat. He doesn't like putting his paws through a sweater so I found a coat that fastens around him with Velcro. The only color Petco had in his size was blaze orange around the back. But I think he looks handsome, and he seems rather proud of it.

B-R-R-R-R

The weather's been frigid and tonight there's a wind chill advisory: AN ARCTIC AIRMASS WILL PROVIDE WIND CHILL VALUES OF 5 TO 10 BELOW ZERO LATE TONIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING.

This cold spell has been good for Bryce Resort because it brings out the skiers. Personally I long for warmer days... if it would just stay over 30 F I'd be satisfied.

Tufted titmice

The tufted titmouse is a bird, not a mouse.

Follow-up with the eye-doctor

This week I went back to the ophthalmologist for a check-up on the floaters that I mentioned before. Upon examination Dr. Viti could see that I still have floaters although they haven't bothered me in months. I also have adie's syndrome (basically an enlarged pupil) and I asked him if it could spread to the other eye, which I had read about on a website. He said that this was unlikely at my age, since Adie's is most likely to show up in a person's 30's or 40's. (However, I was in my 50's.)
If you look carefully you can see that my left pupil (to your right, of course) is larger than the other one. It stays large until I use prescription eye drops. I've written about adie's pupil before. If you think you might have this condition, see a doctor or ophthalmologist right way because an enlarged pupil can be a symptom of more serious conditions.

Marie is working in Egypt

My daughter Marie is now in Cairo. Check out her blog.

A California Squirrel

We saw lots of squirrels in California. This fellow is right in the middle of a palm tree.

See our other photos taken at Huntington Gardens.

Squirrel Staring

Black, green and red tea blues

Shortly before our trip I had a cold and it made my chronic cough worse. I always figured the cough was due to allergy, since I have so many allergies and dust and mold are impossible to avoid. The cough sounded pretty bad while we were in California, and my husband said I needed to see a doctor and get a chest x-ray. What, for an allergy?

Hoping to avoid the hassle of an x-ray, I looked for a local allergist who might do extensive allergy testing. While researching allergists online, I recalled my previous allergy tests and all the things I was supposed to avoid. The last time I had extensive testing, I was looking for the cause of a cough. Oh, now I remember! The tests showed I was allergic to black tea and black pepper, in addition to all the allergens previously uncovered. And I gave up black tea and pepper (mostly - it is very difficult to avoid pepper in restaurant food). But I experimented with green tea and found two brands that I seemed to tolerate. They were decaffeinated since I am supposed to avoid caffeine.

But maybe green tea is part of the problem. And probably chocolate is part of the problem too - a little chocolate often sets off a coughing spell. So I decided to give up green tea and chocolate for a while. But I miss it especially since the weather is cold and tea and cocoa are warming and comforting. I can drink a little decaf but more than a cup gives me heartburn.

The cough improved. I decided the try rooibos (red bush) tea which is from a completely different plan than black and green teas. I bought some in Winchester and was looking forward to a nice hot cup. Well, just a couple of swallows set off a violent cough. I coughed and coughed until I threw up. My throat fell like it might be swelling so I took some liquid Bendryl. Within a few minutes I started feeling better.

I've been off tea for six days now and my cough is definitely much better. But it's not entirely gone. I may still have to go to a doctor. We shall see.

P.S. I just had a hunch - I've had reactions to fluoride before and black tea is high in fluoride. So I just looked up "fluoride in rooibos tea" and sure enough: Rooibos contains the minerals, copper, iron and potassium, calcium, fluoride, zinc, manganese, and magnesium. Well, whether or not that's the problem, I won't be drinking rooibos tea again.

Joseph Mercola writes about fluoride at high concentrations in tea and points out the risks of consuming too much fluoride, including hypothyroidism.