More Water Garden Photos

Left: Frank inspects one of the ponds at Springdale Gardens. This is one of a series of small ponds connected by waterfalls going down a hill.

Water lily photo

Today we visited several gardens, including Springdale Water Gardens in Greenville. Frank is planning to put in a pond and we are looking for ideas.

Browsing local books

Yesterday we drove to Harrisonburg and Frank wanted to shop at Books-a-Million. I browsed the regional book section and came across a colorful book called Shenandoah National Park - Simply Beautiful. The authors were Ann and Rob Simpson who teach at Lord Fairfax Community College. I took a photography course that Rob taught and he is an outstanding nature photographer.

I continued browsing and on the adjacent shelf was The Best in Tent Camping: Virginia, 2nd edition by Rob Porter and Marie Javins. Later I spied another copy of this book in the travel section. (For those who don't know, Marie is my daughter.)

News from Alexandria

Clovis point found in Alexandria, Virginia

I still get emails and a newsletter from Alexandria Archaeology, where I volunteered for many years before leaving that fair city. A stone point from 13,000 years ago was found in a dig near the Wilson Bridge, along with quartzite chips that indicate tool-making. This indicates that native people lived in that area earlier than previous evidence suggested.

I miss Alexandria sometimes. It's a great city, although I found the air pollution to be unhealthy in the summertime.

When reading about the Clovis point, I came across an article that said Cash Grocer is closing. Too bad, it's a great little store, but I'm not surprised. Whole Foods opened nearby, and MOM (My Organic Market) has a nice store in Arlandria now. And of course, large supermarket chains now carry the most popular "natural" foods. When I worked in Alexandria, I used to really depend on Cash Grocer for wheat-free and dairy-free foods.

Historic Sites: Romney, WV

I came across the Historical Marker Database while looking for some information on a West Virginia town. The site has photos of numerous historical markers with accompanying details - quite useful for historical research (although one must remember that markers are not always totally accurate).

The site has a wish list of markers needed or nearby historic sites and one of them was Indian Mound Cemetery in Romney. I happen to be working on a Romney to Delaplane field trip for my Civil War battlefields website, so I had some digital photos handy. I submitted them last night and they now have their own page called Fort Pearsall 1754. That's the name of a fort that was erected on the Indian Mound before Romney was even a town. The fort had nothing to do with the Civil War, but the Romney area was occupied and fought over many times during the war.

Skywatch - this evening

Seen from our deck

An Air Horn Approach to Dog Aggression

Last week we took Ben for a consultation with a dog trainer near Tom's Brook. Mr. Kirby Hill let us know that we were not demanding enough of Ben and could not let him continue to threaten us and our guests.

I made the appointment because Ben had scared Frank's grandchildren and tried to bite Susan. The trainer suggested that we buy an air horn and blast the dog with it when he starts the ferocious barking-growling that frightens everyone. I found one at Wal-Mart's sporting goods section and tonight we had our first reason to use it. I accidentally stepped on poor Ben's foot and of course he reacted angrily, like he might eat us both! Mr. Hill had made it clear that we cannot tolerate biting NO MATTER WHAT, so while Frank was throwing water on Ben to shush him, I hit the button on the air horn and the barking stopped immediately. Within a few minutes the dog was calm enough that we could wipe up the water from the floor without a reaction.

We are also working with Ben on better leash behavior (no lunging!) and longer stays. And we must remember to release Ben from each "stay" with "Okay" so that he becomes clear on how long he must hold the position. This seems to be helping.

Postscript: A tin can with 6 pennies in it is another noise-maker that helps make Ben behave!

Book on the West Virginia Campaign

I found Lee Vs. McClellan: The First Campaign in our county library. The first sentence began with the name of someone I know: "E. B. Vandiver, a longtime student of the Civil War, provided the inspiration for this book." E.B. is a member of the Civil War class from NVCC that I have been taking field trips with for 18 years.

Newell covers much the same territory as our professor's book, The Glories of War: Small Battle and Early Heroes of 1861, which is longer because it also describes 1861 actions in eastern Virginia.

Many history buffs are unfamiliar with the struggle for western Virginia, but it is an interesting story. I have posted photo tours of the Kanawha Valley Campaign and the Cheat Mountain Campaign, but for the dramatic details, read one of the books listed above.

Critter Photos

This horse was seen next to Figgins Auto Sales.

Below is a squirrel that visited our feeder yesterday. Normally I don't fill the bird feeders in the summer because I want the squirrels to disperse and find new territories to live in. Just before Frank's grandchildren came, I put some pine nuts in this feeder, hoping to have some birds or squirrels to show them. Unfortunately, it took the critters over a week to discover the nuts. However, the grandkids did see a hummingbird visiting our nectar feeder, and they were entranced by it's small size.

By the way, you may notice that our grass and leaves are still very green. We have had just enough rain and just in time to avoid the drought that has parched other parts of Virginia.

A Flat Tire

Lynn had a flat tire on the way home Friday night after the concert here. Unfortunately, she was on I-81 and it was midnight. Fortunately, she was in the right lane and heard a change in the tire sounds and slowed down before the tire blew out. She was able to maneuver her pickup off the highway safely and reached a friend using her cell phone. They decided that it was unsafe to change the tire beside the busy interstate at that hour so her friend drove her home.

The vehicle was towed to a place near the Green Valley Book Fair. I picked her up yesterday and took her there. The tow truck guy was kind enough to change her tire and put air in the spare. Then Lynn and I went to a buffet in Mt. Crawford for a meal.

Second Concert of the Weekend

Tonight we saw the Blind Boys of Alabama at the Shenandoah Music Festival. They are billed as a gospel group, but they really rocked! They started off with a loud rousing version of "When the Saints Go Marching In" and kept up an energetic pace for the rest of the show.

Arlo

We went to the Arlo Guthrie Concert in Orkney Springs and had a great time! Lynn and Peggy and a couple of Peggy's friends joined us. This was the fourth Arlo Guthrie concert that Lynn and I attended together. The first was for her 18th birthday; about a decade later we met and saw Arlo and Pete Seeger at Wolf Trap; and another decade later we saw Arlo at JMU... that was just a couple of years ago.

Tonight's show was part of his "solo reunion" tour and he was not accompanied by a band. This gave us a chance to really hear his skill on the guitar and piano. As usual, his story-telling was hilarious.

According to Arlo.net, he will perform at Wolf Trap on Sunday. Highly recommended.

Image: Orkney Springs Hotel

This historic hotel at Orkney Springs is identified on the Shrine Mont site as the Virginia House.

(This picture started out as a photo. I altered it in Photoshop using filters and layers.)

Local Events

Happenings this weekend:
The Shenandoah Music Festival in Orkney Springs has some great acts!
August 10: Arlo Guthrie
August 11: The Blind Boys of Alabama

Also on Saturday: Route 11 Yard Crawl on from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Yard Crawl offers thirty-two miles of yard sales from Strasburg to New Market, Virginia.

Meanwhile, I was sorry to read in the Bryce Courier that Gail Rose plans to sell the herd of fallow deer at Deauville. They've been great for taking visitors to see but they are not profitable to raise. She will continue to raise and sell vegetables and eggs.

Deauville Farm is on Crooked Run Road near Basye.

More Pictures with Boyles kids

Above: Ice cream break, Basye

Left: Frank carries his granddaughter on his shoulders

Below: Crossing the stone bridge at Shrinemont

Our kitchen - a BEFORE picture

We have hired local designer Nancy Meyer to create plans for a new kitchen. The dark brown wall will go! The old scratched cabinets will be replaced, of course, as will the ancient stove and dishwasher.

All this will probably take a couple of months.

Cowgirl Jo

Here's Josie at The Yellow Barn, which recently opened at the Shenandoah Caverns complex. The barn holds a stage, antique vehicles, and a look-inside bee colony, but the kids were mainly interested in petting some little chicks.

More Parade Exhibits

Here are more photos from American Celebration on Parade.

As ususal, you can click on a picture to see a larger version.

Viewing Parade Floats

Adjacent to Shenandoah Caverns is American Celebration on Parade, a warehouse-sized museum of colorful parade floats. You can get tickets to it separately if you don't want to tour the cavern.

Below we see Frank's grandsons in a caboose.


Here little Josie stares at giant bunnies.

Earl the Goat

There are two goats at Shenandoah Caverns and sunflower seed to feed them.

Swinging Marionettes

Did you know that a museum near us has a great collection of old animated department store displays?

This circus scene fascinated me in its endlessly-swinging weirdness.

Animated Scenes

When we visited Shenandoah Caverns, we also saw it's adjacent attractions. They included parade floats, ornate displays from department store windows, and some farm-related items. When I was a kid, it was a big deal to look at department store windows in the weeks before Christmas. Below is a circus scene as preserved at Main Street of Yesteryear.

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Our guests have left

Below: Pool at Orkney Springs. A squirrel is on the tree to the left.

Our house is quiet again except for the sounds of the washer and dryer. Frank's daughters and the children have left.

I still have photos of their visit to post so watch for them over the next few days. Also, Susan is posting pictures on the Ryley-Sue-Doug-Josie blog.

Allison and Frank

Cousins at the Caverns

More pictures from our visit to Shenandoah Caverns.
Tallest to Shortest: Austin, Justin, Ryley, Josie.

Below: The Giant Cootie with the kids and Susan

Justin and the Singing Hamster

Since a Kung Fu Singing Hamster was popular with grandkids a few years ago, I bought its cousin for this week's visit. Susan got really tired of listening to it - wonder why?

Group Photos

Cave formations

Seen at Shenandoah Caverns
Near Mt. Jackson, Virginia

Come See Follow Me

Susan and I took the kids to Shenandoah Caverns. They seemed quite interested. Austin and Justin were protective of their young cousins.

Below is formation called bacon, for obvious reasons. The kids spotted plenty of bacon throughout the caverns.

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Back to the playground

Austin and Justin arrived today and joined their cousins for some fun at the playground.

A visit from Rysujo

Looking down from Woodstock Tower

It's an odd photo but I like it.

The usual photographic view from the tower is of the Shenandoah Valley with the river snaking through it -- quite lovely on a clear day.

If you want to visit Woodstock Tower, I suggest driving into Fort Valley (a lovely place) and taking the road up to the tower from there. It's not as steep and twisty there as it is on the Woodstock side of the mountain, which frankly I found scary.