Cedar Grove Church, New Market

Cedar Grove Church of the Brethren stands on a hill between New Market and Mt. Jackson, Virginia. It was the site of the final stage of the Battle of New Market in 1864.

Federal forces under Major General Franz Sigel had not fared well in this battle and retreated to this hill. Here's a quote from a National Park Service page about the New Market Battlefield.

Capt. Henry DuPont (US) brought up his battery to cover the retreat. He unlimbered first near the Harshburger House, then withdrew his pieces rearward en echelon as the Confederates advanced. Sigel fell back to his supports at the Cedar Grove Dunker Church and cemetery and organized a holding action, while his confused troops reorganized. DuPont's artillery continued to slow the pursuit. About 1630 hours, Breckinridge ordered a halt to regroup confronting the US line at Cedar Grove Church. Imboden's cavalry returned from their fruitless effort to get in rear of Sigel's army to burn the Meem's Bottom Bridge across the North Fork (the creeks were swollen with rainfall). An artillery duel continued until about 1700 hours. Breckinridge was unable to organize another attack and, by 1900 hours, the Union army escaped across the North Fork and burned the bridge. Sigel retreated down the Valley Pike rapidly, leaving his badly wounded at Mt. Jackson. He arrived at Strasburg on the following day.

Cemetery (on Rt. 11) Viewed from the Church Road

Sharing with: InSPIREd Sunday 

Innocent Looking Squirrel

You can't tell from these pictures but this cute squirrel had just finished raiding one of my bird feeders. 

Sharing with: Sepia Saturday and Camera Critters

Deer the Color of the Forest

When I drove on Skyline Drive Wednesday, I saw some small deer beside the road. They quickly melted into the forest, but I did get a few snapshots. As you can see, their light brown color serves as camouflage. I increased the contrast in Photoshop and cropped the images so you can see them more clearly.

At the time I thought there were three deer, but looking closely at the second Photoshopped image, I see four of them.(The one at the right rear is still hard to spot.) As you can see from the one who has turned to run off, they are whitetail deer.

Sharing with: Saturday's Critters

The View from Dickey Ridge

Early this week we had cold and cloudy days and even a night of freezing rain. On Wednesday afternoon I drove toward Front Royal to do a little shopping. Suddenly the sun broke through the clouds and I saw a golden glow on the mountains. Since I was just about to drive past the entrance to Skyline Drive, I decided to go up there for a short time to see if I could get a few good pictures while the light was special.

At the entrance station, the ranger told me that the drive was only open as far as Dickey Ridge because of ice. That was less than five miles away and the gates were closing in an hour but since I get free admission with my Senior Pass, I didn't mind. And it was too cold to spend more than a few minutes outside the car anyway.

I only saw two other vehicles while there.

Sharing with: Skywatch Friday

and Orange You Glad It's Friday

Raised Bed Garden

If you tend a garden, you are probably familiar with the advantages of a raised bed, not the least of which is less bending or kneeling on the ground to take care of it. This one in Sperryville was the first I've seen that takes the term raised bed quite so literally!

Sharing with: Signs, Signs
and That Friday Blog Hop

An Admirable Cat

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A Walk in the Woods, November 9th

A month ago I took our cocker spaniel up to Shenandoah National Park. It's always a treat for me to see the autumn colors along Skyline Drive and Benny loves to ride in the car!

We took a short walk on a narrow fire road that winds through the forest. The trees were pretty but I felt anxious when I saw a couple with two dogs approach us. The dogs were excited and the people had difficulty controlling them. Fortunately they did not attack Benny, who politely looked away as he usually does when he sees a strange dog.

Sharing with: Outdoor Wednesday

and Wednesday Around the World

Benny in the Woods

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and Wordless Wednesday

A Farm on the South Fork

Sharing with: The Barn Collective

and Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

Good, Random and Fun: Cell Phone Snapshots

I still carry a camera with me most of the time so I don't take many pictures with my cell phone. And since I don't have the top-of-the-line phone yet, my cell phone pictures aren't the highest quality. However, when my camera isn't handy or the cell phone happens to be in my hand anyway, it will do for capturing a scene or just playing around while I wait.

The Good

This is the new Metro station in Reston. That area has been waiting for years to be served by the train, and the location just off the Wiehle Avenue exit to the Dulles Airport Road means that getting to the airport from Washington and Northern Virginia just got easier.

I was there to pick up Marie and she had texted to say the train had just left McLean. (That's also a brand new station. And that area has a traffic problem so the Metro will be very helpful.)  Since I had my cell phone in my hand, taking a picture was a logical thing to do. 

The Random

Our washing machine at home is not large enough to launder a king-size comforter, and having it dry-cleaned costs as much as buying a new one. So there I was in a laundromat, waiting for an extra-large washing machine to finish washing the item. I checked my email and then took a picture to pass the time.

The Fun

My ophthalmologist has some humorous signs in his office. One of his patients created this special eye chart for him.

I had left my camera in the car so I used the cell phone. It would have gotten a clearer image but at least the phone's small size meant it was not distracting to other patients.

Sharing with: The Good, Random and Fun

and Our World Tuesday

What is a Mural?

Some sources define a mural as a painting applied directly on a wall or ceiling. Other sources provide a broader definition: A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a large permanent surface.

Can a glass wall be a mural? Yes, VMI's website calls this a "stained glass mural wall." It's the creation of abstract artist Ami Shamir.

The beautiful stained glass wall section is in the Virginia Museum of the Civil War in New Market. It includes the names of the ten young cadets who died in the 1864 battle at that site. One was related to Thomas Jefferson and shared his name. By the way, the museum will close for renovations starting December 13th so if you want to see this you have to hurry up or else wait until mid-January.

I have to admit that the picture on the right is probably not a mural by the definition of being "applied directly" to the wall. It appears to be a painted cut-out that was fastened over the wall and it does not follow the contours of the siding. I like it though! This is in Strasburg, Virginia and the plaque above it says the building dates from circa 1874.

Sharing with: Monday Murals 

Shadow on the Door Curtain

There's no rule that a photo has to be informative or even representational. Sometimes it's fun to just see what you can do with light or shadows or patterns or color... whatever intrigues you. 

Sharing with: Shadow Shot Sunday

December 1941

I have a photo album from the early years of my parents' marriage.  There are three pages of snapshots from a Florida vacation in December 1941.  

Mother told me about it. They were visiting her father who was stationed there with the Navy. One day while they were there they heard a paper boy call out the headline "Pearl Harbor Attacked."

"Oh my God!" said  her father. "I've got to get back to the base!"

The photographic part of this story ends abruptly. After three pages of carefree photos, there's a blank page. Then there are no more pictures until spring of 1942! Eventually there are pictures of my dad in his Navy uniform.

Today is December 7: Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

Sharing with: Weekend No Rules Blog Hop

Rascally Squirrel

Young squirrels are cute but they can decimate the bird food pretty quickly.

Check out the video to watch the athletics.

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and Camera Critters

Canada Geese in Sepia Tones

Sharing with: Sepia Saturday and The Bird D'Pot

Clay Sculpture from High School

This is a clay bust that I made in high school art class many years ago. My parents kept it on their mantel for a long time, and eventually it ended up here. Not long ago I wanted something orange for the linkup at Writings of Maria so I photographed it on an orange "shammy."

I did not pursue sculpture or painting after that class but I always felt fond of this piece. If photography were not so accessible, I might have studied art, but that takes courage when your skills are awkward.

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Sunlight through Dark Clouds

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Horse and Rider, Herndon

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and Good Fences

At Frying Pan Park

I Hope I Never Need This!

We passed this sign near Sperryille. It's not far from Shenandoah National Park where we did see a bear just a few months ago.  Bear attacks are extremely rare in the Eastern US, and the black bears that live here are usually shy toward humans. However, a hiker in New Jersey was killed by one in September.  So it's not surprising that campers and hikers are starting to carry bear spray.

A study showed that the spray (a strong pepper spray) is more effective than a gun in stopping a charging bear! Who knew?

Sharing with: Signs, Signs and Outdoor Wednesday

Romantic Skyline Drive

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and Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

Herndon Heifers

A search for a pleasant spot for eating a salad that I purchased in Reston led me to Frying Pan Park in Herndon, Virginia. It turned out to be a great place for taking some barn photos.

I'm calling these young cows "heifers" but perhaps they are yearlings. Farmer friends, how do I tell?

Sharing with: The Barn Collective

and: Our World Tuesday

This one reminds me of a deer. 

Mural Tree and Real Tree

In Luray, VA

"Another Project by the Luray Tree and Beautification Committee"

Sharing with: Monday Murals

Blog Post #4700

On every hundredth blog entry I try to depart from my usual formula of photo stories and either write something about myself or something significant. For this 47-hundredth post I want to talk about preparing for climate change.

I've seen the argument about climate change shift from "Global warming will [or will not] happen" to "Climate change is [or is not] caused by human activity." It's becoming painfully obvious that climate change is happening, and while it is statistically a warming trend, it is sometimes evidenced by unusual cold and even odd weather events. As for whether it is human-caused, people like to argue about this and while I personally believe that we've played a huge and tragic role in it, the exact extent is not that significant to me for two reasons:

1. We have to deal with the results regardless of who or what caused it. 
2. If somehow we did not cause it by polluting the earth, we still need to stop polluting for other reasons! And if this is the case, arguing about whether we caused it is a "red herring" — an argument that takes energy away from the painful need to stop polluting now! 

The American Lung Association tells us that "More than 147.6 million people — 47 percent of the nation — live where pollution levels are too often dangerous to breathe."

How can that be acceptable? And of course, the pollution that is making people ill is also affecting animals and even plants. So we need to stop making excuses for polluters and make them clean up their act! But of course we all have a role to play, because our energy sources are likely sources of pollution, so all need to look at what we are doing and how we can do it using less fossil fuel-based energy.

Meanwhile, we need to be prepared for the effects of climate change. An immediate threat is flooding caused by rising ocean levels and melting glaciers. We've already seen populated areas flooded and we will likely see it again and again over the next few years. Unfortunately, we like to believe that such events are flukes so we fail to prepare as well as we could. We also tend to feel secure as long as others around us are ignoring the problem! Folks, optimism will not protect you when the winds howl and the waters rise!

I'm not an expert so I won't tell you where to live, but personally I would not rebuild in a flood zone, nor would I live on a low-lying island. Assuming that you don't live in a vulnerable area, you still need to be prepared for weather-related emergencies. Those of us who live in areas that get occasional hurricanes have heard about storm preparedness and we really need to take it seriously. Keep containers of water and non-perishable food on hand at all times, know where your flashlights and batteries are, have a plan for staying warm if the power goes out, have a weather radio, keep your cell phone charged. What have I left out?