A Few Quick Photos

Would you believe I forgot what day it was? I was preparing a Saturday post and remembered at the last minute that today is Friday! Fortunately I have some cell phone pictures to share, kind of willy nilly, starting with a Skywatch image that I grabbed at dusk yesterday. 

Floral Friday / Friday Bliss

Reflection in a Mirror with Purple Mandala. 

 

Signs, Signs... Shenandoah.

Signs in Front Royal warn of "Leaf Traffic Coming," alternating with "Expect Delays." Why? Front Royal is the northern gateway to Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park. Weekends in  late October bring hordes of "leaf peepers" to the town and traffic backs up for miles as they wait to pay admission to the park.

If you must come on a weekend, get there early. Traffic is usually not bad before 10 AM. 

Foliage colors are just starting to change. The second picture shows a couple of trees at dusk, at Dickey Ridge Visitor Center in the park.

Pictures 3-7 show scenes at Shenandoah Caverns today. I did not tour the cave or the parade museum because I have been there before. I wanted to photograph the small post office which is inside the entrance building, which also has a gift shop. 

Sharing with Signs, Signs and

Little Things Thursday.

Mallard Ducks in Winchester.

Wordless and Wild Bird Wednesday
 

 

The Dodd House in Moorefield.

 This Victorian house was built in 1885. We toured it two years ago during Hardy County Heritage Weekend. The tours did not take place this year due to concern about Covid. 

Small panes surrounding the bay windows contain stained glass.

Our Welcome Flag

Randoms: A Mural, A Post Office, and a Fun Farm.

Random-osity
 

The Good: This mural at El Maguey Restaurant shows the Front Royal town square. There are other murals there which I'll show next week for Monday Murals.

The Random: Image #3 shows the Middletown Post Office. 

The Fun: I promised yesterday to show more photos from the autumn event at Cox Farms. Due to the pandemic, they cancelled the traditional hay ride and developed a drive-through version. 

Mosaic Monday

Cox Farms is in Centreville, VA. I purchased our ticket online before we went. Perhaps someday after the pandemic is over, I'll go back to see Foamhenge, which is not available to visit this year.

Barns and a Church We Saw Today.

We drove out to Cox Farms today to get into the spirit of Autumn. They have a pumpkin patch and Halloween event which I'll share more about tomorrow. This is along Braddock Road near Centreville.
 

On the way we passed this church. I stopped there to check my directions because my GPS has been wrong before, but we were heading the right way. 

This is the Little River Baptist Church built in 1973. The church was first constituted in 1769 and met in a log building that also served as a school. 

Currently they are holding Sunday services outdoors.

 

Cows, Birds, and a Fish Hatchery

Saturday Critters / I'd Rather Be Birdin'
 

Here's some cows we saw yesterday in Page County.

We saw a couple of crows. The neat thing was that we could clearly hear this one flap it's wings as it flew upward toward the sky. Whoove, whoove, whoove. 

Closer to home, these Canada geese were floating along and one stretched his neck up as I focused on them.

Work has finally begun on the Fish Hatchery Project! I heard about the plans for this over two years ago. Funding comes from a portion of a settlement with Dupont Chemical for damage done to the Shenandoah River by pollution from a factory in Waynesboro over 70 years ago. Yes, the wheels of justice move slowly where environmental damage is concerned, but fish in the river are still not really safe to eat. Mercury is heavy and sunk into the silt throughout the entire floodplain, and gets released every time the water gets high. 

An objective to the hatchery restoration is to propagate smallmouth bass to stock in the Shenandoah. Sadly, most of the people who lost their livelihood when the river gots polluted are no longer around to benefit from the settlement.

 

Reflections, Skies, and More.

Willy Nilly Friday.

 

1. Weekend Reflections: Windows in Harrisonburg reflecting an interesting older building.

2. Black and White / Skywatch: When I tried to photograph the harvest moon tonight, branches were in my way. I decided to crop it and remove the color. 

3. I walked out to the mailbox to where I could get a shot of Mars (?) and the moon without branches or wires, but I did not carry a tripod so this is not nearly as good as some photographers produced. I left the color cast in this one  for comparison. (Someone posted that it's Mars but I have not confirmed it.)

4. Post office, New Market, Virginia. I appreciate our postal workers.

  5. Friday Bliss: It took longer than I intended to make this collage. 

Signs and the Season in a Thrift Shop.

Here we visit Blue Ridge Hospice Thrift Store in Strasburg. Profits from selling donated items go to providing services for people in hospice care. 

Signs, Signs: A sign saying "Please do not leave your children unattended" is bilingual. My favorite sign says "Keep Talking. I'm diagnosing you." 

There are a number of social distancing signs on the carpet. 

Until yesterday, I hadn't been inside the store since the lockdown but I had dropped off donations at the back door. I appreciate how the staff takes care of the items and displays them so nicely. 

As you can see, they have decorated for Halloween. 

 

Covid-ality Today

 The City Daily Photo Theme for October is “Your Covid Response.” I’m not sure how to respond to the topic. It’s complicated.

 Note that many of us have stopped saying COVID-19 and now just say Covid. This was barely on our radar in 2019 anyway, and it may well still be plaguing us in 2021. 

 Today I went to the ophthalmologist for the first time this year. It’s an appointment that I rescheduled  twice, feeling a little bit nervous about going into a big medical building. Once I got there however, I felt fairly safe. Everyone was wearing a mask

My biggest response to covid has been sadness. I miss my family and friends. I miss doing things that involve other people. 

My Daughters and My Sister.

My second biggest response is frustration. Many people refuse to do their part by wearing masks. Our government's response has been pathetic. 

As someone said, it turns out that the saying "Avoid it like the plague" is misleading. Some people don't bother to avoid it!

Meanwhile, there are still shortages in stores and even online. Manufacturers have managed to restock their big sellers, but less popular products have become hard to find. 

For someone like me with food allergies, the less popular items can be important. My diet has become more limited and more monotonous. Well, at least I have lost a couple pounds!

I hope you are doing well.