Random Sunny Days

Random-osity
 

The Good: The New Star Market found room for a new mural! I've shared their other ones previously. 

Monday Murals

The Random: Glimpses of autumn for Mosaic Monday.

The Fun: It was warm enough this week to do some outdoor lunches. I met Lynn for lunch on Friday and then on Sunday we met Allison and Dave for a picnic. 

 I miss meeting in restaurants but we are trying to stay Covid-free. Today there was news that a vaccine for it is passing tests for effectiveness, so I hope that things will be better by summer. 

The View from Van Buren Road

In Shenandoah County, Virginia.
 

Inspired Sunday / The Barn Collective.

Sugar Hill Cemetery did not appear to have a church nearby. There's a burial list on the Virginia GenWeb site. 

I came across it while exploring back roads. We've taken extra rides in the country this autumn because most weekend events were canceled due to the pandemic. 

My plan that day was to cross a ridge on Zepp Road, enjoying the fall colors and taking some photos. When I crossed a scenic creek at an intersection, I pulled off and got a few pictures. Then I consulted the map and decided to explore the road named Van Buren Road. 

It did not occur to me until later that I had heard of Van Buren Furnace, an old iron furnace on that road. Perhaps someday I'll go back and look for it. 

The stream here is Cedar Creek, which makes its way down the mountain to Middletown, where there's a battlefield named after it. It flows into the North Fork of the Shenandoah near Strasburg.

 
(There are dozens of posts on this blog about Cedar Creek.)

   I hope you enjoyed these autumn scenes. Have a great week!

Less Stress, More Critters.

I've got some Saturday Critters but first let me say that I am glad that the presidential election is decided. It took a long to for all the votes to be verified and counted. There is still the possibility of lawsuits, but at least I can stop biting my nails! And I'm pleased that Kamala Harris will be our first female vice president. I was impressed with her speech and with Joe Biden's. 

The photo of the horse and rider is from an event a few years ago that I did not get around to posting. This was on Smithsonian property near Front Royal.

The gatepost with a deer statue caught my eye as I was exploring a back road. I don't know who Kenneth is but he must feel welcomed.

I spotted the bird on a branch this afternoon. I could only see it in silhouette so I did not know that it was a robin until I cropped the image and lightened the shadows. 

The Bird D'Pot
 

I walked out toward the lake to look for more birds. Some Canada Geese flew in and I quickly snapped pictures. I did not have time to compose much because they were moving. I cropped these later in Photoshop. 

Trying to Focus on Bright Things.

Well, it's been a tiring week. Ballots are still being counted from Tuesday's election and voters are stressed from uncertainty and unpleasant threats coming from people who should know better.

I'm trying to stay positive. After all, there is work to be done. We need to work for justice and try to undo some of the damage that humans have done to the environment. 

I appreciate our natural world and I know most other photo bloggers do too.

Willy Nilly Friday / Friday Bliss 
 

For today's black and white photo, I chose one from September. I showed up at the end of a Civil War living history event, having felt trepidation at being in any large group during a pandemic. Most folks had left but I got a few pictures and enjoyed strolling on the Third Winchester Battlefield for a few minutes. 

Weekend Reflections: Low Gap in Shenandoah National Park is a lovely spot to see tall trees. Here they are reflected on my windshield. 

I also turned my camera downward to show some of the leaves that had fallen on the ground. 

 

Skywatch: This is the post office in The Plains, Virginia. 

Signs of Challenging Times.

It's two days after Election Day and we have proof that Eric Trump was wrong when he made the claim that the coronavirus would "magically go away on Election Day." New cases continue to occur at an alarming rate. Meanwhile, we still don't know who won the presidential race because votes in several states are still being counted. 

I'm continuing to take pictures of post offices because I treasure our postal service. Before the election, Republicans predicted fraud in voting and criticized the postal service in advance for not being able to process mail-in ballots properly. Now their leader is making accusations of fraud all over the place. Legitimate news sources debunk these accusations almost as quickly as they are made. 

 

This post office is in Charles Town, West Virginia. It was built in 1922 on the site of the old county jail where John Brown and his co-conspirators were confined after their unsuccessful raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. After a trial, Brown was hung a few blocks away.

 

Signs, Signs

Cardboard campaign signs are still up. These two are different than the usual ones. 

Here's another sign saying you must wear a mask over your nose and mouth in order to enter a store. This is a health food store and customers were all in compliance. Some other stores have not been as successful. I prefer to shop in stores where customers are following these simple health rules. 

The next photo shows a sign telling us there is only one race, the human race. I'm also including a wider view of that building, which appears to be 150 years old or more.

After I went shopping and took pictures today, I noticed that a warning message was displayed on my dash saying that a tire was low on air. The first gas station I found did not have an air pump so I drove on to Berryville. I inflated the tire but  about 20 minutes later, the message came up again. I went to Jiffy Lube and they showed me that a large nail was in the tire. They filled my spare tire with air and installed it for me. I have found their staff to be helpful in the past, and I am very grateful that they helped me out again. 

Tire shops close early around here so we'll have to call one in the morning. At least I got home safely. 

Thankful Thursday.

Birds Seen Briefly.

This afternoon was warm so I had lunch on the deck, camera beside me in case some birds decided to show up. Sure enough, one landed on the fence. I used the zoom feature and saw it was a robin. Before I could get a second picture, it turned its back! Then it flew away.

Wild Bird Wednesday / My Corner of the World.

 Then a little woodpecker showed up, hopping up the trunk of a tree rather quickly. I believe she's a downy woodpecker. A hairy woodpecker is similar but usually larger. 

I was feeling pretty good about getting some bird photos when the camera suddenly shut off. The battery was exhausted. I had used this camera a few days ago while my newer one was getting charged up and then I forgot to charge this one. 

Trees are Treasures.

Sharing with Tuesday Treasures 
and Image-in-ing 

Trees in Shenandoah National Park, Elizabeth Furnace, Blandy's Ginkgo Grove, and Front Royal. 

Cloudy Mural on a Sunny Day.

First things first: Voting Matters! We had early voting in Virginia so we went and avoided large crowds, an important consideration during a pandemic. 

I drove into Front Royal today to view the new mural on Cloud Street at the corner of Main Street. Yes, this is a cloud painting on Cloud Street!

The artists are Chris Stephens and Melissa Ichiuji. I saw them at work a couple weeks ago and took a few cell phone pictures. 

Monday Murals / Mosaic Monday / Blue Monday.

 

Here are a few other scenes from downtown Front Royal. If you've only come through town on the bypass, you missed Main Street. Come back and visit! 

Wolftown Chapel and the Rapidan River.

Wolftown is a community in Madison County. This is the Pentecostal Chapel, established in 1955.
 

Inspired Sunday / Shadow Shot Sunday

Also in that area is the Rapidan River. We've been to the headwaters of the Rapidan in Shenandoah National Park; this is downstream but still in the hills of the Blue Ridge. 

I've been to this section of the Rapidan but I know it was over 25 years ago because it was before the flood of 1995. I did not expect this to recognizable because the flood was so disastrous, sweeping away trees and buildings and a span of the US 29 highway bridge. (I remember the detour for the bridge, which took a long time to repair.)

Somehow the river settled back into its banks and the forest around it looks familiar. 

After I posted these photos, I was reminded that today is Theme Day for City Daily Photo. Today's theme is Kindness and I don't have a picture of it, but I have a memory. After the flood, I made a brief visit to Wolftown with a friend. We talked to a man who was rescued from the floodwaters by helicopter. They agreed to take his dog when he explained that he could not leave it behind. 

When he returned to his home after the water receded, he found the floors covered with about two feet of mud! He was trying to figure out what to do when some young Mennonite men showed up and began shoveling it out for him! They got the mud out and cleaned up the floors. They did not want pay for this; it was an act of kindness and a good deed in accordance to their beliefs.

Link: Flash Flood, June 1995.

 

By the way, the name Rapidan comes from the word rapid and the name Anne, for Queen Anne of England who reigned in the early 18th century. We were still under British rule when the river was named. 

The river is known for trout fishing. Part of the forest near the parking lot looks like it's been overtaken by kudzu!