Mural at Hunter’s Woods

Reston, VA

This mural covers the Colts Neck Road underpass. Reston is outside my usual daily travels, but it’s not far from a place where I was going shopping so I decided to locate and photograph the mural. It decorates these walls along the walking path. I did not photograph every part of the painting in the dark area of the tunnel, but it is all similar in style. 

Let’s start with a look at the path. It is well utilized. Reston was a planned community with plenty of walking paths. I can remember when it was rather rural and quiet, but now it is a city with high-rise buildings.

Mosaic Monday / Murals

I decided to photograph the mural on my right side as I walked through, and then turn around and photograph the other side on my way back.

I found a sign on the other side of the underpass telling about this mural by artist Ben Volta and community members. You can read details on the CODA website. It also has pictures of the mural when it was new. The name Thoreau’s Ensemble refers to a quote by Henry David Thoreau to, “Pursue some path, however crooked and narrow, in which you can walk with love and reverence.”

The View from St. Mary’s Pine Lutheran Church

Near Mt. Jackson

I posted photos of this country church before, but it was six years ago. This time I ventured behind the church to take in the view.

The last picture shows Middle Road as seen from the front of the church.

Sunday Best

Charlie’s Post on National Puppy Day

Hi, Charlie here! Sometimes I get to write a post to let you know what’s going on. There were some strange things this week. When we went for a walk yesterday, there was a smell of smoke. We didn’t see any fires though. We saw blue flowers by the river in the state park.

(Virginia Bluebells)

On the day before that, there was a lot of wind. It made noise and it blew a long thing off the house. Today Lynn came with a guy who fastened it back up. They call it a downspout.

The smoky smell is gone now. That has something to do with the rain that we had this morning. It was raining hard, but Mom didn’t even mind. She put on her hat and we took a walk like we usually do. 

We take walks a lot. I like walks better than riding in the car.  We even walk at night, but not very far. 

I like other animals. Mom made a picture of a cat, but it is not real.

The squirrel is real, but there’s a screen on the window so he looks a little funny. I don’t bark at him because I am a quiet dog and mostly I am curious.

I  like seeing birds but they won’t let me get close. And one thing I do like about the car is that I can look out the window and see other animals.

Did I tell you that Mom takes my picture all the time? I don’t like to pose. Well, it’s time to go to bed. Be nice to animals, especially dogs.

Spidery Roots

Winchester, VA

This pond is on property of the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley. As I started to compose this post, I realized that it’s hard to tell what is a reflection and what is not in the black-and-white picture, so  below is a slightly different version. 

Sharing with H2O / Reflections / B&W

Tears for the Sunset

Shenandoah County

Tonight‘s sunset brought tears to my eyes. This is partly because I felt sad and worried, and partly because my eyes smarted from smoke particles. It was the smoke particles that gave the sunset dramatic red tones.

The second picture was taken earlier. Normally, I don’t shoot directly into the sun without blocking it, but I really wanted to show the smoke. Wildfires are still burning in West Virginia, that’s where this particular smoke is coming from.

I exited from the interstate to take this earlier photo along Route 55 (US 48). The sun was about to go down, so I didn’t have time to search for a viewpoint without wires. Actually, they are appropriate here because most of the fires were started by power lines that were felled by trees in yesterday’s high winds. 

By the time I reached Woodstock, the sun had gone down, leaving us an orange sky that would be delightful if it weren’t for the tragedy of fires. Several homes were destroyed west of Strasburg.

I saw a map yesterday showing the fires in Virginia. I didn’t count them, but there were over 20. Some were contained by firefighters after the wind died down, but there's one to the east that is still uncontrolled. It’s on Massanutten Mountain in Page County, threatening to cross into Shenandoah County. It has burned 2000 acres and destroyed several structures. Much of it is inside George Washington National Forest. Route 211 remain closed on the mountain and it’s a main road. 

I just heard on the weather report that there are still 15 active fires in our region. We may get rain tomorrow night. I wish it would arrive sooner.

I worry that this is part of our “new normal” of disasters caused by climate change, and that it is too late to regain the balance of nature that developed over centuries. Perhaps we can slow down the damage enough to be able to adapt. I don’t know.

A Short Post for Wild Bird Wednesday

This will be a brief post because my eyes are tired plus they feel irritated from traces of wildfire smoke. The fires are not close enough to be a threat at this time, but there are several in my county and even more across the mountains. 

It was a very windy day today. Lynn came to help fix a window screen and just before she arrived, the power went out. It turned out that a tall tree had taken down wires on Main Street. Lynn and Barb were able to fix the screen anyhow because we had enough light from the windows. 

I hadn't seen red-winged blackbirds in a while, but I saw several today. I like their song and the male's flashy wings. 

The usual birds have been coming to my feeders. Here we have a black-capped chickadee.

 

“Civil War Superhighway”

Woodstock, VA

This Civil War Trails sign was installed recently in front of the parking lot for the Woodstock Town Offices. I’ll provide the first part of the text and a closer look at the pictures.

“The road behind you is US Route 11. Today it looks very ordinary, but in the 19th century it was an engineering marvel.

During that time, travelers were often hampered by poor roads that were narrow, difficult to traverse, and plagued by choking clouds of dust when they were dry and muddy morasses when it rained.

The Valley Pike, as Route 11 was originally known, was a well-designed, relatively straight and wide highway. The road’s surface was graded for drainage and “macadamized,” or paved with layers of stone.

Construction of this 19th-century superhighway by the Valley Turnpike Company began in 1834. It eventually ran 93 miles from Winchester to Staunton.

When the Civil War began, the turnpike brought repeated military campaigns, bloodshed, and destruction to the Shenandoah Valley.”

 

The final picture dates from before 1911, which is when the turnpike gates were removed. Note the diagonally raised pole, or pike, and  the woman leaning toward the car, likely collecting the toll. A sign on the tree to the rightt says, “STOP, Pay Toll.” Except for the car, the road looked much as it did during the Civil War. 

Tuesday Treasures

Blue Falcon

There were chairs stacked in front of this mural, and there wasn’t much I could do about them. I was at the local high school to vote in the primary election and I saw this on the wall. It looks like a fantastic rendering! I imagine those chairs are stacked there unless needed for an event.

There is a more visible falcon on an exterior wall, but it is not nearly as fancy. At first glance I thought it was an eagle, but the name of the school team is the Falcons, so logically that is what it is.

Monday Murals

John Wesley UMC

Harrisonburg, VA

Founded in 1865 at a different location, the church then served freedmen and other African-Americans, including business owners. The current church is on Sterling Street.
 

In front of the church is a state historical marker for Edgar Amos Love. He co-founded the first fraternity at a historically black college, served as an army chaplain during World War I, and worked for civil rights.

Across the street is Newtown Cemetery.. 

Mosaic Monday

St. Patrick’s Silliness and Other Critters

Today we begin and end with some St. Patrick's Day stickers. I found them on Picsart when I was adding a filter to a picture of Charlie.

 I don’t usually do much for St. Patrick’s Day. My DNA shows that my ancestry is 68% British and Irish, I don’t put much stock in that because those reports can change over time as more data is collected from people in different countries, and let’s face it, humans have always migrated around from one place to another.

Speaking of Charlie, here he is with a new friend at the dog park. His name is Cotton and his breed is Coton de Tulear. I recognized the breed because they have recently become popular, and Charlie has three friends who look like that: Coco, Chuck, and Beth’s dog. Sorry I don’t remember her dog’s name, but he lives across the street. I suspect that Coco was acquired because the little neighbor boy wanted one that looked like Beth’s dog. They are really cute and sweet! The third dog, Chuck, sometimes walks down our street with his mom when she visits her mom. He’s friendly, and Charlie is always thrilled to see him.

We also saw Sadie at the dog park, so Charlie was quite happy. Another thing we did today was make a brief stop at a winery where there was a event called “Festival of Wool.” I saw a fine-looking sheep.

There was a contest going on to try to break the record for how many sweaters a person could put on at one time. When I passed by, she had about 40 sweaters on.

As promised, I have one more picture that I created using Picsart. This is a new critter to me. 😉 

Yesterday ay Amy’s

Strasburg, VA

Amy’s shop is where Janet’s shop used to be. I parked in front of it because I was returning a book to the library next door.  

I also noticed a shadow from a fence. Perhaps I should disclose that I made adjustments to this picture in my Photos app. 

Actually, I’m being facetious because there was a big news story about a royal family photo that Princess Kate altered digitally. I don’t know why this rates as a scandal. Doesn’t everybody alter their photos? I realize that news publications need to have policies against altered photos, but good grief! 

Skywatch, After the Time Change

Daylight Saving Time began on Sunday here. So even though Charlie is still waking up at the crack of dawn, at least the clock says it is later.

View from Morning Stroll for Skywatch

Today we had a gorgeous sunset, but I was driving on the interstate and couldn’t take a picture. I do have a picture from a little earlier, taken through a side window while I was stopped at a red light. I cropped it because there were so many electric wires at the top.

 

Water H2O Thursday

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