Cameras and Costumes

At Glen's, Harrisonburg

Wordless

Mural at Water and Main

Harrisonburg, VA

This is a new mural and it’s near the kestrel mural that I showed a week ago. It’s a 92 South Main Street in Harrisonburg. 

 I took that picture from an angle, making it’s hard to decipher the painting. Here I have straightened it out digitally so that you can see the horse and rider better. Why is he carrying a chicken? I don’t know.

I snapped some pictures nearby to give you an idea of the area. It is between the courthouse and James Madison University.

Mosaic Monday / Murals

Formerly the Narrow Passage Church

I’ve driven past this church many times over the years, and I even stopped to take pictures of it in 2018. Eventually the congregation went elsewhere, and the church was offered for sale. I don't know who bought it, but it has not been fixed up. This weekend I saw that it was open during the Yard Crawl as someone was using it as a place to sell used items.

I was not able to find a history of the church, other than it was once the Assembly of God at Narrow Passage. (Narrow Passage is the name of a nearby creek.) The church interior has suffered from a roof leak.

The quality of items for sale was as uninspiring as the condition of the church. I noticed that heavy shelving units line the walls, so perhaps someone is going to use this space as an antique store. 

Doggy Likes and Dislikes

Hi, it's Charlie. I have some likes and dislikes to tell you, but first I'll show you a couple of kittens. There was a pet adoption event at a store that we went to. There was only one dog and he was really big, and there were a bunch of kittens and they were very small .

A lady was holding one. I was not allowed to play with it which seems kind of unfair, but they are just little baby cats.

I like cats, but I’ll tell you what I don’t like. I don’t like riding in the car. Mom says it’s necessary in order to go places.

I don’t like hard rain either. We had too much of it this week. I got wet.

Yesterday Mom drove to Chapman Landing to look at the river. It was flooding at the low bridge. The road is closed, but they let you park near the boat ramp, which was also under the water.

Today we went to the dog park, but none of my friends were there. We hung out there for a while and then as we got ready to leave, another dog came but he was not friendly, and he barked at me in a mean way. I don’t care.

The Yard Sale Must Go On

Last night's storm brought winds and a deluge of rain, but it headed on north this morning. The popular Route 11 Yard Crawl is still on. It’s a major event in Shenandoah County, with hundreds of people setting up tables and booths all up and down U.S. 11.

This is what the North Fork of the Shenandoah looked like this afternoon: muddy and roiling out of its banks.

Some people set up for the yard sales today, although the big day is tomorrow. Some will continue to sell on Sunday.

I stopped at one site between Woodstock and Edinburg. An artist named AJ Price was selling metal art, and various tools. Take a look!

The Drought Ends with Debby

Unfortunately, Debby is a hurricane.

Well, I just saw that Debby has been downgraded to a tropical storm. It did considerable damage as it came up the coast. Eventually, it veered westward so there are predictions that it could be dangerous here tonight. I’ve gotten multiple warnings from my weather app about possible tornadoes and floods. 

I picked up some extra groceries today and planned to stay indoors tonight, but Charlie insisted on going out after dark. The first time he did this, we only walked about 50 yards before he realized he was getting wet and decided to come home. At 9:45 he became desperate to go out, so we walked in the rain and stayed outside just long enough for him to do his part for wetter grass. The winds had not picked up and there wasn’t any lightning. 

By the way, two people close to me have been diagnosed with Covid so please avoid crowds if you can.

A White Goose and Some Pollinators

Wild Bird Wednesday / Wordless

Last Week along the South Fork

Front Royal and Bentonville

Wordless (at Cullers Overlook)

Kestrel Mural

Harrisonburg

This mural was recently painted by artist Christy Baker. It faces the East Water Street parking lot, and honors a JMU ornithology professor.

Monday Murals

Olympics, Doglympics, and a Quirk

Like most people, I’ve watched highlights of Summer Olympics. Sometimes I gasp at the feats of the gymnasts. How do they do those things?

Charlie is athletic, although he is not trained enough to win in the Doglympics. His specialty is running. He can also jump very well, albeit sometimes recklessly. He makes up for his lack of training by being very social.

I did not watch the Olympics on television but watched short videos on the Internet. Here is a quirk about me: I don’t like television. I haven’t turned it on in over a year and I suspect that the battery in the remote had died by now. I have nothing against entertainment; it’s just that when I was married, the television was on just almost all the time and I got sick of hearing it, especially since so much of it was the same thing over and over.

I do keep up with the news on the radio and online. I have apps for NPR and Reuters, as well as weather programs. I subscribe to the Washington Post online, partly because it seems important to financially support at least one newspaper. I listen to music on the radio, and I borrow CDs from the library to round out my own collection. I suppose CDs are old-fashioned now, but music over the Internet sounds tinny to me. 

I may as well give quick health updates. My vision has not cleared up yet, but it can take a week or so, or I might have to get a different injection. I had the infected tooth pulled and took antibiotics. I hoped that would help clear up my sinus infection, but it hasn’t. I quit physical therapy because it kept making my back hurt and they were limited by what insurance would allow. I don’t think my balance improved. I still suffer from extreme fatigue, but it’s hard to tell how much of that is due to the dog waking me up before dawn. I try going to bed earlier, but then I toss and turn. My plan now is to stop consuming caffeine at 2 PM instead of 3 PM to see if that helps me sleep. I’m sensitive to so many things, it’s ridiculous. And don’t get me started on allergies.

But the amount of medical knowledge is said to double every 73 days. That means that things that are a mystery to us now may be known a few months from now. The trick is keeping up with what’s new. Chances are that a doctor who actually treats patients does not have time to read all the new research. Thus it behooves us to try to keep up with news on our own conditions. This is complicated by all the fake news and rumors on social media, and the misinterpretations that we see on regular media. Frankly, some reporters don’t understand what they’re writing about. Still, I am hopeful. Seventy-three days… and it’s exponential. Amazing.

One Dog and Multiple Ducks

As promised yesterday, I will show you some ducks, but first here's a picture of Charlie artified in Picsart.

The ducks reside at Stoney Creek in Edinburg. You can view them from the parking lot at the historic mill.

The Male Mallard is Colorful.

A Mish-Mash of a Day

This afternoon I had an appointment with a retina specialist and I had no idea how long it would take, so I put Charlie in day boarding. I had a short list of other tasks to do, and the first one was to return books to the library. After that I ate lunch in the parking lot by the Edinburg Mill. I took some pictures of the ducks which I will show you tomorrow. A woman riding a bicycle stopped to take some pictures too.

The retina staff took all sorts of pictures of my eyes. It seems there is an abnormality on my left eye that looks like a little bubble. The doctor gave me the option of having a steroid injection in that eye today, so I said yes because I wanted to get it over with. I took a selfie while I was waiting for the numbing agent to take affect. The piece of tape indicates which eye they are treating.
 

Profile shot of the problem.

The injection was not painful, and it will take a week or so to know if it worked. In the meantime, I do not see very well and I am feeling dizzy. I took Charlie outside a little while ago. We sat on the bench and I looked at the sky.

Wish me luck as my eye heals up. Have a good weekend!

Fruit Stand

The August theme for City Daily Photo is Fruit. Today I stopped at Mowery Orchard to take some pictures of fruit for the theme because I don’t happen to have any fresh fruit at home. Sadly, I can only eat cooked fruit because raw fruit makes my gums sore and swollen. (This is a form of oral allergy syndrome.)  Yes, that’s pathetic, but as I often remind myself, there are many people who are practically starving, and at least I can afford to buy food. 

The apples look good, don’t they? I eat applesauce almost every day. 

I noticed a curtain that I thought was clever and appropriate.

Mowery’s is on Senedo Road, Woodstock, VA.