Charlie, Alone and With Friend

Hi, Charlie the Beagle here! In the picture, I’m at a dog park looking for another dog to come play with me. I got lonesome, so after chasing the ball a little while, I let Mom know I wanted to go home.

Yesterday a gray cat was hiding right outside our front door. This cat lives with Tripod, but isn’t friendly or is still scared of me.

Mom took a couple of pictures and changed one to make it brighter.

I went to Sadie’s house twice this week! We have fun. In the picture, she looks like she’s frowning, but she wasn’t. We were playing.

After a while I got tired, but Sadie would not leave me alone. She kept licking me and chasing me. Finally I sat down in front of the door to let Mom know it was time to leave. I was ready for a nap.

Speaking of naps, I am ready for another one.

100 Years of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy

When I read that this month is the centennial of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, I knew I should take some pictures for this blog. I headed for the trail crossing on Remount Road (522) near Front Royal. 

A sign provides general information about the trail along with information about the town of Front Royal, which invites hikers to spend time and money. I’ve seen long-distance hikers in town buying supplies including replacement footwear. By the time a through-hiker reaches this point from the trailhead in Georgia, they have walked 965 miles (1553 km)! If they make it to the northern terminus in Maine, that’s about another 1216 miles. A surprising number of people hike the entire length, Many more just hike some section of it. When I was younger, I did a number of short hikes on the trail in Shenandoah National Park. My parents enjoyed doing day hikes there and would take us kids, with canteens of water and some sandwiches and snacks.

The first section of the Appalachian Trail was completed in 1923 in New York State. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy was formed in 1925 to advocate for and protect the trail. The trail was completed in 1937 and has been modified since then. 

Most of it is a lot more rugged than this boardwalk suggests. Here it crosses a small creek within sight of Remount Road. This area can get quite swampy, so the boardwalk keeps it passable.

It’s Vernal Equinox Day

...Better known as the first day of Spring!

Flowers are definitely starting to bloom. The first scene is in Winchester and the rest are near Front Royal.

 

That sky deserves another picture.

The view is from Bennett’s Chapel.

I didn’t take a picture of the church this time because the parking lot was full. I’ve posted pictures of it before. As you can see, I took them from almost the same spot in the parking area.

Canada Called, They Want their Geese Back.

Just kidding! They have enough geese already. Canada geese are everywhere in North America, at least there are an awful lot of them in Virginia. They can be a nuisance.

I saw a few today on my way home.

Here is an older snapshot of a Canada goose. 

I located that image pretty quickly by searching the pictures on my iPad. I’ve discovered that I can open the Photos app and search by typing in a subject. It even works for a color!

Note that this is not foolproof. It brought up pictures of ducks as well as geese.

That little heart on the corner of many pictures is something I use to show that I’ve already shared the photo on this blog or elsewhere.

By the way, I apologize to my friends in Canada for the insulting things that certain politicians here have said.

Kennedy and Johnson 1960

I've kept this campaign button since I was a child.

Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

A Green Bandana for my Bark Ranger

It’s St. Patrick’s Day, and I don’t really celebrate it much. I did wear a green shirt, and then for the sake of a photo, I put a green bandanna on Charlie. 

It says, “Bark Ranger. Leave only Paw Prints.” 

We went to Seven Bends State Park for his afternoon adventure. We didn’t walk very far because my knee was hurting a lot. It had felt better before physical therapy this morning. Maybe I should stop going. Well, I have an appointment with an orthopedic doctor on the first. I hope he can tell me why it hasn’t gotten better in three months. 

Here are some more pictures from today. Virginia bluebells are showing signs of blossoms already.

Along Lupton Road

A Tornado Watch Day

We were under a tornado watch all afternoon. The day started out with dark clouds and wind. I took Charlie for the usual morning walk except more hurriedly.

The sun came out, but since it was windy and a tornado was possible, we stayed home. The power went out for several hours. Charlie was very sad because he wanted to go on an adventure and he had no idea why I would not take him.

The electricity finally came back on in time for dinner. Our evening walk was brief. By that time, the tornado watch had been extended to 8 PM and a thunderstorm was on the way.

Even a dark sky can be a beautiful blue.

Mosaic Linkup / Sunday Best

The heavy rain came, but did not last long. One of my windows leaked, though. It’s already been repaired several times!

I’m glad we didn’t get a tornado. Yesterday there were horrible storms over large sections of our country. 

I’ve been around a long time, and our weather has definitely changed. There are still politicians and a few corporate people who don’t believe in climate change, and some gullible people believe them. The majority of Americans are concerned about climate change. I hope it’s not too late to keep things from getting worse.

Critters, No Rhino

 On my way to Edinburg the other day, I stopped to take a picture of some lambs.

My cell phone has a feature where you can tap the Info button for a picture and it will show you where you took the picture and it will even make a guess at what kind of animal or plant you’re seeing. It identified the sheep as a mammal, so I clicked through to see what kind. Wow, that’s wrong!

Meanwhile, Charlie continues to master the skills I expected him to learn a year ago. He’s riding in the car bravely, and sometimes sleeping past daybreak. We’re still working on separation anxiety, though.

He has a few words to say but first, here are some pictures from one of our trips to Seven Bends State Park.

And Now, A Beagle Report!

“Hi! Do you like going to the dog park? I love to go, but sometimes no other dogs are there. I inspect the whole place, but if no dogs show up, I feel kind of sad.

Here’s a dog named Midnight. I told Mom to lighten his picture, but she did something strange to it.”

“The best way to go to the dog park is to take some friends with you. Today we took Sadie. Her mom threw the ball for us and gave us water.”

“Be sure to have fun when the weather is nice. Maybe we’ll see you at the park!”

On the Passing of Bill Schell

Bill Schell died on on March 7, 2025. He was a close friend of my sister for many years.

In his later years, Bill lost vision in one eye following a series of medical problems and deficiencies in the healthcare system in Kentucky, where he lived. Yet he retained a positive attitude. It is hard to believe that he is gone because he was full of life.

Daffodils AKA Jonquils or Narcissus

I spotted my first daffodils of the season on Monday along Lupton Road.  Did you know they have tepals? When I read that, I thought tepal might be a typo, but no. The word tepal is used when the petals cannot be distinguished from sepals. 

Today I saw  daffodils blooming in my yard. I plucked one to take a picture while I was walking Charlie this evening.

I decided to hold it up for more light. I took several versions because I was holding the flower in one hand while holding my cell phone and the dog’s leash in the other hand. I won’t show you the blurred version! I used the timer feature on the phone because it’s almost impossible to hold the phone steady while tapping the button with the same hand, so I set a 3-second delay.

The sky deserves its own shot.

Sadie’s Birthday, also Some Ducks

Today was Sadie's Fifth Birthday, and her mom invited us to help celebrate. Charlie likes her and enjoys playing at her house. Sadie adores Charlie and bats him with her paw if he stops paying attention to her.

Today is also Wild Bird Wednesday and I have some ducks at Stoney Creek to show you. They are mostly mallards, although other ducks live there too. These are accustomed to being fed and will waddle right up to you.