A View from A Window, Mt. Jackson

B&W Pictures From a Family Album

Isn't that a cute photo of Marie (above)? That would have been in the 70's.

And on the right we see an even earlier picture. Lynn is leading the way on a hike through the woods with my parents.

Pics from the 90's

From time to time I scan in some old photos and eventually (maybe) I get around to cropping and sizing them. Here are two family pictures. First, me with my Aunt Clarice in Rose City (Michigan).

And below, my parents with Lynn in Goshen Pass (Virginia).

Festival in Edinburg, VA

Today Frank had to work at the real estate office and I spent the morning working at our library. But it was too nice a day to spend indoors, so this afternoon I went to the Edinburg Ole Time Festival.

It's one of the larger festivals I've seen here in the valley. There were plenty of vendors and (as you can see) llamas.

Red Sky at Night

Why I made that tape

Marie created a multi-media video about some horrible neighbors we had long ago when we lived in a townhouse. She includes sound from a cassette tape that I made from my window. You can hear these people yelling and cursing. They did that regularly. Which leads to why I made the tape.

I had complained to the police about the noise but usually it quieted down around the time they drove up, although there were a few times in which a fight was in progress and they actually hauled someone off to the police station. But the screaming and fighting continued, especially on weekends when it went out past 1 o'clock in the morning, making sleep difficult.

So I decided to make tapes of the noise and take them down to the police station and have a talk with the captain. It turned out that I never had to go there. They arrested Billy for firebombing a car. But first they had to find him.

He had climbed onto the roof, crossed over to the hatch-door in my roof (which a painter had failed to lock), and hid in my attic. I heard someone in the attic, didn't know it was him... terrified, I locked myself in the bedroom, pushed a dresser against the door, and called the police.

The dispatcher took my address. "The police are outside your house," she said. "They are there to arrest your neighbor." I looked out the window and sure enough, several cruisers were out there.

"He's in my attic!"

I moved the dresser back, flew down the stairs and let in the officer who was at my door by that time. He brought in a police dog. He put up a ladder to the attic door.

"Billy, come on out! I know you don't want this dog coming in after you."

That was true. They took Billy away and he went to jail for a few years. By the time he got out, I had moved across town to a single-family home.

P.S. Marie has also posted a follow-up to the story.

Hummingbirds have Feet

We enjoy watching the little hummingbirds that come to their feeder all summer. They move so fast you can't see their legs and feet.

"Maybe they don't have feet," Frank said one day.

Yesterday I took a couple more pictures of a hummingbird, and this one shows his little feet.

Grocery Store with a View

As Seen from the Food Lion Parking Lot
Woodstock, VA

That's a cute logo on the shopping cart corral.

A Friend Turns 75

Congratulations to Sarah Fields on turning 75! I've been friends with Sarah since we worked for Alexandria's 4-H Program 30-some years ago.

The picture below appeared in a newsletter in January 1981. It shows us together at a community event recognizing volunteers. 

Marie's Latest Book: A 3-D Atlas for Kids

Congratulations to Marie Javins on the publication of her 3-D Atlas and World Tour. It's an illustrated atlas for young readers. I'm looking forward to seeing it. A pair of 3-D glasses is included so the illustrations should really stand out!

The portrait on the left is one that was taken of Marie on the QE2 portion of her 2001 trip around the world. I don't think she's ever used this picture but I think it's pretty.

Poplar Forest

Here's a couple of views of Poplar Forest, built by Thomas Jefferson in 1806 on a plantation that his wife inherited from her father. It's near Lynchburg, Virginia, and was a two-day ride from Monticello by horse.

In 1781 during the American Revolution, Jefferson and his family stayed on the plantation to avoid the British, who were looking for him at Monticello. (They considered him a traitor, so his life was in danger.)

Jefferson was president when he had the octagonal house at Poplar Forest built. He used it as a retreat and also as headquarters for running the plantation there.

And here's a restored brick "necessary" or outhouse. There's one on each side of the house although some distance away. Under a staircase that led downstairs from his bedroom, Jefferson had an indoor toilet, a convenience that was rare in this country at the time but fashionable in Paris, where he had spent some years as our Minister to France.

• Poplar Forest (official website)
• Biography of Jefferson

About Virginia's Snake-Style Fences

From an interpretive sign at Jefferson's Poplar Forest:

I wasn't familiar with the term curtilage. It means the enclosed land around a house or other building. I've copied the text from this part of the sign for you:

"A portion of the curtilage fence has been recreated along the front entrance drive. This traditional "Virginia" or "snake" fence is built of hand-split Black Locust rails stacked loosely in a zig-zag pattern. As in Jefferson's day, the bottom rails rest on fieldstones to prevent rotting from contact with the ground."

I've mentioned before that this blog gets visitors who are looking for information on split rail fences. I've always loved the look of those rustic wooden fences and have taken many pictures of them over the years. The one on the left is at New Market, Virginia.

Earlier Post: Building A Split-rail Fence

The View from Cedar Ridge

This is the view from a house that Frank has listed for sale. The house is called Cedar Ridge but it's on part of Supinlick Ridge here in Bryce Resort.

Frank works for Creekside Realty which has seen a few changes lately. The primary broker (Mr. Armell) left and a few agents decided to leave too. There's a new broker now and he assigned this listing to Frank. It's a very nice home on two levels, 5 BR, 4 BA.

A Few Notes from Our Trip

• It takes about three hours to drive from Woodstock (where we left the dogs) to Appomattox.
  
• Lexington to Appomattox= about an hour
  
• There are several restaurants in the present-day town of Appomattox. We ate at a Chinese place near Kroger. My chicken dish was fine but Frank did not like the buffet.
  
• Originally we planned to spend a week at the beach but the forecast for several hurricanes made that idea unattractive. After some discussion we decided to make a 2-day trip to Appomattox. Day two was a little rainy - not a big problem.
• From Appomattox, we drove to Lynchburg and had lunch at Bob Evans (on business 29). Then we went to Poplar Forest. 
• Got back to the kennel before 8 PM so that we could pick up the dogs. 

Nicotina Tobacum

This weedy-looking plant is tobacco. It's been grown in Virginia for centuries even though it's known to deplete the soil.

I'm not a fan of it's products. Both my parents smoked starting in their college years, and both of them had COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder). I'm allergic to tobacco smoke... and doesn't it smell awful?

Another Evening Sky

Board Fences

Appomattox Court House, VA

The old lanes have been planted with grass.

The Court House at Appomattox

"Appomattox Court House" refers both to the county court building and to the historic town itself. This building is a reconstruction of the 1846 court house and is used as a visitors center.

The photograph on the right is a view of the court house as seen from Clover Hill Tavern.

Clover Hill Tavern

North Elevation of the Tavern

Clover Hill Tavern, built in 1819, played a part in the surrender at Appomattox. The U.S. Army used it to set up portable printing presses. In five days, they printed 28,231 parole passes for the surrendered Confederate soldiers.

Each pass stated that the prisoner had "permission to go to his home, and there remain undisturbed."

• Clover Hill Tavern Buildings
  
• Printing the Paroles
  

Historical Entertainment

This fellow is a historical re-enactor at Appomattox. He told us how he joined the Confederate Army, was wounded, went back after healing, only to be with the Army of Northern Virginia when they were defeated. 

Appomattox National Historical Park also has a couple of slide shows for your edification, along with museum exhibits that light up and make sounds.

Below are figures from a life-size mural depicting the most famous leaders who met at Appomattox.

General Lee	General Grant