Belle Grove Plantation in Middletown

I've been working on my photographs of Belle Grove and have finally posted them on my Civil War battlefields website. Belle Grove is a lovely old manor home in the Shenandoah Valley where the Battle of Cedar Creek was fought. The house has connections to Presidents Madison and Jefferson.

I also posted a page from a Civil War encampment at Belle Grove. There are some cute shots of a little girl taking hay to horses as well as some photos of reenactors in uniforms. I almost took a photo of a Civil War soldier talking on a cell phone in front of his SUV, but it didn't seem right! It was strange seeing soldiers haul cannons away on trailers behind their pickup trucks too.

Belle Grove is on the Valley Pike (U.S. route 11) between Strasburg and Winchester, VA. It's run by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. They close it during the winter although there are a few weekends when it's open for holiday-theme tours.

Civil War battles of 1861- Dr. Poland's book

I
posted a book review on Amazon for The Glories of War - Small Battles and Early Heroes of 1861. The book is quite interesting and I'm a fan of Dr. Poland so I gave it 5 stars. Charles Poland is the history professor at NVCC Annandale who leads Civil War Field Trips. This year's series of trips will begin on Saturday.

Arctic drilling

I realize that we face energy shortages, but drilling in the arctic won't help us this decade, plus even its supporters admit it will produce only a small amount of oil. Why risk ruining this unique wilderness? Sign the petition at www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/297924977

Chatham Manor photos

I just posted a page of photographs of historic Chatham near Fredericksburg. Chatham was visited by many famous people including George Washington, Robert E. Lee and Walt Whitman.
Chatham is now hosted by the National Park Service and is well worth a visit.

Alaska and Bears

I see that a movie is out about Timothy Treadwell, "Grizzly Man." He was a friend of Alaskan bears and was killed by them in 2003. Marie posted some photos of bears on her Alaska tour and mentioned Treadwell on her message board.

The D.C. City Paper has an interesting interview with the filmmaker Werner Herzog called Bear Witness.

Potomac Heat

It's hot here in the Potomac River region. I've lived here all my life and this is the hottest August I've ever seen.

When I was a child, we didn't have air conditioning, but electric fans kept us comfortable most of the time.

The Ecostewards Alliance is helping Northern Virginians to preserve the environment. Check out their site.

Stonewall Jackson Shrine

I posted photos of the place where Stonewall Jackson died on my Civil War Field Trips site. The National Park Service maintains the Jackson Shrine at Guinea Station near Thornburg, VA.

Marie's adventures

Marie Javins continues to entertain us with her adventures in Africa. Reminds me of one of her earlier trips which seems riskier now than it did at the time: an expedition to northern Pakistan near the Afghan border.

House for rent, Glebe Harbor, VA

We are making our house at Glebe Harbor available for rent. See SunnyHarbor.com for details.

The URL is redirected from Javins.com.

Domain Names

I've decided to sell the domain name EncouragementPlace.com for a bargain price. Write to me if you're interested.

I also have some names listed on Afternic and others listed at AlphaName.com.

Marie learns not to hurry in Uganda

Marie Javins has created a blog for her visit to Africa. It will no doubt be informative and fun to read, like her world tour using local transit in 2001.

Meanwhile, the Boyles family continues to post their family photos and Alice has started posting photos of the grandkids.

Revised sites

I posted the August events for singles in the DC area for Spiritual Singles.

I posted a new homepage for Frank Walcroft.

Preservation

It's hard to believe but someone wants to build a casino at Gettysburg. The Civil War Preservation Trust has an article on this threat to hallowed ground.

Temperatures here in Virginia have been unusually high, around 100 degrees F. Let's hope that global warming is not coming faster than predicted. Yes, there are skeptics. Read about who is financing the opposition to global warming science.

Great photos: wild animals and locales

Marie Javins posted photos of her Antarctica tour and they are delightful to see. From there you can also find her travel photographs of
Tanzania and Kenya Cats,
Ethiopia, African Animals, Tribes of East Africa, Papua New Guinea,
Australia, and Sri Lanka.

Northern Virginia Physicians

It's been a year since we moved from the D.C. area but I still drive up there to see two favorite health professionals: my allergist Pierre Gagnon and my dentist Bob Johnson. Today I drove the two hours each way for my quarterly visit to Dr. Gagnon in Alexandria. His office recently moved from Belle Haven to 312 S. Washington Street in Old Town. He is one of the few allergists I've met with an understanding of food allergies and digestive issues.

Last week I drove 2 hours to Fairfax to have Robert Johnson, D.M.D. replace a crown. He is now at Natural Horizons Wellness Center. He is sympathetic to my allergies and sensitivities.

American girl in Nairobi

The Fourth Rail has posted a review of the Comiculture Anthology which includes Jambo, I'll Have Your Money Now by Marie Javins. The narrative version of this story was told on MariesWorldTour.com and can be seen as one of her journal entries.

Cinquain

I'm struggling to keep up with my poetry class at Virtual University. Finally wrote a cinquain:

White quartz
Dark waterfall
Swish, rattle, roll, hiss, shake.
Thundering Zeus throws rain washing
Clothes clean.

Class Schedule

Dr. Poland gave me the tour schedule for this fall. See www.civilwarfieldtrips.com/moreabout.html for a list. First trip is August 27.

Community College Registration Opens

The Civil War Field Trips course offered by Northern Virginia Community College is open for enrollment for the Fall semester. Visit www.nvcc.edu/schedule/crs2054/ and select HIS (history) and Annandale, then scroll down to the last course, section 298. Click on the 50360 to see the full listing or try this direct link.

Back from the Northern Neck

We spent a week in Virginia's Northern Neck. This is the peninsula between the Potomac and the Rappahannock River. I was surprised to learn that broadband internet is not available to the Mt. Holly area except for satellite.

I have some pictures of our property and neighborhood posted at SunnyHarbor.com.

The Northern Neck is largely rural with waterfront communities and farms. It's a good place to see water birds.