Spring and Fall are festival seasons around here. I think May and October have the most events, with April and September close behind.
There were so many events this weekend I had trouble choosing which one to do today. Art at the Mill is ending this weekend, but we went last week so it was not important to go again. Not far from there is the Mother's Day Plant Sale at the State Arboretum, but we've been three or four times in the past and didn't buy much, although it's enjoyable. The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley had a Mort Kuntsler event but there will be some related lectures that I want to hear later. Also, it's Wildflower Weekend in Shenandoah National Park, which we enjoyed last year, and there are Garden Tours in Berkeley Springs, which we've done before. And that's just the start of the list of events that I saw listed online, some of them on a
Shenandoah Valley site.
Somehow I came across a description of
Martinsburg Heritage Days and decided that was the place to go today. It turned out to be an excellent choice, although Frank was having back pain and sat out the tour that I found most amazing, and that was the tunnel tour at the Triple Brick Building. If you get a chance to take it and you aren't afraid of old cellars and caves, be sure to go!
I haven't downloaded my pictures yet, and I hope I have some worth sharing. We had previously toured only a
tiny section of Martinsburg but were impressed by the architecture. It is in West Virginia about 20 miles from Winchester.
I felt lucky to spot this mural in Winchester, Virginia. It's on a modest building across from the railroad tracks. 
Sometimes it's prudent to stay inside the car! But that doesn't mean you can't take pictures.
These donkeys are a small Mediterranean breed that we saw a year ago at a farm near Amissville. Isn't the baby cute? 
1. Frank is on the board for our community association and he volunteered to get a couple of signs replaced. He got a decent price from Fine Line in Maurertown and they finished them this week. Here Frank and our neighbor Tony are putting up the new sign at the community entrance. 
4. I got a great deal on some grass seed, or so I thought. But it turned out that the mulch it came in was ground-up paper that looks like blown insulation. I tried a little on a bare spot in my lawn and was horrified by how trashy it looked! I'd be embarrassed if this blew onto our neighbor's yard
This is the lady who greeted us at the historic home of Martinsburg's founder. I admired her dress, and she explained that it was originally her daughter's dress. She added the lace, which she took from a curtain.
"Here was home of General Adam Stephen, founder of Martinsburg and county's first sheriff. Was famous as fighter in French and Indian Wars, and as major general in the American Revolutionary War."
The Fun: I went on the "Tunnel Tour" to learn about the mysterious tunnels that connect at least four old buildings in Martinsburg with limestone caverns. So far historians have not found a written record indicating why the tunnels were dug. The could have been used as hiding places during the French and Indian War or during the American Revolution, or perhaps they were used by escaping slaves. 
We are fortunate to live near Shenandoah National Park and it's beautiful Skyline Drive. Earlier this week a section of the Drive was closed for repairs at Mary's Rock Tunnel but it has reopened. 
The dogwood trees are pretty at Eastham Park in Front Royal. I also saw some wildflowers blooming along the Shenandoah.
