Andrew Jackson on the Floor

Mount Jackson Town Hall

Monday Murals / Blue Monday

This graphic is large enough that I consider it a floor mural. It shows Andrew Jackson, the local covered bridge over the Shenandoah River, and a gazebo.

Originally known as Mount Pleasant, the town was renamed in 1826 for Andrew Jackson. The town hall/visitors center is in an attractive modern building designed to look like an old-style railroad station.

Postscript: Pictures of the covered bridge are here.

The View from Locust Grove Road

Strasburg, VA

This road on Fishers Hill comes out on US 11. That’s Signal Knob in the distance.

If you like, viewing farms, check out Tom’s Barn Collective.

Deer Along the Drive

Shenandoah National Park

On Tuesday afternoon, I took the long route home from Harrisonburg. That is, I drove east to Shenandoah National Park and took Skyline Drive north to New Market Gap. Then I took 211 west and headed towards home. I suppose it took a couple of hours extra to go this way, but it was worth it. The views are terrific, and the park is very peaceful in winter.

I saw a deer before I even reached Big Meadows, which is a great place to view wildlife. A beautiful red fox crossed the road in front of me there, but disappeared before I could stop to take a picture.

Carrier Arboretum in February

On Tuesday, I found myself in Harrisonburg with a half hour to kill before an appointment. I made a quick visit to the Arboretum.

The tree in the foreground still has leaves clinging to it.

The little terrarium is in the visitors center. I was looking for circular shapes for a theme assignment for a local photo group, which is why I photographed the drinking fountain. Although I stood to the side, I did not succeed in getting my reflection out of the picture.

Meanwhile, grape hyacinths are blooming in my front yard. They are tiny plants also called muscari. I’m afraid I took this photo with my cell phone while holding the dog’s leash in the other hand. It’s not a great picture but I was anxious to share a sign of spring.

A View from Route 683

 This Evening near Woodstock

Skywatch

Birds , One Week Ago

On our only snowy morning so far, I took some pictures of birds at my feeders. Here we see a junco and a Carolina Wren. 

The wren is such a cute bird!

The snow didn't last long but the birds were hungry. I guess their natural food sources were covered with snow that morning.

I think starlings look interesting when in good lighting and you can see their speckled coloring.

Charlie was watching the birds too. He does not belong on that chair but he looked so handsome that I had to take his picture. 

The house finches visit regularly. There appears to be a family of them in my yard.

Wild  Bird Wednesday

Creating Beagle Pictures with AI

 Computer-Generated Images

Created with artificial intelligence apps, as well as PhotoCollage.

Sharing with Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday and Mosaics.

E-Sports Arena at SU

Shenandoah University
Winchester, VA

I was surprised to learn that the university offers degree programs in electronic sports. I don’t really think of computer gaming as being a sport, but I might feel differently if I were young.  SU offers programs.in e-sports management and even coaching. They have an arena where you can watch gamers in action.

They spell it esports without the dash but I can’t bring myself to do that. But then, I don’t understand the whole thing. I can see why someone would play computer games competitively but I don’t know why anyone else would want to watch it. Then again, I get bored watching someone else fish, or bowl or play chess. I don’t even like to watch football because it’s slow.

So here’s the arena, and it is wrapped in murals.

A Free Pass and a View

My new pass to our state parks arrived. It is good for one year and I earned it by volunteering 100 hours in our state parks, mostly at Seven Bends. I used it yesterday to visit Shenandoah River State Park.

The weather was freezing cold, and we had already been to a chilly dog park, so I only got out of the car briefly to take pictures at Cullers Overlook. The view there is always worth seeing, with the South Fork of the Shenandoah winding through the valley.

Update from Charlie, Early February

Hi, it's Charlie. Mom says there are people who want to know how I’m doing. Pretty well, actually.

The vet says I am the right size and should not gain more weight. She prescribed some more medicine to help me stay calm. I don’t like taking medicine. I can taste it through whatever Mom wraps it in, so I examine the treats and separate them. 

Sometimes we go outside and put birdseed in the feeders. I’ve tasted it and it’s not too bad. The birds like it. Sometimes the squirrels eat it.

Mom got a cute thing to put on the wall.

My favorite thing is going to the dog park. Sometimes we go to doggy daycare instead. It is okay but the park is more fun. I like to run really fast. 

The car still makes me nervous. It is noisy. I trained Mom to give me treats in the car. After we play at the park, I take a nap.

It is very cold here. I hope you and your pets are staying warm.

 

Winter Skies and Weather

This first shot is an accident. I had taken a picture from the car window and accidentally touched the button as I put the phone down. I suspect we've all done that with our phones. Usually I delete those pictures but this one I like.

The next picture is one I took from the veterinary as I picked Charlie up from daycare. This was at 5:23 PM and the days are getting longer. 

Charlie usually goes to doggy daycare twice a week so that I can go to physical therapy followed by other appointments or shopping. This week I had to leave him in daycare three times because I had extra appointments, including one to an orthopedic office. (They said my hip pain is due to bursitis, by the way.)  Because of this plus one rainy day, he did not get to go to the dog park until today, and it was bitter cold. I bundled up and dressed him in his jacket. We didn’t stay out there long because a bitter wind was blowing. No one else was there, but he needed exercise and ran hard and chased a ball. He got tired enough that he took a nap in the car.

Here it is February and we still haven’t had measurable snow this winter. On Wednesday morning, there was a light dusting of snow, but it’s melted quickly. I took this picture on our first morning walk.

A Surprise at Turner Pond

There are foods I just can't find in my local grocery stores, so every month or so I travel to Northern Virginia. Dairy products don't keep very long so stocking up has its limits. I wanted goat milk kefir and yogurt. (It tastes better than it sounds, and I am forever trying to improve my digestion. I don’t tolerate  cow dairy products.)

The trip is tiring to me, although there are people who commute that far. I try to combine it with at least one other errand or a photo op. Monday was a nice day so I decided to travel by way of Route 50 and stop at Sky Meadows State Park. Although winter is not the prettiest time to visit there, I figured I could get some reflection shots at the pond.

Oh, look who is floating on Turner Pond!

I think these are trumpeter swans. They sometimes visit Virginia in the winter. I asked the other person who was taking pictures if she had seen them there before, and she said yes.

All I had for picture-taking was a cell phone because this was mainly a shopping trip. Do you see the neck band on this swan? I was surprised so I looked it up, and these bands are numbered. I could not read the numbers though. There is a group keeping track of these sightings. 

Virtue

The first of the month is Theme Day at City Daily Photo and February's theme is Virtue.

Generosity and unselfishness are considered virtues, and I chose a blessing box as an illustration. The idea is that people leave food for others to take, usually getting nothing in return. You don’t get a tax deduction or even a “thank you” for donating here. You can do it quietly and anonymously, and a person in need can take something the same way.

This particular blessing box is in the church parking lot on Fairview Road near Woodstock. Although these boxes are often located at churches, I have seen them in other places in Front Royal and Strasburg.