Colorful Student Art at RAAC

The annual fall tour of the Rappahannock Association for Arts and Community is always wonderful. This year, the old Washington School was reopened for the headquarters show, and student art was on display along with professional artwork.

This colorful mural is a mosaic of cardboard panels done by fifth grade students at Rappahannock County Elementary School. Their art teacher is Amy Grady.

Mosaic Monday / Murals

Main Display Area

Among other student works were the Fun in the Sun collaboration by county students and a group of 3D maps by students at Hearthstone School.

Blog Post 8500

That's a lot of blog posts! I'll hold off on my usual Monday Mural post for a few minutes and show a picture of myself and talk about selfies. I usually smile for my pictures, so this one’s a little different. My smiles aren’t as bright as they used to be, and neither is my hair. That happens if you live long enough! 

I used an iPhone SE, and it has a portrait mode. Apparently it puts more light on the face and does not focus on the background. I also used the timer to give myself three seconds to raise my arm after pressing the shutter button.

 I think it helps to hold the lens slightly above eye level and then raise your chin just a little. This can get more light into the eye area and avoid the dreaded double-chin look. 

There was the time when I tried to look young and pretty, but since I’m not a movie star, I don’t have to worry about that. Thank goodness!

The background in this picture is colorful so I’ll show you another view of it. This is the same overlook that I showed in the Buck Hollow post.

Farewell, My Flowers

My garden has gone to sleep for the winter. A couple of frigid nights slew the flowers. 

It was not a very tidy garden, but it was full of color. Coreopsis bloomed in cheerful abundance.

There were even a couple of reblooming irises.

Blogging for Peace

There is a new blog link up on weekends called Blog for Peace. Since peace has been on my mind pretty much every day, I have experimented with creating symbols of peace using AI apps. Since I am not an artist myself, I like seeing an image that may reflect some version of my ideas.

These are images I made with StarryAI, a free app that has, shall we say, limitations. Most of these images had to be cropped because there was something distorted in them, or words that didn’t make sense.

I do have photos of artwork with peace symbols, such as the ones in the post about Frog Valley. And of course, many of my landscapes are peaceful.

I hope that you are in a peaceful place.

Llamas, Goats and More

The Farm at Court Manor

Last weekend I posted some pictures of the round barn at Court Manor. I took so many pictures that day! Here are some of the friendly animals that I met. The llamas were adorable.

For a place that was only open for one season on weekends, they really go all out. Here we see the duck race, with multiple pumps and troughs.

My friendly animal at home managed to stay by himself while I was on this adventure. He is gradually conquering his separation anxiety. I left him again yesterday while I went to the pharmacy for a booster shot, and he did very well.

Here is a picture of Charlie with added color from a Picsart filter.

The View from Buck Hollow Overlook

Shenandoah National Park

This overlook faces east over Rappahannock County. The views I showed you yesterday face west over Page County. 
 

Monday was a great day to be there. This young lady took a selfie after posing for pictures with a friend.

Skyline Drive winds along the ridges for the length of Shenandoah National Park. It has 75 overlooks.

The View from Jewell Hollow Overlook

 Shenandoah National Park

Blog Post 8495

This is one of my favorite overlooks. It is especially pretty in autumn. I visited it on Monday, while the weather was still mild. When I headed back north, I drove into a light rain — or was it a cloud? Sometimes the clouds on the mountain are just foggy but other times they actually rain on you.

Favorite Part of Town

Theme Day: City Daily Photo

When I first considered this months theme, “My favorite part of town,” I felt puzzled. Most of my favorite places are not in my town. But then I remembered that the Shenandoah River is on the edge of town, and we even have a state park there! Of course, that’s it!

I go to Seven Bends State Park at least once a week, often more. Today I took Charlie for a walk near the Lupton Road entrance. I bundled up because the weather has just turned cold. Many of the leaves have fallen, but there’s still some bright yellow ones and the grass is still green.

Charlie likes all the smells of the park. Is it his favorite place? Let’s ask him.

Charlie: “No. It’s interesting, but my favorite place is the dog park. It’s the most fun. I get to run really fast.

Yesterday, Sadie went there with us. I wasn’t too sure that was a good idea, but we had a good time. Some of my friends were there. It’s the best place ever when your friends are there!”

Birding Trail at Sweet Run

My post yesterday neglected the variety of trails at Sweet Run State Park. One of my birding friends asked about the birding opportunities there, and indeed there is a birding trail.

The sign is actually next to a chimney-style tower that was built for chimney swifts. Another sign tells about chimney swifts, which come here in the spring to nest. I did not see any, but they may have already migrated southward.

I believe these are Audubon style towers, and there are a number of them in Pennsylvania with a similar sign.

I heard birds in the nearby trees, but only saw one in the sky, which may have been a vulture.

Since I don’t have any pictures of swifts, I asked the StarryAI app to create some. Results were varied.

(LOL. Forgive my wordplay, please.)