Skies of March

It's a month of changing weather. But March does not bring a steady progression from cold to spring weather. Instead, we get warm days, followed by cold days, and then a medium day with a freezing night with high winds… 

In the second picture, we see a tree with flower buds and a frosting of snow. That was Sunday night when I was walking the dog. He does not follow a logical schedule any more than the weather does.

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

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.

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. 

Finally it Snowed, but Not Much.

Our first noticeable snow of the winter did not last long enough to look pretty. It turned into sleet and rain. Charlie was a little puzzled by the white stuff, and he didn't seem to like getting wet.

I put out safflower seed as the first flakes fell and some house finches showed up pretty quickly.

The dark-eyed junco is a regular visitor too.

Sharing with Wild Bird Wednesday

Four More from Skyline Drive

Tuesday, Shenandoah National Park

Like many mountain roads, building Skyline Drive involved dynamiting sections of rock. Underground springs still seep through the rocks and freeze into long ice formations in the winter. 

There weren't many people up there. These folks were returning to their car from a hike.

I also saw a couple eating a picnic inside a camping van, with a dog looking out the door. The campgrounds are closed in the winter though.

Tuesday Afternoon, Skyline Drive

Shenandoah National Park

Long stretches of Skyline Drive were still closed due to the number of trees and branches that came down during the ice storm. Crews have been working to remove them from the road.

I had physical therapy on Tuesday morning (for hip pain) and then drove to Luray. I entered the park from Route 211 and it was open for 11 miles southbound. At Skyland I had to turn around and drive back. But the scenery is fantastic and always worth seeing.

 

More Views along the North Fork

Here is a view that I've shared before, but the way it appears changes in different seasons and hours of the day. Since this is a fairly calm section of the Shenandoah River, it reflects the sky above it, which of course changes constantly.

We are looking upriver from the low-water bridge on Hollingsworth Road. In the distance is a suspension bridge for pedestrians, provided for them to cross the river when the low bridge is flooded. The state highway department maintains a number of bridges like this.

Next we see a different view of the river. This one is from a boat landing in Seven Bends State Park.

At times I complain about winter, especially when the days are cold and gray. But we do get some sunny days and pretty skies.

I hope my readers are not getting tired of my pictures of the river and the park. By summer I should be able to travel farther, providing that my dog either gets over his separation anxiety or learns to ride in the car fearlessly. 

It was Icy Cold by the River Today

North Fork at Lupton Road
Seven Bends State Park

A mask helps keep my face warm.

Sharing with Image-in-ing.

The Copp House and Gardens

I think of this as the “Welcome to Strasburg house.” It is next to a sign welcoming you to the town if you are coming from Toms Brook. In the spring, there are lovely flowers in the yard and sometimes I wished I could get a closer look.

Last weekend I got a chance. The house and grounds were open for the Holiday Heritage Homes Tour. The house was beautifully renovated and the gardens looked nice even in winter.

Black and White Weekend / Garden Affair

Icy Branches

Our area got freezing rain during the night. The weather forecasters had predicted this.

I did not venture far from home today. Taking Charlie for a walk was a little scary this morning because my driveway was slippery and Charlie does not understand about ice. I don't think he's ever seen it before. Once we made it down to the sidewalk, the concrete was mostly just wet. I took some pictures of the frozen branches with my cell phone.

I guess the temperature did not go up above freezing because the branches were still covered with ice this evening.