Rokeby Stables

Upperville, VA

“Paul Mellon established Rokeby Stables near here on property purchased in 1931 by his father, Andrew W. Mellon, financier and U.S. secretary of the treasury. Paul Mellon bred and raised champion racehorses, including American Way, Grand National Steeplechase winner in 1948; Arts and Letters and Fort Marcy, Horses of the Year in 1969 and 1970, respectively; Mill Reef, winner of Europe’s most prestigious races in 1971; and Sea Hero, Kentucky Derby winner in 1993. Mellon twice won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder. He collected equine art and donated many pieces to the National Gallery of Art, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and the Yale Center for British Art, which he founded.”

This marker was erected on Rokeby Road in 2019. I happened to visit Rokeby on a garden tour this spring and it is a lot more than stables. It includes several homes and barns, and a lovely garden designed by Paul’s wife, Bunny Mellon. 

Tuesday Treasures 

Donkeys and Friends

Rockingham County, VA

 

I took these pictures three weeks ago. Most of the leaves have fallen now.

The Round Barn at Court Manor

For years I wondered about the round barn and the other unusual buildings that I could see from Interstate 81. Perhaps you have seen them between New Market and Mauzy. They do not look like normal farm buildings.

Last year I read that these buildings were once part of a tourist attraction called Zoorama. It opened in 1959 and featured a variety of animals. It thrived for a few years, but then I-81 was built and the main flow of traffic bypassed the Valley Pike and the entrance to Zoorama. It closed and the buildings fell into disrepair.

Now the farm is coming back to life as a pumpkin patch, petting zoo, and event venue. Today was the final day for the pumpkin patch and I went there out of curiosity. 

I’ll save the animals for another post because I really don’t care for long posts. (My eyes get easily fatigued from reading, a problem that I first noticed when studying college textbooks.) I took about 100 pictures, but don’t worry, I pared them down.

My admission ticket was reasonable and I paid two dollars extra to visit the round barn, which featured fun activities for children.

Someone said it had once been used for horse shows. It looks well-suited for that.

Barns / Mosaics / Sunday Best

I did a lot of walking. I wanted to view the other old buildings that I have glimpsed from the interstate.

I can’t resist showing you a few animals, because we don’t see zebras around here very often.

West of Woodstock Yesterday

After I took Charlie to the Fairview Dog Park, I drove west to contribute a few items to a blessing box outside a church. Their  parking lot has nice views.

The late afternoon light was looking nice, so I took it a different road home in order to check out some farm views.

This place had horses so I pulled over to take a few pictures with my cell phone. I snapped them quickly because I was blocking someone’s driveway. It wasn’t until later when I enlarged the images on my iPad that I saw I had photographed a hot air balloon in the sky.

I’ll throw in a picture of Charlie running at the park and a couple more scenes from the drive home.

Petting Zoo Critters plus a Note from Charlie

At an Event in Edinburg

Charlie’s Adventure 

Going to the dog park is the best thing ever! So when Mom drove to Fairview Park yesterday, I got really excited. I jumped out of the car as soon as she opened the door, before she even unbuckled my seatbelt. I shook my head to take the collar off, and I started running up the path. She called me, but I already knew where to go so I kept running.

The gate to my play area was closed but some of my friends were inside. I ran back-and-forth in front of the gate until my mom caught up and opened it. I ran inside and waited for her to open the other gate, which she did. Oh boy! 

I was so excited the other dogs got excited too, and a little rough but they calmed down and we had fun. There was a golden dog and I chased her and she ran in the tunnel. I don’t go in tunnels so I went over the hill and met her on the other side and she ran through again. I got to show how fast I can climb and jump.

I chased a ball too, and raced some other dogs. Some of them barked, but I didn’t because I don’t bark much, plus I have to save energy so that I can run faster than my friends. Finally I got tired and stood in front of the gate to tell Mom I was ready to rest. Mom looked like she was ready to rest too. 

Horses with Patriotic Blankets

This fine fellows were getting ready to provide pony rides at a local shopping center.

Charlie survived Independence Day without any real problems. Animals are often scared by the sounds of fireworks, but the ones here were not too close, and he only jumped once when they first started. I had done some conditioning ahead of time by playing music (The 1812 Overture) and videos that had the sound of fireworks. 

 

Equine and Canine

Saturday Critters

This is a beautiful horse that I wanted to show you. Horses are impressive animals. It is apparent that they are highly intelligent.

Dogs are smart too. Charlie seems to be smart in some ways, but I think his fears hold him back. Ha, he’s not the only one!

 

Critters of Luxury

On Wednesday, I showed some pictures of a very fancy farm. Here are some more photos from there, including some fine looking critters.

I wonder if the cat is thinking about those fish. 

I am also sharing a filtered version of the cat, followed by some of the fine horses that were on the property. They had a huge stable, but I did not walk up to it. I’ve seen some elegant stables before. Apparently this one has an indoor show ring.