Lynn’s Birthday on Thanksgiving

My older daughter's birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year. Her sister arrived yesterday, shopped for groceries, and cooked a feast today. We had beef instead of the traditional Thanksgiving turkey because I am allergic to turkey and Lynn has never liked it.

Skywatch: Early this Morning 

Happy Birthday to Lynn!

Lynn and Marie. (Art by Judith Thompson)

Photo by Lynn. (Art by William Mann.)

Wishing You a Happy Thanksgiving!

This snapshot of Marie is very old, but I'm bringing it back because tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. I got her to show off some of her artwork.

For Wild Bird Wednesday, I have some pictures from a month ago.

Oh, those gray geese marching toward me look like the ones that used to attack me when I lived by the lake. I did not stick around to find out.

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 

Yesterday’s Sunset near Belle Grove

Middletown, VA

Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday 

Update on SPCA Murals

Today I drove to Winchester to get the battery replaced on my old MacBook. I found myself in the same neighborhood as the SPCA Thrift Store so I checked out their murals. When I looked for the murals a month ago, they were not complete, so I was pleased to see that they are finished and really cute.

The shop is closed on Mondays, but that’s okay because the murals are outside. A crew was there installing awnings.

The animal characters refer to the SPCA mission of helping pets. The thrift store raises money for their animal shelter.

Monday Murals

Abstract, More or Less

Sometimes it’s interesting to just isolate details to make pictures.

Mosaic Linkup

Today’s final two pictures are not what I call abstract, but they are not quite realistic either. I  added  effects using the BeCasso app. 

Charlie’s Friend, Tripod

Donkeys and Friends

Rockingham County, VA

 

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

Autumn Reflections

Morgan County, WV

More of this below.

These pictures are from last month.

Cold Dawns, Smoky Dusks

Yesterday I mentioned that we've been trying to adapt to the change from daylight savings time to standard time. By "we," I mean my dog hasn't adjusted and I'm trying to train him to sleep until daylight. 

One morning he wanted to go out really early, but I waited until there was a glimmer of light in the sky.

Since then, I’ve managed to wait until a little later. Hopefully he will adjust this way. It’s really cold in the early morning, too. 

We’ve had some pretty skies in the evening.

Yesterday I had an appointment in Harrisonburg, and the air was smoky from wildfires to the south. My eyes felt very irritated. But the smoke particles provide colorful sunsets. I pulled off to take a skywatch picture on the way home. Currently the sun goes down now at 5 PM. (Oh, I miss the long days of summer!) 

The final photo is from this evening.

Two Birds and a Walk in the Park

The black-capped chickadee was sharing a feeder with a house finch. At least, I think she's a house finch. The female finches are not very showy and have not made a big impression on me. She looks sweet though. 

Somehow it is the middle of the month already, and I was reminded that the 15th is Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. I saw pansies blooming in a park in town so I’ll show a few pictures from a short walk I took there. Pansies tolerate cold weather better than most of our flowers here.

Charlie was with me and he was interested in sniffing everything. He is now two years old and is doing well in many ways, but still has a way to go on some things that I thought were basic. Apparently his stint in the Envigo breeding factory left him with some deep fears. Many dogs from the same place have similar issues. They were bred to be lab animals, not house pets, and they were treated so poorly that the place got closed down. Add to that the beagles’ inherited tendency to run and hunt, and no wonder he struggles. 

Lately, we have been trying to adjust to the time change and shorter daylight hours. Charlie has started getting up well before dawn, and I really don’t want to go outside when it’s dark and cold. I’d rather sleep until dawn, so I hope we can work this out quickly

Mutant Ninja Pumpkins

Seen in Woodstock, Late October

Wordless Wed. on Tuesday