First Day Event at the Park

Many parks and even our national forests encourage people to come to a First Day Hike. This is a way to celebrate the first day of the new year by getting outdoors for a hike. Here in Virginia, it has become enormously popular.

Seven Bends State Park held four scheduled ranger-led hikes, beginning in the early morning. I did not go to one of those, mainly because I can’t walk very far at this time. However, staff was there all day, so when Charlie and I arrived in late afternoon, the parking lots were still almost full. Ranger Wesley said a couple hundred people had been there. I am impressed by how many people came out to hike on a cold winter day.

I take Charlie there once or twice a week because he loves it and it is not far from home. We have to cross a small bridge over the North Fork. Sometimes it floods, and you can’t get there, but we’ve had a drought for a while, so the river is quite low.

The beach in the foreground is often under water. It is covered with small shells.

Photo of the Year 2025

The City Daily Photo Theme for January 1st is Photo of the Year. Each year I have trouble picking out one image for this challenge. I’ve shown some of my possible choices over the past few days, and I’ll show the rest of my runner-up photos below. 

First, here’s my photo of the year and I want to explain it. It may look like two pictures, but it is a bookstore window with a reflection of the old county courthouse. A flag in the window says “Abide No Hatred,” and if you look closely, you can see demonstrators in front of the courthouse. This was on. “No Kings Day” in October. 

Britannica states that almost seven million people participated in demonstrations nationwide. It’s the historic importance of this event that inspired me to spotlight this picture. 

Almost a year ago, similar protests took place across America. People came out in our small town to express their beliefs. Significantly, groups have been demonstrating here every week, often twice a week. 

My first runner-up for photo of the year is a winter scene from January. There are many farms here in the Shenandoah Valley.

Other winter photos that I like.

Black and White.

A floral picture that’s different than most.

A few that I find sweet.

I hope your new year is off to a promising start. I did not make any new year resolutions, but instead, I followed a suggestion to pick out a single word that is meaningful to me right now. My word is Resilience.

🎵 “Here in my heart, I do believe,

  We shall overcome someday.”

Hoping for a Better World in 2026

Wild Bird Wednesday

This is the last day of 2025, and I can hardly believe it’s been a quarter century since the millennium. Where does the time go?

I certainly hope that the new year brings more peace and hope. We have to hang in there and do what we can. As individuals, we might only make small steps toward the big problems of the world, but we can make significant steps in specialized areas or local matters. This is what keeps me from feeling powerless. I can help someone learn something, and do something for our local parks, and help protect wildlife. I can spread a little joy and encouragement.

Well, I usually post some bird pictures on Wednesday. I took a photo of a kingfisher on the weekend. I often see them or hear them down by the river, but I don’t get photos of them very often. They fly away when they see me, or perhaps it’s because I have my dog with me. I saw this one from the car. 

I don’t think any of my bird pictures are fine enough to be my Photo of the Year, but here are some that I like.

Hang on!

Some Summer Favorites

2025 Scenes

Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday 

Looking at 2025 Favorites

I’m starting to make choices for my photo of the year. So five only gone back three months and selected some favorites.

Mosaic Monday

My tablets running out of charge so I’ll look at the rest later.

Views at Muse

 Charlie and I took a walk around Muse Vineyards yesterday afternoon.

It’s located between the North Fork and the Massanutten Mountains. Several times a year, the river rises and floods the Hollingsworth Road Bridge, and residents have to use footbridge, which is elevated, if they want to go to Woodstock.

Charlie’s Holiday Report

Hi, it's Charlie! I’m kind of tired because we had a busy week. Here I am stretching by the front door.

I like to go out that door when it’s not too cold outside. It’s fun to sniff everything and sometimes I see animals. Here is a cat who lives down the street. It’s a little shy. 

 

Marie and Lynn came for Christmas. Here they are with one of my presents. Everyone got presents!

Mom took me to a new place to walk this afternoon. We saw these fancy deer decorations.

We have some deer decorations at home too.

Mom put up a painting that looks a little like a deer, but a little like a cow. I don’t know what it is.

I’m thinking about being a detective when I grow up. I can find out a lot of things just by sniffing. Perhaps I’ll  dream about it when I go to sleep.

Seen from my Door

Earlier this week, I heard loud machinery and looked out my front door and saw a work crew digging around the storm drain across the street. Eventually they replaced the sidewalk with gravel and blocked it off with caution tape. I suppose they’ll come back next week to fill in the concrete, weather permitting. For now, Charlie and I have to step out on the street to detour around it when we take our walks.

The weather was mild that day and pleasant through most of yesterday. Then the cold returned. There was a chance of snow this afternoon, but it passed to the north of us.

The forecast said that New Jersey and New York were going to get hit with a severe snowstorm this evening. Marie was headed that way on the train today, so she left earlier than planned and changed her ticket to a train that got her there an hour and a half earlier. Tonight she posted that she made it there just as the snow was starting to stick.

She returns to Southern California in January after a winter break. The weather there has been pretty awful, with torrential rains that flooded some towns and closed roads. I hope her luck continues so that she stays safe and comfortable.

Christmas 2025

The other night, I was walking Charlie and heard sirens in the distance. Then I heard music and realized that Santa Claus was coming on a fire engine. I don’t think Charlie knew what was going on, but he didn’t seem scared.

Marie arrived late Tuesday night. She worked-from-home yesterday. As an editor, she has writers and artists to supervise.

While she was working, I took Charlie to Seven Bends State Park. The weather was nice, but the river level is low.

Today was Christmas Day. Lynn drove down here, bringing gifts and food for dinner.  

We opened gifts and had an tasty meal that Marie cooked. I received a new phone and they set it up for me. I used to be tech savvy, but since I retired, I have found it’s hard to keep up with all the changes.

I hope you had a great day too.