Tag Archives: Photography

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Birthday at The Winery

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What better way to celebrate my mother’s birthday than at the Williamsburg Winery.

My parents live in Williamsburg, Virginia, a place that many people visit for the shopping.

I visit for family.  And history.  And the food and wine, of course.

We started with a visit to the tasting room where Calvin, the young but knowledgeable wine steward, not only introduced the wines but offered the history behind the labels and names.

This bottle of Acte 12 of 1619 was named after the Act that was passed by the 1619 House of Burgesses requiring all male households in Virginia to grow ten vines of the imported vinifera grapes from Europe.

How’s that for encouraging the growth of the wine industry in the new country?

How fortunate am I to have such incredible parents?

Once done with our tasting, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Gabriel Archer Tavern.

Gabriel Archer was one of the first settlers to set foot on land near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in late April 1607, moving on to Jamestown in August that same year.

We were having so much fun that I barely pulled out the camera, and the images in this post are a mix of camera and phone.

I wish I’d had more time to shoot the scene,

but really, I was just glad to have been able to spend the day with my parents and celebrate my mother.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

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A”maze”ing Channels

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We knew that we’d have a great hike and incredible views when we visited The Channels Natural Area Preserve, and we even knew that there would be some interesting sandstone formations to explore.  What we didn’t know was just how very cool those formations would be.  We simply could not help ourselves and kept exclaiming out loud with every turn.  As Karen said, the place brought out the inner child in all of us.

According to several online sources, the sandstone outcroppings were formed 400 million years ago.

Geologists conclude that the Channels were likely formed while the high elevation sandstone cap was under the influence of permafrost and ice wedging during the last ice age.

 The expanding ice fractured the sandstone and water slowly spread and smoothed the breaks over millions of years.

“What is left is a labyrinth of slots and crevices through the rocks. The pathways range from 20 to nearly 40 feet deep and wind their way through damp, moss-covered walls of stone” (https://virginiatrailguide.com/2016/10/23/great-channels).

Aren’t the colors incredible?

Check out the way these tree roots are stretching for moisture,

and the ferns growing amidst the cracks in the rocks.

We laughed and exclaimed and explored and were utterly happy with the experience.

For more information about The Channels, visit the previous two posts.

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The Channels

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If you’ve visited  The Unassuming Hiker this week, you have already been introduced to The Channels, a gorgeous, 721 acre natural preserve in Southwest Virginia.  The Channels Natural Area Preserve is part of a 4,836 acre State Forest that was purchased by the Department of Forestry from The Nature Conservancy in March 2008.  The preserve name is derived from the maze-like system of sandstone crevices and boulders that occur near the 4208ft. summit of Middle Knob on Clinch mountain.

With good friends along for the ride, the 2 hour drive to the trailhead was over before we knew it.  The last 30 minutes will offer an excellent ride when next I return on the bike.  Lots of curves and twisties to thrill a bikers heart!

The 3 mile hike to the top was through a lush, green forest that offered plenty of shade on this sunny, breezy day.

Once on the top, we had views that stretched for miles!  We just could not stop exclaiming about how fortunate we were to be there.

I swear, I want to be a hawk (well, except for their diet).  I want to soar!

Even though it is only early September, the color change has begun.

We were 4 very happy women: Fresh air, exercise, incredible views, and lots of places to explore.

Big thanks to Karen for offering weekend hikes for those who can’t make it during the week.

As you might guess, I took a zillion photos.  The next post will show images of the fire tower (which, or course, I wanted to climb), and the one after that will be about the sandstone channels that, when we explored them, brought out the kid in all of us.

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Light the Way

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I’m unsure if this is an airport runway cover or an antique insulator but my friend Wilson collects them, and I think they make for lovely art as well as photo subjects.

Today is the day: I look forward to taking a visit around WordPress today!

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Friday Evening

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My Contribution to Monochromia last week. I’m managing to keep up with one blog, at least!

I’m actually taking the weekend off to ride my sweet motorcycle and to watch the Virginia Tech Hokies take on the West Virginia Mountaineers. Go Hokies!

Be Back Soon!

LB's avatarMonochromia

It was a perfect Friday evening for listening to local music

#westendwednesdays

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No Words

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To see one more image from the Vigil Against Hate: Solidarity with Charlottesville in Blacksburg, VA, visit Monochromia

 

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 Choices

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It’s been 5 years since I started my WordPress journey, and what an incredible 5 yrs it has been.

Somehow, through all that has happened, a motorcycle wreck, running for political office, opening a business / closing a business / opening another business, and many other things, both positive and challenging, I have managed to post, to respond to comments, and to visit and comment on your posts.

Lately though, I have just not been able to keep up.  Perhaps it’s the new job.  Maybe it’s the hours spent in civic engagement, and the resistance.  Whatever the reason, I’ve just not been able to respond to your comments on my posts.  I have, however, made a commitment to visiting and commenting on  your posts.

Know that I love and read each and every comment, but if I don’t respond in kind it is because for the time being, I’ll be spending my WordPress time visiting and commenting on your posts.  I’ll still be posting though, and hope to have a lighter schedule sometime down the road.

You have become dear friends, and my life is better for it.

♥️