While enjoying my randomish ramble to Love, Virginia this past Saturday, I stopped at the Loft Mountain Wayside along Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park.
As I was preparing to depart, I noticed a large patch of wildflowers on the hill beside the building. Looking a bit more closely, I also observed a bunch of butterflies and bees enjoying said flowers. So I grabbed the point-and-shoot (aka “real” camera) and walked over for a closer look.
I only watched for about 5 minutes. The flowers were in the sun, and it was around 2:30, close to the hottest part of the day. I managed to capture some nice images. The color was a bit washed-out on all of them since the sun was so bright (that’s why midday is not the best time for pics), so I had to adjust the input levels a bit with PhotoShop Elements. I re-sized the pics to post, too.
I hope you enjoy the shots as much as I do. If you click on an image, you’ll get a better view.
Three’s a Crowd
Worker Bees
The Soloist
Grab Hold
Seeing Double
Landing
Rough Around the Edges
Uplifted
Newness
Accent Colors
My Mom loved butterflies. I can’t help but think of her every time I see one.
Tomorrow marks three years since her passing. She was my biggest fan, and would have enjoyed this post.
Timing really is everything. And sometimes, my timing sucks.
I was hoping to see the cherry blossoms this year. But, as this Web site says, “Crowds are an integral part of Washington DC’s cherry blossom season.” And I hate crowds.
Not to mention the fact that, on a picture-perfect Spring day, I’d rather be riding than doing just about anything else.
Besides, I knew I’d be driving to Baltimore on Tuesday for an annual check-up, and I figured I could drop in to DC on my way home.
Big-ass Cherry Blossoms
Doesn’t look bad, right?
Not up close. But check this out.
The blooms were most definitely past their peak.
Did I forget to mention that it was raining? And windy? A bit chilly, too.
Washington Monument
Looks downright depressing, doesn’t it?
Shades of Gray
There was still color to be seen.
Color
And some unique sights. If you are observant like me.
Nature’s Art
The throngs of people there this past weekend didn’t get to enjoy the sight of wet petals plastered to every surface did they?
But wait, it gets better.
OCPD Monks
When’s the last time YOU caught a couple of OCPD monks in the act? Have you ever? Now, I can say I have.
Since I arrived just before the start of the infamous DC rush hour, and it was raining, it took me two-and-a-half times as long to get home as it would have had there been no traffic.
The weather in the eastern half of the US has been a bit nuts this year. Granted, since I live in the Mid-Atlantic region, I don’t have nearly as much to gripe about as you folks in New England. You all have been absolutely hammered by snow.
Here’s it’s only been cold. But it’s been REALLY cold.
Anyhoo… in my last post, I mentioned the moody skies I’d seen on my Saturday drive. I saw some other cool stuff, too, that I thought I’d share here.
Well, I’m a sky watcher. I’m a sky watcher. Watching clouds go by. My, my, my.
Sorry, not sorry for that little earworm. LOL.
Here are some of the interesting sky pics I captured on Saturday.
On US 29, headed southeast towards Charlottesville.
On US-64, headed west towards Waynesboro, near Afton, Virginia.
See those mountains ahead and to the right? Skyline Drive is up there.
Looking south over Rockfish Valley.
Back in October, I did a post about my visit — on two wheels — to the Bold Rock Cidery, which just happens to be in the Rockfish Valley. If you missed it, check it out. I’ll be re-visiting some of those roads this year FOR SURE.
Alien Spaceship Cloud
I should add that it was pretty gray when I left my house that morning. The further south and west I went, the bluer the skies. But it was still cloudy. And cold.
I tooled around a bit in Staunton (pronounced like STAN-ton) before picking up my transports and heading north to Strasburg. As you can see, the skies got gray again.
Newly decorated water tower along I-81 near Mount Jackson, VA.
When I drove past that spot in January, the tower was being painted.
I HATE I-81. Actually, I hate all two-lane highways.
Being trapped behind these big-ass trucks who pass really, REALLY slowly, and cars with ignoramus drivers who drive along in the left lane really irritate me.
Looking east from the western outskirts of Front Royal, the sky was quite blue.
Since it felt so good to be out of the house for a change, I decided to take a more-scenic route home, so I got on Skyline Drive in Front Royal.
Entering Skyline Drive.
The Drive runs mostly along the ridge of the mountains, so it’s typically at least 10 degrees colder on the Drive than at lower elevations. So I got to see lots of cool ice, too.
Is it just me, or do you see a face, too?
Note the slight hint of glacial blue coloring in that ice?
Pretty View
Ice, ice, baby.
I think temps were in the low 30s (F), but it was windy, so it felt much colder.
The next two pictures are for you folks not from around here who wonder why we don’t ride our bikes more during the winter.
Cold isn’t the only reason. The roads are particularly hazardous this time of year. There’s a wide variety of stuff used to treat roads to prevent icing. Like rock salt, cinders, sand, salt brine, and even mixes of some of the above.
That stuff might make the ice go away, but it doesn’t go away. So we see lots of this…
Cindery, gravely, road surface.
In the next shot, you can see the build-up of the salt/sand mixture on the shoulder and in-between the lanes. It’s often scattered across the lanes in spots, too. Sometimes even in big piles if one of the big trucks has a hiccup while slinging the materials around.
Headed east on US-211 at Thornton Gap.
So even if it warms up, if there’s been recent bouts of freezing temps, one has to be extra careful. That stuff will send you sliding off the blacktop in a heartbeat.
You know how I’m always bitching about not having my “real camera” when I share pics captured with my phone and/or point-and-shoot camera?
I finally bought a new camera!
There’s a reason I don’t always carry my “real camera” – a digital SLR (Canon Rebel XT). It’s big, bulky, and I can’t really use it well during motorcycle trips unless I remove my helmet since it doesn’t have a screen-type viewfinder, only the old-fashioned optical viewfinder, i.e., little hole you have to look through.
In case you don’t know the biggest difference between point-and-shoot and SLR cameras… a point-and-shoot camera has a built-in lens that can’t be removed/switched-out. SLRs use interchangeable lenses.
Not only is the Rebel itself bulky, there are four or five lenses I like to carry, too, for zooming and wide-angle shots. Three of those lenses are bigger than the Rebel camera body. Newer version of the Rebel are smaller and more-advanced, but I’d still need those other lenses.
The point-and-shoot I’d been using — a Nikon Coolpix L20 — captures decent images, but the viewfinder sucks. It’s not nearly as clear as I’d like, so it’s next to impossible to determine while shooting or even after you’ve captured a shot whether the thing you wanted to be in focus is actually IN focus. Granted, that’s an old camera, too.
While the phone does capture decent images, it has its limits. It could be that I haven’t spent enough time figuring out how to use all of the camera’s features. It could also be that I don’t have the latest-and-greatest phone.
Anyway, most of you would be bored by the technical pros and cons I weighed (and there were many!) when finally deciding to get a new camera. So I’ll keep it simple.
One of the biggest factors in choosing a new camera was size. Here’s the new point-and-shoot compared to the old dSLR with the SMALLEST lens attached. And that “small” lens is a fixed lens, which means it doesn’t zoom at all. You want to get closer to something, you use your feet.
New vs Old
One of the biggest problems when shooting with any auto-focus camera, as evidenced in my image above, is making sure the camera is focused on what you want it to focus on. It wasn’t, which is why those pics are blurry. My new camera has manual focus capability. Yay! And several manual shooting modes, just like my dSLR. Double-yay!
Anyway, I promised not to bore you, didn’t I?
After agonozing for DAYS over which camera to buy, I actually went and bought the thing yesterday. Here are a bunch of snapshots I captured yesterday. They are all straight-out-of-the-camera, unedited images. And all were captured using the basic AUTO mode. (I have a ton of reading to do to figure out how to use all the features packed into this relatively small camera body.)
The First Shot (through windshield while sitting still in mall parking lot)
Captured while moving down the highway.
Through windshield while stopped at a stop sign.
I actually pulled into a church parking lot to capture the next three images.
Fauquier County Farm
Fauquier County Landscape
Zoomed in on the cows.
Once I got home, I had to charge the battery (batteries are rarely fully charged in the box).
Here are some other test images.
Accidentally in a row. 🙂
One of my biggest complaints with the camera phone has always been that it is low-light challenged. This new camera seems to do a pretty good job capturing shading even in low light while being pulled along behind three impatient dogs.
Quick snap of the Red Truck Bakery. (It would have been even better had I paused and fiddled for a second or two.)
Sunset, zoomed in.
Sunset with little, if any, zoom.
Statue (no flash)
Store Window (no flash)
Cutest little quilt shop in Warrenton (no flash).
Church Steeple (WITH flash)
I think I chose well. Some of the images (like the dogs) are a tad grainy, but considering they were captured without flash, I think they’re damn good.
I’ll try to do some test shots in brighter light today.
Something tells me you’ll be seeing a lot more pictures here. 🙂
I’ve gotten really bad about posting regularly. Even worse keeping up with friends’ blogs. I blame it all on the smart phone and how it’s changed my routine. Back before I had a smart phone, I’d have my computer on my lap in the mornings. Now, I use my phone for morning entertainment as my brain slowly warms. I can read blogs with it, of course, but I can’t always comment successfully. That frustrates me. So I wait until I’m in front of the computer to read blogs. But time gets away from me and, before I know it, a week or two may pass. Time just goes by WAY too fast. Sigh…
It’s mid-April and gardening season is upon us. Riding season, too. Sort of. Our strange weather continues. Although Hubby and I did get out for a ride last Sunday (April 13), temps dropped back into Winter range. It’s warming up slowly, but yesterday, a holiday for my employer, it was still in the mid- to upper-40s in the morning, so I didn’t ride. Instead I ran errands.
I did multi-task a little bit.
Visited a National Park
You know that smart phone I mentioned? I have a cool app — Passport to Your National Parksphone App — that let’s me make a checklist of national parks I have visited.
For those not familiar with the parks passport, it’s actually a passport-like booklet that…
…makes it easy to learn about and explore all of our national park sites. The Passport® to Your National Parks includes maps that are color-coded for specific regions in the country, pre-visit information, illustrations and photographs. It also includes a free map and guide to the national park system.
Spaces in each region are designated for you to collect rubber stamp cancellations at each national park site you visit. The cancellations, similar to those received in an international passport, record the name of the park and the date you visited.
It may sound a bit geeky, but it’s a great way to keep track of not just the parks you’ve visited, but when you have visited them.
Anyway… the other day, after creating my list of parks, I realized I’d only visited three of the 16 parks listed in Virginia.
And the closest national park — the Manassas National Battlefield Park — is one I had NOT been to. It’s 16.24 miles from where I sit. How bad is that? I’ve driven through it many times, since one of the major routes to DC and points north cuts through the park, but had never stopped.
I had to go to Manassas yesterday anyway, so I decided to stop at the park. I didn’t want to spend much time there, I just wanted to, 1, be able to say I’d been there and, 2, grab some info to plan a future visit.
Redbud in Bloom at Manassas NBP
I did walk around a bit after my stop at the Visitor’s Center. It was a bit cloudy and cool, and I had things to do, so I didn’t linger.
Stonewall Jackson Memorial
View from lawn at Visitor’s Center
The view is nice and, I thought, impressive. Looks like it’s out in the middle of nowhere, right? It isn’t. It’s right on the edge of Northern Virginia, one of the most densely populated regions in the US.
The Stone House
If you click on that image of The Stone House, you’ll get a bit of history.
Passports are typically sold at park bookstores. You can buy them on-line, too.
Now that I’ve been to Manassas NBP, I can say I have visited 66 US National Parks. But there are many more to see…
Shopped at Costco
I’d been meaning to visit Coscto for weeks. It’s not close (about 20 miles away) and is usually very crowded. I try to time my visits for off-peak hours, but never seem to succeed. I didn’t take any pictures, though.
Visited a Garden Center
No pics there, either. I must be losing my edge. LOL. I did buy a few perennials, though. Most importantly, I got the info I needed to schedule a delivery of mulch. I even ran into a friend who might be willing to install it for me. Oh, happy day!
Now I just have to get everything planted so it’s in the ground before the mulch arrives.
Miscellaneous Stuff
I’m glad Spring is here. It’s so nice seeing colors again. Here are a few pics I captured this past week.
Warrenton’s Old Courthouse bathed in golden evening light.
Red Truck in front of The Red Truck Bakery.
One of my favorite old buildings on Ashby Street in OTW.
Cool flowers on unidentified tree.
Photoshopped image featuring my frog planter.
While we’re on the subject of pictures, this shot from a friend’s blog post made me chuckle aloud with delight…
Bobskoot of Riding the Wet Coast
Bob lives in British Columbia, outside of Vancouver. This shot is from a camping weekend of his last September.
That’s it for today. I have GOT to get busy. I need to visit the Farmers’ Market and a nursery center or three. And then I have to start digging. And weeding. Sigh…
The one thing I hadn’t seen up to that point were alligators. There are two resident gators at the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center, but they never came close enough for me to see them. And I was determined to see alligators. Especially since Hubby told me I wouldn’t see any in that part of Texas. He thought I was going to Corpus Christi. Since my itinerary was set, I didn’t give him many details of my whereabouts in advance.
I figured that Monday would be a good day to visit the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, which is about a two-hour drive from the tow of Port Aransas. I could have gone on Sunday, but didn’t want to waste the day with four hours of driving. But I had to leave my hotel really early (around 5:30 AM) so I’d have plenty of time.
I thought I’d get to see the sunrise. I was wrong. It was foggy again. Sigh…
Foggy morning at the marsh.
I did get to see a wild boar, which really wasn’t all that exciting. They are an invasive nuisance, and aren’t very attractive. Besides, it was dark. Honestly, when I saw it, I thought it was one of those wooden pig profiles people use as yard art.
By the time I reached the proper entrance — Google maps sent me to the closed back gate! — it was getting lighter. I cruised through the refuge a bit, waiting for temps, which were in the low 50s, to warm up. Alligators are inactive when it’s cold.
There’s a nice 16-mile auto tour route, which I enjoyed. And there are some nice overlooks, too, where you can see various marshes and bays. The natural world intrigues me. I found it all very beautiful and serene, especially since I practically had the place all to myself.
But I really wanted to see the alligators. There’s a small alligator viewing area near the visitor’s center. Apparently they like sunning themselves on the banks at that spot. When there’s sun. But it was still cloudy, though the fog had lifted, and pretty chilly, so I wasn’t surprised that there were no gators were to be seen.
I then headed for the Rail Trail, one of two trails I’d planned to explore while there. The literature I’d seen described it as about a half-mile trail beside a reed-lined slough (aka marsh) where you can see waterbirds, particularly rails and bitterns, as well as alligators.
It was chilly enough that I had to wear the hood of my sweatshirt, and I don’t chill easily, so I didn’t expect to see any gators. Squawking, large birds quickly captured my attention anyway. Despite my tiptoeing very slowly down the grassy path — I was making virtually no noise — I was spooking these big-ass, long-necked, heron-looking birds that were hanging out in the trees.
Anhinga (I think)
I’d never seen those particular birds before. I think they were Anhingas, but I could be wrong. All I know for sure is that they are big — 50″ wingspan — and shy. No matter how quiet I was or how slowly I moved I kept spooking them. Before long, the entire flock of 50+ birds was airborne. They’d fly around in big circles over the area, and me. When they flew above me, all I could hear was the beating of their giant wings and a soft whoosh as they sliced through the air. It was pretty cool.
Flock of what I think were Anhingas.
Convinced I wasn’t going to see any gators, I kept tiptoeing down the path hoping for a better look at those bashful birds.
Anhingas (I think)
I did manage to capture a decent image or two.
I kept looking into the slough, when the reeds would allow it. And I finally saw a gator.
Gator!
He was pretty far down in the water when I spotted him, and slowly sank lower until he was gone.
I kept walking and looking and, sure enough, saw more. This is my favorite gator pic of the day.
Watcher
It really would be easy to mistake the gators for logs or other floating stuff with them so low in the water.
The next image, captured at the end of the trail, will give you an idea how long this gator was. I’d guess 12 feet at least, maybe longer.
Long Gator
I never did see a rail, that I’m aware of.
Next up, the 1.4-mile Heron Flats Trail. See why I needed to leave so early? There was a lot to see.
Really low gator.
My first view of this small pond along the trail yielded nothing. The next time the water came into view, I saw another gator. You have to look closely, it was really low in the water.
A few steps further on, I was excited to see a gator on the bank.
Banked gator.
Did you see the other two gators in the water, right close to shore? I didn’t notice them until after I uploaded the image onto my computer. Three gators in one frame and I hadn’t even realized it. They appear to be lying in wait for something. Perhaps an unsuspecting whitetailed deer? Or maybe a wild boar? No pets are allowed on the refuge, and for good reason.
It was so quiet and peaceful walking along the trail between the pond, on my left, and the marsh, on my right. I had plenty of time, so I kept walking. I’m glad I did, too. Here’s some of the cool stuff I saw.
Black-necked Stilt (another new-to-me bird)
Cactus and interesting leaves.
Craggy, Live-oak Bark
Mexican Buckeye (I think)
Lichen or polka-dotted tree?
The Trail
Flowering tree, which looks like some type of myrtle. I could be wrong there.
Bright Bug
I thoroughly enjoyed the morning nature walk. But I still had miles to cover, so left soon after that.
I hadn’t gone far when I came to this railroad crossing.
Train. Notice the dead pig on the other side of it? Lower left.
The train was so long, there was a helper engine in the middle!
The further inland I traveled, the sunnier it got. So I was really able to enjoy the beautiful countryside and all of the wildflowers.
