Down on the Farm

It was a lovely, sunny Spring Sunday here in the Virginia Piedmont. By afternoon, temperatures were in the mid- to upper-50s, but it felt warmer in the sun. I had to do a bit of shopping and, since I knew I’d be heading southeast, I decided to stop and visit Walnut Hill Farm at Elm Springs.

It’s no secret that I like cows. A couple of years ago, during a visit to Walnut Hill Farm at Elm Springs, I had the pleasure of meeting and bottle-feeding two-week old Charlie.

Me and Charlie, May 2013

 

The farm is owned and operated by Jeff and Ginny Adams. Jeff sells meat at the Warrenton Farmers’ Market, which is where we met. I see him sort of regularly during the market season, and we usually chat a bit. He speaks often of his wife, Ginny, who I’d never met until today.

Finally, during today’s visit, I had the pleasure of meeting Ginny. She’s just as nice as I always thought she’d be, and obviously enjoys her animals. She was kind enough to introduce me to a bunch of her animal friends today, much to my delight. 🙂

AND, get this, she re-introduced me to one very handsome guy.

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Charlie!

 

Cute little Charlie isn’t so little any more. But he’s just as beautiful. (I sure wish I had hair that color!)

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L-R, Mt. Vernon retirees Kit (Mule) and Nellie (Belgian Mare).

 

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Kit being nosy.

 

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L-R, Kate, Kit, and Nellie

 

After visiting with Kit and Nellie for a bit, I moseyed to the next pasture to have a look over the fence at the sheep.

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Curious Sheep

 

They were all looking right back at me.

Then, Ginny said we could go INTO the pasture. Squee!

As soon as we stepped through the gate, a funny thing happened. All of the sheep in the pasture came running over. Literally.

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The Greeting Committee

 

“Look at them all running over,” I said with a delighted giggle.

“That’s because they don’t know who you are,” Ginny explained, “or they think maybe you’re going to feed them.”

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“Who are you and what are you doing in our pasture?”

 

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This little one was particularly curious.

 

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Its friends were curious, too.

 

From there we headed over to the cow pasture. We spotted this courting couple along the way.

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Tom turkey strutting his stuff.

 

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Turkey Hen

 

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American Milking Devon Bull

 

Y’all know there are different breeds of cattle, right? American Milking Devons are on the smallish side. The big, full-grown AMDs only weigh about 1,000 pounds each.

While Ginny and I stood quietly in the pasture chatting, the herd of American Milking Devon cattle watched us closely. I was struck by how much that bull’s head resembles a bison.

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Charlie, having been bottle-fed as a youngster, is more social than the others.

 

Cows really are curious critters. 🙂

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“Hey, who are you?”

 

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Ina was Jeff and Ginny’s first cow.

 

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Another curious youngster.

 

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Ginny thinks this one may be pregnant.

 

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This one circled around behind us for a closer look.

 

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Impressive horns on that ram, eh?

 

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A nursing lamb.

 

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L-R, Chip and Dale, the resident oxen.

 

Look at that sweet face on Chip!

Chip and Dale, the farm’s oxen, are of the Milking Shorthorn breed. Both weigh in excess of 2,000 pounds each.

They’re very gentle. Chip loves having his chin scratched.

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Ginny scratching Chip’s chin.

 

I was able to scratch his chin, too. I just had to keep an eye on those horns. His head is almost as long as my torso, and if he swung his head around quickly, I could get speared. Not impaled, mind you, but those horns would hurt if they made contact with the wrong spot.

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A big ole pig sow.

 

As we approached the pasture housing Chip and Dale, Ginny remarked that there’d been a pig escape. There were at least two very large sows running around. VERY large.

I’m a tall girl, and I’m pretty sure the backs of those pigs came up at least to my hip.

I may be a city girl, but I read a lot, and I know pigs can be quite mean, so we both kept wary eyes on them.

That enclosure also held more sheep. And there was a noisy flock of geese — it’s mating season — up behind the house.

Ginny and I chatted about farm life and critters the whole time we strolled. She explained how the sheep, once they start dropping lambs, adopt a “grass is always greener” mentality and tend to wander far and wide across the pasture in search of newly emerging grass shoots. Which is why most of that herd was on the far side of the pasture.

We eventually made our way back to the shop. In addition to attending various Farmers’ Markets throughout the area, the couple also maintains a farm store on their property, with freezers full of packaged meat.

Just as Ginny and I approached the shop, a couple of cars pulled in. These folks were regular customers, and were greeted warmly by name. There were several small children among the new arrivals, so Ginny went and got the newest bottle lamb.

This youngun had been discovered in the middle of the pasture less than a week prior, only partially cleaned off. They have no idea which sheep birthed the lamb. It’s possible that it was one of a set of twins. They’ll be bottle-feeding it for quite some time. It seems to be doing well, so far.

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Bottle Baby (BB)

 

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Ginny introduced BB to the children.

 

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Ginny was giving the kids a scaled down biology lesson.

 

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BB has the sweetest face.

 

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BB is obviously quite content with Mama Ginny.

 

While the animals are cute, farm life is rife with harsh realities. Like this abandoned lamb, which, if it hadn’t been discovered when it was, could easily have died.

Ginny said she won’t name the lamb until it’s a least a week old. In the past, after she’d named several younger lambs only to have them die for one reason or another, she’d decided naming should wait.

It’s easy to romanticize farm life. Just look at all of those beautiful animals! But farm life is hard work. They have to feed and care for the animals and the 38-acre piece of land with its myriad fences, animal shelters, the pond, etc.

They rarely get days off. And they both work other jobs, too, to make ends meet.

If you’re a local and have never tried meat from Walnut Hill Farm at Elm Springs, you should. Jeff and/or one of his helpers will be at the Saturday market in Old Town Warrenton with massive coolers full of meat. The bulk chorizo is my favorite, but I also like their link sausages, too, which are available in pork and lamb varieties. I also like to experiment with new stuff on occasion. This time, I bought some lamb kabob meat, too, which I am quite anxious to try.

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If you’re not close to Warrenton, you can make purchases at the farm. Click here for contact and location info.

Address: 449 Kellogg Mill Road, Falmouth, VA 22406

Phone: (540) 752-2909

 

 

And if you are nowhere near Virginia, find another local farmer to support. Not only will you find an alternate source for good, fresh, healthier food, you may just make a new friend or two in the process.

Creepiness in Staunton

The last time I was in Staunton, Virginia, these buildings caught my eye.

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Cool-looking old buildings.

 

They sit just west of the intersection of I-81 and US-250 on the outskirts of town. There’s a innocuous-sounding label — DeJarnette Center — on Google Maps, and there’s a sign near the driveway, which appears to lead to this complex, announcing the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia.

Who can resist frontier culture and cool, old buildings?

So, finding myself with a little bit of spare time on Saturday, I turned in for a closer look.

The driveway was definitely leading me toward the museum, but it was going around the old buildings. And the buildings looked creepier and creepier the closer I got.

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I couldn’t help but think of places like Pennsylvania’s Pennhurst Asylum.

Really, the place gave me the willies.

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It’s a pretty big complex. Just sitting there, obviously abandoned. Since it was broad daylight, and the place was surrounded by “State Property, No Trespassing” signs, I just stayed in my vehicle.

Not that I would have gotten out had it NOT been broad daylight, mind you.

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I don’t claim to have second sight or anything, but there’s definitely a feeling of foreboding about the place. It felt that way to me, anyway.

I did finally come to the museum at the end of the long drive, housed in a typical, up-to-date, museum-looking building, but I didn’t have time to visit. Instead, I added it to my mental list of places-that-would-be-nice-to-visit and moved on.

I still had a few minutes to spare, so I stopped in a Virginia souvenirs gift shop. When the lady at the counter said, “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you,” I had an idea.

“There is something you might be able to help with,” I said. “You know those old, abandoned, brick buildings on the other side of the interstate?”

She smiled and nodded her head. “Yes,” she replied, “that’s the old mental hospital for children.”

Gulp. Maybe I really did feel something?

While certainly a non-PC description, it seems an appropriate title for a very creepy looking place. Read this bit of history and I bet you’ll agree it was probably just as horrible as one can imagine it to have been.

Apparently it’s been abandoned for quite some time. Some folks want to restore the place, but it’s full of asbestos and clean-up would cost a fortune. Others, knowing the history of the place, just want to tear it down.

The lady admitted that many locals believe the place is haunted.

Here’s an interesting video I stumbled across while digging for info on the place.

As much as I like old buildings, I can only imagine some of the horrors people endured within those walls.

I am sure there are quite a few people still alive today who either stayed there or had family and/or friends there. Imagine what they feel every time they see the place.

I think I’d probably be in the tear-it-down camp, if I lived close enough to have a say.

If I ever do manage to visit the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia, which looks quite interesting, I’ll be sure to let you all know.

One More Capture

Since I had to be in Staunton mid-day on Saturday, I planned a slightly divergent route through Harrisonburg.

What’s there? A good lunch spot for me. Y’all know how much I like Hardee’s, right? Did you know that affinity is primarily because of their breakfast biscuits? With an emphasis on the biscuit.

Well, there’s another fast food joint I really, REALLY enjoy. They have even better biscuits than Hardee’s and serve breakfast 24 hours a day. PLUS, they have to-die-for fried chicken.

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Bojangles’!

 

Sadly, there are even fewer of those around than Hardee’s, so when I see a Bojangles’ I am very happy.

Oddly, the weather was exactly the same as it was on my last two trips to Staunton.

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Gray and dreary on the eastern side of the mountains.

 

The cloud ceiling was really low, too. Wanna know how low?

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Fogged in mountain pass.

 

I told you it was low. But, about a mile later, it cleared. And skies to the west were blue.

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Blue skies on the horizon.

 

Weird, right?

There was something else in downtown Harrisonburg I wanted to see, too.

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Nice mosaic wall.

 

The wall wasn’t it, but isn’t that cute? I just wish that guy hadn’t been lurking around to mess up my shot.

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Downtown Harrisonburg

 

The traffic light wasn’t what I was looking for either.

I was in Harrisonburg looking for LOVE.

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Harrisonburg, Virginia LOVEworks

 

Not nearly as cute as some of the others I’ve seen, is it? Still, I’m glad to have checked it off of my list.

I wonder if there’s any more LOVE in my near future?

That’s a rhetorical question, not a teaser. Sadly, I don’t have any more trips planned. Yet.

The Graffiti House

Click here to see the actual Google map.One Sunday afternoon, back in early October, Hubby and I decided to take a short ride to take advantage of the still-mild temperatures as Fall settled in in Central Virginia. It was my turn to plan a route, so I chose the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County National Military Park as a destination, of sorts.

Meg, our 15 1/2-year-old furbaby, was still with us back then, and couldn’t be left alone for long periods. So, unless we planned ahead to line-up a dog-sitter, we couldn’t go very far or be away from home for any significant length of time. Not that I’m complaining, mind you.

For me, ride planning is rarely about specific destinations as much as it is convenient waypoints on a map. Occasionally, places of interest will draw me in, but usually only for a quick rest break and/or potty stop. The battlefield seemed like it’d be a promising picnic spot, and it was.

We don’t ride south much. The terrain is flatter, so the roads are a bit less-interesting. But it’s still a lovely area. After enjoying the lunch I’d prepared at home — we sat on the grass in the middle of a battlefield — we continued our loop.

There’s a distillery I’d planned to visit, but we somehow missed the turn. No problem, though. We can always go back to the distillery. We did , however, stop at The Graffiti House.

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The Graffiti House now serves as the Brandy Station Foundation’s headquarters.

 

Located near Brandy Station, Virginia, The Graffiti is believed to have served as a field hospital for the South during the Battle of Brandy Station and other local Civil War battles. It also served as the Federal headquarters during the 1863-64 winter encampment.

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Soldiers from both sides signed their names on the walls, left notes, and/or made drawings on the walls. This graffiti was rediscovered quite by accident in the early 1990s when the then-owner of the land was preparing to demolish the house and sell the property.

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The Battle of Brandy Station was one of the greatest cavalry engagements in history. There were about 20,000 troops, of which 17,000 were cavalry, engaged in battle. That’s a lot of men and horses!

Following are images I captured inside of the structure. I tweaked them a bit to make it easier for you to see the actual graffiti.

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You really should take a quick look to see how the house looked when acquired by the Brandy Station Foundation.

If you’d like to know more, here’s an interesting article about restoration efforts.

We’re surrounded by Civil War history here in Virginia. Neither of us are real history buffs, but we still appreciate visiting places like this.

LOVEly Day to Visit Manassas

On Saturday, for most of the day, temps were in the 20s (F), or below. And we got about 10 inches of snow. Around dusk, temps started to climb, and the snow turned to sleet, and then freezing rain. Temperatures continued their upward swing through evening and into the next day.

Sunday was downright warm. Highs topped out in the mid-40s, and there was lots of sun. People were shoveling snow from sidewalks and driveways while wearing t-shirts without jackets.

It was weird, but I’ll take it.

Look at that gorgeous blue sky.

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Caboose in Oldtown Manassas

 

I’d planned to go to Costco in Manassas on Saturday, but canceled due to the snow. I went on Sunday instead.

I don’t really like going to Manassas. It’s essentially the outer ring of Northern Virginia. Crowded, full of traffic, LOTS of people, and did I mention the crowds? But there’s no Costco in Warrenton. No PetsMart, either. And no big beer and wine superstores.

Since I only go to Manassas if I have to, and it wouldn’t make for a very nice motorcycle journey, I decided I should swing by the Manassas LOVEwork on my way to the store today.

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LOVEwork in Manassas, Virginia

 

If you missed my original post about the Virginia LOVEworks, CLICK HERE.

I’m hoping to snag pics of all 40 this year. They won’t all be reached by motorcycle, but that’s okay. I enjoy road trips on four wheels, too.

The Manassas piece is the fourth one I captured. That means I’ve captured 10% of them and it’s only February. Can you tell I’m in business development? 🙂

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Manassas LOVEwork

 

It’s a rather plain piece. But it’s still a big ole hunka LOVE.

I hope y’all enjoy the final week of February. Spring is right around the corner. Yippee!!!

Moody Winter Skies

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.

Remember the song, “I’m a Girl Watcher“?

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.

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On US 29, headed southeast towards Charlottesville.

 

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On US-64, headed west towards Waynesboro, near Afton, Virginia.

 

See those mountains ahead and to the right? Skyline Drive is up there.

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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.

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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.

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Newly decorated water tower along I-81 near Mount Jackson, VA.

 

When I drove past that spot in January, the tower was being painted.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Is it just me, or do you see a face, too?

 

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Note the slight hint of glacial blue coloring in that ice?

 

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Pretty View

 

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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…

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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.

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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.

Spring will be here soon.