I love my town. There’s just so much to see here. As one of my friends often says, “It’s aesthetically pleasing.”
And since I’m all about aesthetics, isn’t that reason enough to love living here?
Did you see my post featuring flower pictures captured after the rain? The Blushing Rose shot was a favorite. It was captured four days before this next image…
Again, I just happened to have my camera along when I went out to lunch yesterday. I absolutely love the colors in that flower. A good reason to always have the camera handy, right?
As an aside, if you want to see the detail in these images, click on the pic and a larger version of the image will fill your screen. Keep that in mind. You just might want to use that feature soon.
Most of my walks around town are dog-walks. My girls need and thoroughly enjoy their daily exercise. I always have my iPhone along, which does take pretty decent snapshots. But it’s an all-purpose kind of camera, so you can’t capture varying shades of light, especially in low-light situations, or manipulate the focus and depth of field. Which is why, when I see especially compelling stuff, I make a mental note to return with the real camera.
The other day, I’d noticed that the peonies by the Old Jail Museum were blooming. The rich, dark color really caught my eye.
In the early evening light, they’d appeared to be purple. Midday light showed their true colors… my favorite hot-pink.
I couldn’t decide which angle I liked better, so you get to see two different views.
As I was staring at the peonies, looking for the best angle to shoot from, a woman who was walking past commented about how pretty the flowers were. I had to chuckle when she said, “Did you see the brown Iris in front of the old building down the street?”
Why did I have to chuckle? Because yes, I had seen them. In fact, that was to be my next stop.
This building has been around for a long time, and has served various purposes. It started out as a residence. I’m guessing these Iris have been there for a while. Flower colors, like paint colors, upholstery colors, etc., come in and go out of fashion over time. I don’t remember ever having seen Iris in this odd brown/maroon color. That’s why I think they are old.
I captured the building shot with my phone especially for you. The lens I was using on my other camera had a pretty narrow focus, so rather than walking down the street to get far enough away to capture the building, I took the lazy route and decided to snag a phone image later.
Those are some very cool Iris. The colors are really very interesting. Which, by the way, is why I couldn’t decide, again, which angle I liked best. So you get to see several shots.
See what I mean? Those are some very pretty and unique Iris. Size-wise, they were the same as all the other Iris I’m used to seeing. But, beside the porch, was a patch of smaller, daffodil-sized versions with the same color pattern.
I definitely don’t remember having seen flowers like those before.
While I’m on the subject of unique flowers, here is another example that caught my eye during a dog walk. The funny thing is, I remembered the flower clearly, but not it’s location. So it took me a few minutes to locate them again.
Whether they are Petunias or Torenias, I haven’t a clue. But they are annual plants, which means I just might be able to find them at a local garden center.
If any of you local folk know where to buy these, let me know, okay? I think they’re awesome. And it’s time to replace my potted Pansies.
In case you’re wondering where you can see these cuties, they are in the flower bed in front and on the right-hand side of the Warren Green Building. If you go to see them for yourself, you absolutely must check out the lovely little flower garden between the Warren Green Building and the new courthouse. Kudos to whoever decided to plant that lovely little spot, which is where the following images were captured.
There’s probably a story behind that statue, but I don’t know it.
Seeing those Rhododendron shots reminds me… last night, during the dog-walk, I saw the prettiest, reddest Rhododendron I’ve ever seen before. Maybe I’ll get a chance to capture a shot or two of that to share with you. Before the blooms fade.
Now can you understand why I so enjoy my strolls around Old Town Warrenton?
This past Friday, May 3, was the 7th annual International Female Ride Day (IFRD). A day when women around the globe celebrate being motorcyclists.
I had grand plans for the day. I made a very special 2:00 appointment, finagled the afternoon off from work (after working lots of extra hours the week before), mapped a route, and prepared to set out. I also had to go to my Dad’s in Baltimore on Friday evening. Preparing to ride meant packing an overnight bag, loading the bike with luggage, camera equipment and tunes, and donning the gear (riding pants, boots, jacket, and helmet). After attaching my IFRD flyer to the windscreen, I was all ready.
I climbed on the bike, hit the starter, and was dismayed to hear a click, click, click as opposed to the motor purring to life.
I frantically did some troubleshooting to see if I could get the thing going, all the while being mindful of the time. That 2:00 appointment was an important one I did NOT want to miss. Finally, I decided to remove all the gear, transfer my stuff into the car, and roll.
I called Jeff, the man I’d be meeting, to let him know I was running late and see if that would be okay. He said it wasn’t a problem, so off I went. My destination was Walnut Hill Farm at Elm Springs. It’s about 33 miles southeast of Warrenton in Stafford County, Virginia.
Walnut Hill Farm was established in 2000 on a 38-acre parcel of ground, which is the only remaining land in agricultural production that remains from a farm originally established in 1843. It’s owned by Jeff and Ginny Adams. (Visit their About Us page if you’d like to learn more about the people and the farm.)
I first met Jeff at the Warrenton Farmers’ Market. I sent him an e-mail to let him know I’d mentioned him in my blog post. And to say, “If you’d like a full post on your farm, I’d love to come out and meet all of you and see your critters.”
Y’all know I love farm critters, right? Especially cows. I’ve been wanting to see a real farm for the longest time.
Jeff wrote back saying a visit would be fine, but he’d prefer to schedule a visit in May. “I would like to wait until the poultry is out on pasture and the grass has grown,” he explained. “Emerging from winter is not always easy on a farm.”
In the weeks that followed some interesting events transpired on that busy farm. The most exciting, to me anyway, being the birth of a new cow. A male American Milking Devon (that’s the breed) named Charlie. After a very difficult birth, his Mama decided she doesn’t care much for motherhood, and she refused to feed her baby. So he needs to be bottle-fed. In a newsletter, Jeff invited folks to come feed Charlie.
You know I HAD to jump at that chance, right? As it turns out, when I called, the first available appointment was on Friday.
I was beyond excited. Really.
I have long wanted to experience bottle feeding a baby cow.
How cool is that? Jeff was even kind enough to take pictures for me.
Is that the cutest thing ever?
As exciting as that was, there was more excitement still to come. I didn’t expect a farm tour. I’d just gone down to feed Charlie. But Jeff had other plans in mind.
You think feeding Charlie was exciting? It gets better. For serious.
There was a chore Jeff needed help with. He did say Spring is a busy time, right?
He’d gotten a shipment from the Post Office that morning that had to be unpacked. He was kind enough to save that “chore” for me.
This was no ordinary package. It made noise. I followed Jeff from the farm store into the stable and did a very good job NOT squealing loudly in delight after he’d removed the top of the box.
Oh. My. Gawd. Cute overload!
I watched as he started lifting the babies gently from the box, placing them in the special brooding box he’d set up in advance.
“Can I help?” I asked. He answered with, “Sure, if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty.”
Silly man. Me NOT touch those downy little bundles of joy?
I actually got to lift a bunch of babies out of the box. I was thrilled.
We watched for a little while. Then Jeff showed me the other poultry that had arrived previously.
It was awesome. As soon as they’re old enough, all of the poultry will be released into pastures, so they can range freely and grow into happy, healthy, birds that will one day make a very special dinner for some lucky folks.
He introduced me to a few sheep, too, then we headed out into the pasture to meet his adopted Belgian mare, Nellie.
Nellie used to live at Mount Vernon. She’s spending her retirement years at Walnut Hill Farm. Jeff obviously is very fond of her.
After we’d greeted Nellie, Jeff said, “Charlie is like any other baby after it’s said.” I looked where he pointed to see a full-bellied Charlie…
…lounging in the sun.
Charlie can’t be pastured with the other cows. He’d try to feed off of every cow, male and female, which would just make them angry. Angry enough to beat up on the baby.
He’ll need to be bottle fed for at least four months. If all was well and he was living with his mama, he’d nurse for about nine months. That will keep Jeff and Ginny busy. As if taking care of all the critters didn’t already mean enough work.
Speaking of the other critters, our next stop was the cow pasture. I just followed along listening as Jeff shared all kinds of info with me. I didn’t think twice when he opened the pasture gate, and motioned me through.
We slowly made our way across the pasture as he explained about different cow breeds. These are American Milking Devon cows, a heritage breed that first arrived in America in 1623. You can read all about them here if you like.
I listened closely to Jeff as we strolled across the pasture, interjecting with questions periodically. We’d only made it about halfway across the pasture when he sat down. It was a lovely, warm Spring day, so I sat down beside him.
Now, y’all know how I have always wanted to sit in the middle of a cow pasture, right? I would never have said, “Hey, Jeff, can we go sit in your pasture and see what happens?” That just seemed too frivolous when he was expending so much time and effort sharing knowledge with me.
I watched the cows as we chatted, and sure enough, they started moving closer.
Ena, I think that was her name, was the first one to get really close to us.
I did finally say, “You know, I have always heard that if you sit or lay in a cow pasture that the cows will come over to investigate. Is that why we sat here?”
He just chuckled and said he thought I might like to take some more pictures. He has obviously read my blog. Lol.
It was funny watching them nonchalantly ambling over. As if they didn’t want to appear too curious and risk spooking me.
I can’t remember this cow’s name. It may have been a bull.
The younguns were the last to come over. Jeff and I chatted away as they ambled over, checked us out, then went on their way.
At least I though they’d gone on their way. After about 20 minutes of sitting, when we went to stand up, I was tickled to see they had all lined up on the hill behind us.
That’s not a great shot. I was looking into the sun. But it should give you an idea how close they were standing.
I captured the second image as Jeff and I moved away.
From there, we headed over to the next pasture to meet Jeff’s two Milking Short Horns, the oxen team, Chip and Dale.
As cows go, the American Milking Devons are on the smallish side. I think the big AMDs weighed about 1,000 pounds each.
These guys, the oxen, run at about a ton. Yep, 2,000 pounds each.
I remarked at their size as we approached, and Jeff told me that they are even more gentle than the AMDs.
Then he showed me a picture of someone riding one of the oxen. I don’t know if that was a coincidence or he’d realized folks who’d been told I had an appointment with a cow on Friday had been making fun of me, saying I’d probably be riding someone’s cow!
These guys really were very gentle. I can’t remember if that’s Chip or Dale, but I really had to chuckle to myself when Jeff started removing the crust from around the animal’s eye while saying he was clearing the “eye boogers.” That’s the same thing I say when I’m doing that to my dogs. So this cow is just a pet on a much larger scale. Don’t believe me? Check this out…
Yep, that 2,000 pounder loved having his chin scratched!
After meeting the boys, we made our way back to the barn. At that point, Jeff had already spent about an hour and a half with me. He still had more work to do, remarking that if he didn’t get busy, there’d be no ground beef for the farmers’ markets the next day.
There’s more to the farm to see, but I’ll have to save that for another day. I did not want to impede production.
Here are a few more pics I captured of some of the other critters.
Ride or no ride, it was an all-around fabulous day. I really do hope I get to go back soon. I still haven’t met the pigs. And there may be some burros. Plus, I have to tell you all about the sheep.
So, what do you think? Was that an amazing treat for me or what? 🙂
I was strolling through town earlier this month (April 13) when I noticed a cute little outbuilding that I’d never noticed before. The metal roof had a very cool patina. I snapped a picture with my cell phone and moseyed on. But first I told myself, “Self, you have to remember to come back here with your real camera.”
Fast forward to this past Sunday (April 21). I did a photo stroll to capture some of the Spring blooms before they go away.
When I got to the outbuilding, it looked lovelier than ever. I didn’t notice the patina I’d remembered, but chalked it up to lighting conditions. Light does interesting stuff.
Here’s the shot I captured with my real camera.
I actually captured quite a few really good images on Sunday, which I hope to one day share with you all.
Later that evening, as I was deleting pics from my phone, I came across the cell phone capture of the same building.
That’s when the lightbulb went off.
“Huh!” I said.
“‘Huh’, what?” Shannon, who was still here, asked.
When I showed her the pic, she said, “Huh,” too.
Why? Have a look at the cell phone capture.
There WAS a cool patina on the roof. The key term here being “was.”
I had every intention of focusing solely on a specific sewing project yesterday. Then I stepped out our back door and noticed the Farmer’s Market was open.
Ah, the Farmer’s Market. I HAD to go. Plus, it was yet another picture-perfect day here in OTW.
The Warrenton Farmers Market operates on Saturdays and Wednesdays for a good part of the year. The Saturday market is very close to our house. It’s one of Old Town Warrenton’s attractions that I really enjoy, so I try hard to support it by visiting and usually buying some sort of merchandise. It’s too early in the year for a lot of the fresh produce I enjoy — tomatoes and corn — but there were plenty of flowers and other wares to intrigue me.
There were lots of folks out and about, enjoying the market and the gorgeous weather. I think it was in the mid-50s when I left the house. Perfect weather in my my book. Hubby thought it was chilly.
On the way to the market, I noticed that our neighbor’s flowering tree is getting ready to bloom.
I’ll have to keep my eyes on that one. It’s gorgeous when in bloom.
Following are some images from the market.
The image immediately above shows offerings from “blurose,” a husband and wife operating out of nearby Amissville in Rappahannock County.
I hadn’t planned on buying anything at the market. I was just going to take pictures. So after seeing several things that needed to go home with me, I had to walk to the bank machine. Which is why this post also includes some not-market-related town images.
This building is adjacent to the parking lot that houses the market.
One of these days I’ll get a shot of this building without cars parked there. Maybe.
I am drawn to this building for some reason. I guess it’s the red color. Plus the green ivy climbing up one corner. And the church steeple in the background.
The coasters shown below are what inspired my trip to the bank machine.
There were a number of different woods represented. All wood was harvested from trees downed by Hurricane Sandy in Rappahannock and Fauquier Counties. Jan, who owns Blurose, explained that she and her husband, Chris, were devastated at seeing so many downed trees. Chris decided to turn nature’s fury to his advantage and make use of what would otherwise have been senselessly wasted wood.
The little pamphlet that came with the coasters said, “The tree that gave us these coasters was a monster. It was most likely over 120′ with a huge canopy. Size was its downfall. Standing alone on the ridge crest at the top of a small valley that funneled the wind, it was subjected to the full force of the storm. It has gone, but here is something to remember it by.”
How could I NOT buy such gorgeous coasters made by a man who describes himself as one with a “passion” for “finding the beauty of wood in its most natural forms.” He can write, too, as evidenced by the pamphlet on my coasters and other writings about the products.
Another very cool merchant I met are the folks behind Primrose Farm in nearby Nokesville. Kathleen and George are a lovely older couple selling heirloom flowers and other goods. George is actually a very good watercolor artist, and their booth carried a wide range of note cards showcasing some of his lovely paintings.
I also bought some Chorizo Grillers (sausages) being sold by Walnut Hill Farm in Falmouth, VA. Big coolers of meat don’t make for great photos, but I LOVED this tablecloth. I think it was one of the owners who told me he’d purchased the table covering in France some years ago. I’m pretty sure he said his wife bought a blue one. I should have warned him about Janet, the Empty Nest proprietor, who loves all things French, especially chickens and other critters.
I didn’t buy anything from Caroline, but I loved her sign. I chatted with her a bit, admiring her multi-colored eggs, about which she said, “My mother is VERY proud of her chickens.” I’m sure I’ll see Caroline again next week.
I did bring some of those Zinnias home with me. I might get them into the dirt today, assuming I finish that sewing project I mentioned earlier.
Speaking of that sewing project, I’d better get busy!
Welcome back. I am glad you decided to continue your virtual tour with me. Evenings are especially pretty here in OTW.
There’s just something about evening light. Photographers refer to the first and last hour of sunlight each day as “The Golden Hour.” I could get all technical, but you’d be bored. We’re just strolling, right? Simply put, that’s when colors come alive.
I often end up walking the dogs during this time. And I am always awed by the changing hues as the sky lights up, goes pink, and casts a golden hue on everything. I always have my phone with me, but it just doesn’t capture the light to my satisfaction.
So I decided to ditch the dogs for a change and capture some images with my real camera. I should have taken the tripod. The images would have been clearer. But I am still pleased with the snapshots I captured.
I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of walking around this lovely town.
Have I convinced you to come for a visit? Yes? Come on down. 🙂
Spring finally arrived here in Old Town Warrenton. Truth be told, I think Summer is here. I think we hit the low 90s today.
Weather in the Virginia Piedmont may be even more fickle than in Maryland!
Really, though, it was gorgeous. I couldn’t NOT go outside. So I grabbed my real camera for a change, as opposed to the iPhone, and went for a stroll.
I so enjoyed seeing all of the flowers. It was just lovely… looking, strolling, snapping a pic or two. Us photographer types are afflicted with a curse that really makes us SEE stuff. Colors, lines, shadows, oddities… the phrase seeing the big picture doesn’t apply. We see everything.
I’ll just let these pics — there are lots — speak for themselves.
Note… that thermometer says 100! It’s in the sun, but that proves how warm it got today.
Can I just say I am really glad I have friends who are storekeepers that aren’t afraid to run their air conditioner? Thanks, Sherrie, Janet, and Kelly Ann!
And hats off to the Red Truck Bakery, which is where I bought a drink today and very tasty Birdseed Cookie (sugar cookie with poppy seeds, anise, fennel, and some other stuff). Of course, I had seeds stuck in my teeth afterward, but it was worth it!
It just LOOKS like a perfect day for a stroll, doesn’t it?
Those flowers are so vibrant, they sort of hurt my eyes!
Did you enjoy your virtual stroll through my lovely little town?
I captured some pics at twilight, too. I’ll share them in the next post.