The View from Squirrel Ridge

Actias Luna, a Green Giant

2009-07-09T00:07:00.002-04:00

Luna Moth

This fellow followed Frank into the house. I was startled to see the huge green moth on a wall, but I captured it in an empty coffee can and released it outside.

I posted a photo of a luna moth before in June 2007. You can read about these moths and see some awesome pictures of them at the Island Creek website.

Baby Carolina Wrens

2009-07-08T22:51:00.004-04:00

Baby birds hatched in the nest on our deck. Here's how they looked a few days ago. Yesterday I saw them hopping around on the deck. When Mother Wren saw me watching, she chirped until they jumped back in the nest and hunkered down.

Earlier Post: A Nest in a Fuschia Plant

Description of Carolina Wren

Thryothorus ludovicianus ) on All About Birds.)

Rose Bowl

2009-07-07T23:17:00.002-04:00

After it rained the other day, I spotted this pretty little rose and decided to capture it with the drops still on the leaves. Not until I started to take the picture did I realize that the flower formed a perfect little bowl for holding water.

Hone Quarry Recreation Area

2009-07-06T21:41:00.005-04:00

Hone Quarry is in the George Washington National Forest west of Dayton, VA. Lynn did not remember camping there as a child, so one day we drove out there after meeting for lunch in Harrisonburg. We drove through the small town of Briery Branch on the way, where her Javins ancestors once lived.

I felt it was high time she got a look at the town. Her sister went through there about 7 years ago when working on The Best in Tent Camping: Virginia, 2nd edition.

Benny at the Vet's

2009-07-06T21:25:00.004-04:00

Sounds like a song, doesn't it: B-B-Ba Benny at the Vets...

Here's Ben at the veterinary clinic. The technician had talked to us and we were waiting for the vet. Ben is looking at the exit door; clearly he's ready to go back home.

We stayed though, and the vet examined his ear. With Frank and the technician struggling to hold him still, the vet cleaned his ear and swabbed it. She said he has a bacterial infection.

We have to treat it twice a day. Frank distracts him with pieces of chicken while I clean it and apply 5 drops of medication.

Poor dog also has a tummy ache, the result of eating a shoe lace. Pulled it right out of one of my sneakers!

Brycefest 2009

2009-07-05T18:46:00.006-04:00

July 4th Weekend at Bryce Resort, Virginia

Fireworks 2009

2009-07-04T23:19:00.004-04:00

We watched the resort's fireworks display from our deck. The evening was cool enough that I wore a light jacket.

My Nikon has a setting for Fireworks so I used it. The photos came out okay but every time I clicked the shutter, there was a delay of several seconds while the picture was processed.

Late Afternoon, July 1st

2009-07-04T23:12:00.002-04:00

I've posted photos taken from our deck before. Here's the view with rain clouds rising.

You can barely see Great North Mountain behind the clouds.

Lepidoptera

2009-07-03T23:46:00.004-04:00

I went to a "Butterfly Conservatory" with members of the Mt. Jackson Garden Club. It's basically a flower-filled greenhouse in which butterflies have been released.

The exhibit lasted a week and was a fundraiser for a daycare program. It's a favorite with children. Nectar is available for attracting butterflies to sit on your fingers.

Above: A monarch perches on a young visitor's hand.

Left: Linda Kirchner holds a mourning cloak butterfly.

Pink Blossoms

2009-07-03T23:33:00.003-04:00

Spotted in the Hess Greenhouse at the Shenandoah Heritage Market, Harrisonburg.

Marie Javins Travels

2009-07-03T23:30:00.001-04:00

Have you seen Marie's blog lately? She's posted some really nice photos of Morocco.

Sherman's Headquarters in Savannah

2009-07-02T23:37:00.006-04:00

The Green Meldrim Mansion

From the Historical Marker:

General William Tecumseh Sherman used this house as headquarters from Dec. 22, 1864, until Feb. 1, 1865. Charles Green offered the use of his home to General Sherman and his staff. Sherman's chaplain conducted the Christmas services in St. John's Church.

In a telegram to President Lincoln, Sherman wrote: "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the City of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty guns and plenty of ammunition, also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton."

The Old Sorrel Residence in Savannah

2009-07-02T21:39:00.005-04:00

Sorrel-Weed House on Madison Square

This house was completed around 1838. It is said to be haunted. (See the Wikipedia entry on Sorrel Weed House.)

Excerpts from the marker "Old Sorrel-Weed House:"

A fine example of Greek Revival style... The Mediterranean villa influence reflects the French background of the original owner, Francis Sorrel (1793- 1870), a shipping merchant of Savannah who as a child was saved by a faithful slave from the massacre of the white colonists in St. Domingo. The ante-bellum tradition of refinement and hospitality associated with the residence was continued after its purchase in 1859 by Henry D. Weed.

Here resided as a youth G. Moxley Sorrel (1838- 1901) who achieved fame as one of “Lee’s Lieutenants.” Shortly after war broke out in 1861 Sorrel, a young bank clerk in Savannah, proceeded to Virginia where with conspicuous valor and zeal through the major battles and campaigns in that theater from the First Mannassas to Petersburg and was thrice wounded. Sorrel became brig. general at the age of 26... Gen. Sorrel’s “Recollections of a Confederate Staff Officer” is an absorbing account of his war experiences.

See more on HMdb.org

Forsyth Park Fountain

2009-07-01T23:59:00.005-04:00

Inspired by the parks and fountains of Paris, Forsyth Park and its grand fountain date back to 1858.

Frank at Forsyth Square

2009-07-01T23:58:00.000-04:00

Savannah, Georgia

Thinking about Forrest Gump

2009-07-01T00:29:00.004-04:00

FCW in Savannah, GA

Since Frank recollected that Forrest Gump sat on a bench in Chippewa Square, we decided to take a picture of the bench... but we could not find the same one; the film's bench has been long since removed. I read that it was a fiberglas prop.

James Oglethorpe of Georgia

2009-06-30T23:11:00.003-04:00

This statue of Governor Oglethorpe dominates Chippewa Square in Savannah. A nearby marker refers to him as "the great soldier-philanthropist who founded the colony of Georgia." It also says that the bronze statue was sculpted by Daniel Chester French.

Oglethorpe lived from 1696-1785.

A Georgia Squirrel

2009-06-30T22:59:00.003-04:00

We saw this guy in Savannah. He was in the shade so I let the flash go off, making his eye glow strangely.

Carriages, Savannah

2009-06-30T22:34:00.003-04:00

Apparently the fashionable way to tour Savannah is via horse-drawn carriage. However, we took a tour bus. Then we retraced half the route via car so that we could stop and take photos.

Frampton Plantation

2009-06-29T23:39:00.005-04:00

In South Carolina, we saw a billboard advertising Frampton Plantation along I-95 and decided to take a look. It's just off the highway at exit 33 and serves as a (free) visitors center for the "Low Country" region.

The original house was burned during the Civil War and rebuilt in 1868. I just read that it was donated in 1993 to the Lowcountry Tourism Commission by Columbia developer Wymann Boozer.

The property features some marvelous old live oaks and signs for the Revolutionary War Trail (tracing the travels of Loyalist surgeon Uzal Johnson) and the Civil War's Frampton Line (see below).

I purchased a book in the gift shop called Civil War Tours of the Low Country: Beaufort, Hilton Head, and Charleston, South Carolina. I liked the fact that it had plenty of large photos of the various sites.

The Frampton Line

2009-06-29T22:35:00.005-04:00

Earthworks at the Frampton Line, South Carolina

Although Frampton Plantation was just off I-95 at US 17, it turned out to have a Civil War site and a sign which reads:

The Frampton Line

A large "earthwork," over 100 yards in length was raised on this site by General Robert E. Lee's troops c. 1862. This fortification was a fall-back position from which to defend the Charleston to Savannah Railroad, an important supply line for the Confederate Army.
The rail line is located about one mile north of this site.

Frampton Line on Historical Marker Database

Visiting South Carolina's Low Country

Room at the Inn

2009-06-28T23:58:00.005-04:00

On our way back from our Carolina trip, I wanted to spend a little time on the Blue Ridge Parkway. So we left I-77 at Elkin, NC and drove up US 21 to the Parkway. We then headed south a short distance and had a nice dinner at the Bluffs Lodge Restaurant (Milepost 241).

There was one room left at the nearby lodge, but after inspecting it we decided not to take it. It was too musty and a bit small. A nice woman who works there said to try the High Meadows Inn in nearby Roaring Gap.

We returned to US 21 and located the lodge. It needed paint and looked a bit run-down on the outside, but we were getting tired and decided to at least look at a room. We chose an upstairs suite

and it was clean inside and looked very nice.

I imagine this was once a really nice hotel. Probably it was quite busy before I-77 opened and rerouted most tourist traffic to Fancy Gap.

We did not have wireless internet but that was not essential for a one-night stay. I was glad to have a usable kitchen space in which to fix breakfast. The adjoining restaurant was not open.

Garden Sculpture in Roaring Gap

2009-06-28T23:41:00.005-04:00

	Concrete Garden Decor at a pond which was once a motel swimming pool
	At High Meadow Inn on US 21, Roaring Gap, NC

A Band at the Blue Ridge Music Center

2009-06-27T23:27:00.002-04:00

At Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 213

Since we were driving past the Music Center, we stopped in to check out the exhibits. A band was playing bluegrass music, sounded good. The exhibit hall displayed old records and photos of bluegrass musicians from the 1930's and 40's, along with stories about their careers.

Mabry Mill, Blue Ridge Parkway

2009-06-27T22:45:00.002-04:00

This restored mill is probably the most photographed spot on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I've photographed it several times myself.

I chose this one to post because the people looking out the window makes the image a little more interesting.