OCCOQUAN REGIONAL PARK, DOWN BY THE RIVER, AND A QUESTION

I have a question for you.  Has anyone had experience with the Live Traffic Feed widget that I have added to my right-hand side bar (scroll down right to the bottom)?  Enjoying geography as I do, I thought it would be interesting to see where everyone came from, but am not sure if it is worth keeping?  I wonder if you could let me know what you think of it in your comment.  Depending on what I can learn means I will either keep it or remove it.  Thanks in advance.

The first bird we found was our popular male Red Cardinal.  The female is also very beautiful but in a more understated way.  She is not like her flashy male counterpart and I enjoy her more muted colors.  She, however, was not seen on this photo op and I was grateful for the male's company.  (This link will take you to a website showing the female, and further down very similar birds.)

I borrowed the following illustration from here, and it has many more photos and more information if you would like to take a look.

This is the bridge I shared in a previous post, and you can see Gregg on the left.  It is between the parking lot and the short walk that takes you across another parking area (for cars and boat trailers this time), and then the river beyond.

It is a very pretty bridge and the new lush green leaves are making it even more so.

An Osprey can be seen sitting on a nest.  I don't know what that white strip is, hopefully not plastic.

It wasn't until I got the photos downloaded that I saw the Osprey, its head just poking above the nest.

A Cormorant  made its way down river also.

A mallard was swimming along at a much slower pace. 

The river was like an airport runway and we were right next to the landing path of the Canadian Geese.

"If we all had as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong."

~Author Unknown~

When a goose gets sick or is wounded, two other geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and provide protection.  They stay with the unhealthy member of the flock until it is either able to fly again or dies. When it is time to launch out, they will join another passing flock or try to catch up with their own."

~Author Unknown~

From our bench we watched as several Great Blue Herons flew down the river also, not all at the same time.

"A heron symbolizes calmness, patience and determination."

~Author Unknown~

These large homes and large boats intrigue me.  I want to go and knock on the door and say hello, who are you and what do you do in life?

When we first moved to Virginia from California over 30 years ago, we looked at a lot of houses.  We almost bought a place on the river in Occoquan.  Nothing as big as these but the commute into DC was too far for hubs way back before retirement.  The house we almost settled on had a sun room overlooking the river.  I think about that house occasionally, but am happy where we ended up.  We have had a good life here and our home fits us like a comfortable old shoe.  

Big boats and little boats mingled.  Families were out in their kayaks.

"I had no plans of any destination.  I wish to flow like a river."

~Lailah Gifty Akita~

"I was still water, held by my surroundings.  I am now a river, carving my own path."

~Scott Stabile~

This must have been where they rented them, unless they had their own. We walked by on the way to the river.

As we were leaving this area we also passed the 100 year old Beehive Kiln, used by prisoners to make bricks for the Occoquan Workhouse and other buildings throughout Northern Virginia and DC.  (The Lorton Reformatory has been closed for several years now.) This kiln and chimney are the last of the nine beehive kilns that once operated here.

As I read here, the reformatory began as a former prison complex established in 1910 for the District of Columbia.  I won't go into great detail but it has quite a history, not pleasant.  However, since it closed in 2001 and has been turned back over to the County of Fairfax, the maximum security wing has been turned into a shopping center, and the old medium-security "Central" facility is now an apartment complex, and the one time chow hall is now a gym.

At the same time we looked at that house I mentioned on the river, we also looked at a new housing community just down the road from here.  They were lovely houses.  There was, however, one name in the area that gave me pause as I read it,  "Prison View Estates".  I remember side-eyeing my sweet other half and asking if there was a prison nearby?  I don't remember his answer.  As we drove down the road my eyes got a little wider at the sight of the large buildings of the reformatory, on both sides of the road.  On one side was the men's section, on the other side was the place for women. 

One side note: my father taught me never to judge others by where they ended up in life, walk a mile in their shoes for a year he used to say.  He also taught my mom, my sister and me a few self-defense moves when we were in our teens (he was a 30-year career police officer).  To this day I am always aware of my surroundings (he sowed those seeds early).  I don't think about it too much now because it became second nature.  A lot of other sage advice on people followed through the years.  It was his mission in life to take care of his girls and teach them a few skills that might help if needed.

On his retirement from the force, a friend and old acquaintance of his asked him to come and work at a practice he had recently opened, a solicitor's (lawyers) office.  We had moved to Devonshire (UK) by that time and lived not too far from Dartmoor Prison.  Dad would often tell me about its history.  Part of his job was to visit clients inside the prison.  He would occasionally take us along and drop my mother, sister and me at the tea room in town, which wasn't too far away.  

We always drove by the entrance as the street we used to get into town took us right by the prison.  That entrance is carved into my memory, as I remember the bell above the old gate vividly.  I suppose it made quite an impression. Dad would warn us every time not to take any photos as we drove by, they weren't allowed.  My finger was itching for the shutter button but a promise was a promise.  On some of these trips we would pass by work crews being marched down the road with their guards. 

From the time dad dropped us off to the time he picked us up, it was usually enough to eat our tea and scones, and look around a couple of shops.  Princetown was a pretty little town and a stop for tourists, many of whom were interested in seeing that old historic prison.  I had heard if there were any escapes, and because of the location, many of them got lost on the moors.  There were bogs and rocky terrain to contend with, and then there was also the fog.  

These two photos above and below were borrowed from the website.  Even though we couldn't take photos of the main entrance, the view of Dartmoor Prison from a distance could be seen over a stone wall high up on a hill.  I have my own photos of it somewhere, from a greater distance than you can see here.  If you go to this website you will read that it was constructed between 1806 and 1809 by local labor, to hold prisoners of the Napoleonic Wars.  It was also used to hold American prisoners from the War of 1812.  (This prison will also be closing in 2023.)

But as I often do, I digress and getting back to where we were over 30 years ago.  My first impression of Lorton Reformatory was that the main building was very formidable looking, a big scary place and the guard towers weren't too far from the road.  They were close enough if I remember correctly, that we could see the guards at the top of those towers.  We passed by many times over the years, whenever we traveled in that direction on weekend road trips down south. 

My dear hubs had thought it would be a good idea to look at these houses.  I wasn't sure and was non-committal but I could already feel my heels digging so far down into the dirt, that in reality that dirt would have been over my knees and sinking deeper the more I thought about it.  

I remember clearly our conversation on this subject, going back and forth for a few days, and what sealed the deal to the 'nay', was the news that two men had escaped and police had closed off the neighborhood we had been looking at.  This wasn't the first time as others had gone over the wall before.  That was enough for me. We didn't buy that house either.  Gregg told me that the reformatory wasn't going to be around for long.  He had probably read about it closing, but it wouldn't be for another couple of years or so, maybe more, and I could not be persuaded.  He used to travel quite a lot back in those days, and I was just too much of a nervous nelly about it all.  I also reminded him what he said about the commute.  We have since driven by that  housing development many times and it is lovely.

Here's another page showing its history.  You will read that Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie once performed at the prison, in one of the fields.  It was also where many years earlier suffragettes were imprisoned and they were treated horribly. So yes, there is a lot of history in these buildings, and if we knew what those ladies had to go through on both sides of the Atlantic to get us the vote, we would realize what a privilege it is.  We owe them so much.  

I didn't start this page off to be such a long ramble, but for some reason my memories and my fingers started flying today.  I like to write our own family history for our son.  In fact it was why I started blogging in the first place.  He has been asking questions about our early years lately.

BIRDS AT HUNTLEY MEADOWS

~Female Cardinal~

 ~Canada Geese~

~Green-winged Teal~

 ~Male Red-winged Blackbird~

 ~Great Blue Heron~

~Mallards~

                   

NEABSCO REGIONAL PARK - WE FOUND A NEW PLACE TO WALK

We had heard about Neabsco Regional Park in Woodbridge a few weeks ago. It is another place we found not too far from home, a 40 to 45-minute car ride.  I had read about it in one of my online magazines.  Last Sunday we decided that this would be a fun place to take a walk.  You can also read an article in the Prince William Times if you click on this link.

The park is practically brand new, having only been open since June 1st of this year.  It is a work in progress but a wonderful place for a walk, and includes the Julie J. Ketz Wetlands, the Rippon Lodge historic property and the Rippon Landing Neighborhood Park. The boardwalk itself is three-quarters of a mile long, ten feet wide and is elevated well above the marsh.  There is also a two-story observation deck.I noticed something hovering as soon as I stepped on the boardwalk.  My first thought was that it must have been a bird.  It was way up here and hard to make out.  After looking for a few minutes I realized it was a drone.  This was the first I had actually seen.  I recognized it thanks to looking at them on sale in the camera section of several shops, and all the advertising they get elsewhere.  Other people were in the area but none seemed to be holding a remote control device, or even interested in what was above them.  So the owner was a mystery and it left me wondering what range they have.

At the beginning of the boardwalk I looked to my left down a waterway, and could see several Egrets and at least one Great Blue Heron.  Too far for a decent photo but it was fun to look for a while.We saw a large flock of Red-wing Blackbirds flying low in the distance, about a hundred of them, recognized by lightning flashes of red on the wing.  I have never seen so many of these birds in one place.  A safe haven for them obviously, and I didn't even attempt a photo as I knew they would be too far away.  Tiny specks if they showed up in frame at all, but still fun to see that many tiny specks swarm across the wetlands and disappear into the rushes.

We were impressed with how well made the boardwalk was.  Gregg inspected it pretty thoroughly, right down to the rail where it had been smoothed and rounded off.

We passed other people, and noticed that dogs were allowed also.  Not sure how long this will last, wondering about the well-being of surrounding wildlife, but it was nice to see them.  Dogs aren't allowed onto the boardwalk at Huntley Meadows, but there would be a safety issue as the boardwalk there is much narrower, and also there are no safety railings (well I almost got that cute dog in full frame).   

As this place is brand new, and there are those safety issues taken care of that I mentioned, and if the owner's are responsible, it would be nice to see a dog or two.  But then I am a dog person. I could see no rules posted but may have missed them.  We are also in another county, so perhaps things are done differently here.  We'll have to see as time goes on.

The boardwalk connects to the area's tidal wetlands and wildlife habitats such as fox, deer, muskrat, beaver, herons, egrets, ospreys, eagles, hawks, snakes, as well as fish and other birds, like those Red-wing blackbirds that we saw.  Also critters like the one in the photo below.  I spotted it when I looked over that nice, smooth rail. I thought perhaps a Handsome Meadow Katydid and the closest to its ID was here.  What confused me was the touch of red on its head, back and legs.  I haven't seen one like it before.  Any help with a correct identification would be appreciated.

There were also lots of butterflies and some actually stayed long enough for a photo.

A female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and the pink flowering plant they are enjoying is Swamp Milkweed.

Gregg took this photo of a Great Blue Skimmer.

Other wildflowers seen, plenty of these Green-headed Coneflowers, with the added bonus of a tiny Skipper on the left-hand side of my photo.  Thanks to blogging and reading my plant books, I know quite a few but I sometimes forget what I have learned and need a refresher.  I am getting a lot of help with identifying plants thanks to a new app called Picture This - Plant Identifier.  My next step is to compare what they tell me on Google, and I also go back to my nature books.

The following photo shows a purple plant that is called New York Ironweed (also called Tall Ironweed).  It has lots of medicinal uses, and for centuries it was used to treat many health issues by the Native Americans, particularly the Cherokee.  They brewed teas from the leaves.  The roots from the plant were often used to treat mouth and stomach related problems.  You can read a lot more information if you go to this link.  I know many plants were used for medicinal purposes, but am no authority on such things.  Interesting to read about though.

This lovely blooming plant is called the Swamp Rose Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos).  I also found four of my favorite things on one blog (yes I know I have a lot of favorites), a Great Blue Heron, Swamp Mallow and the Handsome Meadow Katydid.  They are outstanding photographs, all taken at one of those favorite places, Huntley Meadows, by its host Michael Q. Powell.  Love checking things out online and fun to discover new blogs.  The Swamp Mallow has an interesting seed pod.

Behind me in the distance you can just make out the boardwalk where we were a few minutes before.  It was hot and humid so I had to wear my sunhat.  I was very glad I had carried a flask of water for us in my backpack.

We looped around and made our way back to the car.

 It was a fun walk and well worth the visit.

We are both looking forward to going again sometime.

A collage of photos shown below.  Not all of my family and friends read my blog, so I make these to include in an e-mail, or print out for snail mail as we lovingly call it these days.