SKYWATCH FRIDAY

 Sunrise in Virginia Beach

Thank you to all the team at SkyWatch Friday.  You can click on the link below to see other participants.

SkyWatch Friday

SKYWATCH FRIDAY

The Arbor at Oatlands Plantation earlier in the year.






Thank you to the team at SkyWatch Friday. You can visit other participants if you click on the name below.

SkyWatch Friday

The National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC

There is always plenty to see when we take a trip into Washington DC.  This day we were meeting up with Gregg's cousin and her husband who were in town attending a conference.  Their time was tight but we popped into the city so that we could see them before they had to go off to their next event. 

 Because we decided to go in early and didn't have as much traffic as we thought, we had time on our hands before we met up.  We were not far from the Air and Space Museum, which was great because it had been a couple of years since the last time we visited this particular museum.

Above is the Viking Lander.  I took a photo of the explanation which is below.  Sorry but I didn't get it all in frame, and if you enlarge the photo you should be able to see it a little more clearly.

Lunar Module LM-2
explanation below.  Again, please enlarge photo to read.

I moved to the States just before the museum opened in 1976, and I remember being in total awe of all the flying machines, including those launched into space.  

It also has a mock-up deck of an aircraft carrier where you can be piped on board, and see planes land on a huge screen, almost like being there.  We didn't check that out this time.

I am not sure what the spaceship is above but below is....

Telstar

As we walked outside there were beautiful skies overhead.

With many thanks to our hosts of the following memes, which I am joining in with today.

Jesh at Seasons
Tom at Tuesday's Treasures
N.C. Sue at Wordless (on Tuesday) at Image-in-ing

Betty at Wednesday Around the World
The team at SkyWatch Friday

SKYWATCH FRIDAY

For SkyWatch Friday

Waiting for the train to go by...

And on the way home.

GOOD FENCES AND WILLY NILLY FRIDAY

Everything in red are links to other places.

For Good Fences 

I chose more of the fences found in Clifton, Virginia.  These are along the pathway leading up to Peterson's Ice-Cream Depot.  We don't go that often because it is not exactly round the corner, but it is a great place to take our visitors. Nothing fancy but fun and really cute.  This little one wasn't sure where she was heading, maybe she thought she was going to the vet, and it was also very hot.  She seemed happier when she came back.  Hopefully she had a wee taste of her human's ice-cream to calm her nerves and cool her down.

It calmed mine, and the ice-cream did indeed cool me down.

On one side there is a giant chalkboard, and on the floor a big basket of giant-sized chalk.  You can entertain your kids or even yourself if there is a long line.






For Willy Nilly Friday Five
(Click on the links in red to visit)

1)  So, what have we been doing this week?  Among other things we have been busy in the garage as we have had a major clearing out.  Things just accumulate over the years and it was long overdue.  Things we thought we might need are no longer needed.  It feels good to get a head start and when it is finally cleared out, as we still have a long way to go, we are looking forward to painting the ceiling and walls.  Also putting a couple of coats of sealant on the floor, using a product that can be easily wiped if any oil is dripped. Exciting stuff right?  Not really but necessary.  

After a few days - working for about an hour each day - it is still way too hot around here and feels like a steam-bath in the garage - we achieved a satisfactory pile.  Our trash collectors deserve a big plate of cookies when I can make them.  What we couldn't give away or take to the curb, we took to the dump, packed the van up to the gills and off we went. 

We both agreed that this was surprisingly fun. Our county gets high marks for having everything well organized.  There was a friendly lady at the kiosk entrance who sent us in the right direction.  In fact, people in all the places we had to visit (items we took could be recycled, but needed to be delivered to different areas) were to a person very helpful and friendly.  We also went to the supermarket for a few groceries on the way back.  

We always have fun conversations in the car, to us maybe not to you, says I smiling yet again.  We started talking about how we have noticed that people are treating us a little differently, now that we are getting older.  Gregg mentioned how impressed he was that the chaps at each station came over when they saw him lifting heavy items out of the van. He wondered if it was because they saw him as an older person.  Many of them were about half his age.  

Gregg also recounted a story of when he had opened up a door for a young woman a few years back, who actually got mad at him and told him off for opening up said door.  She proceeded to lecture him on why he shouldn't be doing that.  Being the nice person that he is, he apologized and filed that one away.  But he is still a door opener, he's just polite that way.  

This morning Gregg went to the bagel shop.  When he got home he told me that people are opening doors for him now.  A young woman opened the door he was heading for.  We had a good chuckle but at the same time thought it was very nice of her to open the door for the old geezer, Gregg's words, not mine, with his usual tongue in cheek humor. 

A little while ago a young man opened the door for me , accompanied by a reverent, "Hello Mama, you have a good day now."  He was such a charming young man, I smiled back and thanked him, and didn't take offence at all at being called "Mama".  He saw me as a mother figure I could tell, no problem.  I'm also still pretty old fashioned and like a door opened for me.  

We were shopping at the base a few weeks ago, I had lost my sunglasses and needed a new pair.  There I was, staring at all the selections.  A young soldier standing nearby stepped over and actually handed me a pair of glasses.  He was again very polite and smiled like I was his mother.  I'm sure a little homesick as he didn't look far out of his teens or out of boot camp, another mother figure before him.  He said, "Maybe these are what you are looking for Ma'am", as he must have overheard me saying I was having a hard time selecting, and also didn't want to pay an over-the-top price for something that I would probably lose again in a few weeks - sunglasses and I have a history.  He said, "They look really smart on you and they are polarized.  Not too expensive either."  They were just what I was looking for.  I thanked him, asked him where he was from and we chatted for a few minutes.  After a while his mother figure left him to pick out a pair of sunglasses for himself.  Sweet young man.  So, maybe Gregg and I are being treated differently, the tide is turning but in a good way.  

2)  Now for some fun photos.  This blog shares a few National Georgraphic pics.  Click here to see them.  

3)  More National Geographic photos here, a few repeats but more really great shots.  Click here for those.  

4) Thinking of a road trip up to New England to see the Fall folliage?  This place has some great information on places to see.

5)  We have actually thought of doing this route one day.  Route 66.  Sounds like another great road trip.

My thanks to Theresa and Tanya for all the hard work in keeping up these memes.  

As I mentioned in the beginning of my post, if you click on the links in red you can visit each meme to see other participants, and also see great wildlife and nature photos.

PLEASURE HOUSE POINT NATURAL AREA, VIRGINIA BEACH

The last time we were in Virginia Beach, we visited Pleasure House Point Natural Area.  This house was across the water but I saw the fences and so my first two photos are for....

Good Fences

Now for 

SkyWatch Friday

The pine cones are decorating the trees in great numbers.

The sun wasn't too far from setting.

Willy-Nilly Friday Five

All about nature.

1) "There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not man the less but Nature more."

~Lord Bryon~

2. "The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough."

~Rabindranath Tagor~

3) "Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountains and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books."

~John Lubbock~

4) "Trees love to toss and sway; they make such happy noises."

~Emily Carr~

5) "A light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine."

~Anne Bronte~

For the following as they become available.

Saturday's Critters

Camera Critters

Bird D'Pot

Wild Bird Wednesday

I saw a flock of Black Skimmers flying low to the water.  They were far off so I had to crop the above photo.

When we saw that the tide was in, we realized there would be no wading birds to observe.  I was disappointed but I didn't take into account that the Yellow-crowned Night Herons would be finding a place to roost for the night.

We rounded the corner of the path and there it was, not ten feet away.  Another Yellow-Crowned Night Heron.  It didn't seem to mind us too much, though kept a wary eye just in case, and once hopping from one side of the tree to the other.  We again found it as we made our way along the path, and very happy to find it still quite close.  I took a whole bunch of photos (I will share them another time).  We didn't stay but a few seconds more. We were grateful for this gift but didn't want to disturb it any longer.  I didn't expect to see such a beautiful bird as close as it was.

You can visit all the memes by clicking on their names in this post.  My thanks to all our hosts for bringing them to us.

SKYWATCH FRIDAY

Washington DC

On the Mall.  In one direction looking at the Capitol Building where the scaffolding is finally not covering the whole dome, in the other the Washington Monument almost obscured by the trees.

One side of the National Art Museum.

and one more sky shot taken over the city.

My thanks to all the team of SkyWatch Friday, for hosting this wonderful meme for all these years.  Please click on the name below to visit other participants.

SkyWatch Friday

SKYWATCH FRIDAY

A beautiful sky on a hot August evening.

Thank you to all the team at SkyWatch Friday.  You can click on the link below to see other participants.

SkyWatch Friday

FENCES, SKIES AND FIVES

 

These are photos of an old greenhouse that is on the grounds of Oatlands Plantation near Leesburg.  From this angle I was able to take a good amount of sky through the roof.  I thought I would also share photos from inside.  

All I could find out on line was that it was built in 1810, and is said to be the oldest standing greenhouse in the south.  I hope to go on an actual guided tour on my next visit, where I hope to find out more.

Here are more skies from that day....

and some fences of course.

Here are five links for you to view.

1) Did you ever wonder why there are no monkeys native to North America?  Well no, neither did I, until I read this very interesting article here.

2) A fascinating story and video about the crab horde that gathers in Australia here.

3) Any fans of Kris Kristofferson out there?   He is now 80 years old.  He was being treated for Altzheimers but they not so long ago discovered he actually had lime disease.  After three weeks of treatment 'he was back'. You can read about him here.


4) Amazing photographs from the 2014 National Geographic Traveler Competition Part II here.


5) Heartwarming photos here, some I have seen, some not.  


A fence for Theresa at Good Fences, sky photos for the team over at SkyWatch Friday and five photos for Tanya at Willy-Nilly Friday Five, with my grateful thanks to our hosts. You can visit other participants if you click on their names.

Good Fences

SkyWatch Friday

Willy-Nilly Friday Five