MORE PHOTOS FROM THE SCRAPOSAURS EXHIBIT on 7-18-25

 We were at The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester. I had wanted to see the Scraposaur Exhibition on display in their garden, and Gregg always loves a drive out there. The sign is at the entrance. There were a few people already walking around, as I mentioned in my other post, children amongst them, but we arrived not too long after opening time at 10:00 a.m., and it was still very quiet (closed on Mondays if I remember correctly. It is best to check their website at the link above to verify, in case you find yourself in the area). 

By the time we left, there were a few more people. This is a view from where I was sitting on a bench underneath a very nice shade tree. I was waiting for Gregg to come back with the car. I want to mention how warm and friendly we find the people in this area. The lady at the kiosk for instance. She was a delight and had that old-world charm that I find so welcoming. But I am getting a bit ahead of myself. 

I had fun taking photos of the potted plants next to the entrance gate.

I always like to get ideas of what to put in the larger plant pots I have at home.

As we stepped into the garden, we found an information board introducing artist Dale Lewis. You can click on any of these photos to see more details.

The first 'Scraposaur' we saw was Little Susie, inspired by an amazing story of a T Rex named Sue found in South Dakota in 1990. 

There are three websites I enjoyed browsing through about her discovery. One at this link and another here, and the third looking at a video on YouTube here.

I cropped the facts from the sign to make it even easier to read. The two that jumped out at me was that the original Sue roamed the earth 67 million years ago and was only half grown at 13 feet tall and 42 feet long.

We had fun looking at her and figuring out what scrap parts had been used to put her together.

The ingenuity of such a task impressed both of us.

I was really taken with her red glass eyes, which she was using to study me as much as I was studying her, it seemed.

Moving on, we made our way into another part of the garden where they grow a lot of produce - and flowers. All the gardens I have visited in these many years, have an area where they grow food to give to local families in need. 

I put this small collage together and have included names this time. 

This photo shows more of these neat looking tendrils of the Bitter Lemon climbing up the trellis work. Yes I take photos of everything except I think this is Gregg’s photo, so he does too.

But, Dino was demanding attention and giving me the eye. 

You may remember Dino. He was the family pet in the TV cartoon show, The Flintstones.

Like any pet, he demanded lots of fussing. I was happy to oblige, and he enjoyed having his photo taken.

Here is his information.

The next sculpture? Dragonflies! 

So, how long have they been around? My curiosity search found that they are believed to have originated approximately 300 million years ago, during the late Paleozoic period. 

Dragonflies are among the earliest winged insects to evolve. 300 million years' ago this is when their ancestors, sometimes called griffinflies, first appeared. At a time when the earth had more oxygen levels and swampy environments (the Carboniferous period), it is thought this supported the larger size of some early dragonflies. Some had wingspans of up to two-and-a-half feet. While modern dragonflies are smaller, their body plan has remained relatively consistent for 300 million years.

I found more scrap forks and a couple of spoons at the end of the dragonfly's abdomen. There's a very interesting page on the biology of a dragonfly here.

(All my information came from the AI overview when I asked about prehistoric dragonflies in the subject line.)

Today I am going to finish with the dragonflies as I still have a few more photos, enough for at least one more post.

All for now!

GLEN BURNIE GARDENS IN WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA CONTINUED - 9-17-24 - PART 2

It had rained before we got there, and the grass was wet. There were parts we had to tread carefully.  The benches were damp but weren't too bad. I was eager to see more of the glass exhibits we missed the last time we were here because of the heat. You can see that post at this link. I don't know whether we will be able to get back before the exhibit goes in October. We were also hoping that it wouldn't start raining again. Thankfully it didn't.

As we headed towards the garden after we parked the car, I noticed something fluttering in a bush next to the parking lot. It was a mockingbird. 

Gregg took all of the photos in today's post. I was very grateful to him for getting them. It has been several months since we have taken any shots of birds, and even longer of a Mockingbird. An interesting fact I found here, is that there are 16 species around the world that go by the name mockingbird. The Northern Mockingbird here is the only native of the United States. 

The bush we found our mockingbird is called the Honey Locust. It has a lot of names and one of them is Three-Thorned Acacia. Its botanical name is Gleditsia triacanthos.

We left him to his preening and crossed the road to the garden. I am once again starting too late to do a long post, but here's a preview of three glass exhibits. I will go into more detail next time.

There were lots of berries to keep the birds happy.

And on that note I will finish for now. More photos to follow.

Thanks for visiting and enjoy your day.

CONTINUING OUR VISIT TO THE MUSEUM OF THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY, WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA 7-16-24

Before I forget, I thought it important to mention that the museum is closed on Mondays.  This is just in case anyone out there is visiting the area and may want to go there. 

Above is an older photo of the museum, from one of our visits shared in this post. The flowers below were found on our recent visit in the flower beds at the side of the museum not too far from where we entered the Glen Burnie Gardens.

This was found right outside of the museum's main entrance. Called Southern Globethistle, other names are Globe thistle and Small Globethistle, with a botanical name of Echinops ritro. Like other thistle plants, it has prickly, weed-like leaves. It is drought tolerant and will grow well in dry soil.

Looking for information on this flower, I came across a new blog to me. The host is a lady called Audrey Driscoll and she also writes stories. I haven't looked into that yet as I was more interested in her flower posts. She has several including this Southern globethistle. If you are interested in taking a look you can go here.

Native to southern and eastern Europe (from Spain east to Turkey, Ukraine, and Belarus) and western Asia. The species is sparingly naturalized in scattered locations in Canada and the United States. It needs a full day of sun, at least six hours to remain compact and grow well. It will grow leggy if shade persists.

Next is the Purple Coneflower, also called Eastern purple coneflower and Hedgehog coneflower. Botanical name Echinacea purpurea. It is an herb native to North America. I have a few of them in my garden and no doubt you are familiar with them as they seem to be everywhere. Its genus name, Echinacea, means 'spiny', because its flowers are especially like a prickly sea urchin, which also has the same genus name. Some people think its flowers resemble petals around pinecones, and so this genus is called the coneflower. Since it has purple petals around the cones, it's called the purple coneflower.

The red flower is Scarlet beebalm. You can see very nice photos of it here, and also other colors plus different types of flowers if you scroll down their page. The ones in the flower bed near the museum were not looking their best, but I still liked them. Shriveled up with the heat probably but still flashy with their red skirts. A few other names are Oswego tea, Crimson bee-balm, Bergamot and Scarlet monarda. Botanical name Monarda didyma. 

It is non-toxic to humans and is a perennial herb. It forms a cluster of bright red flowers atop a 3-foot long stem, which is particularly attractive to hummingbirds. 

The leaves are aromatic with a minty smell, and can also be brewed into a tea. The Oswego people taught the early European colonists to do this in the New York area. Its common name, Scarlet beebalm, refers to the use of a resin which is derived and used for its ability for healing and pain-relieving, and especially from bee stings, hence its name. Most of the flowers are scarlet red-colored, so it is often called scarlet beebalm. You can read more at this link.

I always am curious as to where they originated, and this one is native to Eastern North Amerca and Canada. Its native range is from Quebec south to Maine and down to Georgia, and westward from Ontario to Minnesota, and down to Missouri. It is also native to Washington and Oregon in the west.

Across the road from the museum and up the hill you will see an old silo. It is one of the last remnants of what was once an old working farm here. On this page, it will show you what they have done inside. On the left of the page click on Silo Skyline to see more. It looks very impressive and I would like to take a look next time we go.

I'll end my post here and show you the gift shop early next week. That will be my last share from the museum until the next time we go.

Thanks for looking and 

wishing you all a very enjoyable 

rest of the week.

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE!

These photos were taken on July 16th, in the garden of the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, link here. As it turned out, it was a very short trip due to the heatwave we were having. I think it was actually hotter on this day than the time before when we got it into our heads to take a trip out. We got a clue when the very kind staff from whom we purchased our tickets, kept saying to be very careful outside, to stay hydrated and pointed on the map where we could find air-conditioned buildings and buy bottled water. I have an inkling that some visitors had already had a problem and they were being extra cautious. And then they saw the two of us walk in, and there was that look of concern, especially after we told them we were heading to see the glass exhibit at the garden. 

As it turned out we were here for only 30 minutes if that, and we gave up. Even the shady areas were just too hot. The glass exhibit would have to wait.  It wasn't a total wash-out as we always have fun in the journey. The exhibit is here until October 13th and we will be back on a much cooler day. 

When we saw the lady we purchased our tickets from on our way out, she had such a sympathetic look on her face. She smiled and when we told her the heat and taken us by surprise and we were leaving, she said we were very wise. I thought there was a look of relief on her face, but perhaps I am projecting. We originally thought we would be okay as we had once again brought with us a backpack with lots of water and hats for the shade, but even they were not enough protection. 

It seemed as though the head above us looked down and shouted, "Daft bats!"

As we left I noticed a security guard making his rounds. I had never noticed anyone before in the garden, there perhaps but never noticed until today. It occurred to me that he may have been making sure there were no visitors needing help. He smiled at us and said hello, and then his last stop before leaving was to check on one of the staff members at the gate, to make sure she was okay. I heard her say she was fine, that the air-conditioner in her small kiosk was working well.

We only had the energy to see three of the glass sculptures, and I will share them in the next couple of days or so. Thankfully I think the heatwave has broken. It rained today (7-20-24). Happy farmers, happy gardens and a blessed breeze cooling things down.

Thanks for stopping by and 

I hope your Sunday is a great one.