Peek

Nearing the summit of Hightop Mountain here, with just a peek at the view beyond. 

Snag

Hightop Mountain Trail

Shenandoah National Park

Variety

 

Hightop Mountain Trail

Shenandoah National Park

Deadfall

Hightop Mountain Trail

Shenandoah National Park

 

Woodland Sunflower

Hightop Mountain Trail

Shenandoah National Park

"In spring and summer, the small blue and yellow flowers of bluets or Quaker ladies (Houstonia caerulea) line many trails. May is the time for pink azaleas (Rhododendron spp.) to bloom in the forest and along Skyline Drive, followed by the white flowers of mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) in June. Summer is the time for flowers such as columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), milkweed (Asclepias spp), nodding onion (Allium cernuum), ox eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare), and turk's cap lily (Lilium superbum) to bloom. Also in summer, look for the yellow and orange flowers of touch-me-nots (Impatiens spp.) along streams and near springs, and countless spiked blooms of black cohosh (Actaea racemosa) rising above the forest floor. The Park's growing season concludes with a strong display of goldenrods (Solidago spp.), asters (Symphyotrichum spp.), and wild sunflowers (Helianthus spp.) into the fall." -- Shenandoah National Park

Monuments

I guess you probably already know that our mountains in Virginia are old. I mean, REALLY old, to the tune of millions and millions of years old. That's why I felt like I was walking back in time the minute I set foot on the Hightop Mountain Trail, which is part of the 2100+ mile Appalachian Trail . It's filled with--as I'm told Nathaniel Hawthorne once put it--"earth's undecaying monuments." 

Huge boulders stacked one on top of another suddenly made me feel very, VERY small and in awe of the unimaginably powerful forces that put them there.

Hightop

It's been too long. I realized that as soon as I stepped out of my car onto the Hightop Mountain Parking Area in Shenandoah National Park. I used to hike the park's trails regularly. Now, because of their distance from me, it's something I do maybe, if I'm lucky, once or twice a year. I'd like to promise myself to return more frequently, but I know I can't. I can only make the most of the opportunities I have. So here I am about to embark upon another adventure up the Hightop Mountain Trail.

Return to the Sea

As this region prepares for yet another round of high tides and coastal flooding as the result of a close brush with a hurricane (Erin), I'm reminded of how Tidewater Virginia was all once the bottom of an ocean anyway. The evidence is never far from reach.

Chesapecten Jeffersonius

Chesapecten jeffersonius? I think so. If so, then Wikipedia says that it is "the fossilized form of an extinct scallop, which lived in the early Pliocene epoch between four and five million years ago on Virginia's coastal plain."

Teapigs

Quite a change of pace, I know. But I'm fascinated by the various ways I can manipulate the available light and camera settings to produce different effects. At the same time, I'm experimenting with--as I mentioned yesterday--some different brands of English Breakfast tea. Today's choice was Teapigs. Funny name. BOLD taste! Maybe just a tad too bold? Of course, I haven't yet tried to tone it down with a bit of sugar. That might help. Next time. 

Rishi

Having a bit of fun here shooting product pics as well as enjoying a break from my more usual brands of tea. I spotted these Rishi tea sachets at one of my local grocery stores and decided to give them a try this morning. I have to confess, I probably don't have the most sensitive taste buds. One brand pretty much tastes the same to me as any other. Oh, one might strike me as a little more bitter than another (is that the caffeine?). Rishi's English Breakfast tea, however, seemed to me, at least, pretty smooth from beginning to end. Was there enough difference to make me switch brands? Mmm, probably not, especially given how pricey Rishi is compared to the others. But . . . it makes for an interesting change of pace.

How about you? Have you ever tried this tea? And, if so, what did you think? 

Psalm 80

Starting the morning with Psalm 80. And don't forget to turn back to the double bar (No, not THAT kind of bar!) at verse 14! "Turn now . . ." :-)

Eighteenth Amendment

I probably should have remembered this from earlier readings about the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. There were loopholes. One had to do with purchases of alcoholic beverages before ratification. For example:

"In New Orleans civic leader Walter Parker, a member of the Stratford Club, built two new wine cellars in his house, purchased a stock of more than five thousand bottles, and proceeded to dip into it daily for the next fourteen years. In Los Angeles, Charlotte Hennessy, mother of actress Mary Pickford, simply bought the entire inventory of a liquor store and hat it relocated to her basement." -- Daniel Okrent, Last Call

Evensong

Another Sunday, another evensong. This one shared with members of the choir from St. John's Lutheran Church in Stamford, Connecticut. 

According to Wikipedia, evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. It is loosely based on the canonical hours of vespers and compline. Old English speakers translated the Latin word vesperas as æfensang, which became 'evensong' in modern English. The term is typically used in reference to the Anglican daily office's evening liturgy.

Jack Slade

Enjoying reading Ron Chernow's Mark Twain, including this excerpt:

"In Roughing It, he [Sam Clemens] would tell how he was intrigued by colorful legends about Jack Slade, a stagecoach agent in the Rocky Mountains, reputed to be a homicidal maniac. He wrote that Slade liked to postpone murderous vengeance against enemies 'just as a school-boy saves up a cake, and made the pleasure go as far as it would by gloating over the anticipation.' Since rumor had it that Slade had killed twenty-six people, Twain allegedly sought him out on the ninth day of his journey west, but found a quiet, affable man, not a monster. When the coffee was running out, Slade offered to refill Sam's cup instead of his own, but Sam 'politely declined. I was afraid he had not killed anybody that morning, and might be needing a diversion.'" (Chernow, p. 74)

Trail Bites

A recent return to the Greensprings Interpretive Trail revealed higher than usual water levels in the swamp and . . . a correspondingly high number of bug bites. Ouch!

Last Call

Something decidedly appropriate about reading Daniel Okrent's Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition while enjoying a cup of tea. Curious the relationships between prohibition and abolitionism, brewers and distillers, as well as between the temperance and suffragist movements.

Wingin' It

Over the North Atlantic

Over Frankford, New Jersey

Breeze Airways

 

This was my first experience flying Breeze Airways. I booked it primarily because it offered a direct flight from Hartford, Connecticut to Richmond, Virginia, and most definitely not because I would have to get up at 3:30 a.m. in order to get to Bradley International Airport in time for the 7 a.m. departure. 

Would I fly Breeze again? Definitely. Even if I had to get up again at 3:30 a.m., mostly because of my prevous experiences with connecting flights. Like the flights from Richmond to Philadelphia and Philadelphia to Hartford. No complimentary snacks, but there was plenty of room for my carry-on bag and briefcase. 

Leverett Trail

Leverett Trail

Blueberry Patch

 

 

Ah, this is what people are after! 

 

 

 

Milkweed

No, this isn't why people hike the Leverett Triail, at least not the principle reason. This is just -- I think -- Common Milkweed, of which there is an abundance along that part of the trail that empties out onto what remains of the Teawaddle Hill Farm. As is true of the milkweed growing at York River State Park near my home, it's a dining favorite of the Monarch butterfly, among other species.

Shhh!

Shhh! This is supposed to be a secret. Only a discerning few know the true destination of many of the folks who hike the Leverett Trail. I'll let you in on the secret only on condition that you tell no one I told you about it. :-)