Red Is Everywhere

Today Bud and I went on a little hike up on the Blue ridge Parkway and then ended up in the little town of Goshen, VA, where we ate a late lunch at the local cafe. Click on the mosaic to enlarge.

1-Litter Box on Blue Ridge Parkway

2-Old building in Goshen ~ Betty’s Full Service Flower Shop

3-Genie in her red baseball cap with her two walking sticks trying to remain upright in the icy snow

4-One of my babies about to fly away as we were walking out the front  door

5-Signage at the Goshen Swinging Bridge

6-The letterbox we helped little Eloise find back in ’09. We all love letterboxing.

7-Rairoad track crossbars lowering as the train was about to come through Goshen

8. Some type of marker up on the Blue Ridge Parkway

8. Sign outside the Mill Creek Cafe in Goshen, VA

This post is linked to “LIttle Red House” sponsored by Mary Carroll.Stop be her site to see more Monday mosaics.

I am also linking to Ruby Tuesday (sponsored by Work of the Poet) 

and Rednesday (sponsored by Sue Loves Cherries). Be sure to stop by both sites to see lots of red photos.

Mosaic Monday ~ 1-24-11

There’s Still Ice in These Here Hills

Visit Mary Carroll’s Little Red House to see more beautiful mosaics.

My Eloise and Her Wonderful Pink

Upper Left - Eloise in her pink pants sewing on her pink bunny’s eye.

Middle Left - Her pink sparkling Sketchers she got from Santa.

Lower Left - Her pink and lavender polka dotted suitcase from me.

Right - Eloise in her fuzzy pink and white jacket.

Please stop by Beverly’s "How Sweet the Sound” to see more lovely pink posts 

 and Mary Carroll’s “LIttle Red House" to see more Monday mosaics.

Pink Saturday ~ 1-15-11 and Mosaic Mondays ~ 1-17-11

Shades of Pink ~ Hats for Cancer

Here is a collection of different hats I made for my hematologist to give to her cancer patients. When I visited her the first time I was in total shock because I did not realize that oncology and hematology are treated by the same physicians.  My precious, soft spoken doctor is the sweetest and dearest lady from India. I just love her. She gives so much to her patients with her kindness and compassion, I decided I wanted to share with her some of the many hats I have knitted...I am an OCD hat and sock knitter. She does not treat children, but she has many older, aged female patients who are so tiny they need hats made by children’s patterns. Doing this is a way to honor my sister and others who have fought and continue to fight this battle. Maybe one day soon we will find a cure; that would be so wonderful.

Please stop by “How Sweet the Sound” sponsored by our friend, Beverly, to see more pink posts from around the world.

This collage is also linked up with Mary Carroll’s Little Red House and her Mosaic Mondays.

Mosaic Monday ~ 11-8-10

 Hike from Roaring Run Iron Furnace to Waterfalls 11-7-10

Rich Patch ~ Botetourt County ~ Virginia

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Visit Mary Carroll’s Little Red House to see more mosaics from around the world.

Mosaic Monday~ 11-1-10

The Never Ending Study of Mushrooms

Stop by Little Red House to see more interesting and beautiful mosaics.

Mosaic Monday ~ 10-25-10

North Mountain Hike ~ 10-23-10
Elevation at center: 2,290 feet (698 meters)

Rockbridge County, VA

Visit Mary Carroll’s Little Red House for more beautiful mosaics.

Monday Mosaic ~ 10-18-10

Goodbye Time

This post is linked with Mosaic Mondays over at Mary Carroll’s Little Red House.

Mosaic Monday ~ Douthat State Park Hike

Douthat State Park
Millboro, VA

Every chance Buddy and I get, we go over the mountain about 30 minutes from our home to the most popular state park in VA. It is absolutely beautiful there. We go there for day hikes on the beautiful trails, and we go about three times a year and stay in the old 1930’s CCC cabins.  We will be going back over Halloween weekend for three nights, and we will be joined by Gene, his wife, Patricia, and our 5 year old granddaughter, Eloise, from Richmond, VA. Baga and GrandBud  CAN”T WAIT! We have such a good time when they go with us. I hope you enjoy this selection of shots of the lake and the scenery taken today as he hiked all around the lake. There was not as much color as we would have liked,  but it was still calm, serene, and very beautiful. What fall colors were there were something to behold.

I am linking up this week with Mary Carroll’s Monday Mosaics at Little Red House. Be sure to stop by Mary’s and look at all the mosaics for this week. You won’t be disappointed. They are always beautiful.

Busy Little Bees

Fall may be here, but we still have flowers blooming beside the road and the bees are very busy.

I have linked up Little Red House for Mosaic Monday sponsored by Mary.

The Keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams.

~Henry David Thoreau

Mosaic Monday

As with each and every Monday, Mary over at her Little Red House is sponsoring our Mosaic Monday.  Be sure to stop by, pay her a visit, and check out all of the mosaics her friends have posted for this week.  You will not be disappointed.

And The Rains Came

After weeks without any moisture in our part of the Blue Ridge Mountains - other than sweat - the rains came but not with a vengeance. The rain came down in a beautiful beautiful, stead, andy gentle flow of water all night and most of the day.  Not being able to resist the raindrops sliding across the petals of what flower blooms we have left, I dragged out my Mr. Rebel with his telephoto lens and got these close ups.  For some reason the daisy did not have any drops on it petals...I am assuming they either rolled off or were soaked up immediately. It is my only daisy left in the garden.

As always, a Happy Mosaic Monday to all of you.

Mosaic Monday - The Hay Bales of Rockbridge County

It is time for another Mosaic Monday.  If you have not already visited Mary Carroll’s blog , The Little Red House, be sure to pay her a visit and go through the listing of all the beautiful mosaics that have been posted this week. You have a real treat in store.

Just click on the mosaic or the photos below to enlarge.

Even after 32 years living on a small farm in rural Virginia, I still get excited each time I see the farmers cutting their hay and baling it.  How they do in the heat of the day with the sun beating down on them I do not know. I would be itching to death riding on that tractor with all of that cut stuff blowing in my face.  Here in this part of Virginia the bales are not square, but rather they are rolled and then placed side by side to wait for the cattle to need them.  Sometimes they are covered with black plastic, and this year I saw one batch covered in heavy white plastic. Whenever I am driving from the house into town or to school and back, I’m always stopping trying to capture the bales with the mountains in the background.  It is the most beautiful sight to me and one I’d never seen until I moved here  years ago.  There was no hay or any hay bales in South Florida where I grew up a block from the Atlantic Ocean....lots of sand, humidity, and hot weather without air conditioning, but no hay!  Now you understand why I am so enamored with this special sight I get to enjoy while driving the roads of Rockbridge County.

These are shots of a friend of ours who was baling right down the road from the house.  I just love his blue tractor and couldn’t resist including him.

“Ah, that I were free again. Free as when I rode that day, Where the barefoot maiden raked the hay.”
~John Greenleaf Whittier

Mosaic Mondays - Our Beach Sandcastles

Each week over at Little Red House , we post a mosaic of some of our favorite photos. Please drop by and look at some of the wonderful entries. They are amazing.

When our family gets together at the beach for a family reunion, the men, boys, and small children build intricate sandcastles each and everyday using all kids of tools ranging from large and small shovels to children’s, carpenter, and brick mason tools.  These are photos of my two favorites from last week’s 2010 FR: one is of a huge pyramid and the other the Sphinx.  These was mammoth and people staying all around us would watch the construction during the day and then return at night with flashlights to watch the tide rush in around them.  This reunion tradition is one of our best.  The men, boys, and children do all the work and the women sit in those beach chairs behind and WATCH! As always, a happy Mosaic Monday to all of you.

A Quilter’s Mosaic Monday

It is time again for another Mosaic Monday.  Hop right over to “The Little Red House”  and check out all the others that LOVE to put together collages/mosaics each Monday. It is a real challenge, and looking at the all the different mosaics is quite a treat for the soul.

A few weeks ago I went into town to the Virginia Horse Center where our local farmers’ market appears every Saturday.  As always, I had my camera on the front seat.  After picking up my veggies, flowers, and bread, I started to pull out of the lot when I suddenly realized the county fair was in progress and in front of me was the sign saying the quilting exhibition was inside that particular building.  Immediately, I turned around, parked my car again, grabbed my camera, and headed over to see the quilts.  Of course, I had the wrong lens, but I made the best of it.  Many of the quilts were cropped against my wishes, but they still show the talent and love that went into the making of them.  The “Quilt Diva” tickled me to death so I gave it the place of honor. If you want to see any of the quilts up closer, just click on my Flickr button in the sidebar and you will be able to enjoy more of the detailing in the quilts. The larger pictures are really neat! Enjoy!

“May your bobbin always be full.”
~Author Unknown

Mosaic Mondays

Last night we received a wonderful, cooling rain.  As I listened to it pinging on our tin roof, I could’t wait for first light to go outside and start snapping photos with my telephoto lens.  Here are the results with a few water drops included just for good luck. I have been happy with the basic Picnik offering for creating mosaics, but I finally decided to plop down the $24.95 to purchase a year of the Premium membership. That way I would have more choices and the ability to create larger groupings. If you want to enlarge any of the pictures just click on the collage. When it opens in a new window, use the magnifying glass to enlarge to your choosing. "Mosaic Mondays" is sponsored by Little Red House.  The list of girls participating is growing and filled with fabulous mosaics.

An Evening Walk in the Country Mosaic Monday

 

While reading some of the blogs I love to follow, I came upon “Mosaic Monday” at Little Red House. Stop by for a visit and you will find links to many wonderful collages and mosaics.  They are all so beautiful. I enjoyed them so much, I decided to start participating along with my most special M.E. Mondays over at Cherry Chick.

Each morning and evening I TRY to walk a mile either on the road in front of our house or around the track at my old school.  This night I did a bit of each because it wasn’t too hot, the colors in the sky were gorgeous, and I wanted to take some pictures along the way.  The moon was popping out its shining face as you can see in the first shot. The old home place and outbuilding are still standing, but it is a miracle. The way the old wood and paint have weathered always catches my eye.  Cattle sometimes graze in the fields and sometimes wander down the highway without a care in the world, but no one has lived in the house for as long as I can remember. The last picture is one of the views I enjoy as I walk around my old middle school track.

“Change like sunshine, can be a friend or a foe, a blessing or a curse, a dawn or a dusk.”
~William Arthur Ward