Snow in Central Virginia

Hello, dear readers. I hope you have been warm and safe wherever you are. Central Virginia has had frigid temperatures in the single digits to 0 and even below, and that’s not taking into account the wind chill. That is very unusual for our area, and some records were broken.

We also got snow Monday and Tuesday, a little snow on Wednesday, then more snow and ice on Saturday. We haven’t been out of the house more than necessary. I love winter, but even I’m looking forward to some warm sunshine. More cold is coming, though.

Here are some pictures I managed to get this week. Some were with my phone and some were with my camera through a window.

And I hope I’ll have more to say on Thursday. Sigh.

Snow falling Monday, late afternoon. The road is already covered.

Snow on the lower driveway, Saturday.

Small pine tree branch caught in the snow.

Cat prints in the snow, apparently from a neighborhood kitty. Please bring outside pets indoors when the temperatures drop!

Ice clinging to the tree branches Sunday morning.

The streets were very slick on Sunday morning.

Doors at Avoca

Thank you for your kind comments and good thoughts you sent for me last week. Larry and I are feeling better. We got out of the house a little over the weekend.

I’m still feeling tired, but it is back to the regular work schedule today. Actually, I only missed one day of work last week. I went to the doctor on Wednesday but still worked for part of the day.

On Thursday, I covered a court hearing. I couldn’t take my cough medicine all that day before court at 1:30 because it makes me sleepy. So I had a few times during the hearing when I was afraid I was going to start coughing. I made it through though.

Then Friday, I stayed home and slept a good part of the day. In fact, I slept a lot over the whole weekend.

All that said, I didn’t get any photos of anything over the past several days, and I didn’t do any writing other than in my journal. So . . . for today’s post, I thought I would share some photos I took last fall at Avoca Museum in Altavista.

Avoca is a Queen Anne style house that is a Virginia Historic Landmark and is in the National Register of Historic Places. It is on the site of the home of Colonel Charles Lynch, from the time of the American Revolutionary War.

One Saturday afternoon last fall, I went by Avoca to get a photo of a group meeting there. One of our local doctors is the current president of a state physicians’ group, and he asked me to get a photo for the paper.

A community newspaper does photos like these that a daily paper may not. Our mission is to provide a written and visual record of the community, and pictures like these fit into that mission.

I had to wait a while before the group reached a stopping place to pose for a photo. I sat in the back hallway of the house.

I usually can find something to keep my mind occupied during waiting times, and that day, I started noticing the doors in the house. I liked the decorative touches and the dark wood used. So I took photos.

Back screen door.

 

Back door.

Front door.

This doorknob is on a door in the back hallway. I liked the design.

What’s your favorite historic landmark near your home?

Where I’m from

This weekend, Larry and I drove to Rustburg, the county seat of Campbell County in Central Virginia.

I grew up in the country, so I don’t really have a “hometown.” But Rustburg was the closest thing to a town around our farm (six miles away), so I’ve always thought of it as the place I’m from.

To call Rustburg a town is a bit generous. It’s really a village. In fact, the road that runs through it is called Village Highway.

When I was growing up, if my parents or a neighbor said “We’re going to town,” they meant they were going to Lynchburg.

In my work for the newspaper, I visit Rustburg frequently to cover a court case or a Board of Supervisors meeting.

But our trip this weekend was for something fun: the Rustburg Christmas Parade.

After we parked the car, I got out my camera and snapped some photos of some of the “landmarks” in the village to share to give you a sense of where I’m from.

This first shot is actually from 2013. I took it before last year’s parade and liked it because it shows the main road through the village with Long Mountain (not very high) in the background.

From this year, here is the Citizen Services Building. It’s the newest county building, constructed to house the offices that closely serve the citizens. It includes the Treasurer’s Office, the Commissioner of Revenue’s Office, and the Community Development Office, which includes zoning, planning, and stormwater management.

I took this photo from too far off to get a clear shot, but I wanted to show you the building that the public library was housed in when I was a young girl. This is where I spent many happy hours.

Now the building houses the Virginia Cooperative Extension Office and the Farm Agency Office.

This is the current Rustburg Library. The School Administration Office is closer to the street, with the library at the end. It’s one of four branches in the county. One branch is in Altavista.

This is probably the most recognizable building to those knowledgeable about Campbell County history. It’s the Historic Courthouse, built in the 1840s. It was used by the courts until the new courthouse was built in the early 1980s.

The Historic Society of Campbell County is doing fundraising and working on renovating the building to enlarge its museum and preserve the county’s heritage.

This is the “new” courthouse. It’s not as impressive as the old one, but it’s nice. Some weeks I spend a lot of time within these walls.

Here’s another view of the courthouse. The adult detention center is connected to it.

This is a side view of Rustburg Presbyterian Church. It’s not a great shot, but it was what I was able to get with the parade crowds around me.

I don’t know how old the building is, but the way the brick is laid makes me think it has been around for a while. I’ve always thought it was a pretty church.

Members of the church give away free cookies and hot chocolate at the parade each year.

So there’s a little view of where I’m from. Altavista is part of Campbell County, and I’ve lived there for 11 years. But it still feels a bit like I’m visiting my old “home” when I go to Rustburg.

What do you consider your hometown to be?

Snow at the Peaks

We had read online that there was four inches of snow up on the mountain. We didn’t have any snow in Altavista Thursday morning as we started west toward the Peaks of Otter, but as the road started to climb in Bedford County, we began to see patches of snow. And we could see snow on Sharp Top Mountain in the distance.

By the time we got to the Peaks of Otter Lodge, it was clear that for the second year in a row, we were going to have Thanksgiving dinner in a snow-covered natural setting.

You probably know by now that Larry and I love snow. When we visited Mountain Lake in Giles County last Thanksgiving, we were thrilled to find snow.

This year, the forecast for snow caused us a little concern because if it got too heavy, the Park Service would close the Blue Ridge Parkway, and dinner would be canceled.

We made it safely to the lodge, though, and enjoyed a beautiful buffet of roasted turkey, cornbread and apple stuffing, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, and so many other meats and side dishes.

It seems that now Larry and I have started a tradition: we must eat Thanksgiving dinner where there’s snow.

 Once we parked the truck, I got out my camera and started taking photos. We slowly walked to the lodge as I stopped again and again to try to capture the beauty around us.

This is the first photo I took of Sharp Top.

  

When we turned back around a few minutes later, clouds were rolling in.

 There seemed to be at least four inches of snow resting on the ground around the guest lodgings.

  

This is a view of Abbott Lake behind the lodge.

  

These red buds were a pretty contrast to the brown of the weeds and the white snow.

 Snow on trees—one of the loveliest ways snow decorates nature.

  

Another view of Sharp Top.

More views of the lake.

They already had their Christmas decorations up. A large tree stood in the lobby.

  

I especially liked these decorations because of the bears included.

Our table had a good view of the lake. A small tabletop tree stood beside the table. I took this photo with my phone against the light, so it's not a great shot. But I liked the rustic decorations.

Once we sat down to eat, facing the lake, the sun broke through the clouds and shined directly into Larry’s eyes. So we quickly adjusted our seating at the table. You never know when nature will change.

No, I didn’t get any photos of the food. But it was delicious. And I ate a lot. The first thing I did when I got home was to change into sweatpants. My nice dress slacks seemed to have gotten tighter just since that morning. Wonder what caused that?

Looking out the window

One morning in late October, Chase Bird and I shared some time looking out the window that overlooks the driveway and side yard.

Chase Bird is Chief of Lookout Activities in the Barbour home.

We saw squirrels and birds going about their morning activities.

Here’s Chase Bird in position.

We thought the squirrels were showing off a little bit just for him.

I was surprised to see a robin this late in the year.

We liked this little brown bird, but I couldn’t tell Chase Bird what kind it was. Anyone know?

Despite his name, Chase Bird doesn’t chase birds. He’s an indoors only kitty. And I keep telling him, “Birds are our friends.”

He nods and smiles a little. And goes back to look out the window.

What have you seen out your window lately?

The blessing of animals

I am letting this photograph and some quotes speak for me today.

“Animals, like us, are living souls. They are not things. They are not objects. Neither are they human. Yet they mourn. They love. They dance. They suffer. They know the peaks and chasms of being.”

― Gary Kowalski, The Souls of Animals

“Animals can communicate quite well. And they do. And generally speaking, they are ignored”

― Alice Walker

“What sets humans apart from animals is that we have to walk around saying how smart we are, and animals just live their lives.”

― Chanctetinyea J.J. Ouellette

“Lacking a shared language, emotions are perhaps our most effective means of cross-species communication. We can share our emotions, we can understand the language of feelings, and that's why we form deep and enduring social bonds with many other beings. Emotions are the glue that binds.”

― Marc Bekoff, The Emotional Lives of Animals: A Leading Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorrow, and Empathy and Why They Matter

What do you think the crow and the squirrel are saying to each other? 

Celebrating

After a week of rain on and off, the sun shone this Saturday and Sunday and temperatures were in that lovely range of 50s and 60s. In other words, we enjoyed some glorious fall days.

It was also Larry’s birthday weekend.

In celebration of his special day and my slowly easing pain from the pinched nerve (fingers crossed!), we spent some time outside enjoying the blue sky, the changing leaves, and the air that just feels fresher somehow.

Saturday night, we drove to Gretna, a nearby town, to have dinner at J.T.’s at the Lavalette. The house was built in the 1880s, with additions constructed in the 1920s.

It’s a lovely old house that now provides an excellent place to enjoy good food among the best things about old houses: huge windows, eleven fireplaces, hardwood floors, high ceilings, and a wide, wrap-around porch.

The Lavalette House before dark.

The Lavalette House after dinner, with darkness setting in.

Sunday, we traipsed around outside our house and in English Park, down by the Staunton River.

Larry at the end of the driveway, getting the paper out of the box.

These trees are in our neighbor's yard. I like the red and yellow so close together.

 

These red leaves are on one of the oak trees in our front yard.

Looking across the Staunton River.

We made a lot of noise as we walked over the leaves carpeting the ground beside the river.

A view of the river between the trees.

An Eagle Scout planted an orchard in the park as part of the steps he took to become an Eagle.

The sign explains the purpose of the orchard. It includes apple, pear, and plum trees.

What have you been celebrating lately?