A Change of Scenery, Day Three

Ward and I are on a little vacation, i.e., change of scenery, in WV. The vistas are splendid in every direction in the Allegheny Mountains where we are. However, today we visited two geographical areas of note among this scenery. One was Spruce Knob, the highest point in WV at 4863'. The other was Smoke Hole, a long canyon formed by South Branch of the Potomac. Ward remembers camping there as a kid and wanted to explore it again. Below are a few pictures from our day.

Spruce Knob is in the Monongahela National Forest and has several hiking areas. 

 

This was one of the views from the road we were driving to the top. Goldenrod is in bloom everywhere and is quite beautiful. However, come to think of it maybe that's the reason my allergies have been acting up.

Often, the peak is shrouded in clouds. Today however, there was only one direction that our view was obscured. 

We had clear views in every other direction.

There is a prevailing western wind that is causing 'flagging' of the red spruce, meaning branches growing in the direction of the wind. You may have guessed that the predominance of red spruce growing there gave the peak the name of Spruce Knob. 

Spruce Knob is held up by the Tuscarora Sandstone, and boulders and outcroppings of it abound. 

Besides goldenrod, we saw other wild flowers along the trails.

Under the spruce trees is a blanket of rocks and moss. Quite lovely.

Before we left the area, we found one last treat--a goldenrod crab spider in the parking lot.

We drove through the canyon enjoying the scenery along the way.

We saw numerous outcroppings of the Oriskany Sandstone along the river.

We hiked along the river where we saw foundations of old homesteads.

As is typical in the fall, the river level was low. However, that made it ideal for rock play. Unfortunately, the river rocks here were too rounded for good skipping but making big splashes was almost as fun.

(Tuesday, September 15, 2020)

A Change of Scenery, Day One and Two

Ward and I are spending several days at a cabin in WV for a change of scenery to hopefully refresh from what is turning out to be a very long year. The cabin, courtesy of Miss Landers, is in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern WV.  If you want, you can follow along with our getaway.

 

On Sunday we drove to the cabin that is nestled in the woods and has all of the comforts of home.

It is located above the valley (The Trough) of the South Branch of the Potomac River. The river provides rich farmlands. We're looking down from a mountainside and the blankets of green that you see in the picture are cornfields.

On Monday, we took a walking tour of the nearby town of Romney. I'll show you a few of the 20 sites we visited. 

The earliest evidence we saw of people in the area was a Hopewell Indian burial mound--the small hill on the far side of the gravestones. This one has never been opened, but research from similar ones suggest that it was constructed sometime between 500-1000 CE. Other graves in this cemetery range from 1700's to present day.

Taking a huge leap in time, on the outskirts of town, we saw a replica of a stockade that Joseph Edwards built in 1755 to protect his farm during the French and Indian War. The real stockade is close by and undergoing an archaeological dig.

A few years later the first house in town was built circa 1760 just before the town was incorporated in 1762.

The Romney Literary Society was formed in 1819 and by 1850 was a large public library. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in 1862 during the Civil War.

And speaking of the Civil War, Romney changed hands between the Union and Confederate Forces 56 times from 1861-1865. In 1863 it became part of the new state of WV. This house built in 1850 served as Stonewall Jackson's headquarters for a time.

On a nearby hill, the Union forces built the Fort Mill Ridge Trenches. Present day, these are located in a beautiful hardwood forest.

Built in 1846 as the Romney Classical Institute, this became the state's school for the deaf and blind in 1870. Classes were in session while we explored the grounds.

And speaking of present day, we saw several of the Little Free Libraries around town. They had food, books, and one was even dedicated to hygiene products. 

The last stop of the day was the Dairy Queen for a Oreo Blizzard. Recently I discovered McFlurries from McDonalds and wanted to compare them to DQ Blizzards. You know, all for collecting data in the name of science. With two data points in, Ward and I both prefer the Blizzard.

(Monday and Tuesday, September 13,14, 2020.)

It will all get done.

 I'm tired and cranky. I could come up with several reasons for this, but some days just turn out that way. So what am I going to do about it? Well, instead of dwelling on the negative stuff, I'm going to try to focus on getting ready for the trip we're going on in the morning. Miss Landers has a cabin in WV where Ward and I are going to stay for a few days with hopes of working puzzles, reading, and hiking. At first, it seems frivolous to be talking about getting away for nothing more than a change of scenery when others are fleeing from fires to save their lives.  But if nothing else, the fires in the west have taught us to live for today because tomorrow things could change in an instant. And that means making the most of this little trip we're going on.

But as you may have noticed, I am writing a blog post instead of getting ready. Well, that's procrastination pure and simple. But it will all get done. It always does.

In the meantime, here are  pictures of what I've seen around my yard this week. Exploring the plants and critters that live around me is a sure fire cure for my crankiness. (However, it's not helping the procrastination too much.)

One of our crabapples has started to bloom. The very hot and dry July may have had something to do with this.

This bunny has been living in our yard all summer (and enjoying our vegetables). I think it prefers our yard over others because we're the only one around without a dog.

It's cricket season again. 

I repotted our fig tree this summer and it has rewarded us with five figs. The previous record before was one.

All of the vinca around the caladiums were volunteers. That makes me happy.

This cabbage moth took some time away from eating our brussel sprouts to visit this cosmos.

We have several swallowtail butterfly caterpillars feasting on our carrots. 

The yellow cosmos have done very well this year, but not one of the pink ones has bloomed.

Depending on the internet situation, I may report in next week from our vacation.

Until next time...

Pears

"There are only ten minutes in the life of a pear when it is perfect to eat." Ralph Waldo Emerson

We have two pear trees in our yard and harvesting and processing pears is a new experience for us. We're learning about them as we go along.  We have learned that pears (European, that is, not Asian) should not ripen on the tree. They ripen from the inside out and by the time they start to give a little on the outside, they might be bad in the middle. So knowing when to pick, how much to let them ripen on the counter, all the while watching for growing bad spots is still somewhat baffling to us. However, as luck would have it, we have a good crop this year to experiment with. Below are some of our endeavors.

The trees have been limbed up over the years for easy mowing under them, so there are very few pears we can pick standing on ground. We've been using ladders and an apple picker, but there are still many we can't reach.

We have been picking from the tree or from the ground every couple of days and then bring the pears inside to ripen some more. 

We have been cooking some to make pearsauce.

Some of which we've shared, some we have eaten, some we have frozen...

and some of the sauce we have made into pearbutter. I did this in the crock pot which was much easier than the long hours of stirring over a stove when I was younger.

Some of the pears were dehydrated into sweet snacks.

and some were baked into a pie

And a pear-blueberry crisp.

We aren't the only ones enjoying the pears. The bees, flies, deer and squirrel are feasting daily on them.

Tomorrow, I think I'll make another batch of pearsauce. That seems to be the favorite so far.

Logical Thinking

 As you may have noticed here, I generally try to be positive and avoid controversial topics, but I just want to address what has been bothering me lately.

There are a lot of very vocal (and physical) disagreements going on in this country right now on some very important issues. Understandably, many people are intensely passionate about them, but that means they are thinking emotionally instead of logically. And this kind of thinking is the nemesis of a productive discussion.

I understand that people feel strongly about some issues for good reasons and most people are not disagreeing to just disagree. However, I have what I think are valid questions that I would like to explore on some issues, but hesitate to bring them up for fear of being attacked. How am I supposed to understand things if I can't even ask the questions? How can I learn why someone is so passionate about an issue if they won't let me talk about it unless I am in total agreement? And how will anyone understand my point of view if my words cause them to react immediately in an emotional way so they don't really hear what I'm saying?

Passion is a way for a movement to get started. But working only with passion that is not followed up with some logical and rational thinking will not work. Too many people will be alienated on both sides to come to any understanding. 

Hopefully, the pendulum will start swinging back to the middle soon and we can have real discussions on what really matters to people in a productive way. Until then, God help us.