Welcome! I hope I bring a spot of calm and happiness into these uncertain times. I blog about my photography adventures, flowers, gardening, the importance of chocolate in a well lived life, or anything else on my mind.
Today I am spotlighting the state of Virginia. I have visited it several times.
First, a beautiful university campus in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Welcome to the University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819.
Its Rotunda was designed by Jefferson and its construction was completed shortly after Jefferson's death in 1826. If you wonder, viewing these pictures, if it resembles Monticello (Jefferson's home) - it does.
Monticello from a distance, April 2016
It should be noted that buildings on the original campus were built with the labor of enslaved people, and that scholars (male, of course). Women also had to fight hard to be able to go to this university, which only became fully co-educational in 1973.
Near Charlottesville, Virginia.
Rolling rural hills.
Along I-77, fog can be scenic, and also dangerous.
Virginia Welcome Center, I-77. (Interstate 77)
I'll end here with beautiful dogwoods in bloom, Monticello, April of 2016.
V day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. My theme: Beauty of our Land.
Once again, today I give you two memes for the price is one: U day for the Blogging of A to Z Challenge, and Skywatch Friday.
On July 4, 2026, the United States will celebrate its 250th birthday. Having a national birthday isn't restricted to the United States; our neighbor to the north, Canada celebrates Canada Day on July 1. They do us one better, too, with various towns and cities serving cake to their residents.
But will our national birthday bring us needed Unity? I hope it does.
Years
ago (1999?) my spouse, young son, and I traveled to Washington DC to enjoy the various July 4 celebrations. We also went to historic Arlington Cemetery to
visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and graves of John F Kennedy and
its eternal flame. If I took any pictures they are probably in a box
somewhere, alas, with others of my printed out photos.
I was so
impressed by the guards who keep a 24 hour watch over the Tomb of the
Unknown Soldier.
I can't show you any pictures of that future celebration but I can show
you pictures from Plymouth, Massachusetts taken on July 4, 2023. Plymouth holds an important part in our national history.
Much of the day was foggy, which made for some interesting sky pictures. I've had some of these pictures on my blog before, but here they are again.
Plymouth's harbor on a foggy July 4 morning.
Looks like it's hanging in mid air, doesn't it? It's not.
Nothing like a parade to Unify us. Parades are held in hundreds of cities and towns throughout our nation. There will be even more this July 4, I suspect.
A parade in the fog is even better, especially if it includes a dinosaur.
We are fortunate to have a beautiful land. Let us continue to honor it with Unity.
I'm a little surprised that, for all the pictures I have from our neighboring state of Pennsylvania, I'm only now getting to one if its small towns for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.
Towanda, Pennsylvania, population about 2800, is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania and has over 400 historic building. I've never officially visited the borough, but I had to pass through it several times in late 2024.
I took these pictures of some of the beautiful architecture downtown or near downtown in November of 2024.
The MacFarlane House on Main Street. This is a 1854 Greek Revival home that once housed the Bradford County historical society.
The Bradford County courthouse. Towanda is the county seat.
Another view.
Part of the downtown historic district.
The Keystone Theater, originally Hale's Opera House. Unfortunately I had to take this picture from a moving car (I wasn't driving!) and couldn't capture the beauty of this historic building. You can find more about this treasure here. I love it when I find historic theaters still operating.
This is only a small sample of the beautiful houses in and around this community. I wish I could have spent more time there.
T day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. My theme: Beauty of our Land.
Today, for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge and Sandee's Wordless Wednesday, I visit the United States state of South Carolina.
Before I get going, I want to pay tribute to South Carolinian Pearl
Fryar, who died on April 4, 2026. My husband and I had the pleasure of
meeting him in 2015. I blogged about it, and his special topiary
garden in Bishopville, South Carolina, for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge in 2015. I invite you to read my post, which had some pictures of his works.
I also invite you to read this interview, if you are into gardening.
Son of a sharecropper, this self-taught genius overcame prejudice and
became world renowned. His death was reported by the Washington Post,
New York Times, and CBS Sunday morning, among other news outlets.
Pearl Fryar, RIP. You proved that one man can overcome hate with love through Beauty.
Participants in Wordless Wednesday:
Meanwhile, here are some pictures of this beautiful state.
Greenville, Falls Park on the Reedy, February 2023.
Columbia, state Capitol building.
Clemson, mural.
Riverbanks Zoo and Garden, Columbia.
College of Charleston, Charleston, Pinxterbloom azalea, a native azalea.
College of Charleston, Sunset.
Charleston City Market mural.
Charleston, corner of Queen and State Street.
S Day in the Boogging from A to Z Challenge. My theme: Beauty of our Land.
The works of American painter and illustrator Norman Rockwell, who died in 1978, have been a part of my memories for many years.
Rockwell knew what his life work was to be at an early age, enrolling in art school at age 14. He was born in New York City, later moving to the New York City suburban city of New Rochelle. Eventually, he became an illustrator for the Boy Scouts publication Boys' Life, and for the Saturday Evening Post magazine He drew for the Saturday Evening Post for some 47 years. His career ended with the defunct Look magazine, which my mother read when I was growing up.
I don't know how well Rockwell was known outside the United States, or by young people worldwide, but I hope that you still enjoy this post.
Rockwell lived for a time in Arlington, Vermont and used their residents as models for many of his illustrations. The Sugar Shack in Arlington has a (free!) Rockwell exhibition in the back of the store, but do try their maple cremees (a rich soft serve ice cream) if you are into dairy products. They also produce their own maple syrup. I've visited Arlington several times in the past six years and have enjoyed visiting the Sugar Shack for a maple fix.
There is also a museum dedicated to Rockwell's works in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, which I visited in 2024. In fact, let's start with the entrance to that museum.
What a beautiful setting.
On the grounds are sculptures by Norman's son Peter Rockwell.
Information about Peter (sorry, it's too small to read), Peter Rockwell spent much of his adult life in Rome. He passed away in 2020.
A wall full of Norman Rockwell magazine covers.
Some samples of art and photos of the actual townspeople who posed for his pictures.
More photos.
Finally, a self portrait.
R day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. My theme: Beauty of our Land.
We are a group of music loving bloggers who blog about music each Sunday or Monday (or even later in the week). If you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join!(Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please! Otherwise, your post link may be labeled "No Music" or even removed.) We have occasional theme weeks, but you are welcome to ignore the theme and use music of your choice.
Music Moves Me is brought to you by Cathy of Curious as a Cathy, Stacy of Stacy's Random Thoughts, Marie, and myself. Why not join us? Our theme for this week is You Pick and since this is Q day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, I'm picking a couple of groups whose name began with Q.
First up: Quicksilver Messenger Service.
Here is their 1970 hit Fresh Air.
Next, Queen, and, from 1975, Bohemian Rhapsody. This song is considered one of the top songs in rock history.
From 1981 their collaboration with David Bowie - Under Pressure.
And now that you've enjoyed some music, I bring you, for Q day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, some beauty I've found in the New York City borough of Queens. I am a native of Queens although I only lived there for the first five months of my life.
If you think I'm going to post pictures of skyscrapers, well, I'm not, because Queens is not a borough of skyscrapers. Although, in the neighborhood of Long Island City, there are several. No, instead, I will bring you these sights:
Alley Pond Recreation Area, Bayside, Queens.
There are several remnants of the 1964 World's Fair visible in Corona Park, another Queens neighborhood.(I have to explain here that if you address a letter to someone in Queens, you usually use a neighborhood name - not "Queens, NY" but Astoria, Flushing, Jamaica, Long Island City, Little Neck, and so forth.)
Above are two of them visible from the highway. I think the first picture is part of the New York State pavilion and I know the second was the Unisphere. I went to that fair several times as a preteen, once with my grade school class and the other times with my parents. These pictures were taken in 2018.
Queens Botanical Garden. Welcome to the rose garden. The morning I was there, a lot of Asian families were out admiring the roses.
More roses, Queens botanical gardens.
Greenery.
Finally, the yellow structures, I'm guessing, are where the Queen bees live. And that is a wrap!
Join me tomorrow for R day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. And, I hope you'll join me again next week for more music at Music Moves Me.
Q day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. My theme: Beauty of our Land
We are back to cold weather and possible snow, but most of the last week was glorious (except for the almost late day thunderstorms and winds). But I took a couple of nice shadow shots yesterday and the day before yesterday while the good weather lasted.
Grape hyacinths.
Tree shadow at a local park.
Young redbud tree in bloom at a local park. This was planted several years ago as part of an initiative called Trees for Tribs. You can see some of the other trees in the background.
