Virginia #AtoZChallenge

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.

 

Virginia (Statehouse) #AtoZChallenge

Today, we are in Richmond, Virginia, visiting the Virginia State House.

This is not the first time I've blogged about Virginia during the A to Z Challenge.  I have visited the state on a number of occasions.  

Richmond was the third, and current, capital of our state of Virginia.  It also, between 1861 and 1865, was the capital of the Confederate States of America.

As is the case with other state capitals, various statues and monuments are found on its grounds.  This is a monument honoring our first President, a native of Virginia, George Washington.

At the time of our visit, in April of 2017, flowers were in bloom.

The Statehouse was designed by Thomas Jefferson (our third President and a man of many talents) and Charles-Louis Clérisseau and was built between 1785 and 1788. The two wings you see here were built at a later date.

There are busts of Virginia born Presidents inside the building.  This is a bust of President Tyler, our 10th President, who was President from 1841 to 1845.  Amazingly, at least as of late last year, Tyler had a living grandson. This is a post I wrote about that, back when Tyler had two living grandsons. One passed away in 2020.

Inside the House of Delegates, which is the lower chamber of the Virginia General Assembly.  It first convened in 1619.  Its current home is a bit more modern.

Did you know that portraits of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip are hung inside the Virginia Statehouse?  They have visited more than once.

One more view of the interior.

Here is a wealth of information about the State Capitol, if you are interested.

If you live in the United States, I suggest you try to, at least, visit your state capitol. You may be surprised to find the treasures within.

 "V" day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. My theme for this year is "From Florida to Vermont With Stops In Between".

Outdoor Outing Oops #AtoZChallenge

If you are looking for my Music Moves Me post, please click here.  I hope you'll stay for this post, though, before you leave to listen to some great music.

Welcome (or welcome again) to "O" day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme: "From Florida to Vermont With Stops In Between".

Before I begin, I owe you, my readers, an apology.   I'm prewriting many of my A to Z posts, and I inadvertently dated my "O" post with the wrong date.  It published in error last week and a couple of people commented on it (thank you!) and I don't want to delete it. So, for those who already read my O post, this is a little different. I've added some new pictures, did some editing, and I now invite you to enjoy the new outdoor art I've included.  Thank you!

Today, let's sample some outdoor art from various parts of the country, starting in the area where I live in New York state and ending in Florida.

We'll start in Ithaca, New York and a mosaic mural.

On a downtown Binghamton, New York walkway, decorations celebrating the history of this area.  Here, a boot to symbolize our long history of shoe manufacturing. 

A mural on the edge of downtown Binghamton, New York, celebrating the late Mohammad Ali.

Here's a mural painted on the back of a New York village's movie theater.

This mural, located in Endicott, New York, is called "Love Like Lisa".  It pays tribute to a woman, Lisa Iannone, who died at the age of 40 from a chronic condition she had lived with for many years.

Endicott had a big IBM facility at one time, and this isn't too far from that facility.  This mural is painted on the back of the Cinema Saver on Washington Avenue, just steps away from that factory complex. 

Let's start moving south now.  Our first stop is New York's Hudson Valley.

Here is a statue at the CIA - no, not that CIA, but the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York?  This culinary school has trained many great chefs, and the campus has some interesting culinary art on its campus.

Take, for example, this fish.   You may not want to eat it, though. 

It's made out of dining utensils.  

Now we are in Brooklyn, in New York City, with an outdoor store window painting in downtown Brooklyn (2018).

New York Aquarium in Coney Island (Brooklyn). 

Moving on to Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond, VA.  This sculpture is called Chloe.  The artist is Jaume Plensa, from Spain. 

Still heading south, we arrive in South Carolina. Carousel at Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens, West Columbia, South Carolina. 

Finally, we arrive at our destination, Florida.  This mosaic is at the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo, Florida.

Our outdoor outing ends in Bok Gardens in Lake Wales, Florida, with this cute squirrel.

"O" day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge (for real, this time).

Jefferson (Wine and More) #AtoZChallenge

 When you hear the name Thomas Jefferson (the third President of the United States), you don't normally think of wine.  But if you like wine, you may very well know about the connection between Jefferson and the modern American wine industry.

Thomas Jefferson loved wine.  He was introduced to different types of wine during and after the Revolutionary War, both by Hessian  (German mercenaries fighting on the British side) prisoners of war and later, to French wine when Jefferson was our nation's first ambassador to France.  He built a wine cellar at Monticello, his home near Charlottesville, Virginia. 

Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia

Jefferson's dream was to take old world grapevines, grow them at Monticello and nearby, and make the European type wines he enjoyed, but the Vitis vinifera he tried to grow died from diseases such as black rot and from the ravages of a pest called phylloxera  (a relative of aphids) found in Northeast American soil.  Today, we know how to graft Vitis vinifera stock to roots that are resistant to this pest and wine grapes are grown in many regions of the United States.

Ironically, the area around Monticello is now a wine grape growing region, and the county Charlottesville is in has more than 40 wineries.

Enter the Jefferson Vineyards, which my spouse and I visited several years ago.  Here is an interior picture, complete with a bust of Jefferson.

Another interior shot with the chickens I love.

Dreams can come true, but not always in our lifetimes.

 

Jefferson's statue at the State House in Richmond, Virginia, the State Capitol.

Before I end this post, let's return to Monticello for a moment.  These are some of the gardens there today.  Back in Jefferson's day, these gardens and Jefferson's house and properties were tended by enslaved people.  There are many sad truths in the study of history that must be faced head on, and that is one of them.  More so now than in the past, the paradox of liberty (the author of our Declaration of Independence owning humans and even fathering children with a woman he owned) is examined.

I'll end with another view of Monticello.   It's well worth the visit, incidentally, whether you are a student of history, a student of agriculture or architecture, or just someone who wants to know more about our complex third President.

"J" day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme:   "From Florida to Vermont With Stops In Between"

Historic Paper Mulberry Tree #ThursdayTreeLove

The third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, loved trees.  He planted over 160 species at his home, Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia.

This  is one of those historic trees.  I don't know if this tree was alive when Jefferson was alive (he passed away on July 4, 1826 at the age of 83) but it wouldn't surprise me.

I've been to Monticello three times, the last time being May 1, 2019, when I took a picture of this paper mulberry tree.  Sadly, a lot of the labor at Monticello was performed by enslaved people (slavery was legal during Jefferson's lifetime and for years beyond), and, possibly, this tree may have been one that witnessed the sufferings of those people.

There are a number of mystery plants in the history of Thomas Jefferson and Monticello, as detailed in this article.

Joining up with Parul at Happiness and Food for her #ThursdayTreeLove, held the second and fourth Thursday of the month. Please note, due to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge in April, I will resume Thursday Tree Love posts in May.

Is Love All We Need?

Our local newspaper had a supplement today celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock Concert - peace and love in the midst of a country at war thousands of miles away.  Our streets were full of protestors. Assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Kennedys were very much on our minds.  Much out there was anything but peace and love.

Now, 50 years later my mind turns to  Charlottesville, Virginia. Today I remember August 12, 2017, the day the white supremacists rallied under the guise of protesting the removal of a statue and one of them drove a car into a crowd and killed a 32 year old woman by the name of Heather Heyer.  Two police were also killed that day, and many people were injured.

Tomorrow, I, and many others, will remember Heather Heyer, the act that killed her and injured dozens of others trying to exercise their right of free speech, the rallies the night before meant to terrorize, and that day that we now remember with anguish.

The driver/killer is in jail, convicted of the crime.  A 32 year old woman's life was cut short and our country still struggles to make sense.  How could there possibly be fine people on both sides? We are afraid to face what our country is becoming.  We pause.  We feel that we've lost our way.

Here are some signs of that day.  It amazed me, in a May 1 visit to Charlottesville, that "Love" seemed to be one of those reactions.

Is love all we need, though?

This is near the scene of that tragic act on May 1 of this year.  A message to those who hate: "You just magnified her."

The street memorial. 

Think about it.  Are we stronger than this hate?

A young woman died here, killed by hate.  We struggle to maintain our democracy.

"We have met the enemy, and he is us" - Walt Kelly, who wrote it in a different context.  But never mind that. Will we have the strength for the days ahead? Slogans are good, but the right actions are better.

Sobering thoughts for a Sunday.

Cedar of Lebanon #ThursdayTree Love

On our way from Leesburg Virginia to Charlottesville, Virginia, we stopped at Montpelier, the home of one of our founding fathers (James Madison).  It was our second visit there.  We spent an hour or so walking the grounds. We weren't able to spend much time there.

We ran across this beautiful tree.  Although it's an evergreen the leaves are hard to see in this picture, and its stark beauty intrigued me.

It's called a Cedar of Lebanon and is the national tree of Lebanon. This tree may have been planted by Madison (1751-1836) himself, according to records.

Imagine, a tree planted by one of the founders of your country and the feeling of being in the presence of history.

Join Parul and the other tree loving bloggers each second and fourth Thursdays of the month for #ThursdayTreeLove.

A Cardinal in a Time of Hate

I've been to Virginia several times over the past five years, but have never visited Virginia Beach.  Today, although my body is in New York, my heart is in Virginia once again.

Virginia has joined the horror roll of cities changed forever by mass shootings.  Yesterday, 12 people (all but one City of Virginia Beach employees) were killed in a mass shooting by (allegedly) a disgruntled longtime City employee.  Four others were wounded, three of whom are in critical condition.

When you enter Virginia at various points, you see something like this.  Maybe Virginia used to be for lovers.

In that horror roll, Virginia Beach, you will find many other communities.  You are in the best company.  Let me name some of them:  Las Vegas, Nevada.  Orlando, Florida.  Aurora, Colorado. Edmund, Oklahoma.. Blacksburg, Virginia.  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.   Parkland, Florida.  Killeen, Texas.  And, yes, at least one more.

Binghamton, New York, about a mile from where I took this picture of a Columbine today in a peaceful garden (not mine).

What can be said that hasn't been said already?  All I can send is more love but today, that is not enough.

I don't know what is enough. But this one thing I do know.  This spring, I've seen a lot of male cardinals, a bird I normally don't see many of.  I think one must have taken up residence in my back yard,  But as I was typing this blog post, he appeared.  Because I've done research on the symbolism of male cardinals,I've learned what they symbolize.

Comfort from a loved one in Heaven.

Virginia Beach is going to need a lot of cardinals.

Barboursville Ruins #WordlessWednesday

Near Barboursville, Virginia, on the grounds of a winery, there's a historic house.

Designed by his friend Thomas Jefferson, this house was inhabited by James Barbour, a U.S. Senator, a Virginia governor and a U.S Secretary of War.

The house was destroyed by fire on December 25, 1884, and left in ruins.  You can read the full story here.

I must have a "thing" about ruins, having written two recent blog posts on a premier American garden which went to ruin and is only now being restored.  So, when I visited Virginia last week, I had to see this.  And so we did.

Here it is, what is left of a house designed by a former President of the United States.

It's sobering, standing in the ruins of history.

Why not join in on #Wordless Wednesday, brought to us by Esha, the Skygirl, and Natasha Musing.

The instructions and linky are on their website.

Virginia #AtoZChallenge #ThursdayTreeLove

Today, on #ThursdayTreeLove, blooming dogwoods at Monticello, the historic home of Thomas Jefferson, one of our Founding Fathers.

In that area, dogwoods generally bloom in mid-April.  I took this picture about three years ago.

Most of my remaining pictures were taken in Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the state.

House of one of our Founding Fathers near Charlottesville.  I think this may be one side of Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's residence) but I am drawing a blank.

One thing you will find in abundance is statues.  This one honors our first President, George Washington, who was a native of Virginia (as were several other of our Founding Fathers.  This is on the grounds of the Virginia State House grounds in Richmond,

One thing you might not expect on the grounds of the Virginia capitol is a statue of Edgar Allen Poe, but he both attended the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (his dorm room has a historic marker on it) and also lived for a time in Richmond.  You can visit a museum devoted to Poe in Richmond (I haven't - yet) and, for whatever it's worth, his wife's name was Virginia.

State capitols need...well, legislative chambers.  I forget which one this is, but Virginia's legislative chambers are quite full of history.

But another thing you might not expect in a state capitol is - a picture of British monarchs.  Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the Royal family have actually visited Virginia more times than you might expect.

And, why not?

"V" day on the #AtoZChallenge.  My theme - Finding America through Photos.

And, why not visit Parul at Happiness and Food and other bloggers who love trees on #ThursdayTreeLove.