Family and Friends
Owen and the Lego buffalo at Lewis Ginter Garden
Cora’s watching trains too
After supper at the Chuck Wagon in Nokesville, we went round back to wait for Amtrak train 50, the Cardinal, Chicago to New York. From the app we knew she was thirty minutes late, so we didn’t have to wait too long. Here she comes, breezing through at 50 mph.
Our newest photographer
Cora
Children’s Museum, Fredericksburg
Owen. Picture by Sandy.
Dylan got a new swing set on his birthday
Picture by Sheara.
NW611, the Spirit of Roanoke, the Queen of Steam
The excursion train from Manassas to Front Royal which Tim and Elspeth, Owen and Cora, had taken yesterday. We watched her rush by this afternoon at Gainesville, Virginia, just 10 minutes from McCormick House. In its day, this locomotive could pull 15 passenger cars at 110 mph. It was built by and for Norfolk and Western Railroad in Roanoke in 1950 for $251,544, and served routes such as Norfolk to Cincinatti. See details on NW611 by Virginia Museum of Transportation, and the Norfolk and Western railroad map. Another view, a second later that same day:
And even the railroad man sent to keep an eye on us waved to the driver:
Sandy got this shot of some of us spectators:
David’s 95th birthday weekend
Above and the next two photos were taken by Elspeth. Old 95 Sweet and Strong Ale was specially brewed by Tim to celebrate David’s 95th birthday. Sandy took the first four in the bottom row, and Elspeth the last one. Click to enlarge or start the slideshow.
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Moving-In Day
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April visit to Export
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Top left is from our little hike at Bushy Run Battlefield. Then going crazy with the zoom lens looking from the corn field bench to the top of the neighbor’s pylon. Row two: It’s years since corn grew in the corn field; as we sat on the bench there waiting for the sunset (looking downhill towards the gooseberries), dozens of these unknown bushes were almost blazing, covered in little tiny white flowers. The turkeys and the Baltimore oriole rufous-sided towhee (thanks Nick!), both from inside the kitchen, were not keen to wait for the camera to be ready. That’s the red-bellied woodpecker on the tree near the feeder, and a remarkably tame baby squirrel under the feeder.