Up the hill across what we still call the oats field, from the center of one of the two paths forming the X once visible from space. The satellite photo below was saved in 2008, but must have been taken earlier. The white rectangle is the roof of the house.
Which leads to another flashback: Dad coaxing Beethoven up the same hill at the same spot, 10/24/2008. (The hankie was required because the cat was deaf. )
Starting at crack of dawn, Tim and I ran the Westmoreland Heritage Trail from Delmont to Saltsburg and back this Saturday morning in early September. What a lovely trail! We saw only one other likely round-trip runner, maybe half a dozen bicyclists, a couple of dog walkers, and a small group of Scouts hiking. The trail crosses a road only four or five times, mostly country lanes. The crushed stone surface was in excellent condition the whole way, although there were one or two spots where erosion from water runoff could use some attention. Being tired on the way back, we certainly noticed the trail is mostly uphill from Saltsburg to Delmont, and were then grateful for the shade provided by the almost complete canopy.
From the Curtis Park dam early Sunday morning, Hartwood, Virginia.
The Fredericksburg paper had a picture of a swan at this spot in March of 2013. Today I could also see two more on the far side of the lake. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries said in 2012, “The mute swan is classified as a non-native exotic (nuisance) species in Virginia.”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3U__Ho9Jwo
This is the time of year for some nice sunrises around 6am on the way to work.
In bloom June 1st, wild on our rusty wire fence. Looks to me like the Honeysuckle Lonicera japonica shown on Wikipedia, where it is said to be an invasive species, a noxious weed in Texas, Illinois, and Virginia, and banned in New Hampshire.
Also saw both mountain laurel and blackberries in bloom this weekend, although not on our property.
Nationals 3, Mets 2
The winning final moments of the Washington Nationals/New York Mets baseball game Tuesday night. Charlie says he can just make out the ball, a tiny white smudge beyond third base. It does look as though there’s an outfielder starting to run in that direction, but I can tell you it didn’t do him any good. See the next day’s Washington Post game report. This was my first time at a major league baseball game, thanks to my sports fan friends who took me along. What fun! I took the picture with my cell phone.
Enjoying the afternoon sun on the last day of summer.