First Bloom Of Spring

Finally Springtime!

Although there is still plenty of cold around, springtime is slowly showing itself.  I'm thankful for any small sign.  As usual, the daffodils are the first to show forth.

Right alongside are the pink blossoms of my peach tree.  This poor little tree has so many blossoms every year.  And then it works so hard to grow some lovely little peaches.  Unfortunately none of them have successfully survived the neighborhood squirrels.  Those pesky little fellows don't even let the peaches get ripe.  It makes me so mad to see a squirrel running across the yard with a green peach in it's mouth.

This friendly little robin never hurt anyone...including peaches!  I sure wish he would talk to those squirrels.  We just moved the peach tree to the other side of the yard and we're cutting down the two massive oak trees soon.  Hopefully the squirrels will move farther away and I'll finally get some peaches.

Driving The Yorktown Battlefield Tour

First Weekend of Spring

You couldn't ask for better weather.  It was a beautiful sunny day in the 70s.  It seemed a shame to spend the day indoors.  As we had gone to Busch Gardens the week before we wanted to do something different.

Familiarity Breeds Contempt

The old saying is trite but true.  Tourists from all around the world visit our area for the historical sites and  I've never been to most of these places.  Guess I've had other things to do.  We rarely value the things that are right before our eyes on a daily basis.  I've found this to be true concerning everything in life.  It's only later,when thinking back, that we realize what we missed.  Sad part of life.

So in keeping with that thought, we decided to drive the Battlefield Tour at Yorktown.  I've been on parts of it over the years, but never driven the whole thing.

We started off at the Moore House.  It's located right next to the Coast Guard Station and I've driven past it a hundred times.  Most times of the year there are loads of deer around it.  This is national park service land and there is no hunting allowed.  So the deer are not afraid at all.  They are quite brazen about it and sometimes even pushy!  Many times I've had to stop to let the deer cross the road.

This is the site where the Articles of Capitulation were negotiated and drafted following the  Battle of Yorktown in 1781.

After we left the Moore House we started on the Tour road.  The first stop we made was at Surrender Field.  You have a nice view of the field and there is an audio presentation about the site.  There is also a display of captured cannons.

Surrender Field Platform

Surrender Field

Cannons

We then headed out towards Washington's Headquarters.  There was a small stream we had to drive through.  I made hubby stop in the middle so I could snap some photos.  We stopped just long enough to sink a bit.  Didn't get stuck for real but it was exciting for just a second!

 

As we drove around we passed several people on bikes.  So we were thinking that maybe we'll haul our bikes out here and give it a go sometime.  Plus it would make it easier to take photos.

We wanted to check out the French Encampment next.  Funny thing is, no one else was going that way.  Up till now we have seen quite a few people.  Guess this warm day after such a miserable winter was too much for people to pass up.  Anyway we drove so far on this stretch of the road I thought we were going to end up in Williamsburg. I have since checked it out and the whole tour is 15 miles.  We will definitely not be doing this by bike!  There is an inner look that's 5 miles which I might be able to handle.

This part of the tour takes you past many French encampment sites which are now just beautiful fields.  At the end of it you are back at Yorktown.

It was a very pleasant way to spend a springtime afternoon. 

Hobby Lobby Heaven

I just recently found out that there is a Hobby Lobby nearby.  Nearby in this case being within somewhat reasonable driving distance.  It cost me 3 hours driving time and 2 toll roads.  Was it worth it?  Oh yes!  I was in craft heaven!  We went all the way to Chesterfield.  I never knew there was much of anything in Chesterfield, much less a Hobby Lobby!  I just can't imagine why there isn't one at least in Norfolk.

I spent at least an hour (maybe it was 2) trying to see everything in the store.  I knew I was on a time limit since Hubby was with me.  He did take a side trip to Dick's Sporting Goods next door and then came back to see if I was done.  Of course I wasn't!  I could have spent at least another hour, but it's probably as well that I didn't.  As it was, I spent almost $200.

I consider it money well spent.  I got several painting books that were on clearance as well as Easter supplies which were on sale.  The only thing I didn't find was little skeleton hands.  I really need those for a Halloween project I'm working on.  I'll probably have to make them myself.  I did find a tutorial on little hands.  They aren't skeleton hands so I will probably have zombies climbing out of graves instead of skeletons.  And I HATE zombies!

Things I Hate

1. Zombies
2. Roaches
3. Blinded By The Light
4. Martial Arts Movies

Maybe I'll post "Things I Love" next time.  Fair warning.  Keifer Sutherland will probably be in first place!  Which reminds me.  Did you know the new season of 24 premiers on May 5?

Ok, now that I've gotten totally off subject I'll get back to my Zombie Escape altered art shoes.  I'll post pics of the finished product.  Halloween seems far away, but it will take me months to get ready.  If you have any ideas for creepy themes please post them in the comments.  I'm totally open to new ideas!

Sharon

Virginia Oddities

Another beautiful Sunday!  This makes two in a row for us.  It was 71 degrees and sunny today.  Just lovely!  We decided to take a Sunday drive to the Rockahock Campgrounds today.  They are having a Christian concert there on April 25-26 and we wanted to check out the place ahead of time.  It was a pretty nice campground right on the Chickahominy River.  Sidewalk Prophets are going to be playing on April 25 and I've been wanting to see them for a long time.  They are one of my very favorite contemporary Christian bands.  I'm really looking forward to this concert.

After looking around the campground we decided to cruise the local area to see what else we could find.  My GPS told me there was a BBQ restaurant right down the road.  Once again the GPS did me wrong.  The BBQ place turned out to be a gas station!  I'm thinking we won't be eating there.  This is why we try to check out locations ahead of time.  I need to know how far away the food is at all times! (only slightly exaggerating!)  You don't want to let me get too hungry or it's kind of reminiscent of a Snickers commercial!

I've been wanting to take some photos and this warm weather is right up my alley.  I love to do photography but I'm not die-hard enough to brave the cold weather.  It's just not in me.  We didn't have to go very far before I found some worthy subjects.  I love odd things or things in odd places.  So we were driving down the road and I spotted this tiger.  I was so excited you would have thought it was a real tiger!  Of course we had to pull over and take pics!  It wasn't till I got home and really looked at it that I realized I wasn't at an Exxon station.  I never even noticed that it was a BP!  Hmmm...that's odd.

Exxon tiger

Right down the road I found another fabulous statue.  Again I didn't notice till later that the statue is of an injured horse.  Unusual.

I was very happy to have found these statues.  This is just the kind of unusual stuff that gets me excited.  But then I found something else that piques my interest...an antique store.  Love them!  This was right down the street from the horse and I just couldn't resist stopping.

It was a nice shop with nice people.  I found some nice blue mason jars for $6 which is a steal for the big ones.  I'm sure I'll be going there again.  I took this photo because I loved the signage.  All in all it was a wonderful day!

But now there's a winter storm warning for tomorrow morning.  Blah!  They're calling for 26 degrees, ice and 4-6 inches of snow!  Can you believe it?  I, for one, can not.

Sharon

Dog Shaming: The Unfortunate Incident

First let me say that I love my dog.  She's an adorable little (ahem..little might be a misstatement) ShihTzu.  Let's just say she's a bit chubby.  Not my fault, really.  I just notice that she's getting quite plump lately.  I'm thinking she's getting into the cat food at night.  Gotta work on that one.  Back to the adorableness... We got Chloe a few years ago when her owner was threatening to put her in the pound if she didn't find someone to take her.  I had been looking for a Chihuahua, but I had a Shih Tzu before and they are wonderful little (again with the little) dogs.  So we took her in and have (mostly) never regretted it.

She has a sweet temperament and is hardly any trouble at all.  Usually.  Our Chloe does have one vice.  And try as we might, we just can't get this monkey off her back.  She is addicted to paper.  Any kind of paper.  I'm not sure what the attraction is, whether it's the texture or the sound it makes as she rips it into tiny little pieces.  She love any kind of paper but she especially enjoys paper towels.  When we leave the house we try to look around and Chloe-proof each room.  It works most of the time.  But recently she has acquired a new skill...opening doors.  The other day I went out to lunch.  I was only gone 1 hour.  By the time I got home this is what I found.

Just look at that sad face!

That little rascal had actually opened a cabinet door and dragged a whole package of napkins into the living room.  She looked so pitiful I decided to take a dog shaming picture!

Unfortunately the dog shaming did not deter her in the least.  The very next day I was working in my craft room and when I came out she was on the couch with a paper towel.  The nerve!  She didn't even bother to wait till I was out of the house!

Naughty dog sneaking a paper towel

The last thing she did this week was open a closet door and drag a brand new unwrapped broom into the living room.  I only wish I had video of this.  I just cannot imaging how this little dog dragged that broom.  She didn't do too much damage.  Thankfully I was only out of the house a couple of hours.  She managed to chew some large holes in the plastic wrap and pull out some of the bristles which were scattered throughout.  This time I scolded her and swatted her little rear.  So she lay in her bed and gave me the "sad eyes" till I felt sorry for her and called her to me.  All is forgiven and she'll live to see another paper towel!  Unless she's tired of paper and has moved on to the more exciting and dangerous world of broom destruction...Time will tell.

Sharon