Wednesday night Jonny decided that we needed a trip to the Shenandoah National Park. So we stayed up a bit late making preparations, and Thursday morning we headed for the mountains. Sometimes I start to feel boxed in, and lately I have been very much feeling that. Boxed in by the walls of our house, the oppressive heat, and I don’t know what else, just boxed in. The best remedy we have found is to get out of the house for a day and spend that day in the mountains. My time yesterday also confirmed for me that I need a break from the computer. August is going to be a busy month, and I need to take some time to prepare for all that comes with September. So, other than a nature journal page that my kids and I will be working on in the next few days, for the most part I will be absent from this space for the next month or so. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your Summer!
We arrived in the national park around lunchtime and had just enough time to get out and make some sandwiches before a storm arrived sending us flying back into the van to eat them. The rain was wonderful, cooling the air, which we were so grateful for. After the rain stopped, we hiked the Lewis Falls trail. Rain threatened for most of the time we were hiking, which was really nice. The air was so refreshing!
I think there is no scene I love more than a lush green forest.
When we came upon this thicket of raspberries, I mentioned to the kids how perfect a spot to come across a black bear! As we munched on a few raspberries I reminded them that bears love raspberries! This was sort of a tease because Gabriel is really scared of bears, not that he had ever seen one. But, he has worried about them ever since one took up residence on our street.
Hornet nest that someone must have ripped into, although hornets were still flying in and out.
The view from above the falls.
Lewis Falls
There were bees buzzing in and out of the hole in the top of this dead tree. I couldn’t stop thinking about Winnie the Pooh and wishing I could look inside at their hive and get a bit of honey!
American Chestnut was the focus of research I conducted in college, and would have most likely been the focus of my graduate studies had Seth not come along! I get very excited to see the little stump sprouts in the forest even though my research involved tiny little chestnut embryos!
On the way back from the falls, we were excited to stop and pick some more raspberries, but Gabriel was the first to spot a bear in the raspberry patch! He was more excited than scared.
I didn’t go closer than about thirty feet away, which is closer than you should, but we didn’t notice the bear until we were very close. Everyone else slowly backed away but I had to take a few pictures, not that they are that great! This bear was clearly unconcerned with our presence and didn’t leave until we had all been shouting “Hi Bear! Go away and let us pass bear!” for several minutes. This bear was pretty small and couldn’t have been over a year old. In fact we were more worried about the possibility of a mama bear being in the area!
This is the view of the big meadow when you walk out of the forest from the Lewis falls trail.
As we drove by Big Meadow we saw a couple of does and two older fawns grazing. We pulled over and I got out of the car to take some pictures. As I walked closer and closer, quietly and slowly, the deer hardly payed any attention to me. I was able to walk among them which was pretty exciting for me because even though we see deer nearly every day, I love them and have never been that close to a Virginia deer. I do not have a zoom lens, so these were all taken in close proximity to the deer.
Big Meadow is covered in lowbush blueberries which the deer were eating. Most of the low shrubby plants in the above picture are blueberry bushes.
On our way back out of town we stopped for dinner. Jonny says it was the best barbecue he has ever had! Even the baked beans and cole slaw were incredibly good, and definitely homemade! We ate on the back porch and the kids played in the creek below. Oh, and I forgot to mention that on our way through Sperryville towards the national forest before our hike, we stopped at the little yarn store and I got another skein of local wool that I needed for the sweater I am working on for Beatrix. I also got some local natural brown roving for some projects we are working on. There is something special about buying Virginia wool!
We got home around bedtime last night and unloaded five tired happy children, bags of local apples, peaches, nectarines, plums, honeycomb, and a couple jars of raw honey all purchased in the mountains.
After everyone was tucked in bed we decided to ignore our messy house, I knit a couple of rows on Beatrix’s sweater, and we went to bed.
The end of a perfect day!
p.s. I will be checking email while I am on break, and keeping up with my shop!
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