Summertime is a season of vacations and the Shenandoah Valley is often a destination for folks from outside our area. They come for the incredible natural beauty, the multi-layered history, and the many events. And if they’ve glanced at a county map, they should also notice the echoes of an…
Imagine my alarm as my 12-year-old son exclaimed, “Hey Dad, what kind of snake is this?” Those are words that will immediately command every father’s full attention, especially when his 9-year-old daughter is close behind that son. About twenty years ago, the three of us were hiking to Abrams Falls…
We have been abundantly blessed with wonderful rain this summer! Many years our valley fields are dry and our corn stalks tightly rolled by mid-July. What a blessing to see green everywhere we look! One of those green crops that has become more common in the Shenandoah Valley are grapevines.…
I greatly enjoy Rich Cooley’s nature photography featured in the Northern Virginia Daily. I especially appreciate his incredible captures of bald eagles perched high on a limb or gliding just above the river. He has earned many well-deserved awards for his photographic excellence. The return of eagles to the Shenandoah…
Our nation celebrates another milestone tomorrow with its 249th birthday. Even though the Declaration of Independence was only signed by John Hancock on July 4, 1776, it was approved that day by representatives of all 13 colonies and later the other 55 courageous individuals also endorsed it pledging their lives,…
Here at the end of June with temperatures soaring to nearly 100 degrees, it’s hard to believe the National Hockey League just wrapped up its season last week. Last Tuesday, the Florida Panthers skated to victory over the Edmonton Oilers to clinch their second consecutive Stanley Cup! They defeated their…
Last week we glanced at the majestic lighthouses dotting the coastlines of the globe and reflected on how Jesus calls us to be walking talking lighthouses for Him. This week we return to the beach to consider something else we find there, though much less imposing or obvious. Driftwood is…
We are now deep into vacation season and many valley residents are heading to the beach for some fun in the sun. It’s a great place to relax and recharge! Many go to the Outer Banks and the ocean floor just offshore there is known as the graveyard of the…
Next summer these United States will celebrate our 250th birthday which is quite an accomplishment for what Abraham Lincoln called this, “… new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” As the first of such ventures, the USA has since inspired many…
Earlier this month, former FBI Director, James Comey, posted a photo on social media of seashells arranged in the numbers 8647 with the words, “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.” This ignited quite the controversy resulting in an interview with the Secret Service. The exact meaning and intent are…