Holiday Decos X2

Before we left our NH apartment to start our 2 week road trip, the exterior decorations were set up. We needed a little Christmas ahead of time.

This small tree was formerly in Grenville's workshop and at holiday craft shows. A trip to the $ store and we redecorated it. Last year's holiday cards were recycled for wall decos.

Santa was donated last year by a former neighbor who was moving. The snowman came from a thrift store at the local senior center. Percy Penguin relocated from the front porch at the Frog & Penguinn in VA and, his companion, Ferd Frog relocated too. 

Since we would be spending part of December at the VA house, we decided to set up a final Christmas tree.

This tree was discarded by a neighbor as the lights no longer lit (he had no problem with our recycling it). After 3 hours of using wire cutters we cut them off and filled a large trash bag. After another trip to the discount and $ store, the tree was trimmed with lights, decos and a tree skirt. We lit the fireplace and had egg nog while decorating.

After all that "work" a selfie was in order. 

We're not keeping the tree, but leaving it for the new homeowner who had hoped to able to close on our VA home by mid-December. However due to delays, the closing may be closer to Christmas and a decorated tree is always welcoming.

My apologies for not commenting on your blog posts as we've had no internet access while in VA This post was done while at our friends' home in Washington, DC where we spent the weekend and attended the USAF band holiday concert at Constitution Hall. We're still traveling and won't be back in NH until a week before Christmas when I hope to catch up on what everyone's been doing. 

Navy Holiday Concert

Last night we heard the U.S. Fleet Services band present a free holiday concert at a local high school on the VA eastern shore. 

As we remember the anniversary of Pearl Harbor today, we appreciate the services of these talented members of the U.S. Navy. All are also very talented musicians and vocalists.

Sadly, the overall attendance was disappointing with a half-filled auditorium. 

(As mentioned in an earlier post, we're on the road before Christmas and spending the bulk of that time in VA at our home, The Frog & Penguinn, which is under contract. Sadly, there's no wi-fi at the house, so this was done at the local library. We expect to be back in NH to celebrate Christmas and catch up on fellow bloggers. Thanks for your comments on several pre-scheduled posts.) 

Blooming VA

In the past few months, we've had some colorful blooms at The Frog & PenguINN, our VA eastern shore home.

These yard blooms are watched over the the ever-present Welcome frogs.  Don't let their 
dour expressions put you off as they are really quite friendly (and very quiet too).

After moving to VA from our native NJ, we had a very large vegetable garden in our backyard. There were 5 beds (each 12 feet wide x 50 feet long). Several years later, we went to a much smaller space as seen in this photo. We have NO veggie garden now and go to seasonal farmer's markets weekly to stock up on local produce.

The nearly all perennials in the backyard now require far less maintenance than the former veggie gardens.

Do you have any veggies or flowers in your gardens ?

Only in Virginia

Today is a holiday, but there’s no need to check your calendars to see if you missed it because it’s only celebrated in one U.S. state.

It's Lee–Jackson Day, which is celebrated solely in Virginia to mark the birthdays of Virginia natives Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, who served as Confederate generals in the Civil War. Lee led military and naval forces during the Civil War until he surrendered to General Ulysses Grant in 1865, marking the war's end. Jackson's greatest victory was when he led his troops around the Union right flank at Chancellorsville to route the 11th Corps and mortally wounded, died eight days later on May 10, 1863.

The original holiday created in 1889 only celebrated Lee's birthday; in 1904, Jackson's name was added. In 1983, the holiday oddly was merged with a new federal holiday to celebrate the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. And, in Virginia only, from 1984-2000, it was Lee-Jackson-King Day. The merge was reversed after a debate on whether celebrating the lives of Confederate generals and a civil rights leader was inconsistent. 

Yes, it does seem odd that it took so long to figure that out. But, then some areas of the South have never adjusted to fact that their side lost the Civil War.

The two holidays are celebrated separately. Lee–Jackson Day is observed on the Friday before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which is January 19 this year; it's always the third Monday in January. Virginia state offices are closed for both holidays, yet many schools and businesses remain open.

Virginia is not alone in having a state holiday for anyone associated with the unsuccessful Southern rebellion. The birthday of Confederate President Jefferson Davis is marked as a state holiday in Mississippi. (Davis was born in Kentucky, but raised in Mississippi.) 

When we first moved to Virginia 15 years ago, this unique observance was an oddity to us “northerners.” The day was memorable to us not for reasons noted herein, but because it was the day we closed on The Frog & Penguinn, our "new" home. And, it continues to be remembered solely for that reason. The concept of celebrating men whose legacy involved fighting on the side of a nation founded to expand human bondage seems very strange, even more so today.

Artful Adventure

Last weekend’s holiday activities included (no surprise) — a road trip. On Saturday, we attended a Virginia Beach BBQ. We stayed overnight in Norfolk to visit the Chrysler Museum on Sunday, our weekend adventure day.

NO, we didn’t see any Chrysler autos. It’s not that type of museum. And, if you had wanted to see the only American manufacturer-run car museum, sorry it’s too late. The Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills, Michigan, opened in 1999, closed in 2012. Lack of attendance was cited as a primary cause.
Instead, we saw art in a museum that was founded when his son, automotive heir Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. (whose wife was a Norfolk native), donated most of his extensive collection to Norfolk for what became the Chrysler Museum of Art.
The Chrysler Museum houses a collection of over 30,000 pieces spanning over 5,000 years, including glassware, statuary, American and European paintings, arts of the ancient world, Asia, Africa, and Pre-Columbian America, and sculpture.
This was a first-time visit for us and luckily came as the the museum just reopened in May after a 16-month shutdown. This $24 million expansion and renovation replaced 50 galleries from the ground up.
The museum was originally founded in 1933 as the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences. From 1958 to 1971, Chrysler housed his personal collection in a cramped Massachusetts church. He scouted several new locations; the city of Norfolk gave space and commitment and the new museum was created with 10,000 donated pieces making it one of the major art museums in the Southeastern U.S.
Particularly outstanding and of recognized distinction is its comprehensive 8,000-piece collection of glass that includes Art Nouveau and 19th-century American art glass.
The vast collection includes works by Louis Comfort Tiffany, who was a Long Island neighbor of Chrysler. There are several display cases and 2 stained glass windows in a separate gallery.
According to an online story, Walter P. Chrysler Jr., bought his first painting, a small watercolor of a nude, as a 14-year-old boarding school student. A dorm master, who believed no proper young man should have a nude in his room, confiscated and destroyed the painting — a Renoir.

In his 20s, Chrysler met the top Avant-garde artists of Paris (Picasso, Matisse, Gris and others) and began purchasing their work. He spent summers in American artist colonies and bought works from artists before they became established. He bought pieces he liked and was confident that qualities he saw in them would gain acceptance later. which most did.
Chrysler collected art for nearly 70 years and has been described by art critics as the most underrated American art collector of the past 50 years. He “traded” artwork often, and before deciding on his own museum, was generous with others such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in NYC, to which he gave several pieces now in its permanent collection.
The Chrysler Museum presents the opportunity to view artwork from its permanent collection and introduces several changing exhibitions of worldwide works. There’s some fun exhibits like this glass chess set with pieces representing Catholicism and Judaism.
One entire gallery is devoted to “pop” art with its bright, bold colors.
Get Fired Up is the theme of the Chrysler Museum Glass Studio housed in a separate building across from the museum. This facility complements the museum’s glassware collection and presents glassmaking demos to show how glass art is created. The demos are presented free, Wednesday through Sunday at noon. The studio also offers fee-based classes and workshops open to the public.
Not only is this museum a great place to explore, but it’s all FREE — the art museum and glass studio are open Tuesday-Sunday, closed Monday. Guest wi-fi is available throughout the museum (also free). Visitors are encouraged to take photos of the collection, but without flash or tripod. Food and drinks are not allowed in galleries; there is an on-site restaurant. And, of course, donations are always welcome and very much appreciated.
We’re planning a return visit in the next couple of months. We had a wonderful time (doesn’t it show?) and definitely could not see everything in a single afternoon visit.

Beaching It

That's what we did Sunday on a biking/beach trip to Cape Charles, VA, which is about an hour drive from our home. We drove there transporting the bikes and then cycled along town streets, all of which have a 25 MPH speed limit, before going to the beach.  East-west streets are named after Virginia statesmen and north-south streets are named after fruits. 

Cape Charles, VA is the Eastern Shore's southern most town, located 10 miles north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. It's a Victorian-era town included in the National Register of Historic Places. In years gone by, the town had a booming railroad and ferry business.

The public beach here is free — making it the only beach on the ES which doesn't require a parking or entrance fee. It's on the Chesapeake Bay and the waters are relatively shallow which make this location safe for those with young children. Unlike other VA beaches which are off the Atlantic Ocean, there are small to no waves here. And, like most other beaches, It's a favorite for gulls, always scavenging the shoreline.

And sometimes gators too; this youngster was having a touch time managing this float . . .

Until his older brother came to cart off the beast.

When we visited, there were lots of family groups out for a day of fun in the sun — sunbathing, swimming, boating and playing. Coolers are allowed, but there's no food stands, amusement rides, or other vendors here, which make this beach a perfect getaway for many folks, including ourselves, to relax — under the boardwalk or hanging ten off the edge of a lounge chair.

We hope everyone had a great weekend, no matter how or where it was spent.
Any special plans for this week's major holidays — Canada Day (July 1) and July 4th?

CNWR Sunday Cycle

As on a recent cycle trip, we returned to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge for another weekend outing. Once again, the weather was perfect with just enough breeze to ward off any annoying skeeters.

We know this won't be true in another few weeks once hot and humid weather sets in and the drained marshlands become water-filled.  

The Glossy Ibis is recognized by its scarlet and iridescent green and found usually in wetlands on every continent except Antarctica. It uses its bill to probe in mud and silt looking for fiddler crabs, craw fish, insects and small snakes. It is a lightweight, large-footed relative of spoonbills with a long and curved bill to feel for prey and was once called the “Black Curlew.” 

The slender Snowy Egret is among the most elegant of the heron family. Its immaculate white plumage is set off with black legs and bright yellow feet, which play a role in stirring up or herding small aquatic animals as it forages. When breeding, they grow filmy, curving plumes that were once in great demand as decorations on women's hats and fetched astronomical prices. The species became endangered and early conservationists rallied to protect egrets which led to protective legislation in the early 1900s.

Snowy Egrets wade in shallow water to spear fish and other small aquatic animals and often use a sit-and-wait technique to capture their food, but more often are very animated, running back and forth through the water, searching for fish, insects and small reptiles. They concentrate on mudflats, beaches, and wetlands, but also can be seen in wet agricultural fields and along the edges of rivers and lakes. 

Although related, the elegant Great Egret is smaller than a Great Blue Heron. This large bird is about 3-feet tall with a wingspan of over 5 feet. Its feathers are white; it has a long, sharp yellow bill and long gray to black legs with non-webbed feet. Males are larger, but the sexes look alike. The Great Egret hunts in classic heron fashion, standing immobile or wading through wetlands to spear fish with a jab of its bill. Like the Snowy Egret, it was hunted almost to extinction for its feathers and is now the symbol of the National Audubon Society. This North American environmental organization was founded to protect birds from being killed for their plumage.

Mallards are the forerunners of most breeds of domestic ducks, and among the most familiar ducks. These are “dabbling ducks” and almost never dive. They feed in the water by tipping forward and grazing on underwater plants. Their body is long and the tail rides high out of the water. In flight their wings are broad and set back toward the rear. They can be very tame especially in city ponds, and often group together with other species of dabbling ducks. Males have a dark, iridescent-green head and bright yellow bill. Females and juveniles are mottled brown with orange-and-brown bills.

We saw this grey squirrel and many Red-Winged Blackbirds, which are a familiar sight atop cattails in the marsh areas. Glossy-black males have scarlet and yellow shoulder patches; females are a subdued brown color. 

Hhere we are taking a break from yet another biking adventure. While we are not long-distance cyclists by any means, we enjoy these weekend outings.