30 October, 2016            Today is my Mom’s birthday!

My mom’s favorite color – birthday dinner table decoration – my sister Sheila’s attention to detail

We had a big dinner for our mom yesterday – and I don’t have pictures ready in time! That yellow flower is my mom’s favorite color, and my sister Sheila thoughtfully had them arranged around the table. I should have some pictures next week. All of her five children were there, and the majority of her many grandchildren. We ate at the Joshua Wilton House in Harrisonburg, just a few miles from mom’s house in Bridgewater.

Ophidiophobes, be forewarned – I took several snake pictures at Pony Pasture this morning and they’re going to be near the bottom of this post. My mom is 100% not an ophidiophobe; she’ll enjoy these pictures.

Evelyn still has bright flowers in front of the house, nasturtiums in the ground and pansies on the porch. Here are some pansies and a pumpkin I got when I was in the Shenandoah Valley a couple of weeks ago:

Pansies and a pumpkin

Look at this closeup of the pansies: 

Riot of color

Pretty moon shot from early Tuesday morning: 

Waning crescent moon from early Tuesday morning:

After going a long time without seeing any local hawks, was rewarded by a pair getting ready to turn in for the night on Tuesday evening. This is on the old standby (first place I ever saw Red-tails in my neighborhood) powerline tower by the Freeman High School parking lot:

Pair of Red-tails near Freeman HS, waiting for the sun to disappear

I may be wrong – I’ll check November soon – but October is often the most beautiful month on the falls of the James. See what you think – yesterday  morning: 

That view is difficult to improve

Speaking of Pony Pasture – I almost left out the snake pictures from this morning. Mackey and Turner and Yuki and I were on  our way back to the car after a long and exciting hike. And a slender black snake crossed our path and slipped into the tangle of wintercreeper. It swirled around a slender tree and went straight for the top. The tree bent over from the snake’s weight and put it back at eye level. It decided to “hang around” and pose for a few shots. Here’s one from the front:

Graceful snake dangling in the cool October afternoon:

Same snake, accommodatingly posing for a side view

Mug shot: 

This is my favorite:

Still stumbling around trying to learn new photo editing software; it’s cutting into my blogging time. I’m a slow learner! Better next week, if we’re lucky. 

Happy Birthday Mom! Have a great day and week and year, 

Love, 

Jay