shenandoah | Apothecary Shed

Today, the light

January 2, 2020

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Three views from the corner.

Trio one

Trio two

Trio three

The walk.

Mogli blends

Shenandoah

Light

Tree fire

Shenandoah Bluebells 2019

April 10, 2019

gem farm, flowers, hiking, Photography, river bluebells, nature, photography, river, shenadoah river, shenandoah, Spring Leave a comment

The bluebells are peaking in mid-April this year (a bit early), so we are outta here, headed to Norway for more winter. Because we, um, actually we think we’re nuts.

Here are some pictures from the daily walk.

Willie likes Spring

Bluebells by the river (this is our home loop)

The dogs have lost the trail!

The greening of the Blue Ridge has begun

This field smells like honey

Pollen leg is a thing

Footbridge on Wheat Spring Branch

All Eagles All the Time

July 15, 2018

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Amy approaches the eagle who just caught a fish, then landed to eat it

Getting closer

Watching lunch

Lunchtime for eagle

Closeup

Gack!

The peoples are so far away

Surveillance

Spot the baby

Adolescent pretty close to home

Home

LANDSHARK

heron

heron in flight

Shenandoah (with floaters)

other way

the peeps

Last eagle

Eagles and Econolines: The Shenandoah River in July

July 9, 2018

gem nature, river eagles, econoline, econoline 360, kayak, nature, river, river float, shenandoah, shenandoah river, tc boyle, video 1 Comment

Back in May we paid a visit to the eagles lining the Shenandoah just north of our house. They’ve all grown up and are now flying around. On our latest trip down the river (it flows north, so just how to put that is kinda tricky), we saw 7 eagles. A few of them were captured on film.

The day itself was majestic and crystal clear.

The Shenandoah River

All of the eagles’ nests we know how to find along the route (three) were empty this trip, but there were lots of eagles flying around up and down the river.

spot the eagle

the view

spot the eagle

Oh and we ran across an Econoline 360 too. No doubt left by the big 2018 flood. This is perfect for our friend TC Boyle.

Econoline in the river

Amy paddled over to check it out

Dear @tcboyle, we found you a new abode not on, but IN the shenandoah river. Here is @AmyBarley modeling it. (It is about the same price as the shack, but cheaper than BOB'S FENCE.) pic.twitter.com/ugj6PJFuYn

— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) July 9, 2018

But really, the eagles.

turns out there were two in this tree

fly away

Shenandoah Flood of 2018

June 4, 2018

gem nature, Photography, river cars, environment, flood, garden, kayak, nature, photography, river, shenandoah, shenandoah river, video 5 Comments

Puck senses danger. Tail up!

We started flood preparation in earnest the day before the flood crested (assuming that it crests today, that is). Fortunately, the great people at NOAA have a hydrograph that is extremely helpful for flood preparation. Here is the sensor nearest us at Millville.

The Millville hydrograph was wrong this time

Predictions said that the river would crest at 7am on June 4th at 15.6 feet. The prediction was off by 2 feet so far, but as far as we can tell from observation, the crest will happen soon.

We moved the boats up and rescued the submerged tables.

prep time minor flooding

the garden still above water

river peninsula already under water

truck full of table

Amy took out her kayak. The dogs followed.

Paddling to the Walking Bridge.
There's a song in there, somewhere.#floods #floodwater #kayaking #Bridge pic.twitter.com/mRy9265OQy

— notyou (@AmyBarley) June 4, 2018

Then it was time for a cocktail. The Last Word…hmm.

Last Word, hopefully not appropriately named

mogli got a workout in the flood

The flood in earnest started overnight. First major indication of prediction error was that the car bridge submerged around 10pm. Jack and Eli arrived from DC (Jack came down from NY) around 11. We ignored the road closed signs, drove in the back way to our car bridge and forded the now lake-like creek in the dark.

In the morning, we woke up to discover that the crest had not yet happened. Time to move the cars!

getting close to the cars

McBar used cars. All uphill. @AmyBarley pic.twitter.com/LGyLO4DdtV

— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) June 4, 2018

The river is getting very close to the house now. About 2-3 feet of vertical elevation left before the basement floods. This calls for some kayaking.

the new lake house

garden down

solstice fire spared

driveway or boat ramp?

road sign

visiting the neighbors by kayak

solstice fire, from the new lake

checking the fence line

garden swampland

the house

the new driveway

Perfect Weather Window for the 2016 Winter Solstice Party

December 18, 2016

gem fire, party, Photography flag burning, nature, photography, shenandoah, shenandoah river, solstice, solstice fire, solstice party 1 Comment

Cold and rainy weather was a real possibility during the winter solstice party. But a day that started with a coating of ice everywhere turned warmer and beautiful before the party started. The next day was rainy. So boy are we lucky!