scattered

I told you it wouldn't be long before the flowers fell from the trees! Had some rain and wind yesterday and the petals were falling off the tree like snow!

Barn Charm Tuesday

A small barn along the side of the road in Craig County. To see barns from all over, visit Tricia in Mo!

Remembering the Dogwood Flower

Some flowers are still left on the trees but they won't be there much longer...

SkyWatch Friday

There's a little sky reflecting in the water at Fenwick Mines! To see skies from all over the world, visit SKYLEY

Have a great weekend and Happy Good Friday!

Track Meet

Christian landed first place in the triple jump with this jump. Read Mtn Middle School vs both Central Academy and Cave Springs.

Fenwick Mines

After a major down pour of rain on Saturday, we had to get out Sunday and do some hiking. We ended up at Fenwick Mines which was an iron mining site in back in the 19th century but now has some great walking trails and even a wetland area to walk through!

Barn Charm Tuesday

Spotted this barn on our way home from Fenwick Mines on Sunday, Craig County.

To see barns from all over, visit Tricia!

Prom

Saturday night was Prom for Lord Botetourt High School juniors and seniors. This is my daughter Ashlyn ready to go with her prom date Aaron. She had a super time!

SkyWatch Friday

Underneath the Dogwood Tree which, by the way, is the state tree of Virginia.

To see skies from all over the world, visit Skyley!!

The Poky Little Puppy

“Five little puppies dug a hole under the fence and went for a walk in the wide, wide world.”

This was one of my favorite books when I was a child :)


(Just another day in the life of Ozzy)

Roof Top

One of the old slave cabins at Greenfield.

Barn Charm Tuesday

On Springwood in Buchanan...Botetourt County.

To see barns from all over, visit Tricia in Missouri!

Blue Collar Joe's

Last night our very own Blue Collar Joe's was on Food Network battling it out in a donut contest. BCJ (Blue Collar Joe's) is a local donut shop, but much more as well. He has yummy donuts of course(my boy's favorite is the Botetourt Bog, named after our county, which is a ton of chocolate wrapped up in a pretty little donut). There's also awesome smoothies and a lunch menu. He's a super supporter of the community and animals (shelter dogs in particular) and just an all around great guy! Although he didn't win the Food Network challenge, he's still a local winner!

Hungry now?!

The picture above is from last summer when BCJ's hosted a donut eating contest, which was a really fun community event!

Sunday Bridges - The James River

Getting ready to cross the James River in Buchanan....nothing fancy, just a good old practical kind of bridge today....to see more bridges from all over the world, visit good ol Louis La Vache

About the James:

The James River is a 410 mile river that runs through Virginia. It is the 12th longest river in the United States that runs entirely in one state.

History of the James:

The Native Americans who populated the area east of the fall line in the late 16th and early 17th centuries called the James River the Powhatan River, named for the chief of the Powhatan Confederacy which extended over most of the Tidewater region of Virginia. The English colonists named it "James" after King James I of England, as they also constructed the first permanent English settlement in the Americas in 1607 at Jamestown along the banks of the James River about 35 miles (56 km) upstream from the Chesapeake Bay.

The navigable portion of the river was the major highway of the Colony of Virginia during its first 15 years, facilitating supply ships delivering supplies and more people from England. However, for the first five years, despite many hopes of gold and riches, these ships sent little of monetary value back to the sponsors. In 1612, businessman John Rolfe successfully cultivated a non-native strain of tobacco which proved popular in England. Soon, the river became the primary means of exporting the large hogsheads of this cash crop from an ever-growing number of plantations with wharfs along its banks. This development made the proprietary efforts of the Virginia Company of London successful financially, spurring even more development, investments and immigration. Below the falls at Richmond, many James River plantations had their own wharfs, and additional ports and/or early railheads were located at Warwick, Bermuda Hundred, City Point, Claremont, Scotland, and Smithfield, and, during the 17th century, the capital of the Colony at Jamestown.

Navigation of the James River played an important role in early Virginia commerce and the settlement of the interior, although growth of the colony was primarily in the Tidewater regions during the first 75 years. The upper reaches of the river above the head of navigation at the fall line were explored by fur trading parties sent by Abraham Wood during the late 17th century.

Although ocean-going ships could not navigate past present-day Richmond, portage of products and navigation with smaller craft to transport crops other than tobacco was feasible. Produce from the Piedmont and Great Valley regions traveled down the river to seaports at Richmond and Manchester through such port towns as Lynchburg, Scottsville, Columbia and Buchanan.

SkyWatch Friday

Last Saturday, after the boys finished baseball practice, I was taking them over to their friend's house to play and after dropping them off I had to pull over and take a picture! I love how the fog settles right on the mountain tops after the rain. That is Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Troutville.

To see skies from all over the world, visit SKYLEY!

The Big Spring - Fincastle

This town park located in Fincastle dates back to the early 1800's when it served as a watering hole for early pioneers traveling the Great Road. Today it serves the town as a peaceful place for relaxation. The park sits on an acre and has a gazebo. The natural spring still flows. The park is located on West Back Street in Fincastle and open daily dawn till dusk.

An April Fool's Prank

Evidently this was an April Fool's prank created by Mark Cline

You can still see this in Botetourt Commons, behind Goodwill.

It had everyone talking, wondering what the heck?!

Barn Charm Tuesday

This old barn is in the Haymakertown area, Botetourt County.

To see barns from all over, visit Tricia over at Barn Charm!

Ozzy

Meet the newest member of the Breese family, Ozzy! Ozzy was born on 2/20/2011 and last Sunday we got to drive down to North Carolina to pick him up and bring him to his new home!

Ozzy is a Rottweiler, a mix of American (his mother) and German (his father).

April Theme Day - Edges

The first of the month always means "Theme Day" in the City Daily Photo community and this month's theme is obviously "Edges"!

These edges are the top of the estate of George Washington's Mt. Vernon.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants