29 June 2009

Three Months Later...Look at Me!





I turned 3 months on June 26th. I am growing by leaps and bounds and exploring my world with great enthusiasm. I can leap about 7 feet now and I love to get into everything that Mommy tells me not to. I still like sips of iced tea from mommy's glass and I like to lay across her wireless keyboard so she can't do her computer stuff. Mommy took these photographs of me on Saturday. Oh, did I forget to mention I still don't like her pointing that camera thingie at me so...I run at her and swat at it. She still doesn't get the message. So I run about like a mad cat trying to make it really hard for her to get a shot of me....hehehe

I am a big girl...

26 June 2009

Historic Scarecrow from Stonewall Jackson Garden-Lexington, Virginia



I had meant to post this earlier but forgot. Thinking this might be an interesting scarecrow alternative for our gardens. However, I personally think that the stench from the rotting potato might be the deterrent factor? Your thoughts?

23 June 2009

In Memory Of...

Gravestone detail from Fincastle Presbyterian Church Graveyard
Fincastle, Virginia-2009

19 June 2009

Shadows Against a Deserted House-New Castle, Virginia


Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing-Abraham Lincoln

18 June 2009

Sweet Wildflowers from Botetourt County

Of course I should have been packing for my trip last week but, I was out taking photographs in between the rain storms. This shot is from my favorite secret place that I visit frequently. There is always something lovely to capture there.

10 June 2009

Late Afternoon Sky, June 9, 2009 - Botetourt County, Virginia


We had quite a little downpour late yesterday afternoon as a storm system quickly moved through our area. I captured this beautiful shot around 6. It is SOC, I only inserted my name and drop shadowed it.

08 June 2009

The Swinging Bridge - Buchanan, Virginia


On June 14, 1864, after occupying Lexington and burning the Virginia Military Institute, Union General David Hunter's 18,000-man force marched south toward Lynchburg through Buchanan, a river port located at the western terminus of the James River and Kanawha Canal.

When Union General William W. Averell's cavalrymen attempted to seize the Buchanan Bridge across the James River, Confederate General John C. McCausland's troopers who had been harassing them, confronted them again. By the time Averell arrived, the Confederates had packed the wooden covered bridge with coal oil-soaked hay. McCausland ignited the north end of the bridge then escaped in a small boat to the side of the river, corssing beneath the burning structure. An artillery duel ensued. The wind carried embers from the bridge across the river to dwellings in Pattonsburg. Averell's men helped extinguish the flames, but not before eleven houses burned. The bridge, which survived the fire, was unusable, so Union soldiers, wagons, and artillerg forded the river upstream, losing a day's march. The next morning, Hunter's force crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains on present-day Route 43. (background information taken from Civil War History Marker located at the Bridge)

The old bridge piers today support the pedestrian swinging bridge.


Please stop by and visit the MY WORLD MEME hosted by the fab team of Klaus | Sandy | Ivar | Wren | Fishing Guy| Louise. We had over 100 visitors last week.

07 June 2009

Ok...Time for More Photographs of Blue Ridge Becky

Her function is to sit and be admired. - Georgina Strickland Gates
There are no ordinary cats. - Colette
"Time spent with cats is never wasted." - May Sarton

03 June 2009

A Little Bit of Nature ... A Little Bit of History from Jordan's Point - Lexington, Virginia

A bit of history about Jordan's Point area in Lexington, Virginia:

On June 5, 1864 Union General David Hunter defeated Maj. Gen. William E. "Grumble" Jones at the Battle of Piedmont. He moved up the Valley (southward) to Lexington, Virginia where he burned the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) on June 11th and his troops freely looted civilian property of all kinds along the way. Henrietta Lee, a relative of Robert E. Lee whose house was burned by the Union troops, wrote a letter addressing Hunter, promising that the "curses of thousands, the scorn of the manly and upright and the hatred of the true and honorable, will follow you and yours through all time, and brand your name infamy." Lexington was particularly hard hit. In addition to the burning of VMI, Hunter's men plundered a number of private homes and the library of Washington College(now Washington and Lee). Hunter ordered the home of former Governor John Letcher burned, reporting afterwards that it was in retaliation for its absent owner's having issued "a violent and inflammatory proclamation ... inciting the population of the country to rise and wage guerrilla warfare on my troops." (excerpt from Wikipedia article)

Hunter was the author of Report of the Military Services of Gen. David Hunter, U.S.A., during the War of the Rebellion, published in 1873.

I will be posting about VMI and Washington and Lee University in upcoming posts.

01 June 2009

I Just Can't Help Myself...Really, I Can't.







Morning everyone. Just thought I would update you on my progress.

I am 13 weeks old and I am in charge. You heard it right, I am in charge. I give my little mew and my Dad will give me a piece of chicken. And, if that doesn't work, I will crawl up his leg. Oh, I am also trying to stop my Mom from taking photographs of me. I do the run at her, swat the camera and do my best intimidating mew at her. Intimidation is my game! Yep, intimidation. My that is a big word for such a wee one.

Signing off for now,

Becky Lee (aka Blue Ridge Becky)