Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Chilling (or is it Sweating) in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia

20170717_095416

There are two places we love to stop at every other year when we return to the east coast. The first is a stop in North Carolina to visit our daughter Katie. Just north of Katie’s home is the second stop which is at our friend's farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

imageimage

We spent a month at the farm last year to house sit for them and this year we are just enjoying our stay for a few weeks. Our visit this year is later in the summer than at past visits and as such it is a lot hotter and drier than we remember. Nevertheless it is still a very beautiful place to sit back and relax.

20170725_19362720170717_095402

Each morning Sharon and I have breakfast and lounge around a bit before heading outside for our morning walk. We walk down the hillside into the Shenandoah Valley until we cross the Shenandoah River. From there we can check on the two rental properties our friend has on his farm and address any issues that may need our attention. The mountains on the east side of the farm remain vibrant and green Sharon often refers to them as looking like fresh broccoli.

imageimage

We have been treated to several interesting sightings during our walks. We observed several deer along with some young newborn fawns by their sides. We also saw a bald eagle soaring about the valley on a couple of our walks. The coolest critter we saw was a ground hog swimming across the Shenandoah River.

20170717_09542120170717_095438

Another great sighting occurred one morning as we were crossing the small bridge over the Shenandoah River. As we looked to our left there in the middle of the water was a doe standing “knee” deep in the river. What made this interesting was that she was gorging herself on the freshwater grasses growing in the river. We stayed and watched her eat for about 10-15 minutes. She wasn’t the least bit worried about us as we were apparently perceived to be of no danger.

20170725_19320720170725_202430

Each day at the farm ends with another fabulous view of the valley below and the changing natural lighting creating different palettes of green. Happy hour then a great home cooked dinner on the back deck while looking our over the luscious Shenandoah Valley is a great way to spend our time.  We never tire of the beautiful expanse of mountain and valley scenery.

imageimage

NOTE: We will stay here in the Shenandoah Valley until the end of the month and then move on northward.

7 comments:

  1. What a beautiful setting, enjoy you time there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Just seeing the photos you put up on Facebook, makes me know that you are in a gorgeous part of the country. I love seeing all the green.
    What a beautiful picture of the go in the water.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice post, Where are you going when you head north?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PA most likely then who knows for sure ;)

      Delete
    2. The anatomist in me begs the knee (you didn't actually think I would ignore it, did you?). Hope to see you in PA. At 33000 feet right now.

      Delete
  4. That is indeed beautiful scenery. Lucky you to be there.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Not a bad place to spend some time even if you have to get up early to avoid the heat. That is the best time of day anyway.

    ReplyDelete