You may not find this terribly rewarding unless you're included here, so this is a good time for casual and random browsers to turn back before they get too caught up in the sweep and majesty of the proceedings and can't let go.
Miscellaneous May Pix, plus Peonies
Thank whatever gods may be for Mary Baldwin University's tolerant attitude towards civilians from the neighborhood borrowing some of their lawn chairs on warm afternoons.
The city of Staunton is not well provided with suitable benches for outdoor reading, and one takes what opportunities one can find.
Staunton's Project Dogwood in Gypsy Hill Park ('seven sorts of dogwoods on show') is finally showing a little cooperation -- but they're all the same color.
We're here at Walgreens to pick up our medicine refills.
And maybe a little something else to go with them.
A conversation piece in the Dollar General parking lot
Cats in repose
One's first look inside a Wegmans, in Charlottesville VA . . .
. . . rather overwhelming for the sensitive sort
Returning from Charlottesville to Staunton in the Shenandoah Valley -- that's the Blue Ridge.
Attractive foliage at another local reading bench . . .
-- Put down that camera!
Staunton's main drag on the weekends
Festivities in progress
A new antiques store facing onto the Wharf carpark
A wonderful building, even for one who's not so very interested in antiques . . .
. . . but some of our party are always interested in antiques, so there's that.
The venerable Augusta County Circuit Court
Back to revel in the main street hilarity
South New Street
The Day of the Bollards
East Beverley Street, with . . .
. . . musical accompaniment in front of the Heifetz Music Shop & Instrument Rentals
(part of the Heifetz International Music Institute at Mary Baldwin University)
Cigar smokers get the comfy chairs, outside of . . .
. . . the Beverley Cigar Store, in the old T J Collins' Marquis Building from 1895.
The Arboretum in Harrisonburg
We've been up north in Winchester VA on an unwelcome dental mission and here, 2/3 of the way back south on the nightmarish I-81 in Harrisonburg, this is the Edith Carrier Arboretum, part of the campus of James Madison University.
We're looking in on the recommendations of reliable informants.
It happens to be Plant Sale day in the Botanic Gardens.
A fundraiser, evidently
Off we go, past the pond and over the bridge.
The Arboretum is 'a public urban garden and forested greenspace', nestled in a protected area within the sprawling James Madison University campus, adjacent to the I-81 Interstate. The modest Vision is 'To inspire outdoor engagement in a woodland sanctuary', which it does very well.
Excellent flowers
More excellent flowers
And still more excellent flowers (they all have little identifying tags on, but . . . well . . . )
The Aboretum is named for Edith J. Carrier, the wife of the JMU president from 1971 to 1998, and was promoted as a reserve for educational purposes through the 1970s and '80s; it was planned out in the late 1980s and opened to the public in April 1989, with additional forest acres added in 1993. Its longevity is apparently assured by a 'Living Legacy' award from 1987.
An Indiana-Jones style suspension bridge, evidently bouncy . . .
. . . it will probably be better if we just go round it. The creek's dead dry anyway, and less bouncy.
A flowery tree
That was fun.
'Uniontown'
Uniontown was an historically Black neighborhood of Staunton, dating from just after the US Civil War -- it was described as 'a successful self-contained community with houses, stores, a church, and a one-room schoolhouse'. It was rezoned for light industry in the 1960s, with no new residential housing permitted. A long slide into decay had begun.
Then, in 2002, the CSX rail company decided that rather than repair the aging bridge over the tracks that ran through the neighborhood, it would be 'cheaper to demolish it' -- that cut off traffic, water supply, and sewage collection to the community, and the result is presently what can be seen here.
As of 2021, there has recently been talk of redevelopment of the area, 'now that many of the Black families are gone' (Source).
The Cat Whisperer
The Shenandoah Peonies
According to the newspapers, this is the last day that the Shenandoah Peonies will be available for picking and buying. So the Peonies Fans among us are here to grab what's left.
The Shenandoah Peonies establishment is just off Rte 340 in extreme southwestern Waynesboro, VA (not entirely easy to find; we were lost casing adjacent Stuarts Draft for 20 minutes, but found it with help from a local high school kid at their annual fundraising carwash day).
Kristin getting instructions from the proprietor, and . . .
. . . set loose on the rows of peonies.
All the colors of the rainbow, or many of them anyway, but as it turns out . . .
. . . we're only after white ones today.
Clip off your own, eight stems for only 20 bucks. A bargain (if you really really like peonies).
We're looking for just the right specimens for our kitchen counter.
Sans parole
We've got our eight stems now.
And, on the flowery theme . . .
. . . here's a horticultural pleasantry along the Gum Branch tributary of Lewis Creek, Staunton, VA.
A new acquaintance in the Montgomery Hall Park jungle walk
He's more afraid of us than we are of him. (Doubtful!)
Next up: A brief sojourn in Little Bavaria (Michigan)
Dwight Peck's personal website
Feedback
and suggestions are welcome if positive, resented if negative, 
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All rights reserved, all wrongs avenged. Posted 10 June 2023, updated 18 June 2023. 
