It’s Winnona’s Turn at the Hospital, but first……

June 28, 2015  Sunday                                                                                                   Most Recent Post:
Big Meadows Campground                                                                                        Side Trip to Shenandoah River State Park
Shenandoah National Park

 

 

 

Winnona has an appointment early tomorrow  at Cosner’s Body Shop Hospital in Charlottesville to have some repair done on her passenger side bumper where a post at Fort Clinch jumped up and banged into her back in November of last year.  She’ll have to stay most if not all of the week there. See her poor boo boo. 

But before we leave to go back down the mountain, even though it is foggy and has rained last night so it will be very wet, I spend sunrise in the Big Meadow.  

 

 

I’m almost late this morning and the orange light is just peeping up over the horizon.  Looks like the dark clouds are only letting a sliver through.

 

Soon it seems as though the clouds have surrounded the sliver as it tries to rise up.

 

 

But of course that ball of fire will have its way and starts pushing all the clouds back up into the sky.

 

 

 

And then it appears sending its spear like rays out into the meadow.

 

 

 

 

Soon the day has begun and I walk along the animal trails further into the meadow admiring the grasses and plants.

 

 

 

The daisies are in bloom and the thistle is just on the cusp.

 

 

 

 

 

The view to the west shows the pink reflection of the western sunrise.

 

 

 

 

 

The sun shining on the meadow as it rises in the sky creates the golden hue on the grasses.

 

 

Today there is a trio of breakfasters.  Heads down, they are busy with their munching until one of them notices me.

 

 

 

 

 

She’s got great ears or a great nose to notice me at this distance.  Can you see them in the picture below?  The camera does have a wide angle lens so they aren’t quite this far away and they don’t seem to mind when walking on along the path I come much closer to them.

 

I love this picture with the colors of the sky and the sun shining right on them.

 

 

They do look up to check on me now and then but return to breakfast.

 

 

At some points I have to choose which fork.  They all seem to be the less traveled so this time I go left.

 

 

 

 

 

The swath of pink in the photo above is these beautiful grasses.  I don’t know much about specific grasses but I think this is known as red top.  The meadow also has tall oat grass and indian grass.

 

 

 

 

There are green grasses too of course.  Timothy is green but flowers to pink.

 

 

 

Visiting the Tall Grass Prairie in Kansas helped me to see the amazing beauty and variety in the grasses.  I know I am enjoying Big Meadow much more thanks to having visited there.   If you know of a good book on grasses please recommend it as I’m looking for one.

The wind has picked up and the grasses are waving.  What a marvelous sight!  There are so many colors, bronze, golden, tan, green, pink. 

 

 

 

And throughout, in their midst, the flowers grow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m so busy with the grasses I don’t notice the dark clouds moving in but they too change the atmosphere and colors.

 

 

 

As I turn in the direction of home, I come upon a boys club.  First I see one.

 

 

Then two.

 

 

 

And finally three.

 

They all have their eyes on another deer and aren’t paying any attention to me. 

 

 

I just love their velvety antlers.

 

This meadow is quite a bit different than it was in the days of the CCC Camp in the 1930’s.  No signs of them now other than this one.

 

 

My morning here is over. 
Time to get on the road and down the mountain.
Wish Winnona Luck! 
And cross your fingers that it doesn’t get into the 90’s while we are down in the foothills.

 

 

THE END