History is Everywhere

The Commonwealth of Virginia, like many other states, puts up historic markers. These signs note some places we all read about in our history books and other places even the local folk have forgotten about. I decided that this year I'll post pictures of these Footnotes on the Past that I stumble over when they interest me. So the First Footnote of 2010 is the Eckington School.
This school is located at the junction of Mt. Pony and Blackjack roads in Culpeper county. Its currently owned by the adjacent church, which probably explains why it still exists. There isn't much around the school now, just the church and a house across Mt. Pony Road. It doesn't look like there was ever much else here but of course there could be foundations from other structures in the surrounding fields. Neither Eckington or Popular Ridge seem to exist communities anymore, not even as postal offices.

The only other one room school I've seen is located in Pierre SD, but that one was moved from its original location about 2 miles away to a city park that ran alongside the Missouri River. This building appears to be on its original site. Both buildings were very similar in size, window placement, etc., except the Pierre school was painted red.

I hope you all enjoy my Snapshots from the Past as I find and post them.

Starting the New Year Out Right

OK, so there I am at work on New Year's Eve, when it gets decided that I can get adjusted off. So at 10:40PM I'm out the door and on my way to the D&D's. At 11:55PM I'm in D&D's front room with D&D, my Urchin and her college friend Yuko watching the Times Square Ball drop. We finally got to do the Christmas present thing and generally welcomed the New Year as is best - in the company of good friends and beloved family. On the 1st I left D&D's about 8AM, drove to where Urchin & I board our horses & visited them, went on to make a brief stop at my house, and then continued south to my friend Jane's. We made some music, did more of the birthday & Christmas present thing and generally started 2010 as we had ended 2009 - spending time with friends. May 2010 bring us all plenty of time with our friends and family doing the things which we all enjoy.

Life's Little Pleasures

Once December 25th is past, winter seems to take on a dull and wearisome air. The snow has melted down to a white icy crud. Most folks have stopped turning on their holiday lights and the seasonal concerts are over. The stores of course look like a tornado hit them with a modest little New Years display trying to remind us that's its not over yet. Sometimes I really do wonder if we have simply used up all our fun between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then, just as I'm really developing a good funk, a wonderous sparkle of joy will pouch on me and tell me I'm just being silly. The snow storm here prevented mail delivery to my house from 12/19 until 12/26. So on the 26th I had a mailbox full of Christmas cards, birthday cards, letters and even a present. WooHoo !! Then on Monday morning when I came home from work (I had to work 12/25 evening thru 12/28 morning, which didn't exactly lighten my mood) there was a message on my answering machine from Missy, one of my rendezvous friends who lives in upstate New York. YeeHaw !! So I called her back that afternoon and we had a wonderful chat. So while the white icy mounds outside still pretend to be snow, and its still ugly damp cold here, and I have yet to get together with my Urchin for a birthday/Christmas/movie party, and a whole basket of Round Tu-Its are waiting for my attention here at the house, so what ? To everything its time.

Happy New Year to You One and All !!!!

Christmas Greetings - Kursk-Root Ikon at Church

First I want to wish a Merry Christmas to all my friends who are celebrating Christ's birth today. I hope you are having a wonderful time among your friends and family. May there be much joy in your life on this day. You are all in my thoughts. I'm working tonight but am off work for the Julian Calendar celebration of Christ's Nativity on January 7th. So today is a quiet day at home for me, with many little birds outside enjoying the seed and suet I put out this morning. I did drive over to Staunton Wednesday afternoon and stayed with my friends Nick and Katherine. We had a great dinner and talked of this and that - so I too spent a Christmasy time with friends.

This is the Theotokos of Kursk-Root on its ikon stand during the liturgy.

Yesterday on western Christmas Eve I was at church for liturgy in the morning for a very unusual reason. The Kursk-Root ikon of the Theotokos was visiting my parish church of All Saints of North America. This ikon was found in 1295 in Russia. It has 3 survived Tarter invasions, the burning of its monastic church home and the destruction of that same monastery by the Soviets. In 1921 in was smuggled out of Russia, it was in Serbia and other Balkin lands for a time, and then it was brought to the USA in 1951. Since then it has been honored and loved by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Currently it is being taken on pilgrimage as it were to the ROCOR parish churches of the eastern USA.

Here are the priests who served the liturgy. Fr. Michael on the far left is from the St. Innocent of Alaska Bulgarian Orthodox mission in Roanoke, Virginia and Archpriest Serge on the near left is from St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Howell, New Jersey. Fr. Serge is one of the clerymen bringing the Kursk-Root ikon to the eastern diocese parishes. He also accompanied it to Moscow and Kursk last September. Fr. Gabriel is holding the ikon and Fr. John is on the right. Fr. Gabriel and Fr. John are my parish priests.

This website has a synopsis of the parish visit and a YouTube video from the service. I'm one of the 6 people singing in the choir. There is also a link on this page to pictures from the service:
www.eadiocese.org/News/2009/dec/middlebrook.en.htm

For a brief history of the Kursk-Root ikon of the Theotokos:
www.eadiocese.org/News/2009/november/kurskicon.en.htm

A Joyous and Happy New Year to All.

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Happy 59th Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME !!!!!

Just what I wanted - a boatload of snow. In case I was feeling homesick for a real winter. Well I admit I miss ice fishing but I don't miss measuring snow in feet. Anyway, here my snug little house after the bodacious storm of yesterday.

Of course getting into my snug little house has its moments. Think I'll let the classic Virginia solar snow removal system clear the 3 feet of drifted snow from my front porch. Yes Virginia, there are steps up to the porch.

The back yard. Please note: there is only 2.5 feet of air from the bottom of the bird feeder to the snow. The feeder perches are level with my eyes.

The view from my kitchen door.

The foot path to my kitchen door.

The motorcycle rail trailer and shed wood.

It looks longer somehow - the distance from my kitchen door to my truck.

The driveway around the truck and out into the street is clear - now to clean off the truck.

Of course I don't exactly plan on going anywhere. This is Branchland Court looking towards the cul-de-sac turnaround and the neighbor's house. The neighbor with 4 wheel drive trucks. The trucks sitting in his cleared out driveway awaiting a plow to lower the snow so his 4 wheel drive truck's front bumper will clear the snow.

This is Branchland Ct. looking towards Westwood Dr. Its about 50 yards from my driveway to where the jacked up 4 wheel drive drive truck with very serious off road tires and chains got stuck around noon. The tracks are visible at the top of the photo. Branchland Ct. has several inches more snow than Westwood Dr.

Snow accumulation on my trash can. Don't think the trashman will be around today.

My GPS Says This is Virginia . . .

I think this snow storm used a Map Quest knock off. It obviously was headed for North Dakota and somehow got here through bad directions.

The view from my kitchen door at noon today.

The view up the driveway at about 2 pm.

The back yard at about the same time.

The view at 4 pm.
The snow in the street came to my knees when I went to check.

The snow on the spare tire on my motorcycle trailer measures 26 inches at this point in time. Notice that it is still snowing. Its going to keep this nonsense up for about 6 more hours.

My friend Jane wants to be in Texas about now. Me, I want to be retired so I could just wait it out and enjoy it. Note to Santa: Please send me a nice set of wood & rawhide beavertail snowshoes with a classic strap leather harness.