Mountain Musings

The Mountains are Calling...And I Must Go

Show of hands please if you're a mountain person?  My hand is definitely raised!

I have always loved the mountains...from our annual vacation trek to the Great Smoky Mountains when I was growing up...to currently living here in the Shenandoah Valley for the past 17 years:This is the Valley...and this photo was taken atop the Blue Ridge Parkway looking west towards the Allegheny Mountains:

"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you."  ~ Isaiah 54:10

Whenever we have guests, we like to take them for either a picnic on the Parkway or just driving to see the scenery. Tom's sister Ellen and husband Ed were here recently so we went leaf peeping...along with lots of other folk it seemed! A kind fellow traveler took a photo of all of us at this overlook: It was a beautiful, but slightly chilly, afternoon at that elevation...perfect for some leisure time spent exploring:
The leaves were definitely past their peak color, but it was still a very fun outing: The guys: Hannah surveying the beauty:

A photo of the two oldsters: This picture below reminds me of our time on the Parkway with Tom's brother, Steve. He's a real camera guy and loved the photographic opportunities in this area. You can find that post of his visit exactly 5 years ago here:

It was getting too late in the day for a hike up Humpback Rock as we've done many times in the past, so we opted for a stroll through the Appalachian Farm area: Hannah, of course, found the herb garden behind the house and checked out the offerings:

Such a beautiful fall season: Once we were back home, it was time to start celebrating Jonathan's birthday...of course, he asked for a cookout, so we turned on the festive lights and the party commenced! Turtle cake....always on the menu for his birthday. It was great having guests here to help celebrate with him and play games afterwards: One final photo...the next day Jonathan invited us all to his work to take an airport tour. We went inside the first presidential Air Force One--Columbine, the plane that shuttled President Eisenhower. It was so very interesting to see first-hand the restoration of this plane: Special thanks to Ed and Ellen for making the big trip down from Connecticut to visit! It was great seeing you! 

~Deb

Hilltop Vantage Point

So, you know the header at the top of our blog with the mountain view behind the words Mountain Musings? Many of you may know that this idyllic scene is the view we can see out our front door, facing west towards the Allegheny mountains. (It's much better in person! In fact, if you come visit us at our hilltop home when it's cloudy, you'll probably hear us apologize and invite you back again when the mountains are clearer and at their most spectacular.)

Several years ago we met the folks who own the farm with the white barn that you can spot towards the right of the photo. Last week, I received a call from this neighbor asking if I'd be willing to take some photos of their daughter's wedding, with the barns and a wedding tent set up, remembering that in the past I'd captured a photo of their land with the mountains rising behind it....you'd almost not know the mountains were there if standing on their property.

I agreed to get the photos, but by the time Saturday afternoon arrived, we had some pretty heavy winds and rainstorms passing through. Thankfully, by the time the wedding was to start, the sun had come out. I took my position at an upper bedroom window and zoomed in as far as I could, testing out a variety of angles. That's Mom's antique lamp, quilt, and reading chair in the corner.

My telephoto lens acted somewhat as a pair of binoculars. Those colorful specks headed towards the gathered crowd are some of the bridesmaids.

Then the bride (the small white speck near the tent) made her way across the field from the barn.

I could hear celebratory sounds faintly wafting in the breeze as I shot out the window. Little did the attendees know there was a camera pointed in their direction from a house across the way.

As the sun began to set, the guests milled around as the horses in the adjacent field looked on. Later, there was a bonfire.

With my assignment complete, I closed the window from the chilly evening air. It was kind of fun to watch a wedding from afar!

~Hannah

As the Deer

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?

The voice of the Lord makes the deer to calve and strips the forests bare; and in His temple everything says, “Glory!”

Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness and streams in the Arabah.

He makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on my high places.

(from Psalm 42, Psalm 29, Isaiah 35, and Psalm 18)

~Hannah

Photographing the Valley

As mentioned in a previous post, we recently hosted Tom's brother, Steve, when he traveled down south to visit us last month.

Some of the activities we planned for his visit included, of course, a visit to the farmers' market. The downtown streets of our quaint little city offered many opportunities to set up his tripod and snap away!

The highlight, however, was a picnic and a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway. You can see Uncle Steve in action here at one of the many beautiful overlooks:And another shot with a good view of the Shenandoah Valley in the distance. Uncle Steve loves photography and brought all of his camera gear knowing he'd be taking photos in one of the most scenic areas of Virginia.Hannah made sure she documented the beauty, too:This lone tree at Raven's Roost Overlook was the subject of many photos: Uncle Steve with Sarah, Hannah, and Jonathan looking towards Afton in the background: Soon, we had worked up an appetite for some food over the campfire...grilling tilapia for fish tacos with lots of smoke in my eyes!:Here are the two brothers and Jonathan enjoying the meal:Another day of his visit we traveled to the little town of Dayton and drove by the surrounding countryside. Upon spotting a large field of pumpkins, we pulled over and both photographers set up shop and started shooting away:Everywhere we looked the gentle rolling farmlands were photogenic:In fact, all the photos you saw in Hannah's recent post Autumn Splendor were taken on this excursion with Uncle Steve to photograph the Valley.

Whenever we drive down country roads, I'm always on the lookout for barn quilts. On this trip I was rewarded with this orange quilt pattern at Silver Lake Mill: I'll leave you with this beautiful fall display of pumpkins, gourds, and corn shocks outside a Mennonite farmer's barn:I hope you've enjoyed this view of the Valley. I feel so very blessed to live where we do! In fact, Virginia is the only place I've ever lived. We think Uncle Steve enjoyed his visit with us and hope he comes back soon!

On Monday I'll be participating in the Around the World Blog Hop, so stop by again after the weekend to see what we're working on craft-wise.

~Deb

Autumn Splendor

 To Thee, O Lord, our hearts we raise in hymns of adoration,

To Thee bring sacrifice of praise with shouts of exultation.

Bright robes of gold the fields adorn, the hills with joy are ringing,

The valleys stand so thick with corn that even they are singing.

And now, on this our festal day, Thy bounteous hand confessing,

Upon Thine altar, Lord, we lay the firstfruits of Thy blessing.

By Thee all human souls are led with gifts of grace supernal;

Thou, who gives us our daily bread, give us the bread eternal.

O blessèd is that land of God where saints abide forever,

Where golden fields spread fair and broad, where flows the crystal river.

The strains of all its holy throng with ours today are blending,

Thrice blessèd is that harvest song which never hath an ending.

Hymn by William C. Dix 1861

Photos by Hannah Girotti, October 2014

Photo Year in Review

Our God, our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come,

Our shelter from the stormy blast,

And our eternal home.

Under the shadow of Thy throne

Thy saints have dwelt secure;

Sufficient is Thine arm alone,

And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood,

Or earth received her frame,

From everlasting Thou art God,

To endless years the same.

Words by Isaac Watts

~Hannah

Family Fun

Catchup post #1 ahead!

Over the past month or so, we documented many fun family activities with a camera, but neglected to post about them here on the blog. We won't forget the happenings but thought we'd let our readers in on at least a few of those photos. These special times included, but were not limited to the following!

Father's Day

We had planned for quite awhile to try out a local Japanese steakhouse and thought the perfect time would be to celebrate with Dad for Father's Day. The experience was a first for many of us and was not only entertaining, but delicious. Thank you, Dad, for being a faithful and godly father with integrity, wisdom, kindness, (I could go on...).

Fishing

Dusting off our rods and reels, we renewed our fishing licenses for some relaxing adventures by the water. We did actually catch something this time (Sarah was excited about her bluegills)! It was an enjoyable summer activity that we'll have to do again soon.

Graduation

We traveled to attend a graduation celebration and recital in honor of two siblings. It was meaningful to hear of God's work in their lives up to this special milestone and have fellowship with the other family and friends present.

Geocaching

This has become sort of a family tradition on Memorial Day. We explored the terrain, found historical dates, and saw undiscovered areas of our county and beyond. This particular geocache had to do with Stonewall Jackson's cartographer Jedidiah Hotchkiss. Jonathan finally unearthed the cache at the base of a tree. We also searched for some more on July 4th but got no photos of the hunt. Anyone want to go with us next time or have your own stories to tell?

Photography Boot Camp

We participated in a photography weekend put on by the Hynes family, which included a morning canoe trip in which we glimpsed eagles, herons, and ospreys, amongst other varieties of water fowl. Plenty of opportunities for taking pictures of Virginia's natural beauty and developing our camera skills.

{ photo credit }

Coming next: Catch-up post #2-Inside the Veggie Garden

~Hannah

Is There an Elephant in the Room?

The Photo Scavenger Hunt items for the month of June have been posted over at Postcards from the P.P., and an elephant is on the list!

This blog is new to me, but I've kept it bookmarked all year just to see the various scavenger items that are included each month--very interesting. However, I've never participated.

This month I'm thinking more seriously about taking my camera with me everywhere (which I should do anyway!), keeping the assignment sheet handy, and snapping my interpretation of the photos to post at the end of June.

Here are all the items I'll be looking for:

• something with your town's name on it
• an elephant
• a wheel trim
• architectural detail
• cheese
• night
• tree branches
• cutlery
• a childhood memory
• a farm animal
• something beginning with z...
• the view right outside your door

Anyone can join. Let me know if you're interested, and we can do it together.

~ Deb

Wings as Eagles

Picture of bald eagle taken from a canoe on Sandy Run during Photography Boot Camp II

Music: Wait on the Lord by the Wilds Choir and Orchestra

~Hannah

Photo Shoot: Baskets

Hannah has been busy recently photographing more baskets to upload to both Granny's Baskets page of the blog and to her Etsy shop (you can see the exact basket you would be receiving there.)

As you can see from the pile, Granny has been busy this season, too! Do you see a basket that would make a friend happy? Let us know, and we'll ship it right out to you in time for Christmas gift-giving, as long as it's a basket already made and in stock.

Thank you so much to everyone who has ordered baskets! It has made Granny so happy! We've made extra trips to the post office recently sending them to several states! Whoever thought one of Granny's handmade baskets would end up in Texas for someone to enjoy?!

 
Also thank you to those who have purchased Hannah's Soap. She has had fun packaging up the orders to go out.

Last but not least, we often forget to say a big thank you to all those who click through us on the sidebar catalog when you order items from Vision Forum. We appreciate it!

Vision Forum currently has a Storewide Special of 25 - 60% off through December 17th with $5 flat-rate shipping. The commissions we receive from your purchases go directly back into the blog to pay for Typepad for another year. So...thank you kindly!

~Deb