Sorry Dear I'm Late. You See There Was This............

"Little things I should have said and done I just never took the time. You were always on my mind. You were always on my mind."

Willie Nelson

And so the excuse begins. And even as truthful, or as imaginative, that the excuse(s) may be your rational mind is screaming that you are only digging yourself a deeper hole. Yet you persevere thinking that maybe just this once the planets have aligned; that the fates are in a good mood and willing to cut you some slack, that reality will be suspended for just this one moment; and your eloquent prose will sooth the rough seas of life and forgiveness will be your reward........Yeah, when Hell freezes over.

OK it's been a while since my last posting....... Have you lost weight? Your looking good. You don't know how much I've missed you. Do you forgive me baby? Here are some pictures............

Next Time Your in the Burg.........
Fredericksburg's history is not tied to one person, event or period of time and we have a multitude of monuments and historic structures to prove it. Here is one that will take some time and effort to find. The first person from outside the area who can identify its whereabouts I'll treat them to a drink of their choice at Hyperion next time they are in the Burg.

Birds on a Rock With One Flying By
That pretty much sums it up. My obligatory mammal shot. Happy Mike. Well actually birds aren't mammals because they lays eggs, metabolizes nutrients differently, they have a different digestive tract, and they have lighter bones. Yes a platypus lays eggs and is considered a mammal (Smart *expletive deleted*) but they do nurse their young. In this case the birds (species unknown) are living creatures and that is all that really matters.

A Dose of Reality..........
The pilot was killed. The owner of the house had just stepped onto the back porch when the plane hit. He was saved from any injuries by the roof of the porch which deflected the fireball which engulfed the house. A reminder of our mortality is a wake up call to spend more time with family and friends. To go out and experience something you have always thought about doing. To better understand what is important in life. To tell someone you love them.

Going Through Withdrawals

My favorite hangout on the corner--the Hyperion coffee shop. I've have begun hosting a morning radio show from 8 to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday on local issues so my time here is limited to weekend visits. I do miss the weekday crowd. Also I haven't had an opportunity to play with Photoshop much so I cranked the bars to the max on this one........I feel a bit better.

Just an Urn And A Verse

When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.'

Tha...Tha....Tha...That's All Folks!

Hark What Light From Yon Window Breaks...........

Busy old fool, unruly Sun, why dost thou thus through windows and through curtains call on us? Must to thy motions lovers seasons run?

A view through the belfry window of the Fredericksburg courthouse designed by James Renwick (the guy who designed the Smithsonian building in Washington, D.C among others) and built in 1852. One of the longest continually operated courthouses in Virginia. Oh by the way if you are waiting for Juliet to make an appearance it ain't happening.

A Cold Blast From the Past.......
Louisa County--With the temperatures here in the great Commonwealth of Virginia breaking 100 (that's Fahrenheit for those outside the Continental United States) along with the typical, and I should add miserable, humidity, I thought I would post a picture from our past winter. So how many of you are now looking back with fond memories of 36+ inches of snow? What I remember was getting stuck in snow banks four times. Two times I got myself out. On one occasion I was saved by an insured's John Deere tractor and the fourth time by a local towing company.

What the Hell is This You May Ask........
Somewhere in Fauquier County. This is a working....yes you read that right...working, steam tractor which was made by the A. D. Baker Company of Swanton, Ohio. The company was incorporated in 1901. The last steam driven tractor was produced in 1929. God I love being on the road.

Take A Closer Look........
Just off the Orange Plank Road in Spotsylvania on the Wilderness Battlefield. This is the site of Cemetery #2 which held the remains of 534 Union soldiers. The remains were later moved to the National Cemetery in Fredericksburg. The two indentations mark the sites of graves which were exhumed.

It's a Bowl of Fruit...............

"All that I desire to point out is the general principle that life imitates art far more than art imitates life."
Oscar Wilde

Retired from public office with some free time on my hands, and a Father's Day present from my wife of painting lessons (at least it wasn't a tie), I have embarked on a new phase in my life..........getting more paint on my hands and clothes than on the canvas.........It really is a bowl of fruit.