Sky Meadows State Park

I met my sister at this park in Virginia which is about halfway between our homes.
It was November 9th, my sister’s birthday.
It was on a weekday so there weren’t many people there. This was taken after we had our lunch at a picnic table under some pine trees.
It was a beautiful day. Almost a little too warm for a hike. In the 70’s and breezy.

October 2020

We took out the elecampane from the front garden because it was taking over the space with it’s large leaves. I sliced a bunch of the roots – dried some in the dehydrator and made elecampane syrup with the rest. I just added honey and put it in the fridge. It is good for respiratory health. I was using it over the winter and it really did help with my breathing. With the cold dry air I wake in the morning feeling a bit thick in my chest. I started taking just a teaspoon of the honey in the morning back in November and sometimes chewing a piece of the root. It made a big difference – enough so that I stopped taking it in January and I’m still fine.
The little volunteer sassafras trees were ablaze last fall.
The kitchen garden after we took out the pepper plants that were in the foreground. We had a mild fall so things were quite green even though this is late October.

Wild Oak Hike Last Fall

I’m very behind in my blog writing so will attempt to catch up over the next few days.

I just couldn’t resist taking a photo of this farmer in Churchville when we were on our way to the Wild Oak Trail near Stokesville in the George Washington National Forest.

A friend told me about this trail so we took the first opportunity of a beautiful day to go.

The date was October 7. I find the muted tones of early fall to be just as beautiful as the intensity of peak color.

Darcy doesn’t like bridges but Dave was able to get her to proceed. She’d follow him anywhere.

Jack-o-lantern mushrooms
The view

It was the perfect hike for us. It took about an hour to get to the overlook and the return was just going back the way we came. Wild Oak has 27 miles of trail for us to explore. I’m surprised we haven’t been back yet. Something to look forward to.