Karmic-Dragonfly

My latest time off is ending...

It was time to go back to work, so I looked for a gig and signed an offer letter today. Each Sabbatical has been different. This one was about the transition of my dad's passing, and realizing what's important to me in life. Very little travel, which is sad, but a good time off nonetheless.

New gig will be fully remote, which was important to me. And I'm actually excited about it!

Because I thought I was going to have to do some in person interviews and my old suit was damaged beyond repair, I bought a new suit. Turns out that I did NOT have to do any in-person interviews, but I have gotten use out of the new suit. Today I attended the funeral of a neighbor.

I made it back to the Shenandoah this past week to walk the Rose River Trail. I had been there back in 2018.

It's a nice loop but steep in places, so my legs were tired by the end. As before, I noted the bugs -- every time you stop to take a picture, the bugs surround you. The trail connects to Dark Hollow Trail, which I walked back in 2015, but since Dark Hollow is also steep, I think I will always keep them separate.

I walked it clockwise this time to see which I liked better, and I think it's a toss up. Like all Skyline Drive trails, you go down from the Drive, which is along the mountain ridges and then back up, and it can be steep. Clockwise or counter clockwise, you will get some steepness on the way back up to the Drive. Clockwise does put you back on the access road, so that last ½ mile is an incline but flat walking (not rocky). So perhaps clockwise is better.

I actually find it hard to take photos in the woods, and at the Skyline Drive. There is a jumble of rocks, trees, branches, leaves...it's hard to find a focal point and hard to 'tell the story' of the place.

This is what I think of when I think of the Shenandoah -- old hardwood forests / green / running water.







I got a late start in the morning, so instead of having lunch on the last part of the trail, I had lunch on the first part of the trail this time. And since I went the opposite direction, I "think" I actually sat and had my lunch at the very same spot as before. I had a memory flashback of sitting on the same rocks among the Mountain Laurel eating my same peanut butter and jelly sandwich, lol.

This is the oldest bridge in town, and is slated for replacement in the next few years, so I figured I should get some pictures while it is still around.

For years the bridge at this location was the ONLY bridge across the river, and required a toll. The current one was built in 1913.

It's sad when these old bridges deteriorate -- the new bridge looks like it will be a handsome design, but nothing beats the details that were built into the older bridges and buildings. Often with buildings in town, the facade is kept while the interior is rebuilt, and it's too bad that something like that couldn't be done with this bridge. But it is very low and subject to flooding, so presumably the replacement will be built higher.

So I had high hopes that I would be able to post an animated GIF to Imgur, and then have it play here. But sadly, the embed code doesn't work, so you'll have to click the link to see the animation --

Mayo Bridge

And here is the still image --

It had been a decade since I climbed the trail to Humpback Rocks on the Blue Ridge. I had forgotten how steep the trail is -- I mean, hasn't anyone ever heard of a switchback? But it was good exercise, and I enjoyed sitting on the rocks eating my PB&J and an apple.


Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on the trail --

I got down to the river today, and without planning to, I crossed the railroad tracks and walked to my favorite bridge --


I say 'without planning' because it surprised me how overgrown that part of the river has gotten since I was last there. I was in shorts and short sleeves, and was wading through shoulder height vegetation!

I thought it has been longer, but I searched photos on my hard drive, and found a photo I had never posted from 2016. In this case, I was there earlier in the day, so the bridge was not backlit and the light was not so harsh, so I didn't have to process it so heavily.


Another visit back in 2012 --

I finally checked off a bucket list item to visit Fallingwater, the Frank Lloyd Wright designed house in the Laurel Highlands area of Pennsylvania located a little over an hour outside of Pittsburgh. The owners were Kaufmanns - Edgar Sr., Liliane Sarah Kaufmann, and Edgar Jr. The house was always intended as a weekend getaway, not a full time living space.

It's a famous house because of its design, and it's well worth the visit. It is built into the hill, and OVER the creek, fulfilling FLW's desire for architecture to blend into the landscape. As with seemingly all of FLW's buildings, the roof leaked. The guide gave the story that at the first rainfall after the house was built, there were 50 leaks! Also the stone walls of the house are built into the hill, so the stone seeps water.

I saw a quote from Edgar Sr. calling the house "Rising Mildew" instead of Fallingwater, and I can confirm that there was water seeping into the stones, and on the tile upstairs. The guide said that the rain today would cause ceiling leaks tomorrow.

Also, at one point the cantilevered terraces had to be repaired because they were in danger of falling down. The steel beam supports were not sufficient for the job. Also when the terraces were built, they were built level -- evidently with cantilevered terraces, they should have been sloped up a little to account for later sagging.

The guide was great, and I learned a lot. Again -- well worth the visit!

I also didn't realize there would be a 'gay angle' here. Edgar Jr. was an artist/architect whose life-partner (as the guide described him), Paul Mayén was also an artist/architect. After Edgar Jr. died and before Paul died, Paul designed the visitor center for the property. Both of their ashes are scattered on the Fallingwater property.

Maybe because I was primed to be interested in Edgar Jr. because he was gay, I actually felt drawn to his part of the house -- his bedroom, terrace, and the hallway where he moved his bed. The guide didn't give a complete explanation for the move, but it seemed related to sunlight. I also think where he slept had an airier feel to it, in addition to more sun.

It was raining for the first part of my visit. At first I thought that might be a problem, but the property is so lush and wet with thick trees and the creek that I think the rain was perfect! This shot is taken from the area labeled on the trail signpost as "The View". I like the foggy/rainy quality along with the creek and trees here --


This shot was taken from the bridge. See the stairs? They come from inside the living room all the way to the creek. I love that!


Another view from actually inside the living room looking down to the creek.


This is in the living room. See the stone sticking out? That was already there, and FLW just incorporated it into the design.


Living room --


On the living room terrace, looking back towards the house.


Narrow stairways. The guide made the point that FLW designed to guide you where he wanted you to go -- living room, out onto the terraces, etc. And other parts of the house were narrow, low ceilinged, and dark -- to push you outside or into the living room.


I was sort of fascinated by this canopy covering the walkway to the addition. It was designed all in 1 piece and installed in one piece. It mimics the creek waterfall.


The Kaufmanns had wanted a swimming pool, which didn't make it into the first phase. So it is located outside the guest rooms in the addition.


Picture of "The View" taken after the rain cleared --


This makes my 3rd FLW property visited. The first 2 were the Pope-Leighey "Usonian" house in Northern Virginia, and Taliesin West, FLW's studio and school and winter living space.

I like to know where the springs are around town where water that just bubbles up from the ground. We had 1 on the farm growing up, and it was where my grandmother would often root plants. There are a fair number of springs in town, including 1 in the basement of the old movie palace theater. (I have never seen that one, having never been in the basement of that theater).

Today I went to this one in a neighborhood south of the river, located in a park. The water just runs continuously from the pipes --


I found an abandoned building nearby in the park with lots of graffiti and was surprised to find a shrine to the Buddha!


Additional Info / Later Update: Turns out the structure that the Buddha and other graffiti was on is the foundation for a house that was never built. It is called the "Amoeba House" and was left uncompleted by an architect named Jamgochian who also was the architect for the "aluminum foil building" here in town.

Here's another picture I took that day that shows more of the walls of the foundation with the graffiti on it.

My Dad passed away today -- together with Mom, one of the people who gave life to me and who worked hard to help me get where I am.

This past Monday, my youngest sister called to say that his health was declining fast, and that the family might want to come visit him, so I drove home Monday. My niece and nephews and their families were already on their way to visit our other sister for a 2 week visit with her, so they were able to visit with him on Monday and Tuesday as well.

I have been burning incense all day today. This morning around 11:30 I had the feeling that he had passed, so I had a good cry then. But my youngest sister called later to let me know he had died around 12:20. Interestingly, my other sister and niece also had good cries this morning. So I think we were all expecting it today.

I haven't flown a pride flag in a long time, but given the political climate, I think LGBTQIA+ folks need to be as visible as possible right now. I did a short walk around the neighborhood tonight, and I was pleased to see several other gay and trans pride flags on display!

This first Monday of Sabbatical has been pretty nice. I slept in until 7...then breakfast....a walk at Texas Beach...and now lunch & a glass of wine while reading on the porch. It's supposed to start raining this evening, so I'm picturing a movie night!


Big snake -- a Northern Water Snake, I believe -- warming itself on a rock --


The graffiti is always changing at Texas Beach. It is a bit incongruous, but it can be interesting.


It was my host for games group yesterday. And of course it being 95F outside, the downstairs AC had a funky smell -- in the way it does when it has been used once and then not used again. So we had to deal with a bit of unpleasant smell. It just means I need to open up the air handler, flush it out, and use some AC drain cleaner.

The game I chose (Shifting Stones) was well received. We used a swiveling Scrabble board as a turntable to turn the game facing each player.


I still have a few surviving roses, back from the time when I had a fair number of roses which I tended properly with fertilizer and pruning, and spraying for black spot. Most have died off without my constant care, but there are still a few in the yard.