August

By Lynn R.  Mitchell

It’s August. We are now three-fourths of the way through the heat and humidity that make up what is commonly considered the last month of summer vacation although in our corner of Augusta County in the Shenandoah Valley it’s been a mild season. Only a handful of days have been in the 90s with no triple-digit temps, and it has been unusually rainy. The brown, crackly grass that is normally underfoot by the 4th of July never materialized.  We’ve still battled the mugginess and humidity of summer in Virginia but, all-in-all, it has been surprisingly comfortable.

Summer is waning. The signs are everywhere. Cicadas drone in the afternoon heat with backup from a cricket chorus. Spiders spin their intricate, wide-ranging webs that stretch across walkways and between balusters and shimmer with early morning dew. Squirrels busily scamper the grounds looking for hiding places for their cache of winter fortifications. The big rumbling yellow school bus returned this week as students gave up sleeping late and carefree days to return to classrooms already prepared by teachers whose summer vacation ended even earlier.

Crape myrtle season

By Calvin T. Lucy Jr.
Guest Post

[Editor’s note: The crape myrtles are blooming at my parents’ house in Richmond so I was happy to receive this group of colorful photos from my step-dad of the varieties and colors that are in full bloom around their yard. Enjoy!]

It’s summer and the crape myrtles are in full bloom in Richmond.

Fawn triplets are still hanging around

Around the 4th of July, I wrote about the fawn triplets who were hanging out in our yard (see here and here). At the time they were tiny little spotted things but when I saw them yesterday in the back yard, they have grown considerably. Mom was with them at first but she meandered into the woods leaving the kids to fend for themselves under the black walnut trees.

Foggy July morning in the Shenandoah Valley

By Lynn R. Mitchell

We woke this morning to low-lying fog in the Shenandoah Valley and along the ridges with an overnight temperature of 58 degrees. The fog will burn off by mid-morning … daytime highs are predicted to be in the low 80s. Make it a wonderful day!

Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell July 11, 2014

Stuarts Draft: Summer flowers at Milmont Greenhouse

By Lynn R. Mitchell

With sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 80s, it was time for a run to Milmont Greenhouse in Stuarts Draft, the Mennonite-run operation that features premium annual, perennials, trees, shrubs, and just about anything else needed to make a pleasing palate of colors in your yard.