SHENANDOAH CALLING

   The Shenandoah Valley stretches southwest from northern Virgina to the Smoky Mountains.  We camped on its eastern ridge and tried hiking on the Appalachian Trail.   

(Photo by Francesca)

Of course we got lost but this marker helped us find our way home.
     
     The next day we dropped in on two South Florida expatriates, Phyllis and Fred Fevrier.   Twenty-three years ago they gave up the Grove so they they could spend half the year sailing and the other six months on their farm outside Lexington, Va.
    
   Their summers are something.  Days begin with gardening.   Much of the morning's harvest is served as lunch on the expansive covered porch.   

One afternoon we picked apples and turned them into apple sauce.
 




 
 Bees hum constantly in the crepe myrtle blooms.  

Dozens of hummingbirds
vie for the four feeders filled with sugar water.
Our friends have planted thousands of trees, plants and flowers on their twenty-seven acres. Despite all the work, there is time to read, relax, and take long hikes.  


Phyllis took us on a tour of "Boxerwood", a fantastic garden nearby.  She works there as a volunteer.  It is something like our own Fairchild Gardens but it is free and much more fun. 

 You can enjoy the weekly concerts while sitting on the sloping lawn or in this giant chair.

Kids have the time of their lives on "The Play Trail".  It is a playground that looks like it was created by children.  

Being there lets you feel like one.

 

The Mud Kitchen

Willow Tunnel

Little Eagles' Nest Entry















Little Eagles at Work

Bone Yard and Poem House

We loved our three days there. On the last evening we gathered atop Sky Hill.  As the sunlight faded the firelight began. Reluctantly we began planning our next move.