Winter Walk-Off 2018

      Since 2011 I have held my Winter Walk-Off, and though I don't blog like I once did (real life taking away from on-line life), I still wanted to continue with this meme. This has been a mixed winter here. We had extreme cold, kissing the single digits, in January with a good amount of snow. We have also had temperatures in the 70's, and the forecast for Wednesday of this week is calling for 80. The only real constant this winter has been the wet, everything is soggy, including my attitude. So I take advantage of what dry days we have, and try to spend them outside; it is good for the soul. I hope you will do the same thing.

     As always, the rules are simple, the rules are flexible:

     On your own two feet, leave the house, and share what can be seen within walking (or biking) distance of your home (if you want to drive to your walk destination that's OK too). Your post does not have to be about gardening or a travelogue (though I do like both), unless you want it to be. Maybe instead you will find some unusual patterns, interesting shadows, signs of spring, a favorite restaurant or shop, questionable landscaping, or local eyesores. Whatever, just keep your eyes and mind open, be creative, and have fun, but don't show anything from your own garden.

     Post your own Winter Walk-Off on your blog, and link it back to this post. Also, please leave me a link and comment here when your post is up. If you have recently written something similar, you are welcome to recycle.

     I will keep the challenge open until midnight on March 19th, the last day of winter (or summer for those of you below the equator, who are welcome to join in).

     Normally everyone who participates has a chance to win one of two prizes. Last year, one of the winners graciously declined the prize, so instead I donated $25 to her state's chapter of the Nature Conservancy, an organization I believe in. They have done great work here in coastal Virginia. For 2018 I am going to randomly draw one name from all the participants, and I will donate $50 to their state's chapter of the Nature Conservancy. If for some reason they live somewhere without a chapter, I will find a similarly worthy organization. The winner's name will be announced in my wrap-up.

     I hope these guidelines are simple enough to sway you to join in, because the more the merrier.

*****

     For my on walk-off, I actually walked this year, instead of participating on my bike. I am now armed with a $600 knee brace (or should that be legged?), which has made getting around much less painful. I headed to Sarah Constant Beach Park in Norfolk's Ocean View neighborhood. Ocean View is sort of a misnomer, as it actually faces the Chesapeake Bay. I suppose if you crooked your head to the right, and it was a very clear day, you could indeed glimpse the Atlantic. Regardless, Ocean View is one of Norfolk's most colorful neighborhoods. It was once home to shingle-clad vacation cottages, a famous amusement park, and affordable hotels, all a pleasant trolley ride from downtown. Times change as they are wont to do, and Ocean View fell on hard times. Today it is making a comeback with new houses, condos, restaurants, and retail, while still keeping its color.

     One casualty of all this development are many of the area's live oaks (Quercus virginiana). When I was a child we would regularly travel from our home in Richmond to the Eastern Shore, and before the interstate was finished we had to take Ocean View Ave. to get through Norfolk. We didn't have live oaks in Richmond, and there were very few on the Eastern Shore. Even as a kid I marveled at their massive trunks, and at the way those in Ocean View all grew facing away from the shore and its north winds. Those old cottages were built up to the edge of the dunes on long skinny lots, with live oaks growing between the house and Ocean View Ave. With many of the cottages gone, and lots split up or consolidated, the oaks have not fared well. However, there is still a nice grove of them at Sarah Constant Beach Park.

     This is a harsh environment for anything to grow, but Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii) actually does better here in the sandy soil, than it would in something richer.

     No problem for our native yucca (Yucca filamentosa) either.

     The Ocean View Fishing Pier is very popular in-season. I enjoy having beverages there, watching the sunset, and spotting for dolphins when the weather is warm. Good people watching too.

     Right next to the pier is another Ocean View institution, the Thirsty Camel. January was hard on the palmettos (Sabal palmetto) next door. With rare exceptions, and despite no lack of trying, I think these palms are just really expensive annuals here.

     Thanks for walking with me. I hope I will be able to look over your shoulder when you take your own Winter Walk-Off.

My 10 Favorite Photos of 2017

     Despite greatly decreased activity at my blog, I did not want to let the end of the year go by without posting my favorite photos of the year meme. For a number of reasons, I spent less time behind the lens in 2017. Despite this, I was unable to narrow my choices to 10. There are 16 to consider.

Women March, Norfolk 2017
(1/21/17)
The first photo on my list was taken at the Women's March in January. After listening to the terribly disheartening American Carnage inauguration speech just the day before, the sights I saw during the march lifted my spirits, and gave me hope for our country. I was particularly impressed by this father who brought his young children to the march, while mom was either deployed or otherwise working.

Chelsea
(2/19/17)
On my Winter Walk-Off bike ride, I came across this rough-looking storage building in the Chelsea neighborhood of Norfolk. The blooming Oxalis and the emerging Narcissus foliage made me smile, especially in contrast with the peeling paint.

Oyster, Virginia
(3/19/17)
On one of several trips to Virginia's Eastern Shore, we took the scenic way home and stopped for some photos in the small seaside town of Oyster. There is a marsh adjacent to the town's harbor where hackberry trees (Celtis species) look over a collection of derelict work boats. The photo was used in my Winter Walk-Off Wrap-Up.

Eyre Hall
(3/28/17)
Later in March, and again on the Eastern Shore, I stopped at Eyre Hall after giving a garden club talk. I have seen the gardens at Eyre Hall on several occasions, but never this early in the season. The visit turned out to be quite photo-productive. The photo below is of the the plantation's entrance lane, lined with massive eastern red cedars (Juniperus virginiana).

Western Branch Reservoir
(5/28/17)
Bear with me, but the next 7 photos were all taken from the seat of my kayak, which for me is more like a therapist's couch. And if there was ever a year I needed therapy, 2017 was it. The photo below was taken near Suffolk, Virginia on the Western Branch Reservoir, which is one of several where my city's water comes from. The photo appealed to me because the place appealed to me. I can see retiring there at the end of a long day, adult beverage in hand.

Wooded Cove
(5/28/17)
This photo was taken across the reservoir from the previous photo. The lush green moss and the fallen pine parts speak of the generally wet year we had. The cove was incredibly peaceful.

Blackwater River July 2017
(7/16/17)
I took this photo in the rain-swollen Blackwater River in mid-July. My trip that day was cut short by some of the most severe back pain I have ever had, and it would be two months before I felt well enough to get back out on the water.

James River Piling Garden
(9/16/17)
... but get back out on the water I did. I ventured along the James near Charles City Courthouse, on what was a very beautiful September day, which was just what the doctor ordered. The plants along the river were starting to take on their fall colors, well before those further inland.

James River
(9/16/17)
On the same trip I stopped at the site below for lunch. I can't remember what I actually ate, but the interplay of sky, water, and light fed my soul.

Chris Looks Good in Green
(9/24/17)
This is my friend Chris, and she looks good in green.

Chickahominy River with Taxodium distichum
(10/7/17)
I took another very photo-productive trip along the lower Chickahominy River in early fall. My timing was good as the bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) in the river were approaching peak fall color. This is one of my favorite places on the planet, and it happened to be another gorgeous day that recharged my batteries for weeks afterward.

NEON District Walking Houses
(10/14/17)
In mid-October a coworker and I participated in a rain garden planting in Norfolk's NEON District. Street art is promoted in the district, and on one wall was the work of Christopher Revel, part of his Walking Houses series that addresses sea level rise. I am drawn to his images, as houses on stilts above water have been recurring images in my dreams since I was a teen. 

Potterfield Bridge
(10/28/17)
This past year I have had to make several trips to Richmond, not all of them for pleasant reasons. However, in late October my wife, my friend Chris (of the green kayak), and I went to Richmond to celebrate my son's 20th birthday. While there we explored the new pedestrian Potterfield Bridge that crosses over the James (blog post coming later). From the top I watched a group of colorful kayakers play in the rapids. My kayaking style and abilities are a bit more Zen-like than theirs, but I judge not.

CSX Trellis
(10/28/17)
On the same trip as above, I got this shot along the river of the sun coming through the trees, train trestle in the background.

First Landing State Park Fungi
(11/4/17)
I took a nice long bike ride through First Landing State Park early in November. I enjoyed the ride and the beginnings of fall color, but I had to stop every 50 feet to admire yet another clump of mushrooms. Seeing both me and my bike on the ground, a young family stopped to see if I had crashed, calling me sir. Although I do seem lately prone to accidents, and suffer failings of varying body parts, the sir thing made me feel old. However, confusing a young family was worth it; I got some great mushroom shots.

Lotus Pond
(12/8/17)
The last photo (yes, the ordeal is nearly over) was taken with my cell phone as I was crossing a stone bridge in the Japanese Garden at work. Some of those failing body parts mentioned above keep my head down to focus on where my feet are going, and looking down I noticed the perfect ephemeral arrangement of fallen pine needles, camellia blossoms, and lotus pods.

If you would like to see the rest of my favorites from 2017, you can check them out on my Flickr page.

Do you have photos from 2017 that you are particularly fond of, or that speak to you in a special way? 
If so, then I welcome you to share them on your own blog or Facebook page. If you do, come back and leave a comment with a link please. I would really appreciate it. I hope all of you have a happy new year - one filled with much to photograph!

Winter Walk-Off 2017

     Test 1-2-3, Test 1-2-3. Good, I am glad to see this thing's still working. It's been a while since I used it, but I couldn't let this time of year go by without celebrating my Winter Walk-Off meme. Truth be told, we haven't had much of a winter to walk off. Though I am no fan of the cold, I do wish we were having more normal weather. The plants are about 3 weeks ahead of schedule, and technically, winter is not over yet and could come back to bite us. Yesterday, I made my walk-off with temperatures pushing 70 under clear blue skies, and the extended forecast looks decidedly more like early spring than late winter. The weather is what the weather is, and no amount of complaining or rejoicing has ever swayed it one bit. Now on with the walk-off.

As always, the rules are simple, the rules are flexible:

On your own two feet, leave the house, and share what can be seen within walking (or biking) distance of your home (if you want to drive to your walk destination that's OK too). Your post does not have to be about gardening or a travelogue (though I do like both), unless you want it to be. Maybe instead you will find some unusual patterns, interesting shadows, signs of spring, a favorite restaurant or shop, questionable landscaping, or local eyesores. Whatever, just keep your eyes and mind open, be creative, and have fun, but don't show anything from your own garden.

Post your own Winter Walk-Off on your blog, and link it back to this post. Also, please leave me a link and comment here when your post is up. If you have recently written something similar, you are welcome to recycle.

I will keep the challenge open until midnight on March 19th, the last day of winter (or summer for those of you below the equator, who are welcome to join in).

Everyone who participates will have a chance to win one of two prizes, and this year a totally disinterested teenager will not be randomly drawing the winning names, as the totally disinterested teenager is away at school, and will only be considered a teenager for another half year or so, though I don't know when, if ever, he will become undisinterested. One participant will win a $25 gift certificate from Brent and Becky's Bulbs. The other winner will receive an assortment of botanically themed cards, handmade by my better half. I'll probably use a random number generator. I will contact each winner, and mail the prizes once the Walk-Off is over. 

I hope these guidelines are simple enough to sway you to join in, because the more, the merrier.

*****

     I started this year's walk-off where I left off last year, biking through a couple of the areas between Ghent and downtown. I started my ride in Chelsea, which like much of Norfolk, is becoming less gritty than it once was, though some of that grit might have just relocated to hipster beards. Chelsea was once an industrial area offering support services to the local docks and shipyards. Some of that still goes on, but now there is also a brewery, restaurants, tattoo parlors, and pop ups. While I welcome the change, I also worry that there may be fewer electricians, longshoremen, pipe fitters, and welders, but more baristas and waiters. The difference in pay grades is probably not good for the city.

     Until this fall, the bike trail I take downtown had been closed for several years due to the construction a second Midtown Tunnel. This region has nearly as many tunnels going under various waterways as it has bridges going over, and often you get bridges and tunnels in combination. If you are ever to visit, please know it is strongly encouraged to maintain, or even slightly exceed, the posted speed limit through the tunnel; you will indeed make it to the other side, and will live another day - trust us, we do it all the time.

     After leaving Chelsea, and crossing over the tunnel entrance, I headed to Plum Point Park, which offers nice views of the harbor, and where a beautiful collection of what some call weeds were blooming.

     Getting closer to downtown, I crossed over Smith Creek. Facing each other across the creek in between are PETA and NOAA. Other than acronyms, they don't have much in common, yet seem to be good neighbors.

     This building is now home to very expensive and tasteful condos. In the early 80's it was a different place. I went to a party there in an apartment where every vertical surface, and a few of the horizontals, had been used as a canvas; the Talking Heads were playing on the stereo. The party eventually migrated to the rooftop - good times.

     Speaking of good times, the lower building below is now an architectural firm, but was once home to a popular watering hole called the Operating Room. Directly across the street was another called the Recovery Room.

     The remainder of my ride took place in the Freemason neighborhood of Norfolk, which is one of the city's oldest and best preserved. In it you can find commercial and residential architecture representing three centuries. It's southern edge was once home to harborside warehouses, a few of which have been converted into condos, while the rest were razed to make way for new townhouses.

     Just on the other side of the Pagoda, downtown proper starts, and my Winter Walk-Off ends. I would have shown you more of the Pagoda, but this blog has been there several times, besides it is one of the last places still lousy with people playing Pokemon Go, like zombies they are.

     I do hope you will play along with me this year; I look forward to seeing your posts.