Virginia Miscellany

Miscellany from Virginia.

In India, we saw jets leaving contrails maybe twice in three years. Here we see them constantly. It's both the number of airplanes flying in the eastern US and the weather conditions that make them more noticeable.

This startling reflection pattern is on the MWV (WestRock) building in Richmond as seen from our hotel room.

A slightly wider view.

And to put the scene in context, here's the full scene, taken the day before when it was raining. The closest structure is a parking deck. The MWV building is behind, and the James River is in the background.

Pittsburgh -- National Aviary

The National Aviary in Pittsburgh is a great place to spend an afternoon, and a great place to photograph exotic birds. The Aviary has about 500 birds from around the world, from tiny finches to large eagles and condors.

This African Grey Parrot was a "rescue". While owning parrots is not advisable for many reasons, their beauty and personalities makes it easy to see why people have wanted to keep them.

The Argus Pheasants liked to hide in the foliage, but the patterns on the feathers are stunning.

Flamingoes -- standing on one foot and twisting their necks in improbable curves.

Long-tailed Finch.

The Owl Finch really does have a face like a barn owl.

Brown Pelican.

The Snowy Owls liked to stay half-hidden.

The world's largest pigeon -- the Victoria Crowned Pigeon.

Pittsburgh -- Art & Architecture

Immediately after returning to the U.S., we drove to Pittsburgh to see our new grandson. (Sorry, only his parents are allowed to post photos on public web sites.) I stayed in Pittsburgh to help Maria while David was on a business trip to China. Lon had his own travels that involved Boston, Watertown, NY, Pittsburgh, and Richmond, VA.  Lon and I finally got back together in Clifton Forge on Sunday.
L  O  N  G week!

Sue with Sadie, John and Mandi's dog. Sadie will be living with us while John and Mandi are deployed to Afghanistan. At 37 lbs, she's a bit big to be a lap-dog, but that's not what Sadie thinks!

Since Maria really wanted to get out of the house, we did a number of Pittsburgh sights and sites.

Art

Maria works part-time at the Mattress Factory, an art museum in Pittsburgh. This is a piece that she particularly wanted us to see: "Spheriodendron" by Bill Smith.

Architecture

Not far from Pittsburgh is a famous Frank Lloyd Wright house, Fallingwater. The house and grounds are now owned by the Western Pennsylvanian Conservancy, and are open to the public for tours. Photos of the exterior are allowed, but no photography is allowed on the tour. (That's too bad, because the interior is just as interesting as the exterior.)

Fallingwater is literally built over a small waterfall.

The view from across the creek shows the terraces and the guest house in back. As a week-end "get-away" home, the exterior spaces are larger than the interior spaces.

At the bottom you can see stairs that go directly from the living room down to the creek.

Back Home

"Horn OK Please" will be dormant. We've moved back to our home in Virginia.

But I've gotten used to spouting off from time to time. There will be no comparison with the constant amazement in India, but this blog will have more "natural" items to write about.