Showing posts with label Rappahannock River. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rappahannock River. Show all posts

Friday, November 8, 2019

November Walk


It should come as no surprise that I am no athlete.  I've never had a sport to rely on for exercise.  The one thing that has kept me active and healthy is a daily walk.  Grayden and I both enjoy this activity and for that I am so thankful to join my sweetheart in a walk.  It's so lovely to step out our door and walk for a couple of miles each morning. 

 


When we were in Myrtle Beach last month, we increased the distance of our walks.  Returning home, we decided to increase our walks here as well.  Our daughter came for a visit to celebrate her Daddy's birthday and to visit her son that lives with us.  Her sport is swimming, but she also is a walker so she joined us each day for our morning walk.  Our city has a lovely circuit trail that is 3.5 miles.  That is a respectable walk in our opinion!  Every day when we take this walk we have been hoping that our leaves will be changing.  It's been so dry, many of the leaves have just turned brown and fallen to the ground. 

 



Come along with us as we take our morning walk and see how our leaves have begun to change after getting some much needed rain!  The Heritage River Trail trail follows the Rappahannock River for a ways and then connects to the Canal Path Trail.





Fredericksburg is full of history and there are markers here and there to remind us.


Walking along this morning it was quite chilly.  We're both bundled in our warmest clothing complete with hats and gloves.  The wind chill is quite noticeable, but the view is worth it. 


If you look across the way, that is where we continue our walk.


Despite the cold day the river is a beautiful blue this morning.


Rich golden hues of Autumn dot the banks of the river.


As we cross the footbridge over the old canal we continue our walk.  


The old canal through Fredericksburg is not in use now. 



The two paths link together to make a circuit, the Heritage River Trail and the Canal Path Trail. 


The city has gone to great expense to continue the path under Fall Hill Avenue.  Pedestrians, joggers, and folks on bicycles can safely use this path without danger of local traffic.


Late Autumn seeds dot the landscape as we continue down the Canal Path Trail.


The birdsong and the rustling of the leaves in the wind are the only sounds as we take one step after the other.  I must say this is a most contemplative walk.  


The colorful tapestry of fallen leaves frame the edge of the pathway.


The still canal water mirrors the trees that surround its edges.


"Nature never did betray the heart that loved her."
William Wordsworth


We are thrilled to see color on this windy morning.  Though it's brief, it's lovely.






The bright green leaves of this morning will probably be gone this evening as a we are expecting our temperatures to drop to 25 degrees, a killing frost.




As we walk the last segment, headed to our car, we see many lovely shades of orange, red, brown and gold.  Oh Autumn how I love your show!








Monday, February 16, 2015

Sunday Afternoon

Grayden and I went to a lecture and movie about the Rappahannock River that winds through our city.  The program was held on the banks of the river at Belmont the former home of Gari Melchers.  A National Historic Landmark, Gari Melchers' Home and Studio is one of just 30 of America's most significant artists' spaces included in the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Historic Artists' Homes and Studios consortium.



It was a freezing windy afternoon. Don't let the sunny skies fool you. When we left home it was 17 degrees.  Thank goodness the sun was shining and the sky was a beautiful azure blue.  The lecture was held in a warm pavilion behind Mr. Melchers' studio.







Gari Melchers and his wife Corinne lived at Belmont.  They wanted to have a home in a rural area that would allow Gari Melchers to pursue his art in his later years.  He was not a starving artist and did quite well for himself.  They bought 27 acres on the banks of the Rappahannock River.  If you want to know more about Gari Melchers  check out http://garimelchers.umw.edu/gari-melchers/  He was a proponent of naturalism and his art work is beautiful.

Mr Melchers was born in Detroit.  He was the son of a wood carver and Paris trained sculptor.  His father sent him abroad at seventeen, but he actually did not reach Paris for three years.  He pursued academic German painting in Dusseldorf, where he was especially fond of the Impressionists, especially Monet.  In Paris he studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts un Lefebvre and Boulanger.


Belmont is a beautiful property and is quite lovely all seasons of the year.



Rappahannock River  




     






Estate Map