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© 2011 Donna L. Watkins - View From U.S. Highway 15 Green Springs Historic District, Virginia |
We knew it would be a nice country drive and that we would find out what the Green Springs Historic District was all about. We'd seen the sign on the highway that we had traveled many times. We learned it encompasses over 14,000 acres in the piedmont of central Virginia. The homes and farms are a continuum of Virginia rural vernacular architecture, reflective and respectful of their location, preserved in their original context with little alteration. Here the landscape has been enhanced, rather than despoiled, by the presence of civilization.
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© 2011 Donna L. Watkins - Brackett's Farm, circa 1790 Green Springs Historic District, Virginia |
Our first stop was Brackett's Farm which was established in 1790. As we entered it felt like we were riding on somebody's private driveway although it was part of the Trail, but when we came to the house and parking area, a sign did say something about Monday through Saturday, so we turned around and left. Much to the chagrin of a lonely-looking dog that had walked part way over to our car while we stopped to assess the situation.
So ... nothing at stop one.
We then proceeded through the towns of Louisa and Mineral skipping the town parks offered on the Trail, not expecting to see much in the winter there. When we arrived at the second stop, we realized that we might stay on the trail too long to really get a good long time at our third and most exciting stop, so we decided to skip that trail that led to a beaver pond and keep moving while we still had good light and it wasn't too cold.
We arrived at Lake Anna's Dike 3 which was a holding area for a nuclear power plant, so the water was warm which is why it attracted migratory birds. It was obviously full of fish to attract the birds also since the parking lot was pretty full of cars and it didn't take long to realize their weren't any birds to be seen. We crossed the bridge, with fisherman lined up even there to fish, and pulled off the road where there was a cove off of the main lake. I saw some birds in the water and our new binoculars told us they were Canada Geese.
Oh well ... at this point we were wondering what the celebration was for Valentine's?
We decided to head back home to cook our Valentine's meal, going back a different way than we had come, thanks to the GPS taking us in the wrong direction. But God brought some giggles into the ride and a feeling of His gift of love for Valentine's Day.
The first Valentine's God indicator was when we thought we'd gone too far on a gravel road. Since we were traveling slowly on the gravel, we felt like it had been enough time, so when we came to an intersection that wasn't the county road we were to turn on, we wondered if we'd passed it and decided to turn around. Then we saw what the road name was: Valentine Mill Road.
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Sweet Heart Farm For Sale |
Then we noticed the actual name of the farm was also above the heart. It was called Sweet Heart Farm. How sad! Were they having to sell because of our current economy? Had they grown old together and died and now those who inherited it were selling? All my possible answers only increased the sadness. But we traveled on.
Although we had no bird photos that were acceptable from our Birding and Wildlife Trail excursion. The geese were too far away for a clear picture and a lone seagull on a lake we passed by was also not very clear.

I Love You!
Hoping you had a special day with people you love. What are some of your traditions for Valentine's Day? Let me know about them and/or how you spent this year's Valentine's by leaving a comment below the post. If you're getting this by feed or email, click on the title of the post to go to the website.
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