Virginia – Page 2 – Roadkill Crossing

Anatomy of a Sunset

I enjoy the progression of a sunset as much as the finale itself. I usually try to arrive well ahead of time, but I occasionally slip up. Like last Saturday, which was a busy one for us, I had settled in to watch a college football game.

I glanced out the front window, which faces north, and noticed a pinkish tinge in the broken clouds to the north. I grabbed my cameras and headed for one of my favorite sunset spots, Silver Lake in the burg of Dayton, Virginia.

A layer of clouds was slowly moving southeast, opening the western sky to the setting sun. The chances for a decent sunset seemed bright. The sun had already dropped below the rippling horizon of the Allegheny Mountains that mark the western boundary of Virginia and West Virginia.

Still, the sky was bright where the sun had disappeared. Areas north and south of that spot showed warmer colors. The shallow lake was its usual calm self, broken only by a few patches of lily pads, seaweed, and miscellaneous debris.

The reflections on the water doubled the beauty. At the south end is the old mill, which now houses a lovely quilt museum. Across the narrow country road stands an old white-washed farmstead, its barn duplicated on the quiet water.

The road turns west around an Old Order Mennonite family’s red brick home, and continues up the hill to another farm, where it bends due north across the ridge. The staggared trees along its edge provide a perspective of depth to each photo.

The road disappears over the hill and behind the old white farmhouse at the lake’s northwest corner. The house and outbuildings, all mirrored on the water, serve as icons in scores of photographs of the landmark lake.

As minutes pass, the tones of the sky grow deeper orange and red as they tint the underbellies of the clouds and brighten the water’s surface. The western sky turns golden with ruby crowns, all reflected on Silver Lake.

Every hilltop object, animate and inanimate, becomes a row of silhouettes against the blazing background. As if brushed by an artist, the clouds display an autumn color palette of browns, grays, and oranges with patches of reds and pinks, their twins staring back at them.

As if on cue, three mallards take flight, their calls seemingly celebrating the day’s glorious ending. Silver Lake never looked prettier.

The Old Oak Tree

Imagine yourself standing on a ridge on a beautiful, temperate fall day. Scattered soft clouds float eastward in a pale blue sky. A gentle east wind mellows the strong afternoon sunshine.

The grass is lush after some long-overdue rain. And a lone, giant red oak, its leaves just now turning to their rusty color, looms over the landscape like it has for a century or more. Battered by winds and lightning strikes, the rugged oak stands as a centennial for all who care to notice.

Miles away, the southern slope of Massanutten Mountain glides to the floor of Virginia’s magnificent Shenandoah Valley. Miles farther southeast, the southern section of Shenandoah National Park marks the horizon.

Fortunately for me, imagination became reality a few days ago. I enhaled the entirety of the precious landscape, not wanting to leave. Of course, I had to. Still, even as I view this photo, nature’s glory fills my soul.

Pumpkins With a View

You must stay alert while driving the winding, undulating secondary roads in Rockingham County, Virginia, situated at the geographic center of the Shenandoah Valley.

You wind around through forests, past agricultural fields, hilltop homes, abandoned buildings, in valleys with steep hillsides, and suddenly find yourself cruising along a straight stretch of roadway along a ridgeline. There’s always something to see.

On a recent outing with a friend, we emerged from a small valley onto a ridge with farm fields on either side that quickly sloped away from the road. I slowed when I spotted the orange of the pumpkins waiting to be harvested. Then I noticed the view.

The southern section of the town of Broadway peeked out above the treeline beyond the farmstead. In the distance, the Massenutten Mountain range stood steadfast against the cloud-studded cerulean sky.

I had to stop and capture that October moment.

“Here’s Looking at You, Kid.”

That famous line, improvised by Humphrey Bogart for Ingrid Bergman in the movie classic “Casablanca,” seemed most appropriate for this shot.

My wife and I attended our granddaughter’s high school volleyball team’s game last night. However, this cute toddler paid little attention to the action on the court. Instead, she entertained herself as any babe would do, wiggling around from her father’s lap to his shoulder and back again.

When she grabbed her father’s sunglasses off his hat, he helped her put them on, and she loved it. She was so proud, she just had to show me. Consequently, I had to share my joy as well.

Taking a Break

I spotted a female Monarch butterfly in the woods of a park near my home the other day. Actually, the Monarch saw me first, and flitted from a lower limb with dried leaves to this one higher up. It likely was resting up for the next day’s flight south.

Because of the darkness under the canopy of trees and the distance the butterfly was from me, I was amazed that the camera was able to focus on the subject I wanted. I had to lighten the photo slightly so that the beautiful butterfly stood out.

It must have been a good omen because I soon began to find several species of birds feeding on bugs high and low in the trees. All this took place in a well-maintained city park in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Late Summer Colors

Colorful flower garden. Photo by Bruce Stambaugh

After a wet spring and an unusually damp June and July, the last half of summer was arid here in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Still, the final weeks of summer produced vibrant colors in all things nature.

From flowers to butterflies to birds to bugs to early-turning leaves, it was colors galore all around the valley. Farm fields, fall displays, and forests all contributed to the subtle transition from August’s dog days to September’s cooler evening temperatures.

Everywhere one turned, colors caught the eye. Landscapes, mountain views, produce stands, and backyard gardens all had their own versions of summer’s transition to autumn.

All the photos presented were taken between August 15 and September 22, 2025.

Enjoy Nature’s rainbow celebration.

From our backyard.

From around the valley

From Virginia to Ohio

Setting of the Full Corn Moon

The Full Corn Moon over the Allegheny Mountains. Photo by Bruce Stambaugh

I had hoped to capture the Full Corn Moon setting over the Allegheny Mountains on the morning of September 7. However, the early morning’s sunrays blanched out the moon before it reached the western horizon.

Consequently, this is the best I could do. I hope you can find faint moon in the photo’s top center.

Enjoy your day!

The Infestation of Spotted Lanterflies

Tolstoy had it right when he penned, “It is amazing how complete the delusion that beauty is goodness.”

After a day of driving and a lengthy doctor’s appointment, the evening was beautiful. My wife and I anticipated an enjoyable dinner at a sidewalk table of a recommended restaurant.

We didn’t stay seated long. Pesky but attractive Spotted Lanternflies chased us inside. Even then, lanternfly after lanternfly landed near the bottom of the floor-to-ceiling plate-glass window and slowly climbed their way to the top. Several lay dead on the sidewalk below.

These lovely-looking, invasive insects have invaded Virginia’s agricultural breadbasket, the Shenandoah Valley, and are now moving into the Virginia Piedmont region. They likely hitched a ride on unsuspecting vehicles traveling south on I-81. According to hikers, entire sections of forest along the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah National Park are stripped of leaves and likely dead due to these bugs, which resemble wolves in sheep’s clothing.

A recent email report from a hawk watcher’s group deployed in the same national park confirmed the mass invasion of the Spotted Lanternflies. The group had to move away from a building into a parking lot because these pesky insects swarmed around them so much that they couldn’t view the sky to count the migrating raptors.

Lanterflies don’t bite, but in swarms, they are a nuisance to humans.

Spotted Lanternflies are native to China and Vietnam. So, how did they get here? Human activity, of course. The Spotted Lanternflies first arrived in the U.S. in 2012, on a shipment of stone from Asia. The first infestation occurred two years later in eastern Pennsylvania.

Spotted Lanterflies feed on a wide range of plants, including flowers, grapevines, hops, stone fruit trees, and hardwood trees. Thus, the damage in Shenandoah National Park.

The Spotted Lanterflies excrete a sticky, sugary substance that promotes the growth of sooty mold, which can further damage the plants. The Tree of Heaven, also invasive to the U.S., is the lanterfly’s host plant.

So far, 14 states and the District of Columbia have officially verified reports of the Spotted Lanternfly’s existence. They hitchhike from state to state by laying their masses of eggs on hard surfaces, such as rocks, pallets, vehicles, trailers, and even children’s toys left outside. The lanternfly nymphs, small, black, spider-like creatures with white spots, are just as destructive as the adults.

Fortunately, North America has natural predators of these unwanted insects. They include other insects, such as praying mantises, wheel bugs, and spiders. Some bug-eating birds will also take care of them. However, the Spotted Lanternflies are so prolific that natural predators won’t eliminate them.

Consequently, humans must compensate for their collective error by spraying for them or hiring an exterminator. Homemade concoctions work against the lanternflies. A list of formulas is here.

Below is a map of the states where Spotted Lanternflies have been verified. However, if you encounter these beautiful but harmful bugs in a state with no official report, please notify the state’s wildlife or natural resources division as soon as possible.

In the case of the Spotted Lanterfly, Leo Tolstoy nailed it.

Map of the Spotted Lanterfly spread provided by Maps.com.

Shimmering Sunset

Driving home recently, a haze covered the late evening sun. It looked like a perfect orange ball.

By the time I arrived at a spot with a clear view to the west, the clouds had thickened, creating a surreal, shimmering scene. A minute later, the sun disappeared altogether.

Consequently, I felt fortunate to capture this shot.

Variegated Fritillary

My wife and I were enjoying lunch on the back porch the other day when I spotted this lovely butterfly flit by. I had to get a photo, of course.

Variegated Fritillary butterflies fly low and love flowers. So, I stepped onto the patio and waited for this hyper little insect to alight on a blossom. It soon found one of the zinnias that bordered the patio to its liking, near where I was standing. It pumped its wings as it nourished on the flower.

According to Kenn Kaufman’s butterfly guide, the Variegated Fritillary butterfly is widespread over much of the United States. Their common zone for thriving spreads from Arizona to Florida, and as far north as Nebraska and Virginia. Some may find their way as far north as the central Canadian provinces.

It’s migration season, so be on the lookout for these flower-loving beauties.