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I recently spent most of the afternoon at our lovely Prince William Forest Park. I saw quite a few other people enjoying it in their own way as well.
There were runners, bikers and trail hikers. I chose to take my cameras, tripod and rubber boots with me. I wanted to take in all the sights of the park before the flora and fauna fall into winters slumber.
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MANASSAS PARK , Va. — With summer vacation now a memory, the dogs had their day at a swimming pool in Manassas Park.
The 4th Annual Doggie Paddle was held at Signal Bay Waterpark over the weekend. Pooches, and their owners, lined up for a day of fun at the pool — which is normally filled with people during summer months.
But, since the summer swimming season ended on Labor Day weekend, and before the water is drained and the pool cleaned and winterized, dogs from all over the area were invited to dive in and cool off.
NORTH STAFFORD, Va. — There were 15 very hungry baby’s at Dr. Correa Nylsa’ Chiropractic office in North Stafford on Saturday morning.
Mothers and babies were waiting for the clock to hit 10:30, at which time they were all prepared to take part in “The Big Latch On.”
In the event, Moms and babies from around the world collectively attempted to break the record for the most women breastfeeding simultaneously.
The Big Latch On event hopes to increase support for women who breastfeed and make breastfeeding a more normal part of the day to day life at a local community level.
On Saturday, 13 moms and their 15 very eager babies participating in The Big Latch On. The youngest was 9 days old and the eldest was 22 months.
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Pueraria Montana, also known as Kudzu, is an extremely fast growing vine that can grow as much as 60 feet in one season.
I stopped to take a picture of a huge growth of these vines along Austin Run Boulevard in Stafford and a man stopped and asked me, “Why take pictures of that stuff, it grows all over here?”
True, it’s quite common, but what might not be so commonly known is, according to Web Md, it has many uses.
This plant, native to China and Japan has been used in medicine since 200 BC. Today the roots, flowers, and leaves are used in the treatment of many things including alcoholism, headaches, dizziness, high-blood pressure, muscle pain and psoriasis.
I wouldn’t recommend going out and feasting on this woody vine, but I do have one recommendation, don’t stand in one spot to long near these plants, they seem to want to grab hold of you!
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My beloved dog Sophi couldn’t be a better pet, except when I open the kitchen windows.
Then and only then does she start barking uncontrollably. I have not figured out why she does this, but I have found a cure. If I am cooking something that usually causes my stove to smoke and I need to air out the kitchen, (it happens more often than I care to say) Sophi alerts the whole neighborhood.
The other morning, the weather was so nice I thought I’d try to let some fresh cool air in, so I opened the kitchen windows. Sure enough, she started howling and barking loud enough to wake the neighbors.
After unsuccessfully asking her to please shush, I remembered one very unique thing about my Chocolate Lab — she hates water.This is unusual for the breed, but worked out splendidly in this case.
A quick spray from the sink sprayer and not another peep!
A note to anyone that thinks that is a cruel and unusual punishment: Every dog should get a bath.
