Vintage and Volunteering in the Valley

On Saturday Strasburg was holding their Vintage In The Valley event so since it's only 30 minutes away I drove over to investigate. Parking was easy to find on the back streets and soon I was strolling along Main Street. The warm sun was promising higher temperatures, encouraging hundreds of locals to come out and support this small town.

I nosed among the few vendors that were selling antiques and home made goods but after all the scavenging I've been doing the past few weeks I wasn't looking to buy anything. But I had a good laugh when I spotted this poster in a store window. Only a rural town would post something as comical and tongue in cheek as this, I couldn't imagine seeing it in northern Virginia. A small crowd laughed along with me. I bet this guy is a local celebrity now!

I walked down to where the vintage cars were showing and there were only 8 of them! I was finishing viewing within a few minutes but ended up stopping to chat with this lovely gentleman about his 1953 Ford Crestline Sunliner. It was in beautiful condition and he walked me around it slowly, explaining every detail. The interior had that wonderful old musty aroma that only old cars have and when I commented on the bench seat in the front, he quipped that when he was dating his wife, she used to shunt up close to him while he drove, but these days she sits away from him, close to the window. He sighed loudly and I laughed, knowing he'd recited this joke many times previously. His patient wife sat in her chair, her eyes rolling, obviously having heard his woes a hundred times before. I gave him a hug before walking away.

This wasn't for sale but I was most impressed with the elderly vendor who had made it. She told me all the pieces were found in her shed and she'd simply woven them through the wheel hub with copper wire. What a creative crafty idea!

Back at Front Royal I checked in on the flea market to see if there was anything I was missing and found myself staring at these incredibly garish door wreaths. They were so hideous I could barely tear my eyes away from them, the bright colors yelling from the nylon mesh and ribbon that had been formed into huge flowers. I didn't even dare ask the price but judging from the empty spaces on the wall and table I'm guessing there's a few homes in FroRo whose doors are now sporting these monstrosities. I'll be looking out for them.
On Sunday I was up early and out the door to rush to another local destination, Marriott Ranch in Hume. Some of my groups have been here for trail horse riding, something I plan on doing now I live closer, but today I was volunteering. Belonging to the largest international hotel chain in the world, the ranch is over 4000 acres and extremely eco-friendly. Today I was helping to plant 400 trees, but when I arrived I discovered that there were also other volunteers who were planting pollinators and some who were building roosts and stands for raptors.

Getting out of my car I had to just stand and drink in the views. The countryside is beautiful here in Rappahannock county, spectacular mountains as a backdrop for rolling farmland. I've driven past the ranch many times because I love the country roads that run by it but today I felt privileged to be standing on the actual farm. Everything around me was meticulously cared for. All the fences were sturdy, and in fact, local farmers come here to practice their fence building skills. The land was obviously well looked after. I also found out first hand that their organizational skills were also well honed. We were soon divided up into our groups, shuttled across grassy hillocks and down muddy or graveled tracks to the lower fields, and explained to precisely on what we'd be doing and how we'd be doing it. Buckets marked with ribbons stood in neat rows, with the necessary tools next to them. We were supplied with gloves, drinking water and even boots if needed.

Fiery Run and Rappahanock River flow through the Marriott land with over 1000 cattle pasturing on the grass fields. All the river banks have now been fenced off to keep the cows from contaminating the water. They had previously been aiding the erosion of the banks, along with the flooding, and affecting the water quality. Also a lot of elms along the banks have perished thanks to the Emerald Ash Borer insect so the farm wants to replant many trees along the banks. The trees will help against the river erosion and also eventually provide shade. This in turn will reduce the temperature of the water which means the oxygen will increase and therefore produce more life within the rivers.
I teamed up with a guy called Chris and we chose a bucket of  oak willow trees. There were 25 saplings to plant so we set off along the bank.

We soon got into a routine of me digging the hole, both of us replacing and tamping down the soil around the roots, and then Chris would push down the protective green tube over the tree and hammer in the stake to steady it, the stake facing upstream so it remains in place when flooding occurs.

Because of our excellent instruction we were soon planting these little budding branches like pros, while the staff kept close by, replenishing stakes or giving help where needed. We were done by noon and I got an enormous sense of satisfaction knowing we'd helped the land in this way. In return for our hard labor Marriott laid out a sumptuous feast of burgers, hotdogs and chicken cooked on multiple barbeques, fresh veggies, salad, coleslaw and rolls, with wines and beers. And also fresh Rappahannock oysters were shucked for us, to be eaten raw or grilled. These were outstanding. We were even told that finding a pearl was a possibility but it would be black. I ate mine raw with fresh lemon juice sprinkled over the top. Delicious!
As we ate, staff from Piedmont Environmental Council and John Marshall Soil and water Conservation spoke to us explaining their goals in working with Marriott.
Once we were done eating there was a hayride available for those who wanted a tour around the farm.

A few of us who had been chatting together made our way over and climbed aboard. No frills here, just a few bales of hay in the middle of the trailer to sit on and that was it. The farm manager drove the tractor and I noticed he had no rear view mirrors to check on his cargo. He didn't look back once either to check that we were still with him! The wooden trailer creaked and cracked as we trundled noisily over rough trails, up hills and down slopes to the open fields. The huge wheels threw up dust and oily fumes in our faces, along with gusty breezes from the hills. It was wonderful.

I noticed that accompanying the strong winds was a blanket of dark grey clouds skidding over the sky above us. I was glad we were on the first tour, not sure if the weather would accommodate the later one a couple of hours after ours. But the breeze was warm and welcomed as we slowly rocked down towards the river, but we stopped first on top of a hill where a small group awaited us to show us the cows' new water troughs. These are containers set in the ground with 4 openings which have blue plastic balls floating in them. The cows had to push the balls down to release the water, and they learned quickly. This system meant that the water didn't get contaminated by bugs and bacteria, it didn't freeze or evaporate and it actually came from the same water supply as the house. Farmers realized that the cows would be healthier with clean water which meant they put on weight more easily. It also meant that it was easier to catch the cattle in fenced fields rather than trying to herd them out of rivers.

We then stopped at the junction of Fiery Run and Rappahannock River where a young man was waiting for us with a table, upon which were ice box containers holding critters from the water. He'd captured these just before we arrived and explained they were macro invertebrates, including caddis flies and other bug names that I missed. But I did note that the long centipede looking critter was a hellgramite. I watched him closely as he battled against 2 little green worm things, which he overpowered and then attempted to eat. It's a cruel world in the river. But the gentleman informed us that the river water was looking very healthy and was above average quality.

There was another gentleman in waders who showed us how he 'shocked' fish using a long electric wand. There were stunned for only a few minutes, enough time for him to capture them and put them in a bucket.

Loved this photo of the little girl and her fish pal singing a duet!

We were shown a multitude of fishes, including catfishes, redbreast and yellow sunfish, torrid suckers, cutlip minnows, blue head chub, mottled sculpins, American eels, a frog and a crayfish. His bucket was pretty full, holding 15 different species, and all had been captured withing 30 minutes. I was amazed and very impressed how the little creeks were teaming with life. All helped by keeping the cows out of the water and planting trees to create shade and stop erosion. I had enjoyed this day immensely and will be back each year now to help, to plant pollinators or build the raptor roosts or plant trees again. Great work Marriott!