Hey everyone, bring your Mom or a Friend and come see me at the Virginia State Arboretum "Garden Fair" May 11-13. I will be in booth #5. It is held at the Blandy Experimental Farm at 400 Blandy Farm Lane in Boyce, VA. The hours are: Friday 5 to 7:30 PM, Saturday and Sunday 9am to 4:30 PM. Bring a copy (black & white is fine) of the attached coupon with you for a 10% discount off any DebImage item.
The best trip for us this year was to Center Point, Indiana for a visit to the Exotic Feline Rescue Center. EFRC provides homes for all types of exotic felines that have been abused, abandoned or are just in need of a permanent home and educates the public about these amazing cats. If you want a unique and inspiring experience plan a trip to the Rescue Center. To get the most out of your visit reserve the guest quarters overnight so you can go behind the scenes and see cats not on the public tour and spend the day with the volunteers while they feed and care for these magnificent creatures. Drifting off to sleep and waking up to the sound of lions roaring and tigers “chuffing” is an experience you will not soon forget!
You will notice some new “Big Cat” images on this site that were shot at the rescue center this fall. DebImage is donating 20% of all proceeds from the sale of these images to the Exotic Feline Rescue Center. If you would like to donate to the Center or want to learn more go to http://www.exoticfelinerescuecenter.org.
I am lucky enough to be living in two "valleys" of perpetual natural beauty. The first is the larger and more famous Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The second is the smaller so-called "valley within a valley" that lies between the two arms of the northern Massanutten Mountain range and is called Fort Valley.
As spring arrives I look around and see Bloodroot popping through the leaves and Coltsfoot's yellow dandelion like flowers in the damp ditches along our country roads. Walking further into the woods I see Trout Lilies and Dutchman's breeches already blooming. Along the banks of our streams and river the Bluebells are full of buds just waiting to explode into a pink and blue cloud. Trillium are beginning to appear in the higher elevations and Marsh Marigolds and Skunk Cabbage adorn swampy areas. The smaller Bittercress and Pussytoes are easily overlooked unless you take a leisurely stroll and look very closely. Spring Beauties form a pink and white carpet under the still bare deciduous trees. Shooting Stars, Lady Slippers and Wild Ginger are beginning to show themselves and I must wait patiently for their blooms to appear.
There are so many more flowers and trees bursting with spring. If you live nearby, take a drive on the numerous back roads of the "Valley" and stop and hike along any of the numerous trails and see how many flowers you can identify. If you are not lucky enough to live near, you can enjoy many of these flowers on this site. If you cannot find one of your favorites on this site, e-mail and ask. I have thousands of flowers in my image files and would be glad to upload them for your pleasure.
HAPPY SPRING!
Debbi
The Rockingham-HarrisonburgChapterof the IzaakWalton League's 72nd Annual Western Regional Big Game Trophy Show
Saturday, 10 Sept. from 9AM to 9PM and Sunday, 11 Sept. from 9AM to 3 PM
Location: Rockingham County Fairgrounds on US 11 (south of Exit 243 off I-81 and north of Exit 240 off I-81)
Admission: Adult - $7.00, Children under 12 FREE with adult