Piedmont Maryland

... on a tree which gets almost full-day sun, otherwise it would have died from the recent blight ...

Unknown small Appalachian tree (species to be determined) ... suggestions appreciated !! ...

American Dogwood -- this understory forest tree (4 -10 meter tall) was once the Springtime queen of Appalachian and Piedmont forests: an absolute blizzard of white blossoms in the woods, stretching as far as the eye could see. In the past 30 years, Anthracnose fungus has wiped them out (Over-browsing by Whitetail Deer accentuated their demise, in areas where the deer are protected from hunters.) In my Piedmont Maryland woodlot, only two remain, both where they get almost full-day sun ... I think the sunlight keeps them dry and retards the growth of the fungus.

Happy (hard-as-stone) Bench Monday !!

... (vertical aspect sometimes does not show up well ... but full-screen, on black, looks OK) ...

Time Machine Photo -- Randomly, I get sucked into some kind of 4th Dimension anomaly ... here, I clicked this one off as I was transported through a Civil War camp somewhere in Maryland or Virginia, apparently in 1862.

Maryland Midland Railroad bridge over Owens Creek and Sabillasville Road on Catoctin Mountain. Formerly the historic Hanover Subdivision of the Western Maryland Railroad, it was acquired by CSX Railroad in the railroad consolidation period of the 1970's and 1980's; then purchased by small regional Maryland Midland in the late-80's. Nowadays, usually 5 powerful diesel locomotives are needed to haul gravel and cement trains up the steep grades of Catoctin Mountain, the easternmost mountain of the Appalachians.

What do you think the secret was? Your witty suggestions encouraged! Such as -- 1) "For two carrots and an apple, you can have the really nice saddle in here." ... or ... 2) "Come closer, and I will bite you".

Pulling partners: big and strong ... (and when a single horse has more than "one horsepower") ...

A matched pair of Draft Horses ready for a "stoneboat" pulling contest.