Central Virginia has been getting snow this month. Between 7 or 8 inches at the beginning of January, and this Sunday (January 16), it’s snowing again. Personally, I don’t mind the snow, but I’m not a fan of power outages. The recent snows have caused damages to the trees across the area, particularly around theContinue reading “Battlefields & Effects”
Category Archives: Just Journaling
Snow Fall & Candlelight
Happy New Year. 2022 has arrived, and there are stacks of research for writing projects on my desk. One of those new year resolutions (posting here once a week) took a quick turn for the worse when I decided to skip Sunday and post on Monday…and on Monday about 8 inches of snow fell whereContinue reading “Snow Fall & Candlelight”
Battle Anniversary: The Wilderness, 2021
For some reason I always feel like I’m being watched in The Wilderness. I visit a lot of battlefields for work and research, and almost always have a good and safe trip without feeling uncomfortable. But for some reason, The Wilderness battlefield bothers me. I don’t worry about ghosts or stuff like that. I thinkContinue reading “Battle Anniversary: The Wilderness, 2021”
Battle Anniversary: Chancellorsville 2021
For years, battle anniversaries were something I remembered and spent my days in Southern California calculating the time difference in Virginia so I could pace through the day in my mind or keep up with the rare livestreams in the “years before Covid” world. Living in Virginia has inspired me to take the opportunities ofContinue reading “Battle Anniversary: Chancellorsville 2021”
“Rode The Six Hundred”
The Charge of the Light Brigade, written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in 1854 was based on the real-life events during the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War. The poem memorialized a brigade of cavalry sent on a disastrous and useless charge. This piece of writing has fascinated me since the first time I heardContinue reading ““Rode The Six Hundred””
“The People Will Awake and Listen To Hear”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is one of my all-time favorite American poets. I’m particularly fond of his collection The Seaside & The Fireside (1850). One of Longfellow’s most famous poems is also a favorite of mine, and once upon a time, I had the whole thing memorized: Paul Revere’s Ride. “Wait, you promised a ‘Yankee poem’Continue reading ““The People Will Awake and Listen To Hear””
“Sumter’s Steady Roar”
It’s probably not surprising that I’m always on the look-out for Civil War poetry. There’s a ton of it — often in newspapers or magazines of era and later in the various memory publications created by veterans and supporters from both sides. April 12, 2021 will mark the 160th Anniversary of the beginning of theContinue reading ““Sumter’s Steady Roar””
“Dances With The Daffodils”
April is National Poetry Month, so I thought it would be appropriate to share a few of my favorite poems and some reflections on the writing. When I lived in California, we got a few daffodils in the garden and I always liked these bright, cheery flowers that signal the promise of spring. Here inContinue reading ““Dances With The Daffodils””
Old Cabin, New Opportunities
Last weekend I had the opportunity to hike the Montpelier Civil War Trail in the snow. (Details in this post on Emerging Civil War blog.) Aside from the history of the site and the brisk air, one of the lessons from the adventure stayed with me through this week. According to the details on theContinue reading “Old Cabin, New Opportunities”
Finding Inspiration…
I enjoy reading or watching the historical accounts and biographies highlighted during Black History Month and try to take it as an opportunity to listen and learn. I haven’t written as much on the subject this year as I’ve tried in the past because I’m trying not to write awkwardly, badly, or with accidental disrespectContinue reading “Finding Inspiration…”
Sarah Kay Bierle 