Tim Jon

By Tim Jon Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t get any pictures from that climb up the first hill; I certainly know it’s a good thing that I didn’t try. Going up what seemed like a 30-degree gradient, with no shoulders along the roadway, and a guard rail that I wished were a lot…

By Tim Jon I was on a recent foray into our area’s attractions of interest, when a unique portion of our locality’s past sort of reached out and joined in on the visit: on my first-ever official tour of Union Cemetery in Leesburg, I suddenly found myself in the mythically named Potter’s Field.  This was…

By Tim Jon I remember the bright sunshine, tempered (and then some) by a cold, biting wind. I remember a longer drive from my “native soil” than I had expected; most of all I remember the more-than rewarding scenery: roaring (or was it “soaring?”) water smashing through the rocks, leaving a seemingly eternal spray in…

By Tim Jon With few exceptions I’ve always been a person who’s obeyed the laws of the land; I find life is just—generally speaking—much easier that way—probably for everyone concerned. This adherence to our social conventions keeps me from doing certain things and—in today’s instance – from going to the wrong places.  I believe the…

By Tim Jon  I went to Paris, and it took my breath away; actually, what this means is: I visited an historic village along the Blue Ridge Mountains, and I relaxed enough to be able to feel the air being pulled into my lungs. Doesn’t sound quite as romantic that way, does it? Life can…

By Tim Jon My memory mostly consists of an immersion in green. The lands lying between the paved (or mown) surfaces and the Potomac River in northeast Leesburg strike me—during the growing season, anyway—as a riot of growth and fertility.  I’ve traipsed many of the trails under the jurisdictions of Balls Bluff Regional Park and—a…

By Tim Jon One of my fondest possessions is an old black and white photograph, showing an ecstatic little boy—probably around six or seven years of age, with a baby deer in his arms. You see, as a child, I was absolutely insatiable when it came to animals: birds, beasts, insects, fish, reptiles and amphibians—even…

By Tim Jon I had made the decision in all innocence: “It’ll be kinda fun to drive this stretch on a misty, foggy morning.” Right.  In the 10 years or more that had passed since I’d been on top of ‘the Mountain’ under these conditions, I had blissfully forgotten just how limited the visibility could…

By Tim Jon Funny how despite the fragility of life it seems that Nature can often abide in very close proximity to mankind and our so-called civilization. We see the reverse of this pattern as well with flora and fauna wilting before our progress, so I’m always heartened when I observe any vital signs of…