By Tim Jon “It has a new name,” I thought, “so I’ll take another look.” See, ever since I’d moved to Loudoun County in the late 1990’s, this place had been called the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship; a mouthful, I know, but the actual site was even bigger. Much bigger. Weighing in at…

By Tim Jon You can rest assured: you will never see me enjoying full use of this local facility, at least not in the present lifetime. Having been diagnosed with what appears, now, to be a lifelong case of vertigo, I became noticeably dizzy just navigating my way ‘round the place, and taking a handful…

By Tim Jon “Well,” I remember thinking, “I’d better make this quick.” You see, as I turned into the drive to seek a parking area for the main character in today’s drama, I noticed a sign indicating official displeasure at my presence therein; now, when I’d looked up the available information on these geographical coordinates,…

By Tim Jon There’s more sky out there, distance takes on a new meaning, and even time seems to last longer. You may think this is a reference to a trailer for an upcoming science fiction thriller, but no—it’s just another fascinating feature I’ve come to enjoy about Loudoun County, Virginia—a locality of physical, intellectual…

By Tim Jon  I remember the blackberries; it was ‘high summer’ when I visited this little piece of local history, but I could almost feel the winter wind that must have howled in coming down the steep western slope, which leveled off a few, mere feet from the building. That towering hill at the back…

By Tim Jon Believe it or not the prospect of a new artistic project often includes a healthy dose of fear: not due to any real or even imaginary danger involved with the adventure, but—for me—a feeling of inadequacy. What if I go to the well of inspiration and come up empty? What if I…

By Tim Jon I didn’t remember many details, and I certainly didn’t want any more information. I had no pressing reason to find out the who, what, where, when, how or why—and I didn’t even really need to answer to this event’s overall importance to Loudoun County, Virginia. Huh-uh. I was here for myself, and…

By Tim Jon This wasn’t what I came for; the morning of my visit to the subject of today’s verbal (and physical) foray.  I was planning on collecting images from an abandoned farm site in Ashburn and there are not many of them left in that area, but I discovered that the property was very…

By Tim Jon I don’t think about ol’ Pythagoras very often, but I would probably need some of that legendary mathematician’s insight if I were to make an attempt at calculating the number of times I’ve driven by this place. In this case, ‘driven by’ means coming to within a few mere feet (okay, yards…

By Tim Jon                    Proof of Loudoun County’s identity as a conundrum – or a vortex of mysterious forces – rears its head again as I approach this story of one writer’s search for the Holy Grail of the day, only to utterly fail in the attempt…