This afternoon, I stopped just south of Charlottesville at the "corner" of VA RT. 20 and Thorn Rose Lane. It's the natural place to begin this project, because this is the first shrine I see heading south on 20, home from work.
This shrine is at the head of a rather sharp and dangerous curve that bears left after a straight stretch of road. From the road, the shrine is very visible, but obscured by the shade of the tree.
I pulled over on a deep shoulder between Daniel Morris Lane and Thorn Rose Lane, got out and grabbed both the 35mm and the digital cameras and walked over.
It's an elaborate shrine, with crosses and other ornamentation reflective of various holidays, including Christmas, Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day.
I also noticed the scarring at the base of the tree. As I got up to the shrine, there was a large heart at the base of the tree inscribed with the name "Jeb."
The tree has a crook in it about 5" from the ground. There were more crosses in the crook of the tree, one also inscribed with "Jeb."
Up at the upper left corner of this photo is a small, heart shaped frame with a very faded photograph. I believe it's a photo of a woman.
Here's another shot, showing the St. Patrick's day decorations, including a wind toy (left) and a shamrock (right).
I stayed there for about 30 minutes, mostly setting up shots with the Nikon. I was shooting B&W Pan-X film this time. I'll probably return and shoot a roll of color.
It was another hot afternoon, but this time there was a breeze which turned the propeller on the wind toy, creating a faint buzzing sound. There were birds in the tree, whose singing offset the rush hour traffic whizzing by. The shrine seems so undisturbed, and I did not disturb it in any way.
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