Snowflake Trail Scavenger Hunt Extended
The Fairfax County Park Authority has extended its free scavenger hunt, the Snowflake Trail, through Jan. 31.
Snowflake Trail Fun by Cub Run RECenter
The Fairfax County Park Authority is offering a free scavenger hunt with video clues in the Cub Run Stream Valley.

Two Million Lights in a Dark Winter
An Insider’s View on the Bull Run Festival of Lights; open through Jan. 10, and maybe more
The Bull Run Festival of Lights is the largest light show in the Washington Metropolitan area, and this winter it is more popular than ever before.
Surviving Christmas Day in Solitude
Ideas for coping with being alone on the holiday
While Christmas Day will be different and difficult for many this year, it will be especially difficult for seniors who live alone and will be in solitude because of COVID-19 risks.

Virginia Master Naturalist Program Graduates Spring Class
The 2020 Spring class of Virginia Master Naturalists (VMN) graduated, finally, in a Zoom ceremony on Dec. 14.

National Park Foundation Hero Award for Sen. Warner
Award for his efforts to pass the Great American Outdoors Act
Monday, Dec. 7, at an outdoor and socially-distanced ceremony at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) was awarded the National Park Foundation’s Hero Award by Foundation President, Will Shafroth.
The Potomac River, a Stalling Recovery?
Cleaner than it was in 2011 when it got a D, but “its recovery is plateauing.”
While the Potomac River is clearly not what the Washington Post in 1951 called an “open sewer,” for the first time in a decade, the river’s health has declined, reported the Potomac Conservancy last month, falling from a grade of B to B- and still unsafe for swimming or fishing.

Talking Turkey, ‘Respectable’ Birds
Virginia has around 180,000 turkeys, elusive in the woods and fields.
Alan Warburton did a double take when he spotted a wild turkey ambling across his Mount Vernon yard in the Tauxemont community in April.

Starting Braddock Park’s Master Plan Revision
Park Authority holds public-information meeting
The Fairfax County Park Authority is updating its master plan for Braddock Park at 13451 Braddock Road, bordering both Centreville High and Twin Lakes Golf Course.
People, Parks, and Pandemics
It happened from the very beginning, as shopping centers, gyms and restaurants closed in the last half of March and news spread about the pandemic: people started gathering in parks.
School Building Closed? Try a Park
Families across Northern Virginia are challenged with online education.

Westfield Theater Students Offer ‘She Kills Monsters’
Westfield High theater students will livestream their first-ever, virtual production of “She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms.”
Thanksgiving Decor in the Era of Covid-19
Creating dining elegance at a distance
Naomi Patterson’s Thanksgiving table is usually set with linen dinner napkins, cleaned and starched, and her wedding china, ecru with a platinum border.

Getting a Close-Up View of Native Fish in Fairfax County
County waters are home to 14 of Virginia’s 24 scientific ‘families’ of fishes.
Big Rocky Run, at Eleanor Lawrence Park in Chantilly, was the stage for a recent demonstration of stream monitoring and fish identification for Virginia Master Naturalist trainees during a day of field study.

Carved Pumpkin Creations for Halloween in Centreville
Noel Dickover has been designing and carving Halloween pumpkins for 22 years.
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