A bit of background and history:
The following two images were taken on a very early morning sojourn into Shenandoah Nat'l Park (on a very circuitous route for official work in Wash. D.C.). It was late March 2020 and the park and it's well known Skyline drive was basically deserted for well over the 100 miles on the drive I took inside the park (except for a single hiker and his dog) due to encouraged "stay at home orders" because the pandemic. The dreary depressing weather exemplified the mood of the populous at the time. Almost all of this particular Nat'l park is fairly dense with forested trees and brush and upon reaching the area known as "Great Meadows", is normally a surprise for first time visitors. The barren area seems out of place and to the uninitiated, generally believe a clearing that was man made for the nearby lodge from the early 1930's or possibly some catastrophic wildfire cleared the forested region. Nothing could be further from the truth. This explanation is given by the Nat'l Park Service:
"Artifacts have been found in the meadow that indicate it was used as a Native American hunting ground in the Archaic period (8000 BC–2000 BC) through the Woodland period (1200 BC – 1600 AD). It’s likely that these hunters used a combination of controlled burns and hand clearing. But why hunt in a meadow? The low impact burns, that left big trees but cleared underbrush, allowed wild blueberry to flourish. This, in turn, attracted deer to the edges of Big Meadows. It is also likely that migratory Native Americans would have used Big Meadows as a base camp during the part of the year when hunting and gathering in the surrounding area was best. But why is the meadow still clear? By the early 18th century, European settlers had started to establish farms in the Shenandoah Valley region. Big Meadows was employed as summer pasture for cows, with the settlers continuing the practice of controlled burns."
Normally on days in months and years past, especially in the early morning and early evening hours, this area is teeming with deer (especially foe this time of year), a fair abundance of black bears, wild birds of various kinds, small animals and snakes. In other words a sort of bust metropolis for wildlife. On this occasion, everything was eerily silent and empty. It was a shock, especially having observed the meadow throughout the years. Its as though the animals knew to also shelter in place. Nary a sound nor creature stirred by. Nature can be both wonderous and mysterious at times.
Other images taken during this peculiar drive hopefully will be posted in the future.
Images taken with Pentax 645Z; FA 45-85mm
Dave (D&A)