Maymont Park

This morning I made a return visit to Maymont Park in Richmond while David attended a meeting.  My first visit was in early Spring one year and the house was not open.  This time I was able to enjoy a guided tour.

It is an imposing house but not enormous.  It was built by Mr and Mrs Dooley, a wealthy couple who wanted a home outside Richmond, where he had made his fortune in the railroad industry.  It is situated above the James River with a large park and terraced garden.

The house was completed in 1890 and is very 'High Victorian' in style, although many of the very grand and ornate furnishings were purchased in Europe and are much earlier in date.    To commemorate the centennial of the year that the American forces entered the war in Europe, there were a number of posters and memorabilia on exhibition in the house.

The house is quite open plan for it's time with this study and a drawing room where Mrs Dooley would entertain friends opening directly from the entrance hall.

No expense was spared in the building, decorating and furnishing of the house.  On a practical level this means that it has bathrooms with flush toilets, electric light and gas central heating, all put in at the time that it was built.

Many items for the house were commissioned from Tiffany of New York, including this extraordinary stained glass window - very difficult to photograph but very beautiful.

The colours are so vivid in the individual panels.

There are istained glass panels above each window - different in each room.  They are not confirmed as Tiffany but it seems likely..

This small glass panel is also not confirmed as Tiffany.  Sadly it represents child mortality.

Upstairs the decoration and furnishing was a little less ornate - but only a little..

Beautiful painted satinwood furniture in wonderful condition and I couldn't help but think of someone who would have loved it..

Mrs Dooley's bedroom was probably one of the more memorable rooms..

That is quite a bed! Quite an impressive bathroom too for the time.

Back downstairs, this is the fireplace in the Grand Hall, often used for receptions.  There was also a back stairs tour of the basement kitchen and servants rooms which demonstrated just how many staff hours were spent supporting the entertainment activity in the household but I will save those photos for another day.

The most remarkable thing about Maymont is that in 1923 it's owners left the house and contents as well as the park to the city of Richmond for the enjoyment of the people.  

Hence it is a very well preserved snapshot of life at that time as well as being a museum of the furniture and art that only serious money could buy.  The Dooleys had no children and the house was lived in for only 30 years.

The peacock on the stairs represents those that used to strut around the park and gardens - more photos of outside another day!

Pohick Bay Regional Park

On our way to Richmond this afternoon, we called into this park - lured by the fact that it is said to have resident bald eagles.  The bay links into the Potomac River.

They were not in evidence today, just this Osprey, soaring on the thermals.

It was a very hot afternoon (33C) and there was no-one around.  Not even any staff at the boat hire place.

We set off in the shade of the woods for a short walk and came across this tiny chap - less than an inch long..

There was also some evidence of termites in some of the trees..

At the boat ramp, all was quiet except for the fire and rescue boat..

David photographed a large dragonfly..

And a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly..

Onancock, Virginia

We briefly visited this small historic town on the Chesapeake Bay on our way to Chincoteague.

A ferry runs from here to Tangier Island in the bay.

Next to the harbour masters office a long bench - with sign..  by the size of the bench they think there are a few around..

The old cinema is still showing films, if infrequently.

There were rather quaint signs over each door..

We called in to a small local bakery and coffee shop.  On the wall a series of bonny baby photos, posed with flour sacks and bakers hats.  It turned out that these are the bakers grandchildren - now serving behind the counter and no doubt embarrassed to have their tiny selves on the wall!

In the restroom a vintage sign, applicable to so many occasions...

Berkeley Plantation

While David was working on Thursday morning I drove to visit Berkeley, a plantation house on the banks of the James river, dating to 1726.

Berkeley is well known in Virginia as the home of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence - Benjamin Harrison - and birthplace of two Presidents - William Henry Harrison (9th President) and his grandson Benjamin Harrison (23rd President).

Built of locally made brick in the Georgian style, the house is very solidly constructed and inside (no photos allowed) had interesting later Adam style wooden ceiling and door surround decorations.

As represented by these huge plants growing in the kitchen garden, this was one of the many Virginia tobacco plantations.  Still farmed today, although on less acres,  it now specializes in soy bean and other vegetable crops.

This summer house/tea room in the grounds is a replica of a Chippendale gazebo that was created for the house.

There are several acres of formal gardens leading down towards the river - much of the garden surrounded with box hedges.



At each side of the main house, two matching smaller houses built at the same time but later covered in stucco.  This one was the kitchen and house slave quarters, the other was for the young bachelor sons of the original Harrison family.

During the guided tour of the house there was much to learn about the history of the house and its families and the beautiful antique furniture and works of art owned by the current family.  Once back in the garden, however, I turned my lens on the butterflies enjoying the flower garden.

This was a tiny butterfly, resting on a warm stone, I don't recognize it.

This is a Tiger Swallowtail - very difficult to capture with its wings open or in flight.

Two views of a beautiful Monarch butterfly.

Another unidentified butterfly enjoying the flowers.

On a tree near the butterfly garden a tiny lizard was sunning itself.  What an amazing coloured tail!

Sunny Sunday at Assateague

We woke early this morning to bright skies and sunshine - most frustrating having had a full day of wild weather on Saturday.



As we had to leave Chincoteague to drive back today, we headed out to the beach early to enjoy what we could of the sunshine.

The seabirds who had been struggling against the strong wind and blowing sand during the storm were happily feeding in the shallows.

The beach was largely deserted - just a few families setting up for the day and some fisherman patiently waiting for a bite.

We followed the trail to the Assateague Lighthouse - built just after the American Civil War it is now automated of course.

But no lift, so we plodded gently up the iron steps to the top.



The views of the salt marshes, back to Chincoteague and out to the Atlantic beach were worth the climb.

Back on the ground, we stopped to photograph some Great Egrets..

Handsome birds!  Passing by quietly in the water below was this creature..

Difficult to see but we thought perhaps a Muskrat rather than  Sea Otter, although both are apparently sometimes seen around the islands.