5 baby geese, 2 adults, and a heron. A good lunch break!

And of course someone was rescued from the river on the same day I took this. Come on, people…

Like… far out, man…

By Peace and Love, I mean Shalome and Ahabah.  If you haven’t figured it out yet, I visited the Hebrew Cemetery which is a dedicated Jewish burial ground for the congregations of Beth Shalome and Beth Ahabah,  House of Peace and House of Love in English.

First, a little personal background…  I look back on my Jewish childhood with some fondness.  I can still remember making dreidel cookies, decorating presents in blue and silver, and spouting out Yiddish epithets as I schmeared my bagel and complained about my mother.  The confusing thing (for everyone else, at least) was the fact that I was not Jewish.  In fact, the majority of the Hebrew that I knew was probably picked up from Mike Myers as Linda Richman.  You know, no big whoop.  So suffice it to say the customs and traditions of the Jewish people have a special place in my heart, though I could not tell you why.  (One day I’ll tell you about my year as an Amish Exchange Student.)

Hebrew Cemetery was founded in 1816 by the Common Council of the City of Richmond on top of Shockoe Hill.  The cemetery was specifically marked for Jewish burials and “subject to their rites and laws”.  The first burial was in 1817 and was one of the founding fathers of Kaal Kadosh Beth Shalome.  In 1843 Beth Ahabah was given equal rights to burial in the cemetery.  The 1-acre cemetery has since expanded to 8.4 acres of burial grounds and is a green space in the middle of a bad neighborhood across the street from Shockoe Hill Cemetery.

A robin seeks refuge.

Perhaps my favorite part of visiting Hebrew Cemetery was seeing the rocks and stones placed on headstones.  I knew this was a Jewish custom, but had to remind myself as I wandered the granite garden.  The origins of this tradition are obscured by history, but my favorite explanation was that the stones are placed on the tombstones helps to hold the departed spirit down to Earth and protect it from demons and golems.  I even saw some headstones with bricks balanced on them.

Using stones to hold people down? Reminds me of my Italian heritage!

Of special interest is the Soldier’s Section which marks the graves of 30 Jewish Confederate Soldiers who died in or around Richmond during the War of Northern Aggression.  In 1866 the Hebrew Ladies’ Memorial Association commissioned the ornate wrought iron fence that is there today.  The fence is designed to look like Civil War muskets and sabers and was designed by Major William Barksdale Myers who is buried in Hollywood Cemetery.  (See, it ALL comes back to Hollywood Cemetery!)

The original designs had 30 individual tombstones and has since been replaced with 1 tombstone to rule them all…

Muskets and Sabers in Wrought Iron

In 1816 funds were raised to build a matahar house, used for burial preparation which has since been replaced by a Mortuary Chapel.

Shown here.

The cemetery is the oldest, continuously used Jewish cemetery in the South and is an important reminder of the influence the Jewish people have had on Richmond’s history.  The tombstones and monuments have inscriptions in Hebrew and many of them include Jewish icons such as the hands presented in the traditional blessing of the Kohanim, Jewish priests.

Also shown here!

Interested in exploring the area?  It can be found at the intersection of Hospital and 4th Streets.  A couple “fun facts” about cemeteries in Richmond (from City Code):  It is illegal to enter a cemetery from anywhere but an open gate.  It is is illegal to visit a cemetery after sunset.  It is illegal to bring your dog to a cemetery.  And it is illegal to bring food or drink into a cemetery!

Hebrew Cemetery looks down on Bacon’s Quarter Branch Valley

These rustic tombstones are really quite interesting!

So, Richmond?  Where would you like to see next?  I’m always open to your suggestions!  Hit me up at nick@photorva.com or leave me a comment!

It’s got to be tough to be Shockoe Hill Cemetery, always in the shadow of it’s more famous big brother Hollywood Cemetery.  Let’s see if we can shed some light on the situation with a little compare and contrast…

1.  Hollywood Cemetery is known for it’s beautiful stone work and carvings.

Shockoe Hill has that!

2.  Hollywood Cemetery is known for being the final resting place of many Union and Confederate Soliders.

Captain Binford here makes a point…

As does Private Crittenden of the 1st Maryland Cavalry.

And here’s a fascinating bit of history regarding Private Crittenden:  He had been captured by the Union and sentenced to execution by firing squad with Private James J. Hartigan.  According to a family newsletter: “”At noon Crittenden and Hartigan were set before a firing party of twenty-five and told to run for their lives. Hartigan ran and fell, pierced by many bullets. Crittenden stood with folded arms, facing his executioners. Again the order to fire was given, but not a trigger was pulled. The Union officer in command then addressed his men saying he would repeat the order once more; they were soldiers and must obey, and should any man fail to respect the command, he should suffer the penalty of death himself for disobedience.” During the harangue, Crittenden seated himself on a rock, calmly looking at the squad and awaiting his end. Then he rose. ‘Ready! Aim! Fire!’ rang out the third command. A line of leveled rifles greeted him as he rose and faced them. Down dropped twenty-four silent rifles, their owners unwilling to harm the quiet man before them. One alone of the twenty-five pressed a trigger. A single flash, a little smoke, a sharp report, and Churchill Crittenden’s life blood flowed for the cause he loved.”

Wow.  In addition, Shockoe Hill Cemetery is the final resting spot of some 220 Confederate Soldiers and some 577 Union soldiers as well as many more that were not recorded.  A figure only slightly less than the 18,000 or so buried in Hollywood.  (Ok, maybe more than slightly, but still significant.)

5.  (3, sir!) Hollywood Cemetery is known for its famous residents.

4th Chief Justice of the United States John Marshall

John “Silverheels” Marshall was also the longest service Chief Justice in US Supreme Court history and served as a Captain in the Continental Army.  He was friends with George Washington and survived the long winter in Valley Forge with him.

John and Louisa G. Allan – Adoptive parents to one Edgar Poe – They put the “Allan” in Edgar Allan Poe

First and last love of Edgar Allan Poe, and one of the best reasons he should be buried here.

First and Last Good Mayor of Richmond – Dr. William Foushee

And perhaps one of the most interesting people buried in Shockoe Hill Cemetery:

The traitor… er spy… Elizabeth L. Van Lew

Ms. Van Lew ran a ring of spies during the Civil War.  She gained the trust of the CSA and was allowed to bring food, clothing, and other provisions to the Union POWs being held at nearby Libby Prison to arrange for escape.  Mary Bowser, a former slave that was freed by Van Lew, was one of her operatives and routinely gave reports from inside the White House of the Confederacy where she worked for CSA First Lady Varina Davis.  Van Lew was supposedly so good at her job that she was able to send freshly cut flowers, a copy of the Richmond paper, and ciphered messages hidden inside hollowed out eggs directly to Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant!

4.  Hollywood Cemetery is known for stunning views of the James.

Ok… Shockoe Hill Cemetery… not so much.

Shockoe Hill Cemetery, located at the intersection of Hospital and N 2nd Street, has stunning views of the Shockoe Hill Low Income Housing Project.  Perhaps not as good of an area… but, the cemetery itself is an open and peaceful oasis… and there’s a Police Station right across the street!

All in all, Shockoe Hill Cemetery has a lot to offer and should not be overlooked by it’s bigger brother.  The surrounding area might not be as nice, but if you enjoy strolling with the dead it is a nice alternative and houses a lot of RVA history.

Next up, we will go across the street to Hebrew Cemetery!

Just a little necking! They’ve got a thing that’s called… heron love. (Que the strong bass line.)

Also present within the last week were a few osprey!  A sign of spring, even when it snows one day!  Osprey typically only eat fish, however I caught this guy bugging the herons (they didn’t seem to care) and also going after a group of seagulls!  Interesting behavior, and made for some Discovery Channel moments.

Exhibit A: An osprey. One of two seen today. Tiny when compared to the other one.

Exhibit B: Osprey with talons extended bugging the herons. Herons do not seem to care.

Exhibit C: Unable to get a rise from a heron, the osprey looks for more prey.

Exhibit 4: A Flock of Seagulls. There has been a huge number of gulls hanging out on the river over the winter. They have not seen the osprey yet.

Exhibit E: Now they have!

Exhibit F: That’s like… a lot of seagulls, dude!

Meanwhile, there is still a proliferation of Canada Geese. Hanging out, eating whatever they can find. Dropping phosphorous and nitrogen right into the river…

They poop, like… a lot.

They do enjoy swimming in the James, though.

Or just hanging out. Whatever. Canada Goose, on the rocks barkeep!

I also happened upon a couple mallards sleeping adorably.  Did you know that ducks can sleep with one eye open, resting only half of their brain at a time?  Seriously, check out this RadioLab episode if you haven’t already.

The females are the not colorful ones, but the spotting on this one was pretty gorgeous.

The males have the characteristic green head. Pretty soon now these two will be doing more than sleeping. Yay, spring!

More to follow in the coming weeks as the heronry prepares for spring!  Don’t forget to set your watch ahead an hour this weekend!  Unless you’re a heron… they don’t have watches… or wrists for that matter.

A few points:
1. We’ve already covered how Baltimore stole Richmond native Poe just because he died there. (And I still have my suspicions, Baltimore!)
2. C. F. Sauer has been a Richmond based spice company since 1887. McCormick and Company was founded in 1889 and also sells spices. Our sign is cooler.
3. The “Washington” Redskins (when are they ever in Washington?) will soon be training in RVA. All the more reason to hate the Browns… I mean Ravens. (Naming them after a Poe poem is salt in the wound, man.)

However, if you feel like doing some recon work, Baltimore is a pretty nifty place to visit. The Inner Harbor is what our Canal Walk should be (only ours should be better, of course). And Federal Hill , with its insanely narrow streets and complete lack of parking, is a really interesting place to explore.

I forgot my camera, but I was able to get some good shots with my phone. As you will see, the National Aquarium was clearly my favorite spot. But first, I travelled 150 miles… I’m going to Poe’s grave.

Curse you Baltimore! And your padlocks, too!

And of course, it’s locked. You know what? Screw you, Baltimore! Who locks down a church graveyard, let alone in a Sunday! Sigh… I was able to perch atop the spiked fence and see it. We then went to Baltimore’s version of The Poe Musuem…

And kept driving. That is a rough looking neighborhood.

Fort McHenry is infinitely more interesting than Fort Lee. I highly recommend the video at the beginning. It was actually very well done.

Oh say, can you see?

It was SO cold, but really cool. And I was glad to use my National Park Pass!

And then there’s The National Aquarium. It’s not cheap, but I think it was definitely worth it.

If it lands on your dish, but it’s not quite a fish… that’s a moray!

He tried to touch me with his noodly appendage!

Actually, he appears to be asleep.

OMG, puffins!

I would normally consider this a bad photo, I was waiting for him to get all the way into the frame. He yawned (do sharks yawn?) so I had to take the picture quick!

And then there was the ridiculously photogenic jellyfish exhibit…

The lady who let us into the exhibit was telling us about the jellybeans inside.

Not a jellybean.

Jellyfish rampant on an azure background. Never fly the flag upside down, unless the apartment is in danger.

The photo ops were astounding!  I felt like I was in Metroid!

Beautiful, but NOPE! I’m never going into the ocean again.

All in all Baltimordor is an interesting place.  You definitely get the feel that it is a more northern city than Richmond, which is surprising because it is so close.  The people (they call themselves Baltimorians, not Baltimorons) definitely do not have the same southern hospitality that really starts in Richmond and gets stronger the further south you go.  NIce place to visit, but I think I’ll stay in RVA!

Ok… I might have spent yesterday watching The Walking Dead and not the Academy Awards… but I did SEE some of the movies!  And, personally, I think a better way to celebrate cinema is by going back to a time when people built theatres instead of theaters.  A time when people dressed in suits to go see a moving picture show, and thought that talkies were a fad.  Fortunately for RVA residents there is a place where we can do just that…

Not just a theatre, a palace!

For just $1.99 you can experience all the wonders that Hollywood has to offer AND be treated to the amazingly ornate Byrd Theater.  (For some reference, tickets at one time were only 44 cents.  This was back in the 40′s, so if you adjust for inflation that is almost $8 a ticket!)

My love for The Byrd is a better love story than Twilight!

Built in 1928 for the staggering price of $900,000 (that’s over $11,000,000 in today’s dollars!) the Byrd is just another example of a time when we really paid attention to details.  I still remember the first time I went to the Byrd, which is not something I can really say about any other movie theater.  It is so ornate that they had to remove things to make way for the modern movie-going experience, like the water feature and aquarium that used to occupy the space where the concession stand is now.  (I am ok with this.  They have the best popcorn in the city!)

And Goobers!

The Byrd was the first movie theater in Virginia to have sound.  Back then people thought that being able to hear your movies was just a fad, kind of like 3D movies today.  The first movie played at the Byrd was Waterfront, a silent movie with sound (music and sound effects) added through the Vitaphone system that would eventually be replaced by a Dolby Sound System donated by Ray Dolby himself.  For those movies that did not have sound, the Byrd had The Mighty Wurlitzer Organ.  Every Saturday and Sunday night The Mighty Wurlitzer rises from the orchestra pit.  From it’s controls the organist can play not only the organ but the piano located in the stage right alcove, a 6 foot xylophone, a marimba hidden under the stage left alcove, drums, horns, bells and other effects.  The harp though is ornamental.

View from the balcony.

Another fairly amazing feature is the cantilevered balcony.  When sitting underneath the balcony your view will not be obstructed by supports because… there are none!  The balcony is supported through the back wall of the theater and the front.

The most impressive feature (to me) is probably the 18 foot, two-and-half-ton mass of Czechoslovakian crystal that makes up the main chandelier.  Over 5,000 crystals and 500 red, blue, green, and amber lights were used to make the beautifully ornate piece.  This is something that I would expect in a grand opera house, not somewhere where Ben Affleck is on the screen.  (Congrats to Argo, winner of Best Movie in Spite of Having Ben Affleck involved.)

Behold! She is singing to bring down the chandelier!

I did not see Jennifer Lawrence winning in my crystal ball, but I would not have minded.

I could easily spend 3 1/2 hours just gawking at all of the small details that make the Byrd what it is… I probably would have done that if I had been forced to watch Titanic there.

They even thought to put in fake wax dripping from the electric lighting!

As far as I can tell, this alcove (like the many others) serves no purpose except to look awesome.

Stained glass windows. It’s like a temple of cinema!

The main lobby chandelier, because having just ONE chandelier was just not enough.  Also note the elaborate ceiling.

If you’re looking for a great date night, or just someplace to go and catch a flick (hell, if you just want an excuse to have popcorn for dinner!) I encourage you to put on a suit, a fedora (no skinny jeans), and head out to The Byrd!  The show must go on.

The Byrd Theatre
2908 W Cary St
Richmond, VA 23221

Special thanks go out to Todd A. Schall-Vess and The Byrd Theatre Foundation.  Check them out online for show times and some pretty great historic pictures and more information at http://byrdtheatre.com/.  While there, consider donating!  I would certainly not complain to see them replace the seating!

I thought that everybody’d heard about the birds…

For those of you who have not been, Pipeline Rapids is a series of Class IV rapids that stretch for an eighth of a mile on the fall-line of the James.  The Pipeline walkway is probably the easiest way to get to these rapids, but you will probably see paddlers in just about all types of weather looking to test themselves on the challenging rapids.  The real treat (for me at least) is the active heronry located on nearby Bailey’s Island.

Fun Fact #1:  A heronry is a rookery for herons.  A rookery is a colony of breeding birds, but the term can actually be used more specifically for a colony of breeding rooks.  (Think a crow, only in Europe and parts of Asia.)  Heronry is the specific term for a colony of breeding herons.

Fun Fact #2:  A group of herons is known as a siege.

Fun Fact #3:  Myself, and many others, have described the heronry as being on Vauxhall Island.  Heck, even Ralph White described the island as such on his Heronry Tours.  However, according to the Richmond Parcel Mapper Vauxhall Island is one island east of Bailey’s Island, which is listed as being owned by the City of Richmond Parks and Recreation.  Vauxhall is located underneath the railroad spur that crosses the river, and is currently home to a small tent-city.  Vauxhall has it’s own history that I’ll talk about at another time.

Things are just getting started at the heronry.  I was there on January 22nd (happy birthday to me!) and there was nothing to report.  I saw one heron, but he wasn’t nesting… he was generally just being scared.  I came back the following week and suddenly there are at least 27 birds in the trees!  I heard reports on Saturday January 26 of at least 21 birds, so within less than a week the gathering started!

How many did you count?

Every year since at least 2011 the herons have been camping out here.  It is rare to have such a large congregation of these birds within sight of a major city, as they usually prefer to be alone.  The abundance of fish in the area, especially when the shad are running, is one of the reasons they seem to tolerate us.  By the end of the season there will most likely be anywhere from 80 – 100 birds on the island, and perhaps some Egrets as well.

This guy (or gal) is still single! Meet other like-minded heron on PhotoRVA.com!

They are easy to spot now, but come spring those trees will fill in. Now is the perfect time to check it out!

Check out Pipeline Rapids and the Walkway by going to the end of 12th Street where the Canal Walk begins.  You will see a large cross statue.  (I’ll talk about all these things, too!)  Head to the left (east) and the entrance will be on the right with a brand new sign courtesy of Phil Riggan!  (The word heronry is not on that sign!)

I will be posting weekly updates (in addition to exploring the rest of RVA, I promise) which will include numbers, pairings, nesting behaviors, and anything else that strike my fancy!  I’ll also (of course) have pictures.  This week we had 27 birds, mainly in the trees.  No sign of nest repairs/making.  There were at least 3 pairs, one of which was engaging in courtship rituals (we’ll talk about that next week), and one pair was engaging in… more amorous activities.  (We will not be talking about that one.)

View Great Blue Heronry in a larger map