from Chris
In his memoir Recollections of a Confederate Staff Officer, G. Moxley Sorrel recalled an incident from just before the battle of Fredericksburg that might be of interest to our wine enthusiasts.
Just before the battle, which took place on December 13, 1862, the Federal army occupied the city. Townsfolk knew the Yankees were coming, and some of their preparations resulted in unexpected libations for some of the city’s Confederate defenders. Sorrel recounted a story about “the old …
from Chris
The autumn leaves aren’t the only things around here showing their colors….
The bushes in our walking garden behind the Lodge have exploded with a lovely shade of red!…
from Chris
We get a lot of great blue herons that visit Stevenson Ridge’s ponds, but recently, we had a visit from a bird we’ve not seen nearly so often: a great egret.
Egrets are actually pretty common, but in all honesty, none of us could remember the last time we’d seen one at the Ridge.
Egrets are closely related to herons and have the same tall, thin build. They prowl the shallows in search of small fish—although in this …
from Chris
I don’t know much about wild mushrooms, but I find them fascinating because of the wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors they come in.
These ones, which sprung up near the Post Office, are called parasol mushrooms:
The caps on the big ones are each as wide as my spread-out hand. They have gills underneath, which places them in a category of fungi called “gilled mushrooms” (creative, huh?).
…
from Chris
We had a visitor flutter in for a stay at the Log Home the other day.
We’re fortunate to have a lot of butterflies flitting across the property every day. This species is called a Northern Pearly-Eye. You can find out more about them at butterfliesandmoths.org.…
from Chris
With another fall semester about to start for me, I took a little “personal retreat” time at the Log Home yesterday. Of all Stevenson Ridge’s cabins, the Log Home has perhaps the most epic front porch for passing the time. It’s a great spot for woolgathering with a cold beer or a glass of wine. In the mornings, it’s the perfect setting for that first cup or two of coffee.
We’ve had sweltering days this week, which finally …
from Chris
We have some “new” Stevenson Ridge history on display in the Lodge. I say “new” because it’s history, which by definition makes it old–but the displays themselves are new.
The first is a frame containing some images of Brig. Gen. Thomas Greely Stevenson, for whom the property is named. There’s a brief bio accompanying the images so that visitors can learn at least a little bit about him. (More info on Stevenson is available in our book Traces …
from Chris
One of my super-powers, apparently, is my ability to find four-leaf clovers. I don’t go looking for them; instead, they tend to leap out at me.
I always think of the scene from the movie Rain Man when someone spills a whole box of matches and Dustin Hoffman’s character glances at them and then rattles off the exact number of matches on the floor. That’s sort of what it’s like for me spotting four-leaf clovers: i just glance, …
from Chris
We’ve had a pretty few intense days here on the blog because of the 155th anniversary of the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, so let’s turn our attention to something a little lighter:
We’ve had a pair of geese raising some goslings on the property this spring. The chicks have gotten pretty big already, too!
Here, momma and her four goslings are waddling from the Riddick House to the pond. Daddy goose was with the gaggle, too, but …
A map on a wayside panel in Spotsylvania National Battlefield shows the alignment of the armies during the second half of the battle, prior to their withdrawals from Spotsy.
from Chris
Think of the village of Spotsylvania Court House as sitting at the center of a clock. Brock Road, where the armies first clashed on the morning of May 8, sits at roughly 10 o’clock. The Mule Shoe, scene of the horrific hand-to-hand battle on May 12, sits at roughly …