Hey, Ewe! Look around!

Folks who live in Richmond, Virginia, will frequently tell visitors "If you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes." It is true that the weather can change dramatically here, but this seems to have been the experience of most of the country over the past year. Overall, our temperatures are fairly moderate if viewed over the span of a year. Summers are usually hot and humid, but the thermometer doesn't climb above 100 degrees for too many days in a row, and winter temperatures are normally above the teens. There are exceptions, of course, and that's what tends to stick in people's minds.


The weather can fluctuate wildly over a couple of days, however, and sometimes we have startling changes in temperature within the span of a few hours. My sinuses react accordingly. This is why, after cold weather last week, my buddy Sheldon and I decided to take advantage of a warm, sunny day yesterday for a walk in a nearby park. We went to a place near my home that is actually three parks that conjoin: Crump Park, RF&P Park, and the Meadow Farm.


Meadow Farm is a 19th century working farm with a handsome restored home from the early 1800's. Workers in period dress tend to the house, fields, and farm animals. The livestock are an assortment authentic to the period, and include work horses, cows, pigs, turkeys, chickens, and sheep. Sheldon and I strolled around in t-shirts and shorts, enjoying the sun, saying "hello" to the various farm critters.


Sheldon noticed a flock of sheep, and pointed out several lambs amongst the ewes. They were quite young; we guessed probably a couple of weeks old. All big ears and knobby knees, they were cute as they could be. I wished I had a camera (or a cleaver). Oh, shut up! I'm just kidding! Sheesh! Put down the phone and stop dialing PETA.


I'm guilty of traveling all over the place, but ignoring the many interesting places right here where I live. I'm going to change that. With gas prices escalating like mad, why spend the time and money going to far flung places when there's so much I haven't explored in my own backyard?


This afternoon, I took my friend John to visit Maymont. I've lived in this area for thirty years and never toured this gilded-age mansion. Built as a country estate, its one-hundred acres are now surrounded by a post-WWII neighborhood and Byrd Park, but once you are on the property it's easy to forget the encroaching city. The house and grounds perch on bluffs overlooking the James River, and offer an upstairs/downstairs view of life in the early 1900's.


A renovation a few years ago included the kitchen, laundry, service areas, and servants' rooms in the basement. Through research, the nearly-forgotten biographies of the African-Americans who worked for the mansion's owners are now included in the house tour. The owners had no children and left the property to the City of Richmond, so there were very few alterations made to the home since the time it was built. It's like a time capsule.


We immersed ourselves in the past inside the mansion, and then invigorated ourselves exploring the rose gardens, the Japanese gardens (big, hungry koi in the pond), and the collection of antique carriages. We were weary but happy when we got back to the car.


I'll bet there are similar things you can do near your home that you've never experienced as well. Have fun locally, and save a few trips to the gas pump. Let me know if you see anything interesting.