A Ghostly History

HOTEL CHAMBERLIN
Old Point Comfort, Hampton
Built 1890-96; burned 1920
Photograph: Virginia Historical Society

The Chamberlin was one of a series of hotels to grace Old Point Comfort on the peninsula containing Fort Monroe and marking the entrance to Hampton Roads harbor. One was the antebellum Hygeia Hotel, which was razed only six years after the opening of the more modern Chamberlin. The first Hotel Chamberlin, pictured here, was the brainchild of restaurateur and gaming magnate, John Chamberlin. He chose Smithmeyer and Pelz, architects of the Library of Congress, to design the hotel. This massive Queen Anne establishment was to feature the latest in amenities, including an on-site ice plant, laundry, billiard rooms, a bowling alley, an electrical plant, as well as shops and railroad and telegraph offices. The public spaces were impressive. The dining room was given a large gallery to house the dinner orchestra, and large windows affording a view of Hampton Roads. The ballroom was 1,000 square feet in size. The current Georgian style Chamberlin occupies the site. (from VAHistorical)

More than one spirit is said to walk the halls of this large establishment, but the most famous is the ghost of a young woman named Ezmerelda. Her father, a fisherman, went to sea one day and never returned….and she’s still waiting for him to return. Her spirit has been haunting the 8th floor since the 1920s.  It was so upsetting for the guests that the 8th floor was closed off for years.  She has been quiet in recent years but you find yourself hearing the sound of footsteps or spotting an apparition or a coldness in a room. Maybe you’ll even hear the playing of a piano. ( from allstays.com)

Have a Happy Halloween and a nice weekend!

The Garden in 2006

I’ve been browsing through my photos on the external harddrive and come across these photos of the garden in the spring of 2006.  It’s amazing how different things look now.  These photos were before I got my digital camera.  These were transferred by the photo center from film to cds. (click on any picture to enlarge it)

This is the Fountain Bed in a previous life.  The urn fountain in the center was the predecessor to the new self contained fountain.  Look how pretty my Rhododendrum looks in full bloom with those lovely lavender blossoms.

The Arbor Garden looked pretty good that spring too.  I know it’s spring because the grass is green and healthy.  The heat of summer hasn’t done it’s damage yet.  My Clematis ‘Nelly Moser’ on the right side of the arch is in full flush and looking pretty spectacular.

Here you can see the Woodland Garden minus the Crepe Myrtle.  Down to the far right corner you can just make out the white top of the old TV Antenna that was removed this year and made into a trellis.  The Daffodil foliage is still green under the Nandinas and the Lirope new growth has just emerged.

The Rose and Border Beds are looking fresh and showing off their late spring flowers.  The Yellow Irises, Knockout Roses and Clematis ‘Niobe’ are blooming happily.  When you enlarge the photo you can just make out the buds on the Peonies. 

The front foundation bed looks fairly young here with the Euonymus ‘Emerald & Gold’ still  quite small.  They are three times this size now.  Oh and I had roses growing on this pair of trellises mounted to the brick wall.  They didn’t bloom this year so they will be replaced with something else that is more prolific.  Well I hope you enjoyed the trip back in time to my garden of 2006.

Massive Mushrooms

Something is causing a massive invasion of mushrooms in my neighbor’s yard.   These piles are just a small example of the fungi phenomenen growing in several areas throughout their back yard.  I happened upon them when I was calling for my cat Mooch to come in this morning.  He likes to lounge on their deck when it’s sunny outside.  Lucky for me they are cat lovers too.  They have a older male cat who gets along quite famously with mine.  Which is quite unusual since neither one them gets along with any other cat in the neighborhood.  Anyhow when I wandered back there to look for my cat I noticed these brown piles which I didn’t realize were mushrooms at first glance.  Of course I happened to have my camera on me so I took a quick picture to share with all of you.  I’ve never seen anything like this in my own yard.  Have you?

Lingering Ladies

I was surprised to see the Painted Ladies still enjoying the blossoms on my Buddleia yesterday morning.   Especially since the daytime temps have dropped to the 50′s.  I’m assuming we must be on their migration path and they were just stopping off for some refreshment.  There were three of them flitting around the flowers like crazy.   I had to be very patient and stand completely still since they seemed quite nervous. 

Which is why this shot may be a bit fuzzy, sorry about that, but she wasn’t too keen on getting her photo taken.   I don’t know why, she was pretty compared to her companions who looked a bit faded out. 

Now that’s better and she gave me a nice view of her wings spreading out.  My butterfly bush is still pushing out blooms like there is no tomorrow.   

Look at her great sense of balance on this bloom.  What a showoff!    I wonder if I will still have many more lingering ladies in the days to come…

GB Fall Color Project: Virginia

Dave over at The Home Garden is doing a Garden Blogger Fall Color Project where you can post photos of  the autumn color in your area.  If you would like to participate or to view other posts click here.

I posted earlier this month about the Red Oak that is planted in the median for the entrance to my neighborhood.  This is the view from my kitchen window each fall.  Talk about a pretty borrowed view.

To the right is the trees that act as a backdrop for my neighbor’s houses.  This tapestry of reds, yellows and greens makes a pretty scene in the fall while sitting on my deck or patio.  Fall color has come to Virginia!