On a recent summer Saturday morning, a group of photographers came to George Washington’s Ferry Farm for a hike on the trails around the property. A lot of wildlife call Ferry Farm home, and we hoped to capture some of it. We saw many birds, a turtle, and a rabbit eating breakfast in the grass … Continue reading The Flora and Fauna of Ferry Farm [Photos]
Wildlife
The Wild Game on the Washingtons’ Table
The holiday season is beginning! No matter how you celebrate the next several weeks, you’re likely spending extra time thinking about food. We archaeologists are no different, only we also want to know what the Washingtons and their enslaved laborers ate, whether at the harvest, the holiday season, or simply a regular meal. Historians know … Continue reading The Wild Game on the Washingtons’ Table
Ferry Farm’s Bird Life: An Update
Between September 2017 and February 2019, the Fredericksburg Birding Club (FBC) conducted 12 bird surveys at George Washington’s Ferry Farm. We did three in spring, one in summer, three in fall, and five in winter. During that time, we saw 78 of the 136 species listed in the “Checklist of Birds at Ferry Farm” pamphlet … Continue reading Ferry Farm’s Bird Life: An Update
Surveying the Bird Life at George Washington’s Ferry Farm
Recently, on a gray overcast March morning, four members of the Fredericksburg Birding Club bundled up against the unseasonable cold to trudge across the open fields and through the forests of George Washington’s Ferry Farm to conduct their latest bird survey. It was their fourth such survey in the past seven months. During these surveys … Continue reading Surveying the Bird Life at George Washington’s Ferry Farm
Photos: Fall at Ferry Farm
Scenes from a recent autumn stroll around George Washington's Ferry Farm. This semester's Fleming-Smith Scholar Courtney Kuzemchak, a student at the University of Mary Washington, captured these seasonal images. You can see photos of Ferry Farm in winter here and a video from summer here.
Photos: Hummingbirds
Just outside a window of the Archaeology Lab near the demonstration garden at George Washington's Ferry Farm stands a hummingbird feeder. We regularly receive feathered visitors to the feeder. Archaeologist Laura Galke recently captured some photos of a couple of the hummingbirds as well as a surprise guest.
Photos: Nature Walk at George Washington’s Ferry Farm
George Washington's Boyhood Home at Ferry Farm offers a wonderful blend of woods, fields, wetlands, and riverfront. Fox, groundhogs, snakes, lizards, turtles, and deer make Ferry Farm their home. In the meadows, bushy heads of grass seeds provide an important source of food for birds. Beautiful flowers and majestic trees abound across the landscape. A … Continue reading Photos: Nature Walk at George Washington’s Ferry Farm
Photos: Our Urban Nature at Historic Kenmore
Nature shaped the lives of English colonists and enslaved Africans living and working at Kenmore Plantation 200 years ago. Over centuries, humans changed Kenmore’s natural world from a plantation setting into an urban green space. Yet, nature remains just outside the door. This past Saturday at Historic Kenmore, visitors had a chance to explore humans' … Continue reading Photos: Our Urban Nature at Historic Kenmore
White Snow. Blue Skies.
About a month ago on "Lives & Legacies," we shared a gallery of photos showing snow-covered Historic Kenmore and George Washington's Ferry Farm in years past. That post especially focused on snowy scenes of Kenmore. With snow from yesterday's storm still on the ground under beautiful sun-filled blue skies, we thought we ought to share a few more … Continue reading White Snow. Blue Skies.
Lives & Legacies 