The golden age of Richmond.

A post on Craigslist is advertising a gold bracelet with seven representations of Richmond’s most famous landmarks, including the Carillon.  This flattering bling is clear evidence that Richmond has made it to the big time.

Here’s the description:

14K Gold CL Ford-Richmond slide bracelet.
7 Slides of Richmond landmarks including: Clock Tower, Lowe’s Theatre, Carillon, Old City Hall, Thalhimers Bag, St. John’s Church.
Slides separated by 14k gold filled beads on wire bracelet.
Appraised value: $8k (can provide paperwork).

not good for sandwiches

A neighbor has water lettuce that multiplied like bunnies and now some of it needs to go and colonize your pond too.

The Lifetime cable channel is filming a movie in Richmond.  They aren’t sharing many details about it other than the fact that they need extras:

Sign ups for extras will be held this Saturday, Sept. 4 at the Byrd Park Roadhouse from 10 a.m. 2 p.m. All applicants are asked to bring a recent, non-returnable snapshot of themselves and a pen.

Waiting in a clearing to keep you company.

Walking around behind the Carillon, there are lots of surprises. One of those special features is this majestic tree that looms over a clearing at the edge of the woods.  It might remind you of a certain Shell Silverstein book, or an Ent, from the Lord of the Rings. Pay a visit. Bring a kid with you.

From the Friends of the William Byrd Park:

Subject: Meeting at Roundhouse 7PM Thurs Sep 2

Hi, The next meeting of Friends of William Byrd Park will be this Thursday evening at 7PM at the Roundhouse in Byrd Park.  We look forward to seeing you there!  Noel McKenzie of enrichmond will discuss how the foundation can assist Friends of Wm Byrd Park in upcoming tree planting efforts in the park.

Sarah
friendsofwmbyrdpark@gmail.com

Meeting Agenda:
Prune and Groom in October – planning
2010/2011 Tree planting at the Vita Course – planning
Website changes
Discussing by-laws for the October meeting

Foreground: Reset stump. Background: damaged cemetary wall.

The fallen tulip poplar tree near the Roundhouse is gone and so are the bees that lived within it. Previously, we posted our own pictures and video from CBS6 as a warning about the danger of aggitated bees. However, the ongoing story of the tree mess has concluded with a new home for the bees. A hole in the cemetery wall remains, as evidenced by the pictures posted here (the rest are after the jump). Here’s more from WTVR, CBS6:

It fell down in the park and stayed there for weeks because City crews discovered that it was loaded with thousands of bees. They wanted to protect the hive, so Friday crews disassembled the log piece by piece and were careful to protect the workers and the bees.

Luke McCall, an arborist for the City of Richmond said if they thought there was going to be any danger to the workers – they would have gone with another plan. Luckily, that didn’t happen. “Always there’s going to be something simpler. But in this case we really didn’t want to go there. We didn’t want to have to exterminate the bees knowing how important they are, we definitely want to try to save them.”

The bee log is now in Bryan Park near the azaleas. The arborists hope the hive will help pollinate the flowers. They also think it will be a safer situation for park visitors.

Read more >

Craigslist has word of a lost camera:

Lost Camera in Camera Bag (Fountain Lake, Byrd Park) Lost on Saturday afternoon, 28 August, a Canon Power Shot Camera in a small carrier case with a shoulder strap. The pictures are more important than the camera. Reward.

Air conditioning bills got you down? You’re not the only one.  Commiserate and collaborate with David from Rosewood Ave.   He added this comment to a great discussion thread about the need for a local solar panel initiative.

I just spent last weekend blowing insulation in my attic! Trying to do anything and everything I can to not waste my energy that I currently pay for. Which according to one website is way more than the average home in my zip code. What I don’t understand is, in my 1923 row-house, I have replaced all the windows, blown insulation in the attic and overall checked for any exposure points. My a/c unit still blows constantly and my bills don’t go down. I don’t know what else to do. It’s a brick home and the plaster is right on the brick, so no insulation there. But, it’s still 3 bricks thick on my first floor. You’d think that would stop most temperature change. Very frustrating.
On another note, I am looking for a spray foam insulation contractor for another project. Does anyone know of any contacts? (dvbii@nadami.com)

Tonight, the Byrd Park Civic League is convening a meet up of neighbors. From a BPCL email:

Dear Neighbors,
Everyone had such a fun time meeting new neighbors at National Night Out the social committee (Rick and Terry Hill) have planned another evening for neighbors to relax and enjoy good conversations.

A fun evening of enjoying food and beverages at Bogarts is taking place Thursday night, August 26th, at 6:30. Bogarts is located at 1903 West Cary Street. It’s so close to the neighborhood make plans now to stop by and say Hello. Although we would love to foot the bill, each person will be responsible for paying his or her own expenses.

Contact Rick or Terry if you have any questions. ClayJar4 (at)verizon(dot)net or jamesrichardhilljr(at)gmail(dot)com.

According to a local coffee expert’s coffee blog, Lamplighter Roasting Company has the best latte in Richmond:

My choice for winner of the best latte on my trip solidly goes to Lamplighter Roasting Company on Addison Street. Owner, Noel, was my barista for this latte experience and she crafted one of the better lattes I’ve ever had in my entire coffee career, no kidding.

For some very descriptive espresso analysis, check out Stephen’s coffee blog, and then check out Lamplighter.

Here’s an update on the bee tree story recently featured here:

The Byrd Park Civic League is looking for a logo. The contest is under way and they need more entries ASAP. If you can design one, they’re giving $50 in prize money to the winner. The deadline is 8/31. Email submissions or questions to BPCLRVA@gmail.com

Another delicious sounding restaurant is going in just across the footbridge (foodbridge?) at Cary and Addision.  Here’s an excerpt from the Richmond Magazine blog:

If things go according to plan, by mid-October, the space will house Fresca on Cary, a 1,000-square-foot restaurant with the tagline, “We’re not vegetarian, we just don’t serve meat,” Jimmy Sneed says.

The father-daughter team has worked together before at Carena’s Jamaican Grill, where Jimmy was a partner and Jenna was manager, and briefly at Southern Grill in the former Sixth Street Marketplace in late 2001 and early 2002.

“I sold my interest in Carena’s so we could do this restaurant together,” he says.

Fresca will have a custom-built pizza oven “like everybody else in the world,” Sneed says, and its menu will include rice salads, cous cous dishes, grilled vegetable sandwiches, Brie-and-grilled-pear sandwiches, and soups and stews.

Yes, that’s Jimmy Sneed of Frog and the Redneck fame.

Maymont Elementary School, the new home to several school’s pre-K programs, is going to feature a new playground.  Installation is is going to be handled by the same firm that created the playground at Mary Mumford Elementary (a very creative and modern environment for sure).  Construction is expected to be finished mid-September. The equipment will be geared toward children up to 6 years old.

This is great news for the neighborhood.  It’s too bad it’s taken this long to bring new recreational equipment to the neighborhood.  Maybe one day, we’ll be a higher priority.

A wooden bench went missing from a neighbor’s porch last night in the 2100 block of Rosewood Ave.  It was not fancy or particularly pretty, but you could sit on it. Now it’s gone.

This neighbor does not want a new bench. He wants his old bench back.  No picture’s are available, but if you see a weathered wooden bench on Craigslist or anywhere else, please post a comment.

UPDATES from Twitter (funny):

@thesnarkhunter: Bench warrant issued.

@RVAHULK: HULK ON ALERT FOR #RVA BENCH THIEF! HULK SMASH!

(takes place Tuesdays from September 7 through November 16 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. and Saturday November 6 from 9 a.m. – noon)

PRESS RELEASE

Department of Public Works

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 16, 2010

Contact:  Sharon North
Phone:  (804) 646-5607
Richmond Tree Stewards 2010

Are you interested in learning more about proper tree care?  The City of Richmond boasts one of the top urban forests in the country, and now you have the opportunity to learn more about the thriving trees in our community. Read more >

Loads of high-end bike stuff available from a Craigslister in the Carillon neighborhood:

Cleaning out my shed. Email with any questions. Be specific with what parts your talking about I have a lot of things posted in other sections. All prices are negotiable. If you want to combine some items the price could be reduced.

Trek Atelope 16.5” everything works flawlessly. Don’t waste your cash on a new bike from Target that wont last a semester. This bike is 10 years old and still as solid today as when it was new. $125

Gary Fisher Rig 21” Frame only w/ Cane Creak S6 headset, eccentric bottom bracket, 29er, single speed only, Fisher Platinum Series ZR9000 aluminum builds up to a very light bike , the frame has a fare amount of scratches, and has been repainted but is still a solid bike. $125 Read more >

Transformation: From row house to mini-castle.

When ex-Mayor Rudy McCollumn’s house was first featured on this site for its “supersized” construction of an addition, it wasn’t clear how the house was going to turn out. Well, it’s coming together as an eye-catching work of stone art.  Lakeview Ave features a number of impressive houses that reflect the regal spectacle of the sprawling park, but this one might just take the cake.  Rudy, if you’re reading, please say hi with a comment.