Bald Cypress Trail at First Landing State Park

First Landing State Park is a significant area for Americans. The name reflects a rich history of being right on Cape Henry, where the settlers "first landed" in 1607 before heading to Jamestown to officially settle. I'm planning on doing a more in-depth blog on that history, but the park itself is a fantastic place. I went right as summer was winding down. The heat was still in the air, but the thick trees of the park created a relaxing, shaded place to hike and see nature. I got some great nature photos and wanted to show them here.

The great thing about living in Charleston, SC and Saratoga Springs, NY, is that living in Virginia is the best of both worlds for them. I get aspects I love of the north here, and aspects I love of the south. One aspect is the swamps of the south. The trail I took, Bald Cypress Trail, made me feel like I was back in South Carolina.

As you can see, this trail shows off the wetlands of the park. The murky water was distinct and swampy. This was in the middle of the trail, but it's the most significant part and what the Bald Cypress Trail is known for. I'll go more in depth later on what these trees are called and what those stumps are. I just thought this would be a good beginning photo since it's the most known representation of the trail. My next photos will be in the order I took them on the trail.

The trees when first entering the trail. It almost looked like some exotic jungle with the thin trunks and winding vines all over.

Here was a good shot of just how large and looming the trees are. It's hard to tell from some far away photos, even the big trees can look pretty thin. But no, there are some large trees in this area. Like I said, the perfect representation of the north and south. They have small and big trees. You can also see the thick canopy cover at the bottom left of the photo creating the refreshing shade.

A hollowed out log to create a cozy home for a creature. Especially with the cold season starting. 

Seeing this reminded me of my blog of the fairy woods up in New York. Life finding a way and seeing new growth. 

The Bald Cypress Trail had some great outlooks over the swampy terrain. I love how in this state you can have an area like this, with swamps and thin trees. Then you can thicker forests with pine and sycamore trees.

I mainly take photos of mushrooms because my best friend loves mushroom hunting. Something interesting about Virginia Beach though is that I've seen more mushrooms here than anywhere else growing in the sand near the beach. 

I was extremely excited to see the leaves starting to change color. It's trivial now, being November, but when I took this I was so ready for summer and the heat to be over. This was one of the first signs I saw of Autumn.

There were a few wooden overlooks on this trail. There were TONS of turtles, frogs, and dragonflies all over. I stood there for awhile not making much noise, and that's how I was able to get so many good looks at the wildlife. They didn't realize I was there.

I believe this is a green frog. The only reason I saw it was because it's cute, little head was poking out. Its body was completely camouflaged to the murky water and plants in it.

A dragonfly. There were so many flying around, I was happy to get a shot of one standing still.

I can't tell but this looks like another green frog. Its face looks to have that green coloration while it's body is that camouflaged dark green. It's legs are so long though - I bet it can jump far.

A spider eating a dragonfly. This picture sure does exemplify the hot weather season over here. Tons of creepy crawlies around, surviving in their own circle of life.

A zoomed in photo of the spider eating the dragonfly, because I wanted to give you all the heebie-jeebies.

I know it's hard to see, but there's a frog under all of that algae. It truly hid itself from everyone.  

 Another green frog I think! I thought it would be another type since its face isn't green, but it has webbed feet which rules out a lot of other types of frogs in the area.

The little one was very photogenic. I even got the little details of its rough skin texture.

A very bright mushroom growing out of the ground. I remember its vivid color stood out to me on my hike.

This turtle was very quiet and it took awhile to spot it hiding in the shrubbery and on the shore sunbathing. 

I love this photo because it shows off the surface floating algae on the water. It looks like a swamp right out of Louisiana or something. 

Now here's something interesting. This guy right above me was HUGE. I heard a loud noise and looked over and a lot of water was moving. Its back got caught on a log which made it look bigger, but you can see the head itself is the size of the body of the sunbathing turtle from before. I asked the ranger about it, and he said they had a lot of enormous snapping turtles in the park. They get pretty large there and stay in the deep parts of the water. I took a video of it swimming - unfortunately, it was at the end of its time above water and it went behind some plants then went down below the surface. I posted the video on my YouTube connected to this blog.

 

Here it is up top, and if it doesn't go through here's the link : 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgDkhCfCRz8

I know the video isn't the best, but that snapping turtle was tremendous, like a little alligator or something. 

After all of that excitement, here's one last photo I got on this wooden overlook of a little frog peaking its head up above the water.

The contrast of this magenta-colored leaf on the tan needles was very pretty to me. You can see the leaf has tiny patches of green in it too.

Here's another photo of the trees in the water. I like the three different shades of brown at the bottom of their trunks. One thing it said in the pamphlet for this hike, is that those little stumps aren't dead. The live trees called the pneumatophore tree, grow what are called these "knees" out from their roots. Then they grow straight up out of the water, and help give oxygen to the tree roots itself. It's pretty amazing.

The last photo I took on the trail was this diagonal tree and its spiderweb roots. It was a beautiful picture to me.

So there's my hike on the Bald Cypress Trail at First Landing State Park. I saw a lot of interesting nature, and just re-hiked the trail last week. It's not as green now that it's gotten colder, but there were a lot more squirrels running around. It's a delightful trail and I truly enjoyed it. I hope it felt like you got to enjoy the hike with me. We saw some pretty exciting sights in it.

The Drums

Happy Halloween my readers! Right now where I am, it's windy, dark, and late. Trick-or-treating is over, children are in bed, but the night is still young for those of us who are awake. The veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest. So keep your jack-o-lanterns out to ward off any malevolent spirits. If they manage to get in your house, make sure you're wearing a costume so they don't recognize you. I thought since it's a dark, dreary night for All Hallows Eve, I'd tell you a spooky, true story my dad told me.

It's been years since I've heard this, and currently only my sister and I remember it, so bear with me if I've missed any details. It's a supernatural occurrence that happened to my dad when he was a kid. It's short, but it raises the hairs on my skin.

My dad grew up in San Francisco. If you know much about there, you know that they can have some crisp, cool weather. They have their infamous fog that sweeps over the rolling hills of the city. It's a beautiful area, at least in terms of terrain, and my dad told me a lot of stories from his time growing up there. One story always stuck out to me though. The story of the drums.

When my dad was younger, his family would go on hikes in the local parks and surrounding forest. One day, his family and him went on a hike. It was a normal day - cool and refreshing out. He described it as a day like any other. There weren't necessarily a lot of other people out, so it was a bit isolating. Other than that though, everyone was enjoying the fresh pine air, and subtle gusts of wind  glossing through the trees. They were getting pretty deep into their hike, when suddenly they heard a faint thumping sound.

"Thump, thump, thump," it went off in the distance. They were confused, but quickly figured out it sounded like a drum. It was like someone was hitting a powerful drum with a thick stick, over and over in a repetitive, steady pattern. It was odd, but they chalked it up to just an abnormal occurrence, and kept walking.

The sound stayed stable in the background for awhile, but it did start to get louder and louder as time went on. Eventually, my dad's family started wondering where this noise was coming from. The noise was gradually getting closer and closer to them, and their curiosity started to soar. Additionally, their fear started to peak up too. This was an odd sound, with no explanation, and my dad's family hadn't seen another person on their hike for awhile now.

The sound continued, "thump, thump, thump." Perhaps the most bizarre thing about this sound, my dad told me, was that it wasn't coming from one direction. It was surrounding them from every angle, with seemingly no origin.

"Thump, thump, thump" - the noise got louder. It all became more confusing.

The beat then started going faster. It was quickly gaining on them from all around.

"Thump, thump, thump, thump."

It got closer and closer, surrounding them. My dad said his heart was racing. He looked up and saw fear in his parents eyes. That's when he knew it was time to be scared, even his parents didn't understand was going on. They all started to run.

It didn't matter how fast they ran. The noise was closing in on them, from every angle. They kept running and running, trying to get away, but it stayed caught up with them. In fact, it was only getting louder.

"THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP."

My dad described it as being right on top of them. Even if they kept running, it kept following them, enclosing in on them. My dad was so afraid. The drums were hurting his ears and he didn't know where he could go, or what he could do to find safety.

Just when the whole family was at their limit for fear, and felt completely hopeless, it suddenly stopped.

My dad and his family were out of breath. They all looked at one another, wondering what had just happened, where the noise had gone, and if they were finally safe. They kept waiting for it to come back, their nervous expressions didn't fade for a long time. But the sound didn't come back. The noise stopped so abruptly, they started to wonder if they had just made it all up in their heads, or exaggerated how loud it was - how fearful it had made them. They went home, seemingly never talking about what had just occurred in the forest.

My dad spent many nights in the woods alone after that through his life. He went on and became a ranger, and hiked and camped a lot just on his own time too.  Whether it was from his work out in various forests, or a motorcycle road trip alone, he was always out in the woods by himself for one reason or another. However, he told us he never heard those drums again. He had no explanation for it. He knew he remembered it right. He was so young, but he could never forget the fear on his parents faces as the sound closed in on them from all sides. It was an phenomenon he never found an answer to, and something he wondered about his whole life.

So there you have it. Here's a simple story to help your skin crawl this All Hallows Eve. Stay safe tonight. And remember, there are things in this world that have no logical explanation. So be safe when the veil between the living and the dead is it's thinnest - sometimes you can't run away from something that's set on getting you. Have a happy Halloween.

Grace Sherwood - Named Witch of Virginia Beach

Being on the east side of the country has brought a lot more history into my life. I currently live close to where the original settlers first landed in the states, when America was discovered. So you can say this area has an extensive backstory to it, even if America isn't itself a very old country.

Part of our tale of woe as a country is a lot of horrendous acts. Like every other formed country in the world though, we are moving forward and learning from these everyday, as to make sure history doesn't repeat itself. One documented theme that catches people's attentions though, is our puritan era where we burned, hung, drowned, and killed in various other ways, what we deemed witches. I'm sure you've all heard of the Salem Witch Trials, and the massacre that fell on the women of this era. These tended to be women who stuck out among other women, accused by many for not fitting the social or religious standards of the time. This consisted of a wide range of independent women, women who were too unique to those in their towns, women who laughed too much or too loud, women who's beauty was too strong for the male to trust himself with, or even women who liked something as simple as herbal medicine, as Grace Sherwood did. She is the one I'll be talking about today.

I went and visited the monument dedicated to her, and the church where a gravestone was put in for her honor. Her statue is on the corner of Witchduct Rd., on the grounds of a hospital. This road was named after her, as she was the only person in this area to be subject to trial by ducking. This is also known as Trial by Ordeal, Ordeal by Water, or the most famous, Trial by Water. The point of this practice was that water is considered a sacred, holy element. If she drowned and died by it, the water was accepting her and she was pure and not a witch. If she lived, then the water was rejecting her for being impure and she was a witch. It was a lose-lose situation.

Grace White was born in 1660 in Pungo, Virginia of Princess Anne County. Pungo has now transformed to parts of Virginia Beach. Grace Sherwood's most famous name is "The Witch of Pungo" due to this. Her father, James White, was an American farmer and carpenter, and her mother, Susan White, was born in England. When Grace was 20, so in 1680, she married James Sherwood, and became herself Grace White Sherwood. He was a farmer like her father, so Grace was surrounded by farming, growth, and greenery her whole life. This inspired her to grow herbs herself, and use them as a natural medicine for all creatures alike. She was known for even helping animals out with this medicine. When Grace and James got married, her father gave them 50 acres of his land. In 1681, a year after James and Grace were wed, her father passed away, and they inherited the entire farm that consisted of 145 acres. Grace and James had three children, all were boys. Two were named after their father and grandfather, John and James, the third was named Richard. Along with healing sick creatures with her herbs, and helping out on the farm, Grace also was midwife. She was known for being a diverse character. A notable fact about her is that she not only helped out on the farm, but she also wore pants while doing so, instead of a dress. In these times, that was rare, and may have added to people being distrustful of her. Unfortunately, in 1701, her James passed away, and Grace had the entire property to herself.

Now prior to his death, Grace had been accused of withccraft a couple of times. In 1697, a man named Richard Capps said she had put a curse and murdered his bull. The court actually didn't go against her, or with her, and came to no decision with this. Grace was a strong person though, and sued Richard for defamation afterwards, in which she got an unknown settlement to close the case. A year later in 1698, her neighbor John Gisburne alleged she had "enchanted" his cotton and pigs. The same results happened as the first trial, where the courts didn't take a side. She, again, filed for defamation. Again, in 1698, a woman named Elizabeth Barnes claimed Grace had transformed into a black cat, came into her house and onto her bed, and when she drove the cat out it left through the door keyhole. This obviously was quite the stretch, but as before, the courts didn't take a side and Grace filed for defamation, only to fail and lose money from court costs and fees. All of this was painting out Grace to be a problem to the community, along with her tall figure, her herb garden, her "manly" sense of humor, and her wearing pants while farming.

After Grace's husband died, some say the townspeople wanted her land, and that's what led to the ultimate ducking trial. However, the straw the broke the camel's back was in 1705. Grace got in an physical altercation with Elizabeth Hill, her neighbor. Grace ended up suing her and her family for assaulting her, and the courts saw favor in that. She got twenty shillings from this. It seems like a win right? Well, unfortunately, it gave people an excuse to blame Grace for a miscarriage Elizabeth suffered about a year later (1706). Their thought process was that she was still upset over the ordeal and "bewitched" Mrs. Hill to cause it.

Leading up to the ultimate trial by water, the courts ordered twelve, and I quote "ancient and knowing women" to search Grace for witches marks. (On a side note, Elizabeth Barnes was one of these "knowing" women, so you can see the bias already). These were thought to come from the devil, and were more often than not something that looked like a wart, or a nipple. So we have twelve "ancient and trusted" women, in the puritan era, looking at an herbal medicine maker, animal loving, trouser wearing, woman for witch marks. They claim to have found two.

One beautiful quote I found in my research was that Grace Sherwood was taken into a church prior to the ducking trial, and given the chance ask for forgiveness of her essential sorcery. She said "I be not a witch, I be a healer." 

However, she still went through the trial by water - twice. The first time she floated to the surface, and the second time they put a thirteen pound bible on her. Grace untied it and came to the surface, proving, to them, she was a witch. It's also said that right before she was thrown in the first time, she said "before this day be through you will all get a worse ducking than I." Then afterwards it rained heavily, so that also added to people's fear of her "evil doings." We don't have any way of actually knowing if she said that though. Afterwards, she was put into her local jail. 

Many of the records to what happened after to Grace can't be found, but it's said she stayed in jail as long as almost eight years after. She was also made to pay someone named Christopher Cocke, 600 pounds of tobacco. In 1714 she was back on her land. While all of the details between 1706-1714 are up in the air, there is documentation that 1714 is when she first started paying taxes back for her land. This indicates it's the first year she got to go home. Events following this were quiet. Grace was said to live a simple life to herself for the rest of her years. She died in 1740, at the age of 80, leaving everything to her sons.

(The trial of 1706. At Witchduck Point, 10 AM July 10th, 1706. Grace Sherwood, the daughter of a carpenter and the wife of a planter in the county of Princess Anne, was accused of witchcraft. Grace was tried in the second Princess Anne County Courthouse, found guilty, and consented to the traditional trial by water, Grace was tied crossbound and dropped into water above man's depth. If she were to sink and drown she was innocent and could be buried on holy ground, Grace did float, thus was guilty as the pure water was casting out her evil spirit. She was incarcerated in the local jail just beyond this statue. After her release, Grace paid back taxes on her property in 1714, returned to her farm and worked the land until her death at age 80 in the Autumn of 1740. Grace Sherwood, Virginia's only convicted witch tried by water, she lays claim to Witchduck Road. Her legend lives on as "THE INFAMOUS WITCH OF PUNGO.")

(Grace White Sherwood 

Born 1660 Died 1740

Married April 1680 to James Sherwood

James died 1701

Survived by sons,

John, James, and Richard

--

Sentara Healthcare has graciously provided this sit in recognition of their community, and the history that surrounds us.

This 21st day of April 2007

--

Sculptor Robert Cunningham)

(Timothy M. Kaine. Governor. Ms. Belinda Nash. 

Dear Ms. Nash:

I am pleased to join the mayor of Virginia Beach in extending best wishes as you work to promote justice in the 1706 "witch ducking" case of Grace Sherwood.

With 300 years of hindsight, we all certainly can agree that trial by water is an injustice. We can also celebrate the fact woman's equality is that a constitutionally protected today, and women have the freedom to pursue their hopes and dreams.

The historical records that survive indicate that Ms. Sherwood, a midwife and widowed mother of three, survived her "trial by water" in 1706. Those records also indicate that one of my predecessors, governor Alexander Spotswood, eventually helped her reclaim her property. The records also indicate Ms. Sherwood led an otherwise quiet and law abiding life until she died at the age of 80. 

Today, July 10 2006, as 70th governor of the commonwealth of Virginia, I am pleased to officially restore the good name of Grace Sherwood.

Sincerely

Timothy M. Kaine)

So three hundred years later, Grace Sherwood's name was finally cleared. These last photos have been of her statue by the hospital on Witchduct Rd. When you walk up, there's many different names carved into the bricks. I showed a couple for Grace Sherwood, and the Pagan community here. There was also one for Belinda Nash, who the governor's letter was addressed to, and other ones for various accused witches of this area as well. Here's one example : 

So Grace wasn't the only named witch in this area. Which is sad to hear about, and others actually died from the accusations. 

I also went and visited her headstone that the Old Donation Episcopal Church has in honor for Grace Sherwood. It's only down the street from the statue. 

It was in this white, fenced-off area.

The place was well maintained. Pathways, a bench, and decorations ran through it. The most notable, and sweet touch I saw though was that it was an herb garden, in honor of Grace and her love for herbs. 

A tranquil place to sit among the herbs, in honor of Grace Sherwood.

It was a beautiful experience to see this. I'm thankful the church was so thoughtful in how they presented this site.

(In memory of Grace White Sherwood

1660-1740

Healer of sick with herbs

Convicted as a witch

She survived Virginia's only trial by ducking in the Lynnhaven River

July 10, 1706

Named cleared by governor

300 years later)

I want to end this on a good note, and I'll try. Unfortunately, people love a good scary story more than the truth of a matter. Grace's actual grave is unmarked, under some trees in between Princess Anne Rd. and Pungo Ferry Rd. (VA Beach). People circulate stories of that area being haunted. They say black cats slink around, and abnormal storms hit the area. Back when she was first buried, any cat found around the grave was killed. The legends continue to this day - that when Grace died, her body was put next to her fireplace by her sons. A gust of wind supposedly came down the chimney and stirred up dust, sparks, and embers. After the distortion of it all, her body was gone. The only sign left was a cloven footprint. They say the devil took her body. Her land was continuously burned down and vandalized. In 2002, the little bit that was left was bulldozed away, except maybe a few bricks that are too overgrown to find anymore. Now the land is part of the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

How do I know her legend is known to scare people here more than it is to be a tragic tale of woe of an innocent woman getting accused of something she was not? Well, I was walking in a local mall here after I had started writing this blog. Someone was selling a book they wrote about her, Grace. They said they grew up here, and heard of all the legends of the Witch of Pungo. They began linking murders that happened to the land surrounding her, and said she had cursed the land. I told them about my blog, and they tried to persuade me to buy their book. I couldn't though. 

I'm sure not every local here views her as a scary story to tell in the dark. However, researching Grace, and talking to those in this area, I've seen more view her as a frightening figure, rather than a tragic character who was almost a martyr for her time. It's wrong to use a woman who went through so much, just for being different from her society, as a scary story. The truth is, Grace Sherwood was a light soul - a friend to the animals, and a lover of herbs and plants. She suffered many devastating events in her life by constantly being accused for something she was not. She had the will to fight back, which made her stick out more in a negative manner. She was eventually named a witch, and suffered for years because she survived death by water. Grace Sherwood is not someone who curses the land, but rather, her spirit and life's history rejuvenates it. These trials that took place centuries ago targeted the women who didn't fit into the church's standards that shaped their whole society. The accused witch's legacy's will live as a sign of hope, independence, and the true purity a soul can have. Rest in peace Grace Sherwood, and to all other victims to any witch trials in our world's history.