http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/special_report/james_river_journal/ en rspringston@timesdispatch.com Copyright 2009 2009-11-17T15:45:56-05:00 http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/jamesriverjournal/article/special_night_for_the_river/ http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/jamesriverjournal/article/special_night_for_the_river/#When:15:45:56Z There will be a night of storytelling by James River lovers here at the Times-Dispatch on Thursday, Nov. 19, from 6 to 8 p.m. The event, free to the public, launches the book, “James River Journal: A Year in the Life of the River.“ Photographer Kevin Morley and I will be there to speak and sign books. Some people who were subjects in stories in the book will also speak. They are David Sligh, the riverkeeper for the upper James; Chris Hull, a river lover who enjoys snorkeling with giant catfish; Danny Jefferson, a member of the Chickahominy Indian tribe; David Everette, a photographer who has captured thousands of images of the river; and Bryan Watts, a biologist whose research helps protect eagles and other birds along the James. The paper is at 300 E. Franklin St. Parking is available.   2009-11-17T15:45:56-05:00 http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/jamesriverjournal/article/james_river_journal_the_book/ http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/jamesriverjournal/article/james_river_journal_the_book/#When:19:42:40Z   The James River Journal series will live on as a book. It will include condensed versions of all the stories I wrote, with new commentaries, plus more picture than you saw in the paper. The book will sell for $14.99 and should be available in early November. You can pre-order online by going to http://www.timesdispatchbooks.com. Later, we will have copies on sale here at the newspaper. Photographer Kevin Morley and I also will be signing books at various events. Stay tuned. 2009-10-22T19:42:40-05:00 http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/jamesriverjournal/article/the_last_journal/ http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/jamesriverjournal/article/the_last_journal/#When:18:39:17Z The James River Journal installment that runs Monday (Oct. 19) will be the last. I hope you hate to see it go. I know I do. The year passed quickly. Photographer Kevin Morley and I began the project—a story a month for a year—last November with a piece about Richmond in fall. We started in November with the idea that we would finish in October 2009, then turn the series into a calendar for 2010. The calendar may or may not happen. But the Journal will live on in a bigger, better way. How? Find out by reading Monday’s paper. 2009-10-15T18:39:17-05:00 http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/jamesriverjournal/article/the_other_folk_festival_star/ http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/jamesriverjournal/article/the_other_folk_festival_star/#When:15:06:45Z Hundreds, and maybe thousands, of people attending the Richmond Folk Festival noticed an unpublicized star—the James River. Numerous people strolled along the river or walked out on the catwalk that juts into the James from the western end of Brown’s Island. While people on land played gospel, bluegrass and all sorts of music, on the river a great blue heron stabbed a fish and cormorants dove for meals to the tune of the rushing rapids. It has always struck me as strange how local officials publicize the Canal Walk when, to me, the canal is basically a big tub of water. People are naturally drawn to the James, its rapids and its denizens.     2009-10-12T15:06:45-05:00 http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/jamesriverjournal/article/water_willow/ http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/jamesriverjournal/article/water_willow/#When:19:20:05Z Anyone who visits the James surely has noticed a plant, 1 to 3 feet tall, that grows along the banks, on islands and between rocks. This is water willow, and in warm months it is emerald green, with small, declicate white-and-purple flowers. Now, however, the plant is turning to gold. The willows shift from green to a warm yellow this time of year. The colors will be brilliant for several days before the leaves turn brown. If you are on Brown’s Island for the Folk Festival this weekend, stroll out on the catwalk that juts into the river near the island’s west end. Look about 30 feet to your right, upriver, and you’ll see a small island covered with the golden willows. It’s worth the walk. 2009-10-08T19:20:05-05:00 http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/jamesriverjournal/article/the_last_dip/ http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/jamesriverjournal/article/the_last_dip/#When:21:53:51Z Some people refuse to give up on summer. I’m one of them. I love to swim and snorkel in the James. I visited several sections of the river Sunday (Oct. 4) with photographer Kevin Morley to gather material for our last James River Journal installment. At Pony Pasture Rapids, several people were wading, body surfing and swimming in the river. After Kevin left, I got my mask and snorkel out of the car and plunged in. I would have been warmer in a pitcher of ice water. After a few minutes,  however, I sort of got used to it—until I got really cold and had to get out. It was worth it, though. The river is low and clear now. Was that the last plunge of summer? If the temperature climbs up to the high 70s or so sometime soon, maybe not. 2009-10-05T21:53:51-05:00 http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/jamesriverjournal/article/river_rats_cling_to_summer/ http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/jamesriverjournal/article/river_rats_cling_to_summer/#When:19:17:52Z   Some river lovers aren’t giving up. On a recent visit to Pony Pasture Rapids and the Wetlands, I saw people continuing to bask on rocks, take dips and otherwise pretend it’s still summer. One guy, a middle-aged man with long graying hair, set up a lawn chair on a rock probably 40 yards from shore and did some reading with no one to bother him but his two dogs. It strikes me that there is a season between the warmth of summer and the colors of fall. What do you think? How do you enjoy the James at this time of year. Drop me a line at rspringston@timesdispatch.com. 2009-10-01T19:17:52-05:00 http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/jamesriverjournal/article/the_quiet_season/ http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/jamesriverjournal/article/the_quiet_season/#When:22:44:35Z It seems to me that the James River changes in late September and early October. We go into a quiet, but quite beautiful, season. Most of the swimmers have gone. Most of the migratory birds have left. But many people know that this is one of the best times to get out along the river. What do you like about the James at this time of year?  Drop me a line at rspringston@timesdispatch.com.   2009-09-22T22:44:35-05:00 http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/jamesriverjournal/article/new_weed_in_the_james/ http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/jamesriverjournal/article/new_weed_in_the_james/#When:22:51:30Z I plan soon to write an article about hydrilla, a non-native plant that is increasingly showing up in the James River. Many experts consider hydrilla an invasive pest. That is seconded by people who have trouble getting their boats through it, or just don’t like looking at its green mats. But others say the James, and many Chesapeake Bay waters, have lost so many underwater grasses that any new plant is good. It provide oxygen and gives young fish a place to hide. Have you seen hydrilla? What do you think of it. Drop me a line at rspringston@timesdispatch.com 2009-09-10T22:51:30-05:00 http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/jamesriverjournal/article/more_on_catfish_killings/ http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/jamesriverjournal/article/more_on_catfish_killings/#When:19:54:37Z My wife and I went snorkeling Saturday (Sept. 5) in Catfish Alley, a pool in the James near Shockoe Slip. The pool, about three feet deep, once contained dozens of huge, nearly tame flathead catfish that people could swim with and touch. You may recall from earlier stories that poachers with nets and spears have killed a lot of the catfish. I have done two stories on the issue, including on on Saturday. Sure enough, my wife and I found just four big catfish, including a huge one—maybe 3 to 3.5 feet—that my wife named Chubby. We also met a man, an Iraq war veteran, who said he had recently caught one with a spear he made by tying a knife on the end of a metal bar. Even he felt bad that so many fish had been taken from the pool. He said there had been about 100 catfish in there at one point. If you see poaching, call the state anti-poaching hotline at (800) 237-5712. 2009-09-08T19:54:37-05:00