OK...so, it's not the kind of holiday lights I imagined

I've been meaning to write about spending the holidays at Lake Anna for weeks now but time has gotten away from me. So, while I thought I'd give a quick guide on finding the best holiday lights around the lake or Lake Anna holiday events for this weekend here's a strange twist...I found this article in my mailbox this morning instead. Let's just say this isn't the holiday post I envisioned.

Looks like Dominion Power has gotten an early Christmas present from the feds. The Richmond Times Dispatch reports:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a final environmental-impact statement on Dominion Virginia Power's request for a site permit for one or two new reactors at its North Anna Power Station. Regulators concluded that no environmental impacts would prevent the permit from being issued and no superior sites were available. Any adverse environmental impacts from preparing the site and preliminary construction could be dealt with, they said.

Of course, there are always many steps in these approval processes. No one expects the permitting to be completed until late next year at the earliest.

Ho-Ho-Ho. Not quite the traditional Holiday post but I'm off to wrap some more presents and bake some more goodies.

One of the "Joys" of Lake Living...Not!

As urbanites, the transition to lake living was a true learning experience for us. Septic systems, wells, wild critters eating everything we plant and winterizing boats are just a few of the topics that presented a real challenge at first!

Thankfully, this year the cold winter weather has really been delayed so all of our procrastinating wasn't quite as painful as it could have been...although my husband would disagree (since he had to get into the water one last time in November)...b-r-r-r. I was thinking about how daunting all of this was to us in those first winters. So, I thought I'd share the best winterizing information and resources I have found over the years.

Boat Safe's Nautical Know-How is a great website for a variety of water- related topics. They have a basic take on winterizing your boat that is helpful for novices. Boat USA also is a good resource and even has a winterizing check-list.

OK, now it's confession time. After doing all this research...we decided to leave it to the professionals. Many local marinas and/or boat dealers will come to you and winterize your boat or jet-ski right in your boat house. Can't beat that.

photo © Michael Jastremski for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike

The Wild Women of Lake Anna

Isn't it great when you get a "two-fer"?

For me, that's chocolate chip pancakes (two guilty pleasures rolled into one) and for my daughter it was finding a wonderful book called The Wild Women of Lake Anna. As a book lover (coming from a family of book lovers) finding an enjoyable story set in our favorite place was just too good to pass up.

Author, Linda Salisbury, is a Lake Anna local and has peppered this first in the Baily Fish Adventure series with lots of references that any Lake Anna resident or visitor will recognize. My daughter loved looking up places on the maps and tracking Baily's narrative with her own personal memories of favorite lake locales, like Contrary Creek.

Mrs. Salisbury has been signing copies of the latest in the series (already up to Book 4) throughout the Lake Anna area. Her next signing is Saturday, December 16th at Marshall's Corner in Unionville from 10a-2p.

Now if only I can cram one more thing onto my already ridiculous holiday "to do" list!

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It's cold and rainy...let's go to the lake!

I'm looking out my office window and all I see is gray.

Gray skies on gray buildings obscured only slightly by splatters of raindrops on my window pane. Why is it that this same exact rain would be "interesting" if I was watching it fall just outside our lake house windows instead? I need to get to Lake Anna...and soon. The weather will clear this weekend and maybe we can get in a couple of Lake Anna's famously beautiful sunsets...

If you're looking for something to do there are a few holiday type events scheduled over the next few weeks, mostly at local wineries. Lake Anna Buzz is a good place to start if you're looking for something fun.

There's also a popular Bass tournament starting this weekend. The Big Bucks Bass Series: Lake Anna Open Team/Individual Bass Tournaments run Nov. 19 and 26, and Dec. 2. Call 840-6772 for details.

Also in the Lake Anna News category, there is a new commercial development in the planning stages at the junction of Route 3, U.S. 522 and Lover's Lane. Coming from Northern Virginia, we call that the "back way" used frequently to avoid the dreaded I-95. The Freelance Star described the plans this way:

The Planning Commission also gave its blessing to Guinn's Crossing, an eight-acre project at the junction of Route 3, U.S. 522 and Lover's Lane. Part of the old Claude Guinn homeplace, the land being developed by Dr. Khurram Rashid will include a motel, a gas station/convenience store, a bank, a restaurant and an office building when completed.

"This location is a natural for commercial use," attorney Butch
Davies told the commission. He pointed out that Commonwealth Park (a horse show facility) is but a few miles down U.S. 522, which is also much used by LakeAnna traffic. Davies said that, as part of the proffers, the roofs of all the buildings, even the gas pump canopies, will be either hip or gabled so as to be aesthetically pleasing when viewed from the new Library of Congress Audio Visual Center located atop Mount Pony just to the east. Rezoning from residential to commercial is being requested.

Could be interesting...

One of those moments...

All of the rain last week reminded me of one of my favorite Lake Anna memories. It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments that was incredible in its simplicity yet something I'll never forget.

We were playing in the lake just outside our boathouse late one afternoon when the wind suddenly started shifting and swirling. You could hear the tree branches starting to rub together in movement and the leaves rustling overhead. Literally within minutes we could seen sheets of rain coming down in the distance, bouncing off the water and moving quickly toward us...all the while we were still swimming in sunlit water.

The clouds came and went so quickly, the whole thing could've been missed so easily. I've often thought just how lucky we were to be in the right place at the right time (isn't that so often true in life?). It was such an incredible experience that it even moved my daughter (8 at the time) to write a poem.

Around the Corner…

In the water we play

We hear the musical sound of water touching water

We hear the wind in the trees

It is raining just around the corner

It is not hard rain but soft

The rain is not on us…but coming closer

Now it is not around the corner but it is moving toward us

We go under the dock while the rain passes over us

To the woods

We still hear it

It’s no longer a musical sound on water but now

A swirling wind on the leaves and trees

We come out…

The rain isn’t around the corner any longer!

Will they or Won't They?

Just a quick follow up to Dominion Power's plans for a third reactor at North Anna. Greg Edwards at the Richmond Times Dispatch wrote two articles over the weekend.

Saturday's piece is a good overview of the environmental concerns already mentioned here in this blog. Specifically, by Friends of Lake Anna. Here is an excerpt and link:

Photo by Richmond Times Dispatch

Harry Ruth of Friends of Lake Anna says something is just not right at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality in Richmond. A department spokesman disagrees. Ruth cited a DEQ superior's recall of a letter sent to the Environmental Protection Agency by a lower-level state official. The Oct. 2 letter from Ellie Irons, a DEQ program manager, had sought answers to residents' questions. Ruth said his 2,650-member group is neither anti-nuclear nor against an additional reactor but has health and safety concerns about expansion plans at the North Anna Power Station. The group's questions involve the application of the Clean Water Act to three lagoons used to cool reactor water before it is released back into Lake Anna. They also deal with the extent of discretion allowed the state under federal law in regulating the lagoons.

The second piece highlights the fact that even though Dominion will spend millions on the permitting process, it still hasn't officially said it really plans to build a third reactor. Some say why be so coy?

The company has repeatedly said it is going through the expensive permitting process for a new reactor without a commitment to building it because it wants to keep alive its option to build the reactor. The cost of permitting,though in the millions, is only a fraction of what a mistaken decision to build the plant could cost, company officials say.

Michael Town is the state director for the Sierra Club:

If they definitely think there is a good possibility they will [build], they need to be talking about it in those terms," he said. Considering the time and money already spent, Dominion Virginia Power obviously has some plans for a new reactor at North Anna despite the company's repeated protestations that it has not yet decided to build a reactor, Town said. Town fears that if the public thinks the company is not going to build a plant, people will not get involved.For that reason, he said, the utility needs to be very frank about its true intentions.

Again, I've already confessed to being conflicted on this one. But in this world of saying one thing when you actually mean the opposite, it would be nice to know that if Dominion plans to build a third reactor they'd just say so.

Maybe that's just too naive.

Where Have they Gone?

One of the great joys of living on Lake Anna has been seeing up close all of the wildlife which live in our Cove. The birdwatching is terrific, especially as we've watched a pair of eagles fish, fly and raise an eglet in the same waters where we fish and swim. The eglet is now almost full size, has his full compliment of black and white feathers and is almost as big as his mother. But that begs the question...where are his parents? We haven't seen them in months and truth be told, we miss them.

We've done some basic sleuthing hoping to solve the mystery. The first stop was the eagles' nests. They have two and could often be found in either of them. On this visit we discovered one of the two massive nests has been destroyed The smaller of the two still remains and we believe the eglet now lives there.

Would the loss of a nest drive the parents to live elsewhere? Not necessarily, according to a number of different sources including Eagles.org.

Still, it appears for now anyway that "Mommy and Daddy" Eagle...as my kids know them (certainly not as creative named as Martha and George, I know) are gone.

We really do hope they come back.

NYTimes Bestseller it's not...but still worth a read

At the risk of outing myself as a bit of a policy-geek, I stumbled on an interesting work in progress called the "Virginia Outdoors Plan". It's the Department of Conservation and Recreation's 5 year look at our state's wonderful natural resources...the whole shebang...parks, trails, beaches, forests, wildlife habitats, lakes, streams, etc. The 2002 report was about 440 pages long so it's not a light read but for those of us who treasure our woods, water and open spaces there are some interesting tidbits. If you're interested in the Lake Anna area our information will be listed under Region 10-Thomas Jefferson Planning District.

The DCR is currently hearing from Virginians in a series of public hearings before sending the 2007 Outdoors Plan to print. Some of the "fun facts" already included in the draft version include results from a statewide survey on Virginians' most popular outdoor activities.

1st Walking for Pleasure
2nd Visiting Historic Sites
3rd Driving for Pleasure (is that really an outdoors activity?)
4th Swimming
Sunbathing ranks 6th, Fishing 7th and Boating 10th.

Draft VOP, Chapter II. Page 11.

On a more serious note, DCR highlights a number of statewide problems we Lake Anna residents can certainly relate to including; increased runoff/degraded water quality, loss of tree canopy and loss of land for outdoor activities. The Outdoors Plan also recommends more launching and water access for Lake Anna.

Following up on an earlier post, it appears the state is now delaying its decision on a key review of Dominion power's plans for new nuclear reactors at its North Anna plant. The Free-Lance Star has coverage today.

Virginia Wines...they've come a long way, baby

It's Fall harvest and that means it's the perfect time to take a vineyard or winery tour. Even if you've never visited a winery before (some people worry the tours are too "pretentious" and they'd be uncomfortable with their lack of wine expertise) I highly recommend you take the time. The smaller Virginia vineyards are often mom and pop operations and very visitor friendly. Trust me, you don't have to be a wine-snob to enjoy them! Here are several local events happening this weekend.

November 4-5, 2006 – Horton Vineyards Fall Barrel Tasting gives visitors a chance to taste the ’05 and ’06 wines from the barrel. Of course the fall colors are also peaking in Orange County. $5/person includes glass. Info: 540-832-7440.

November 4-5, 2006 11am to 5pm--Heart of Virginia Wine Trail – Harvest Passport Weekend. Four of Central Virginia's premier wineries, including Cooper Vineyards and Lake Anna Winery will greet visitors. Fee includes glass and tasting. $10.00 per person, member discounts.

Lake Anna winery is celebrating a "Best in Show" award received earlier this month. More proof that Virginia wines may be coming of age.

Call me a cynic...

In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s the Virginia Electric Power Company (VEPCO, now Dominion Power) began construction of a nuclear power plant near the North Anna River. In 1971, the river was dammed, forming a 9,600-acre lake to provide cooling water for the plant. That's how Lake Anna was created. Now, Dominion Power wants to add two new reactors.

My guess is if you asked most Lake Anna residents their views on nuclear power, you'd get a real mixed bag. I personally have to admit to being a bit conflicted. I have covered, as a journalist, more Nuclear Regulatory Commission hearings over two decades then I care to remember. Being assigned to an NRC hearing was always the assignment from hell. Boring, complicated and the deck always seemed stacked in the utilities favor. In fact, the commissioners seldom had detailed questions and clearly just wanted to move the utilities' request to the next stage (most often, approval). However, that doesn't by definition mean nuclear power is evil, in my opinion. But certainly, not everyone agrees. The Blue Ridge Environment Defense League and Friends of Lake Anna have made impassioned arguments against approval of Dominion's request.

Now there's news this weekend about potential shenigans on the state level (Virginia must make its own review of the Dominion request before the feds ultimately rule). The Virginian-Pilot reports on a letter written by a state environmental quality officer and alleged attempts to squelch it:

The group Friends of Lake Anna has asked Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, Attorney General Bob McDonnell and the inspector general of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to look into how the letter was received, scrapped and now apparently revived.

This is the kind of thing that certainly makes people suspicious. I for one would just like to believe that if we as a nation decide (as we have) that nuclear power is an important part of our national energy mix then everything that can and should be done to make it safe is happening. The cynic in me can't help but wonder if we're meeting even that bare minimum expectation.

Fall at the Lake

My friends always ask..."Do you get to the Lake much once summer's over?" Unfortunately, the answer is usually "not enough".
But Fall is our favorite time of the year at Lake Anna. The weather isn't so cold that you can't take the boat or the canoe out. Some are still hard-core enough to ski (although, you can't count me in that category).

The colors are absolutely gorgeous reflecting off the calm waters of autumn. Fewer boats, fewer people and the crisp cool nights are to die for. We've taken our past 4 family Christmas pictures at the lake in the fall because it's truly the perfect setting. The kids especially love to hike in the woods this time of the year.

There have been alot of anglers working our Cove lately and the fishing is apparently good. Glenn Briggs is just one of the Lake Anna fishing guides and by the look of his "recent catches" photos there are fish still to be caught!

Long before I had ever heard of Lake Anna, Virginia, my screensaver was a peaceful lake scene. You've probably seen one just like it...setting sun, reflective waters and trees blowing in the breeze. Never in my wildest dreams (well, OK maybe in my "what would I do if I won the lottery" daydreams) did I believe that some day I would have a view just like my screensaver outside my own window.

In 2000, my husband and I loaded up our young daughter and hit the road on a daytrip from Washington, D.C. We found several "surprises" along the way, Lake Anna being the largest. A few trips later and we took a walk on a lakefront lot (not planning to buy, mind you) and a few hours later we were land owners. Land owners?!?! We didn't know a drainfield from cornfield. We'd never even built a house and certainly didn't know diddly about the unique challenges of building on the waterfront.

That now seems like a long time ago. We can tell you all about septic systems, building on lakeside slopes, wells and beavers (and their fondness for young weeping willows). We've been in our lakefront home for several years and now have an investment condo on Lake Anna, too. We're hooked. Chances are if you've ever visited then you are too.

I suppose that's why I'm blogging. It seems a crime that so many of us in the D.C. and Richmond area who are overscheduled, overstressed and overworked don't even know Virginia's biggest "hidden treasure" is just down the road.