College Creek, a tributary of the James River.
Forest Garden, and all of the Williamsburg area in fact, exist on a series of peninsulas.
We sometimes joke about living on “Williamsburg Island,” because water surrounds our area.
The York River, to our north.
The Chesapeake Bay divides us from the Delmarva Peninsula, and then the Atlantic Ocean rolls in further east.
Our little finger of land is bound by the York River to the north and the James River to our south.
The James River, to our south
There are so many little creeks and ponds, bays, tributaries, reservoirs and rivers that we cross numerous bridges, large and small, to go anywhere.
Even our “Peninsula”, the term for our area on the local evening news, has its own little peninsulas.
Our geography is formed by flowing water and the tides.
Much of the real estate is at sea level here.
On Jamestown Island, where archeologists race with the rising river to complete their work.
That would be the rapidly rising sea level, caused in part by subsidence; sinking land all around the Chesapeake Bay.
Fringes of marsh border most of the dry land here.
The banks of our main rivers and creeks were recently “hardened” by government contractors bringing in truckloads of granite rock to hold the land in place.
Powhatan Creek
Rock is something we rarely see here, unless it has been imported.
Far more frequently, we see shells.
In fact, it is commonplace to find oyster shells dropped over the garden by a snacking bird.
We love the water.
We love watching its changing moods, and the quality of light reflecting from its surface at all times of day and in all sorts of weather.
Jones Mill Pond
We enjoy watching the changing year reflected in the water which surrounds our home.
Passmore Creek
Like all of the elements on Earth, water can be life-giving or deadly; destructive or beautiful.
Indian Field Creek
Yet we are drawn to live near flowing water.
Our bits of forest are always bounded by water.
And those waterways were once the highways here.
In earlier times, before our modern roads were built, most travel was by small boat.
The Colonial Parkway skirts or crosses many waterways on its journey from Jamestown on the James to Yorktown on the York RIver.
Most homes were built near water, and the waterways provided a rich variety of clams and oysters, fish, duck, and goose for food.
And so we still are drawn to drink in the beauty of the water views which surround us.
Never attracted to inland life, we find happiness on the edges where land and water meet.
College Creek, explored by the Spanish in the late 16th Century, was passed over for settlement by the 1607 English colonists, who chose Jamestown instead.
Photos by Woodland Gnome 2014
Forest Garden 
Given that I am a ‘water-person’ I think I would love your area. Your photos of College Creek & Jones Mill Pond are particularly lovely.
Eliza, I suspect you would be extremely happy living in this community. I’m glad you enjoyed the water views, and came along on our excursion to capture them 😉