The picture above is of Jalen Brunson, an NBA player dribbling the basketball. Except he’s not dribbling, he is clearly carrying the ball, which is illegal, or used to be. When I played basketball as a 9th grader, if you didn’t have your hand absolutely on top of the ball when dribbling, you were called for a violation. Later, as a referee, if I saw a played with his hand on the side or under the … [Read more...]

  A spring peeper photo by Steve Roble   By Stephen Living/DWR The sure signs of approaching spring are everywhere. Early wildflowers are blooming, tender green leaves are uncurling from the buds and tundra swans and Canada geese can be heard overhead as they wing their way north. Another sure sign of spring across Virginia is the emergence of amphibians! In some parts of … [Read more...]

(My good friend, the late Sherman Shifflett, wrote this for Cville Buzz a few years back. Sherman loved his chickens, almost like children. As more and more folks are raising chickens in their backyards, this might come in handy)   By Sherman Shifflett   Except when I was in college and in the Army (drafted during the ‘Nam era), I have raised chickens all my life. I no longer … [Read more...]

By Alex McCrickard/DWR   My swimbait landed a couple inches off the rocky bank. A few fast cranks on the reel brought my presentation away from the danger zone of a snag and into the desirable deeper, swifter water. I stopped retrieving to let my 1/8-ounce jig head settle into the deeper drop-off. Moments later, I gave two twitches with the rod tip, and I slowly came tight. It wasn’t … [Read more...]

By Bruce Ingram   Angling for Virginia’s wintertime rivers smallmouth  is a paradox. The cold weather period is perhaps both the best time to catch trophy bronze-backs and the most likely time for fishermen not to even receive one bite. Here are tips from three well-known state anglers on how to experience more of the former and less of the latter. Willis' Mike Smith offers this … [Read more...]

Celia Branch, our one-time across-the-street neighbor, was one of the sweetest humans who ever lived. She was good-natured to a fault, always had a smile on her face and left this earth entirely too soon. And could she ever cook! Celia did elaborate cakes for weddings and would often share her kitchen concoctions with us. One of her special treats, and one of the best tasting things you can put … [Read more...]

  My son, Jimmie, knowing that I am always ranting and raving about “unborn cantaloupes” that are unripe and have no flavor, sent me some information about how to pick out a good watermelon. Good timing. Watermelon season is here. My Daddy used to “thump” watermelons to pick the ripest one. I asked him once what he was listening for and he said that if he hears a muffled, hollow sound, … [Read more...]

Do you suppose there is even one person among the 43 million in Ukraine who is now the least bit concerned about the magazine capacity of weapons for sale in their country? Is gun control high on their political priorities? To the contrary, every single soul in Ukraine now wishes for effective weapons with which to defend themselves against Russian tyranny. The 2nd Amendment has nothing to … [Read more...]

By Marilyn Norford   In days of yore, folks “went visiting,” usually on Sunday afternoons.  Rarely did anyone pre-arrange these visits; they just showed up.  If it happened around mealtime, of course, they were fed, per the rules of southern hospitality. One Sunday afternoon . . . I guess I was about 12, a couple with two children came to visit.  I didn’t recognize them, but that … [Read more...]