We put up our Christmas tree exactly one week before Christmas, and we took it down one week after. Never earlier, never later. It was tradition in our family when we lived in Lewisburg in the 1950’s. Selecting the tree was another tradition. On the appointed day, everyone piled in our car, a fifty-something Pontiac and headed for Bud Simm’s Esso Station, one of only a … [Read more...]
While Shepherds Watched, Part III
The Glory of the Lord Amos, a young shepherd from Judaea was guarding the gate of the sheepfold while his father, Benjamin, and Shimron, his uncle, were asleep. The three shepherds had 98 sheep in their flock, intended to be sold as sacrificial lambs to the worshippers in the temple in Jerusalem at Passover. There were two other smaller flocks in the fold with their shepherds nearby. … [Read more...]
A Pair of Cardinals
I have a pair of cardinals in my yard, but only one pair – which concerns me. In the summer, I always have two cardinal families that visit my bird bath and feeders. They often skirmish, but I always have two pairs. In the winter, however, I often can see 4 or 5 bright red, male cardinals standing out with a backdrop of white snow. But now, there is only one pair. Birds come and … [Read more...]
Leave the List at Home
I spend so much time in the grocery store that the Kroger employees often ask me where to find stuff. “French fried onion rings? Sure, they’re right next to the green beans on Aisle 7.” I’ve often thought of going to work at a grocery store, but I want to keep my amateur status intact in case they ever make grocery shopping an Olympic sport. But I’m getting too predictable in my … [Read more...]
Fire Pits and Stuff
On most balmy evenings before dinner, I offer wood sacrifices to the smoke gods in my now-falling-apart fire pit, an outside fireplace. Bourbon helps since my fire pit has a mind of its own. Sometimes the rusted incinerator will engulf my wood chunks in hot, blue flames while other times it spits billowing mouthfuls of smoke in my direction – no matter where I sit. It helps greatly, … [Read more...]
Nancy’s Tortellini Surprise
Longtime reader and subscriber of CvilleBuzz, Nancy Jackson of Urbana, says she came up with a concoction sure to please. It certainly pleased her husband Mike, so much so that he wanted it again within five days of his first sampling. Nancy is like many cooks – she likes to experiment. Here’s what she came up with on a recent culinary adventure. “I just cooked a ‘made-up’ recipe, … [Read more...]
Cold Water, Hot Fishing
As the water in the bay dips beneath the 50-degree mark, big rockfish are piling up along Cape Charles. Many now have sea lice, a sign they have moved into the Bay from the ocean. The best baits for the big fellows are live eels bounced along the bottom. With just 2 weeks left in the season, the lower Rappahannock has also been producing lots of nice fish. Good catches are also coming in from the … [Read more...]
Armed, But Not Very Dangerous
“Dad, let’s catch a turtle and cook it.” How well I remember those words. My 13-year old son, Jimmie, had approached me one day suggesting a turtle hunt followed by a turtle skinning and turtle cooking. It would be one of those days I would like to forget. Before braces, before three sets of college tuitions and two major weddings, my wife and I owned a neat little cottage on a private lake … [Read more...]
Citizen Burger Bar
I avoid the Downtown Mall unless there is a good show playing at the Paramount. It so happened that there was a good show playing - “Christmas with Elvis”, featuring Matt Lewis as a terrific Elvis Impersonator along with Big Ray and the Kool Kats. So, we went to the Downtown Mall with friends and ate at the Citizen Burger Bar. Junior Samples of Hee Haw fame once said don’t order a … [Read more...]
Zebra Mussels: Another Invasive Species
Beware of Zebra Mussels! Really? A small bivalve? What are these clam-like creatures going to do, crawl out from the bottom of a river and slime us while we’re sleeping? No, but they are indeed a threat to our environment and the Division of Wildlife Resources has declared them to be an invasive species to be concerned about. Here’s what DWR has to say: Zebra mussels … [Read more...]
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