If you haven’t played Swannanoa golf course in a while, you’re in for a surprise. In previous years, you could give a downhill putt a good rap and often leave it short. Not anymore. The greens at Swannanoa are now fast and quick, and there are no more mysterious bumps on the surfaces. They have really improved the course. Last year, during the Chinese Virus (it came from China, you know), a lot … [Read more...]
El Mariachi
By Sherman Shifflett There are several good Mexican restaurants in the Charlottesville area, and now you can add another one. The El Mariachi Bar and Grill at Zion Crossroads. Ava Pippin and I have dined there several times and we plan to return. I can assure you the food is good. Not that I am an authority on Mexican food, but I believe I know more than the average bear. I lived in … [Read more...]
Sedum Autumn Joy
“Come look at all the bees!” my wife had called. “What kind of bees?” I asked, wanting to make sure this backyard visit was worth missing part of the football game I was watching. “Honeybees?” she exclaimed. And they were! Real live honeybees, by the dozens, flitting their way between blooms on what was for us at that time an unidentified flowering plant. Our son Jimmie had given us these … [Read more...]
September Spot
It’s mid-September. In saltwater, that means one thing. Spot. Big yellow-bellied spot. The tasty panfish are spread from well up into the Rappahannock River to the shorelines of Virginia Beach, and there are some dandy fish being caught – up to 14-inches! Spot are in the inlets at Rudee and Lynnhaven and they are tugging at lines dropped from the piers. Spot generally prefer hard-bottom areas, in … [Read more...]
A Brand-New Pair of Roller Skates
When’s the last time you saw a kid on roller skates? We Boomers can’t imagine a childhood without a good pair of skates and a skate key near at hand. I believe my first roller skate encounter was as a 10-year-old in Beckley, WV. A group of school mates decided to head for the nearby skating rink and I signed up – but I was petrified. I wasn’t the most coordinated kid, but I slipped on a pair of … [Read more...]
My Dependable Leatherman Tool
At least ten times a day, I feel around in my pocket to make sure it’s there. If I don’t detect it, I panic. I simply cannot do without my constant companion, my Leatherman Tool. Since I was 6 years old, I have carried a pocket-knife, but about 40 years ago, I discovered the smallest Leatherman Tool, the Micra size. It takes up practically no room and fits easily into a front pocket. It’s so … [Read more...]
Cabbage Steaks
I was going back through some past CvilleBuzz issues and saw this recipe for Cabbage Steaks. Nancy Jackson, premiere Realtor in Saluda and Master Chef, had sent me the recipe as a means to use the extra part of a cabbage head you may have left over from a batch of cole slaw. I had totally forgotten about it but went out immediately and bought a fresh head for exactly this recipe. It’s a … [Read more...]
The Cheerful House Finch
I suppose my back yard is the Mecca of house finches. They are at my feeders throughout the day, every day, spring, summer and fall. Late this summer, I assume right after several families hatched, we had 30 or more finches at a time fighting for a spot on my sunflower heart feeder. The little rascals also love to take baths in our bubbling birdbath. They flit from the feeder to the bath … [Read more...]
Anaheim Peppers
This year I devoted a small row in my garden to peppers – and I really don’t like peppers, but Nancy likes to can some hot peppers for our kids and some stuffed door-knob peppers which I actually do like. So, I planted a couple of jalapeno pepper plants and 4 doorknob pepper plants, but one of them died. On a subsequent trip to the Corner Store Nursery in Ruckersvillle to pick up some seeds, I … [Read more...]
Low Maintenance Vinca
Nancy loves impatiens as a beautiful, border flower. She has grown them from seeds and bought them in containers. She has dug and re-dug them as the squirrels chipped away, she has cast thousands of gallons of water on them to keep them alive. She has seen deer sneak in and eat them to the ground. She is through with them. We now, and will always in the future, a much more … [Read more...]
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