"A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don’t need it." Bob Hope … [Read more...]
Same Old, Same Old
I have been a serious birder for about 20 years – ever since bluebirds first showed up and started nesting in my yard. I keep multiple feeders and water sources in the yard to attract as many birds as possible, but one thing that I have discovered – I get the same mix of birds every year. This past week, for example, the snowbirds showed up right on schedule and they will leave my yard in March. … [Read more...]
Spicy Ham Quiche
Smoked hams represent one of the great values in a grocery store and when they are on sale, you can stretch your grocery budget from here to Bermuda. Last week - in advance of Thanksgiving I assume - Food Lion had Smoked Butt Section Hams on sale. I bought a 7-pounder for about $10. That’s enough to feed me and Nancy for three weeks. In the next few days, we had roasted ham for dinner, slices for … [Read more...]
Catching Blue Cats in Tidal Waters
The Game Department (they now call themselves the Division of Wildlife Resources, but I still call them the Game Department) did a piece recently on catching blue catfish in Virginia’s tidal waters. In the article, they said that anglers should target blue catfish, first, because they are delicious to eat and, second, they are an invasive species and need their populations reduced. It is … [Read more...]
Good Fishing Continues
Even though it’s getting colder, there is still some very good fishing to be had in Virginia’s saltwater. November brings some of the best striped bass action of the year. Big migratory fish are beginning to surge into the lower Chesapeake Bay, holding along channel edges, river mouths, and especially around the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Successful anglers are casting or trolling spoons, … [Read more...]
Pennies From Heaven
I read this week that the United States Mint will no longer produce pennies. On Wednesday, Nov. 12, the last of the 1-cent coins came off the assembly line. The penny’s demise was inevitable as it now costs nearly 4 cents to produce a single penny – and with fewer and fewer cash transactions, the penny is no longer in great demand. But it once was. There was a time when a penny would … [Read more...]
Drumming Up Business
Remember when you were a kid and someone asked, “Which piece of chicken do you want?” A drumstick, right? We loved drumsticks when we were young, then our preferences gradually evolved to thighs, breasts, and wings – like Hot Wings at a sports bar. But you know what?Drumsticks are still as good as ever, they are easy to eat, they are inexpensive, and quite versatile when it comes to … [Read more...]
Always Order the Grouper
If you ever see Grouper on the menu at a seafood restaurant. Order it. There is no better eating fish that swims. One of the best meals I’ve had in my life came about 25 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday. A group of us went out to eat at The Sandpiper Restaurant– at the time near Gwynn’s Island. The owners were always at the restaurant – the husband at the Front and the wife in … [Read more...]
Suet Time
My two suet feeders have been getting more and more attention with the arrival of cold weather. I have had nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, red bellied woodpeckers, sparrows, chickadees, titmice, bluebirds, and wrens squeezing in and out of the suet cages. Cardinals, and mockingbirds will also come to suet feeders, but I haven’t seen them at the feeders in my yard. Maybe later. Suet is an … [Read more...]
2005 Best of Charlottesville Recognition
By Nancy B We are so excited to receive the 2025 “Best of Charlottesville” award AND this amazing recognition from our local Congressman John J. McGuire, III! I’m so proud of our staff and so thankful for them and our many customers who voted for us. As we head into the holidays, with lots of great food on the menus, family visits, shopping for the perfect gifts, and wrapping, let us … [Read more...]