It’s hard to beat a platter of fried chicken wings dredged in your favorite sauce, but you can have crispy chicken wings without all the oil and frying. And it’s easy. Start with 2 or 3 pounds of wings, remove the tips and split each wing. Pat the wings dry with paper towels and set aside. Put a couple wire racks on a sheet pan lined with parchment or foil (for easy cleaning). Melt a half … [Read more...]
Phlox Beauties
How do you spell beauty? P-h-l-o-x. Phlox, not flox. Phlox may be hard to spell, but they sure are pretty, and they are easy to grow. I remember when I first moved to Charlottesville, I made many trips to Sugar Hollow to engage the trout in the Moorman’s River with assorted flies. I also vividly remember that in early April, lawns all along Garth Road and Sugar Hollow Road were teeming with … [Read more...]
American Shad Found Above Old Ashland Mill Dam
Here is some really good news about the endangered American Shad. The dam at the Ashland Mill site on the South Anna River in Ashland, Virginia, was removed in September 2024, restoring more than 400 miles of historical spawning habitat for seven species of migratory fishes, including American shad. During post-removal assessment by DWR and partners at Randolph-Macon College, a healthy American … [Read more...]
Garden Patience
“Lord, give me patience. And give it to me right now!” Every backyard gardener should hang that plaque on their garden fence. If you don’t have a garden fence, there’s no need for the sign because the deer will eat everything you plant and you won’t need patience. Every early spring, Mother Nature teases us with a few days in the 80s. The birds are singing, and flowers and trees are … [Read more...]
Tuna Action Closed at Nags Head
Looks like no more tuna fishing from Jennette’s Pier. An organization called NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) called a halt to any form of tuna fishing from the pier or shore because the bluefin recreational quota had been reached in federal waters. But Jennette’s Pier and the shoreline of Nags Head aren’t in federal waters, so the NOAA had no jurisdiction, but when does that … [Read more...]
Fishing Virginia’s Top Rivers
Dr. Peter Brookes New River: Located in Southwest Virginia, the New River is considered North America’s oldest river, and one of the world’s oldest rivers, second only to Egypt’s Nile. Also notable, the New flows northward, rather than southward, on its journey from its headwaters in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains into Virginia and then on into West Virginia; most East … [Read more...]
Nags Head Blues
The big news on the OBX (other than catching bluefin tuna from a kayak) is bluefish. Nice blues and lots of them. Capt. Reese Stecher of Beach Bum Fishing says his parties have been hammering the bluefish – some up to 5-6 pounds and more. The fish have been schooling under the birds and are hitting top water plugs. Catching these warriors on light tackle is a thrill and Capt. Stecher’s clients’ … [Read more...]
Remembering Boomer Pets
Colorful Baby Ducks I suppose the lives of most Boomers can be measured by the pets we owned, and my family had some doozies. At Easter, I recall getting baby chickens and baby ducks – dyed in pastel colors – in our Easter baskets. It was a rite of passage and there was no such thing as PETA. We just had pet birds for a spell. With ducks, when they lost their dyed colors and the … [Read more...]
Red(purple)buds
Nancy and I took a drive across the mountain last weekend and it’s amazing just how many redbuds there are. They are everywhere alongside of the roads and they are beautiful. Whoever named the Redbud tree had to have been a guy. Half of us are color blind, you know, and the namer-of-redbud trees was not on top of his game. They are no more red than the man in the moon. They are bright pink, … [Read more...]
It’s a Southern Thing, Y’all
(This has been around for a while, but it’s worth a reprint, y’all.) There ain’t no magazine named “Northern Living” for good reason. Who wants to live up north? Nobody would buy the magazine! Southerners know everybody’s first name: Honey Darlin’ Shugah Southerners know their three religions: Bapdiss Methdiss Football Only a Southerner … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- …
- 441
- Next Page »