Our roadsides are now coming alive with beautiful blooms and flowers – most coming from what we consider to be plain old weeds. Black eyed Susans, for one. Lots of those pretty flowers and weeds we see alongside our roads and highways are “come-heres”, native to other countries – Europe, Asia, Africa and the like, but the friendly little Black-eyed Susans are as American as apple pie. They are … [Read more...]
Squirrel Plantings
Each spring, we are always surprised to see things growing in our yard and gardens that shouldn’t be there. They are our “squirrel plantings”. One year, a very strange looking plant popped up in Nancy’s flower garden. It didn’t look like a weed, so we let it grow. It grew and grew, blossomed, then died. I finally pulled it up and found a cluster of peanuts. An enterprising squirrel had … [Read more...]
Mexican Chicken Wraps
Every now and then you stumble on a really good recipe – so good you want to make it again and again. That’s how I feel about the Mexican Chicken Wraps I tried this week, I needed some kind of dish with a little meat in it to serve alongside a Mexican Quiche I had prepared. I had some chicken loins in the freezer and thawed them out before leafing through some recipe ideas and saw the one … [Read more...]
Grass Fed Beef
It was Friday night – often our steak night. TGIF. Time to celebrate. Besides, we love steak. I stopped by Food Lion and they had a couple New York strip steaks that looked good - nice and marbled. Then I saw a strange package. It was Spring Crossing Cattle Co. They were grass-fed rib-eyes, a little higher in price than the others, and not nearly so marbled. But I had eaten a … [Read more...]
A Nighttime Visitor
We’ve had a nighttime visitor in our little goldfish pond. The reason we know is that our after-hours “guest” has turned several water plant pots in the pond over during his visits. We also found one of our big snails laying upside down beside the pond the next morning. But he was fine when we tossed him back in the water. I have to suppose that our pond invader is and was a … [Read more...]
Neat Stuff: Patio Fans
Nancy and I are blessed with a sprawling, tree-shaded patio in our backyard. Since the grass wouldn’t grow among all the tree roots, we poured concrete and created a nice outdoor room, which we thoroughly enjoy. But! Here comes summer and 90 degree weather, which makes sitting outside beside our new goldfish pond– even in the shade – not so enjoyable. Christmas before last, Nancy had the … [Read more...]
What’s a Ribbonfish?
The ribbonfish are back. Boats trolling for Spanish mackerel off Virginia’s coast are catching them with regularity. But what’s a ribbonfish? Also known as cutlassfish, ribbonfish look exactly as described – long, sleek and an iridescent blue with a mouth full of teeth. The “ribbons’ mostly hang on the ocean’s bottom, until they get hungry and swarm to the surface to intercept menhaden or … [Read more...]
Writing Five Dollar Checks
I can’t tell you how many five dollar checks I wrote during my years at UNC. All told, they might have stacked three feet high. Writing small checks was simply a way of life in the sixties. For one, we didn’t have charge cards. There were a few gasoline charge cards around, but VISA had yet to make an appearance, so if we needed money, we wrote checks. I can recall writing one-dollar checks … [Read more...]
Poison Ivy Itch Remedy
Lawd, poison ivy will make you itch. Thanks, Coasters, for that warning. Last weekend, I brushed up against one of the little three leaf devils and found myself a’scratching the next day. But not to worry. I have a quick cure to relieve the itching from a poison ivy attack. It’s called Melaleuca Oil, a tea leaf extract from certain tea trees in Australia. During WWII, every … [Read more...]
Red Clover
All along our roadsides, a beautiful pink plant is now blooming. It’s red clover, a lovely and versatile member of the bean family. Red clover is a short-lived perennial and can grow to heights of nearly three feet. Many of the plants I saw while heading to the Shenandoah Valley last weekend were pushing two feet and they were beautiful. Red clover is not native to America, but has thrived … [Read more...]
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