By Dr. Peter Brookes I’m always up for a challenge and decided to try for a Virginia Bass Slam. The Bass Slam requires the angler to net three species of Virginia bass in a year. The eligible fish include the largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, striped bass, and/or a hybrid striped bass. While a full year is allotted for completing the Virginia Bass Slam Challenge, netting three bass … [Read more...]
Italian Pork Chops
I found a recipe for pork loins that is so easy and so good, fellow cooks should keep it a secret. If our guests and family knew how little trouble this was to put together, we would lose all respect. So, keep this recipe for Italian Pork Chops under wraps. I bought a half pork lion because it was on sale. I figured at least 3 meals and got to work. I cut four ¾-inch loins for the two of us, … [Read more...]
Catching Ribbonfish
For the past 4 or 5 years, ribbonfish have been finding their way into more and more coolers. Once considered a trash fish (except for use as bait for king mackerel), anglers have discovered their value as a food fish. They are pretty fish as well - if you disregard their mouths full of sharp dentures. Their tiny scales are bright silver, almost reflective. They have … [Read more...]
Guns of My Life
A 12-gauge Single Barrel Shotgun Daddy said I could go hunting with him when I was 13 and how I looked forward to that date. For years, I had watched in awe as Daddy came home from his hunts and emptied his coat of quail and rabbits. I sat beside him as he cleaned them and admired his skill in dressing his kill. Then, one day, he said that I may be able to go hunting sooner if I … [Read more...]
Delicious Fried Panko Chicken
I cooked some fried chicken breasts last week that would rival Chick-fil-A. It was crunchy, juicy, and delicious and it all started with split chicken breasts, skin-on, bone-in. Those neatly trimmed, pre-packaged chicken breast loins are expensive, and they can be fairly tasteless. A far better buy – and a better cut, I think – is a package of two split chicken breasts with skin-on and bone-in. … [Read more...]
Old Businesses of Charlottesville
Leggett’s Barracks Road Lots of great businesses have come and gone in the 50-plus years I have lived in Charlottesville. Bear with me as I recall a few of them in the coming weeks. First up – Leggett’s Barracks Road. At one time, Leggett was an old, downtown department store chain. They chose middle-size cities like Lynchburg, Waynesboro and Danville and offered inexpensive … [Read more...]
Scoliid Wasps Also Enjoy Mountain Mint
Last week, we saw a Mason Wasp among the many pollinators that visit our patch of Mountain Mint. The bees and wasps flock there every day where we recently saw another interesting creature - a Scoliid wasp. In addition to being a pollinator, the Scoliid wasp is extremely beneficial to your yard and plants as it helps control June beetles and other grubs. Most prevalent during the month of … [Read more...]
Smoking Grass
No. Not that kind of “grass”. Real grass, like comes on a lawn – or did before last summer’s smoking hot heat and lack of rainfall. Grass on almost every lawn now has brown patches and scads wire grass, which doesn’t mind drought conditions or intense heat. Driving through our neighborhood, lawns look like war zones – except for lawns that have zoysia grass. They look just fine because zoysia … [Read more...]
Reagan: See it!
Nancy and I don’t often go to movies. That’s because they don’t make movies I would like to see. One movie, however, came out last week that I wanted to see. Reagan - basically, a biography of Ronald Reagan, our 40th president. The liberal Hollywood critics panned the movie. They vigorously oppose any film with a hint of religion or patriotism, but the movie they despised grossed $10 million for … [Read more...]
Fall Turnover
As the season changes, so do the fishing patterns in the lower Chesapeake Bay. The arrival of fall brings cooler temperatures and winds that stir the bay’s waters, leading to a phenomenon known as “Fall Turnover.” This mixing of water layers distributes nutrients and oxygen more evenly, affecting where fish can be found. This transition presents opportunities for catching a variety of species as … [Read more...]
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