From VDGIF   Elk were historically found throughout eastern North America, including Virginia. However, by the late 1800s, unsustainable hunting and habitat alteration resulted in the extinction of the eastern elk. The last survivor of Virginia’s original elk herd was killed in 1855 in Clarke County. In 1916, the newly created Virginia Game Commission authorized the importation and … [Read more...]

By Sherman Shifflett   Dark shadows were creeping across the shooting lane in the cutover as the sun was setting last Saturday afternoon. Greg Barlow and I were deer hunting near Cuckoo in Louisa County. A small animal emerged from the cutover about 30 yards away and stopped in the middle of the shooting lane. Although visibility was not good, I could tell it was not a squirrel, no a … [Read more...]

Frequent CvilleBuzz writer and contributor, Sherman Shifflett, remembers a lifetime of tales and witticisms told by his father, George “Harvey” Shifflett. Sherman decided to write them down as he recalled them. He continued writing until all those the memories turned into a great book – “Remembering a Blue Ridge Mountain Father”. In the newly released paperback edition, Sherman recalls his … [Read more...]

Capt. Alan Caine   The weather this year has been the most inconsistent I’ve ever seen in 14 years of living in Wilmington, NC. Between 21 straight days of rain at one point and some very windy days it made the water really dirty. This made for some very challenging weeks of sight fishing and fly-fishing trips, and made us resort to bait fishing many days to make the trip successful. … [Read more...]

  By Elaine Callaghan “Déjà vu all over again!” Yogi Berra had something there. Our mama deer of spring 2017 showed up again in the woods in our side yard, tummy bulging with expectation. Last year’s little one went out into the brave new world at about one month old, still full of spots, but needing to get out of our fenced yard because Lucy the Grand Dog was coming to spend a … [Read more...]

I gained five and a half pounds in three days. The food is really good on the Eastern Shore, maybe too good. But if you’re traveling to get to the Eastern Shore, you simply must stop at Bubba’s Restaurant on Shore Drive at Virginia Beach. It’s just a couple miles from Rt. 13 that goes across the tunnel, but it’s well worth your time. Bubba’s is perhaps our favorite restaurant anywhere. The … [Read more...]

By Nancy Brewer   I know most men on their special Father’s Day would like to play golf, go fishing, relax by the pool, play with grandbabies or do other things to make them happy.  My husband, while any of those things would also make him happy, was willing to let me share his special day. So off we went to My Peeps Farm to visit baby goats and have some snuggle time with them. This … [Read more...]

The James and Shenandoah Rivers The Shenandoah was at a good level and clarity to float and fish on June 10, but over an inch of rain mixed with strong storms caused localized flooding. It has been a rough season for smallmouth fisheries and we are hopeful that populations are in tact despite potentially losing the entire spawn this year. Hopefully we will have an extended season into October … [Read more...]

They were first discovered in the Potomac River in 2004 - the infamous snakehead fish, imported from Asia and illegally released into our public waterways. The Game Department went on a snakehead safari, trying to eradicate the invasive species, but to no avail. The menacing looking snakeheads spread throughout the Potomac and then to the James and Rappahannock rivers and even into Lake Anna and … [Read more...]

Besides bluebirds, the most welcomed guests in my backyard are Monarch butterflies. They are like miniature, fine-art paintings flitting from bush to bush and flower to flower. They are magnificent creatures and they are threatened. Their fiercest enemies happen to be human beings, who are rapidly destroying meadows and the milkweed plants that Monarchs must have in order to survive. One of my … [Read more...]