Don’t have enough space for a garden? According to Deborah Gillespie of Bluefield, WV, that’s no excuse. With the “gutter garden”, you can grow herbs, spices, lettuce, radishes or any number of plants or vegetables. Deborah suggests drilling a few drainage holes in each gutter section, then water can flow from the upper level to below. It’s also good for folks with bad backs, who … [Read more...]

By Charles Conway Crenshaw   When I think of Christmas past, 1943 is the one that comes to mind. It was a memorable Christmas. World War II had started. My dad was driving the city bus in Charlottesville.  At that time the only bus route was from Belmont, up Main Street and Jefferson Park Avenue to Fry’s Spring and return.  Most families had only one automobile and some depended on … [Read more...]

  Jill Smith of Kents Store has had a strange visitor at her feeder in recent weeks. She wonders if there is such a thing as a blonde finch. “This finch has been coming to my feeders for two weeks now. He’s more blonde than white. When the picture is enlarged, I can see a bit of pink-red under his wing. Both house finches and red finches (purple) come to the feeders, and I don’t know … [Read more...]

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...]