(View from the Heron House)   I spent the weekend in Eastern North Carolina over Labor Day. I would define that area as east of Raleigh, south of Rocky Mount, west from the Pamlico Sound and north of Jacksonville. This is tobacco country – hot, sandy and flat. A pile of mulch in somebody’s yard qualifies as a genuine hill. It is really flat. Pecan trees grow here and moss slithers along … [Read more...]

Besides poking around in grocery stores, looking for bargains and ideas, I enjoy rummaging through the racks at consignment stores – not the junky ones who sell goodwill hand-me-downs and leftover printed tee shirts from company promotions, but nice stores with quality, stylish clothing. One of our favorite such stores (Nancy likes to rummage as well) is the Hall Tree in Richmond. I have several … [Read more...]

We first came to the Eastern Shore of Virginia in 1968. To save what was then a $5 toll fee across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, we drove to all the way to Annapolis and came down Rt. 13. Five bucks was a lot of money back then, but it was about an 8 hour drive. We’ll never do that again. During our stay, we camped in a tent at Tom’s Cove on Chincoteague Island. We slept on the ground in … [Read more...]

There is a new sport gaining in popularity. Goat Cuddling. It has not yet been approved for Olympic competition, but it may soon be. But a warning from the Surgeon General: Goat Cuddling can be quite contagious. On Tuesday this week, my wife and daughter, Laura, went on a Goat Cuddling expedition to Waynesboro. Their mission was to cuddle with as many baby goats as possible. They came back with … [Read more...]

This was a road trip I have looked forward to for several months. The temperature was 65 degrees, it was warm and sunny and my garden had dried out enough from the rain and snow that I could plant – and it was my day off. I hopped in my Jeep and headed north on Rt. 29 to Southern States. It wasn’t a very long road trip, just 3 miles, but it was a necessary trip before planted my garden. I … [Read more...]

Sherman Shifflett from Louisa recently toured the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond and saw the terracotta warriors on exhibit. “Along with the warriors we saw a horse, jewelry (some gold), pottery and weapons,” he said. First discovered in 1974 by farmers in China, an underground army of nearly 8,000 life-size terracotta figures is known as one of the greatest archaeological finds of … [Read more...]

I’m heading for Hawaii in a couple weeks. My wife Nancy has put up with me for 50 years come March 3 and we are headed to the Aloha State to celebrate our anniversary. The March 9 edition of CvilleBuzz, in fact, will be devoted entirely to Hawaii. I will write the edition while aboard our liner, assuming I have Wi-Fi available, and I’m sure we will. I have never been to Hawaii, but Nancy went … [Read more...]

By Sherman Shifflett   Do you like wild and exotic places? Places shrouded in mystery? How about rugged and outdoor adventures? Well, American explorer, Hiram Bingham, discovered such a place in 1911. Until then, it was unknown to the outside world. Several weeks ago, one of my brothers, Ralph, invited me to join him on an excursion to Machu Picchu, Peru. I really couldn't afford … [Read more...]