There are a zillion wineries in Virginia. Maybe not a zillion, but at least a million. They are everywhere, especially in the Shenandoah Valley where grape vines truly thrive. One of our favorite pastimes is to visit a winery on a lazy Sunday afternoon, especially when Jimmy O is strumming his guitar, as he did last weekend at White Oak Lavender Farm. & The Purple Wolf Vineyard. The drive over … [Read more...]
Soup’s On
It’s fall, for sure, and time to make soup. I tried a new recipe last night and it was as stunning as a sugar maple in full, fall foliage. Best yet, it’s as easy-as-pie to assemble. It’s so simple, I hesitate to share this recipe, but it was – I believe – the best Vegetable Beef Soup I’ve ever made. Here’s how. It’s a crock pot recipe, so it’s not time sensitive. Put it on sometime in the … [Read more...]
Trout Stocking Underway
The hatchery trucks are on the move. Though streams are a bit low, trout will soon find their way from the hatchery raceways to the gurgling currents of mountain brooks. Let the fall trout fishing begin. Virginia contains over 3,500 miles of trout streams, in addition to numerous ponds, small lakes and reservoirs. The total includes over 2,900 miles of wild trout streams and about 600 … [Read more...]
The Golden Age of Radio
I spend about an hour a day in my car, more if I’m on a trip, and I always have the radio on. I pretty much ignore talk radio anymore – too depressing, so I listen to the oldies station or light rock. It’s background noise, mostly, something to occupy the time. But there was once a time when the radio not only made noise, but it also entertained us. Many Boomers recall the Golden Age of … [Read more...]
Liberty Mills Farm Corn Maze
Yep, it’s that time of year. Time to hop on a hay wagon, time to pluck a ripe pumpkin from a patch of orange and time to get lost in a corn maze. And the best place to do all of that is at Liberty Mills Farm in Somerset. At 34 acres, their corn maze is one of the largest in the country. This year they offer 4 trails - ranging from “Kiddie Friendly” to “Even Old Folks Don’t Get Lost” to … [Read more...]
The Signs of the Times
Seeing the Difference with Lighting Temperatures
By Nancy B My husband and I took a little get away recently. The cottage was lovely and fishing from the doc added to the experience with help from Hurricane Ian. Reading and relaxing were in order and sitting on the sun porch were two sets of these double fixtures. The curse of being in the lighting business is noticing things like this. One bulb was a 2700K and other must have been … [Read more...]
The Return of the Robins
I really hadn’t missed them, until I saw them. Robins! Lots and lots of robins! There they were, behind my yard, then in my yard scratching beneath the wet leaves, looking for juicy grubs and worms. I suppose the last time I saw them was mid-August. Then they were gone. Hey, fellows, where have you been? The Audubon people say that after the robins finish up nesting duties, they often … [Read more...]
Tomatoes! Finally!
I grew vines in my garden this summer. Not tomatoes, just vines. They bloomed on time, then nothing. Finally, a few baby tomatoes popped up but then went away. In early September, honest-to-God tomatoes finally begin to form on my four vines, but they mostly stayed green. The handful of tomatoes that did turn red were pecked by some critter, likely a chipmunk. Last week when we had a frost … [Read more...]
Green Frogs
All frogs are green, aren’t they? No, some are brown, some are tan, and some are gray. But some frogs are really called “Green Frogs” and that’s what I have in my pond. For the past few years, each spring we have noticed hundreds of tiny tadpoles in Nancy’s lily pond - basically a 35-gallon tub where she grows water lilies. They would dart here and there for a few weeks, then … [Read more...]
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