Ahh! Sweet corn on the cob. The stores have the fresh ears stacked on end tables now, and it has been a great year for corn. Shuck the corn, remove the silk, and grill it, steam it, boil it, or zap it in the microwave and you are eating delicious, fresh corn on the cob. But. Getting the silk off is sometimes a problem and an otherwise appetizing fresh ear of boiled corn looks not … [Read more...]
Rats!
They are in my yard. Worse. They’re in my garden. Early this week, they snatched every single baby tomato off my vines. Let the Rat Wars begin! Apparently, rats are making their rounds all over Charlottesville. I subscribe to Next Door, a community web site, and several people have posted pictures asking, “What kind of squirrel is this?” Not squirrels. Rats. Common gray rats with … [Read more...]
Hunting Mushrooms
A Typical Oyster Mushroom I remember as a boy going with Daddy to take our bird dogs for a walk in late August and September. It gave the dogs much needed exercise and allowed us to take inventory of any new quail coveys. What I most remember about those walks is mushrooms. We would often happen upon a stand of spores and Daddy put many of them in a sack he carried just for that … [Read more...]
Red (Lexington-style) Slaw
In Lexington BBQ country, if you served up some white cole slaw to go with your BBQ sandwich, you would be tarred and feathered then tarred again. Everyone, including Andy Griffith, Gomer and Aunt Bee, know that the only slaw that goes with BBQ is Red Slaw, often called Lexington Slaw. The spicey slaw really goes with lots of southern-style foods including catfish and fried chicken. … [Read more...]
Lexington BBQ
We had a family reunion last weekend in Clemmons, NC, near Winston Salem. Lexington BBQ catered. We ordered a meal for 60 and had enough to feed 100. All I can say is wow! Lexington is small to medium size town tucked away in North Carolina’s piedmont section. It’s not close to anything but it’s not terribly far from High Point, Greensboro, and Winston. Not a single soul in that … [Read more...]
A Frog Factory
We have a little frog factory going in our back yard, there are lots of frogs and I don’t know how they all got there. Maybe the frog stork dropped them off? But we have frogs. We began this year with three holdovers that sunk to the bottom of our little goldfish pond last winter, then came back to life this spring. One was a bullfrog that had grown from a tadpole I bought and the … [Read more...]
Pompano Hit Bay Waters
Pompano? In the Chesapeake Bay? No way! Yes, way. They have moved en masse near the CBBT islands, and some nice fish are being caught. Citations were claimed this week by Garland Anderson (3-1), Robert G. Whitten (3-9), Preston Cochran (3-7), Kaleb Underwood (2-8), Jack Limroth (3-3) and William Watts Blomdahl (2-4). That’s some serious eating right there. Pompano are … [Read more...]
The Alligator Shirt
Somewhere around 1963, these polo shirts began to make their mark. The frat guys and preppies were all wearing them – knit shirts with little alligators embroidered on the chest. The coolest guys wore them with collars up, no socks, chino pants and a pair of Bass Weejuns, of course. It was the ultimate preppie uniform. I had to have one of these alligator shirts. Julian’s … [Read more...]
Poaching Chickens
I poached a chicken last week. And, no, I didn’t snatch up a loose bird, even though a neighbor a few blocks away has a small flock of chickens with an especially loud and early rising rooster. I would like to poach him, but I didn’t. I poached some chicken breasts for a chicken salad. Scanning through some of my recipe sources, I was looking for a different way to make chicken salad. … [Read more...]
Global Wetting
I’m not too concerned about global warming, it’s global wetting that bothers me more. Usually, this time of year, I send my lawn mower on a 4- to 6-week sabbatical while the grass in my yard lies dormant. Not this year. Global Wetting has me out there as often as twice a week cutting grass, and before I can recharge the battery on the mower, the grass is at it … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 133
- 134
- 135
- 136
- 137
- …
- 446
- Next Page »