Some unexpected visitors appeared in our back yard this week – about 25 or 30 of them and they went skinny dipping in our goldfish pond. It was a large flock of Cedar Waxwings and what beauties! I have been seeing Cedar Waxwings in the last few years, but only passing through. I see them along about this time of year and again in mid-fall. I suppose they migrate through this … [Read more...]
Easy Spaghetti Pie
When we were counselors for the youth group at our church, we often served Sunday night dinner for the kids. Of all the meals, they overwhelmingly preferred Sloppy Joe’s and Spaghetti Pie. Spaghetti Pie may be the ultimate comfort food. It’s tasty, easy to prepare, and everybody loves it – especially kids. There are dozens of recipes for the pie, but as always, I go for the … [Read more...]
A Bird’s Eye View
I hung the weird-looking Creature of the Black Lagoon’s Bird House on a shepherd’s crook in one of Nancy’s Garden beds a couple weeks back. As I described, the house is constructed of moss and clay and looks like it was drained from the swamp. But I hung it anyway. Because of the way the crook was situated, the hole to the nest pointed to the side, not to the front. I wondered if … [Read more...]
“Lettuce” Entertain You
Nancy sent me to the store with a grocery list for the ingredients she needed for the meal she was preparing. With my wife, it’s never “butter, eggs and sugar” It’s more like “Sun Dried Kumquats, Gluten Free Squash Flour and Pickled Toad’s Feet.” For the life of me, I can never remember which aisle the Toad’s Feet are on. But along with her list of exotic ingredients, she needed a … [Read more...]
Sam’s Hot Dogs
When I want a Sam’s Hot Dog fix, I have to go out of town. With ten million restaurants in Charlottesville, you’d think we’d have one Sam’s Hot Dog Stand, but we don’t. Crozet, Waynesboro, or Harrisonburg are our three closesst options. In my opinion, Sam’s is one of the best hot dog vendors anywhere, right up there with Cap’n Franks on the Outer Banks. Their hot dogs are simply … [Read more...]
The Big Drum Have Arrived
The big news on the Virginia saltwater scene is that large red drum have arrived on the shoals near Fisherman’s Island. Dr. Ken Neill, Stan Simmerman and David Brabrand made a run over and caught a shark, had two drag screamers, and pulled the hook on one. But David did manage to tag and released their first bull red of the season. Good puppy drum action continues in Virginia Beach … [Read more...]
Opening Day
There used to be an Opening Day of Trout Season and it was the equivalent of a Barnum & Bailey Circus coming to town. Men, women, and children headed for the mountains to try and catch a few of the hundreds of thousands of trout that had been stocked and were now hungry enough to eat raw worms. I have been a participant of lots of Opening Days during my fishing career, but one … [Read more...]
Roasted Tomatoes
I went into Aldi’s Grocery store on the way home to pick up some lettuce for that night’s salad and saw a cluster of vine ripened tomatoes for two bucks and change. They looked good and I bought them, not really knowing what I would do with the little red fellows. I decided to roast them. Sometimes we cooks overlook the simplest of recipes. Always struggling with what to prepare for side dishes … [Read more...]
Morel Time
I had never eaten a morel until my old friend Carl Oakes asked if I wanted a few. Not wanting to offend, I said, “Sure”, but I had no idea what they were or what to do with the strange looking spores. Later I found out that morels, wild mushrooms, were mountain delicacies and highly desirable. On several occasions since then, I have taken to the hills and picked them myself. … [Read more...]
Buttercups
Another beautiful “weed” now growing in my back yard is the common buttercup. This variety, sometimes called the creeping buttercup, has stubborn roots and can be the devil to get rid of, but the flowers are certainly delicate and lovely. Buttercups are generally perennials, but unlike many wildflowers, they are poisonous. Livestock that grazes in a field overrun with buttercups can get … [Read more...]
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