They showed up last week. Five of them. Grackles. Damned grackles. This morning there were a dozen in my yard, in another week there will be fifty. I despise grackles. They bully my songbirds and eat all the food I put out. If there were only a dozen, I could handle that. But they are like the Hordes of Mongolia. They just keep coming and coming and coming. Most of my other birder friends don’t … [Read more...]
Taco Pies
I am always putzing around, looking for new and better ways to cook things – especially Mexican cuisine. Mexican, really, is one of the easiest ways to prepare foods. And it’s versatile. Put some taco meat in a tortilla and you have a Burrito. Put sauce on top of that and you have an enchilada. The hardest part is remembering the names and how to spell them. Last week, I had an inspiration … [Read more...]
The Incredible Ivy Inn
We have some good restaurants in Charlottesville, but if someone asked me my top recommendation, it would have to be the Ivy Inn. It is consistently Charlottesville’s finest. It’s the kind of a restaurant you would take a special client or the place where college grads gather for an historic reunion. It’s also a place you take your wife of 53 years out to dinner for our anniversary, and I did just … [Read more...]
53 Roses
Fifty-three years is a long time – five decades and change. But that’s how long I have been married to the same lady, the former Nancy Angeline Goldsmith. We tied the knot on March 3, 1968. Remember 1968? Lyndon Johnson was in his last year of office and said there was no way in hell he’d run again. The Vietnam War hung like an albatross around his neck. 1968 was a year of turmoil with … [Read more...]
Giant Bluefins
The giant bluefin tuna have made their way north and are busting tackle off the coast of North Carolina. Boats out of Oregon Inlet, Wanchese and Pirates Cove are returning with fish weighing from 500 to 800 pounds. A Virginia angler from Toano wrestled in an estimated 1,000 pound bluefin from a 22 ½ -foot boat. The monster tuna was 9 ½ feet long. That was something. In Virginia, the … [Read more...]
Pour Off the Grease
Sooner or later if you happen to be cooking, you’ll come across these instructions: Pour off the grease. This happens, for instance, when you brown hamburger. The burger gets brown but the grease just sits there and says, “Now what?” You will now be required to pour off the grease from the pan so your spaghetti sauce will not clog half the arteries in North America. But that’s not as simple as … [Read more...]
Kobe-style Hamburger at Sam’s Club
Sam’s Club never ceases to amaze me. They are always bringing in new and exciting products - most recently Kobe Beef hamburger. Well, it’s really not Kobe (Japanese) hamburger. It’s the American version of Kobe beef - Wagyu Beef, and it’s just as good. When we go to Bonefish Grill, if I don’t order Fish N Chips, I’ll order the Wagyu Burger – it is scrumptious. Sam’s Club now … [Read more...]
Birdhouses – Now!
Some take their bird houses down after each spring and store them to save wear and tear. Others wait till spring to put up new houses and some just think about it. No matter, the time to put up birdhouses is right now, and you may be too late. Geese are already pairing off and I have seen some tussles between bluebirds and even cardinals. Robins are poking around, now, looking for … [Read more...]
Snow is Good
Snow can be a royal pain. It shuts down businesses, causes accidents on the highways and there was a time – when children were actually going to school - that school would be cancelled. But there is one place snow is good, and that’s on a garden Snow acts like a protective blanket against extreme temperatures. Roots of many perennials, as well as bulbs, ground cover plants and … [Read more...]
Talking Trash
I happened to be up at 6:30 am last Monday and shuffled down the driveway to get the paper. The trash guys from Time Disposal pulled up at about the same time and swiftly and deftly dumped the trash in the truck and were on their way. If everyone went about their jobs with the enthusiasm and energy as does this crew from Time Disposal, the world would be a much better place. These guys simply … [Read more...]
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