Pier fishermen are a patient lot. On many days, if not most days, they sit and wait and not much happens – maybe a pinfish or a small spot. On other days, every cast seemingly finds an unwanted skate or a sand shark. But then, but then… It happens. Fish bite. Nice fish bite and it happened this week in Nags Head. Lots of puppy drum and many keepers were tugging at lines and were soon flopping … [Read more...]
Model Airplanes
I was 5 when my family moved from Pittsburg to Beckley, West Virginia and I immediately made friends with a 6 year-old boy across the street – Billy Richmond. Billy and I had countless imaginary games of Army, Navy and Air Force. A hill on a vacant lot became a German fortified position we had to capture; an old log behind Billy’s house was a pretend submarine; and a big apple tree in a neighbor’s … [Read more...]
Beef Enchiladas
I’ve been doing a little Tex/Mex stuff in the kitchen. I’m slowly coming around to South of the Border dishes, and I actually prefer my own recipes to those of the restaurants. Refried beans, for example, is not my idea of human food. Dogs, maybe, but not humans. Anyway, I whipped up a Mexican dish called Beef Enchiladas that actually passed the “Nancy Test.” If my wife, Nancy, eats one of my … [Read more...]
Oh Nuts!
So, will there be a good mast crop this fall or not? People who enjoy watching wildlife, and some 200,000 hunters in Virginia who enjoy eating wildlife will be interested to find out. For hunters, the availability of mast has everything to do with their tactics. If there are lots of acorns, for example, deer for one will not travel as far because they don’t need to. They’ll fill their belies … [Read more...]
The “Wright” Stuff
There is Wright Bacon and there’s the rest of them. Wright Brand Bacon is the Rolex, Mercedes and Stradivarius of the bacon world. What makes Wright so good, and so pricey? For starters, a 90-year old recipe which involves curing hand selected pork bellies and slow smoking over real wood chips for a consistent and delicious flavor. This hickory smoked bacon is naturally smoked and cured with … [Read more...]
Roadside Chicory
I have become fascinated with all the beautiful weeds and wildflowers that grow literally on the sides of our roads. One I have noticed in recent weeks is a lovely bluish, purple flower that I believe is wild chicory, sometimes called a blue daisy, blue dandelion or horseweed. It has just recently bloomed and I see it in clusters. Like many other of these oft-ignored plant/weeds, it is quite … [Read more...]
Downtown Detail
My son and family were in for a visit his week. They went to see Jimmie’s mother-in-law in Richmond and picked up her car, which was in great need of a good washing inside and out. Jimmie asked if I knew of any good car-detailers in town and I did not. When I (rarely) wash my car, I take it through one of those machines. Jimmie checked on-line and found a company willing to come out to us and … [Read more...]
Life In a Tree Stand
It’s quiet up here, some 14 feet off the ground. Tree pegs allow a hunter to scale the tree and strap a metal stand on its trunk and then secure himself with a safety strap around his waist - just in case. It’s easy to fall asleep in a tree stand during this, the archery season for deer. This may be the most-quiet place on earth. It’s hard to find a quiet place these days. Homes are filled with … [Read more...]
Check Out the Chick for Stripers
The saltwater striper season is underway in both the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries. But in many cases, the tributaries are more productive than the Bay itself, especially the tidal Chickahominy. Stripers are most plentiful in the Chick and a trusty Ratt’l Trap will get the job done. While some stripers will be throw backs, there are good numbers of 22- to 24-inch fish. A falling tide … [Read more...]
A Place Called Water Dam
Some like to fish. Some could care less. I was born to fish. Some of my earliest recollections are of the old “Henry” comic strip. Henry was forever fishing and carrying stringers of big fish that he caught. I saw those cartoons and stared in envy. How I wanted to catch fish like those. I didn’t get much chance to fish until my family moved to Beckley, WV when I was about 5 years … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 217
- 218
- 219
- 220
- 221
- …
- 456
- Next Page »