Break out the hummingbird feeders. The little fellows have arrived. Perhaps I should at least one has arrived. I saw him in the back yard Monday, snooping around. We have lots of blooms in the yard, but no feeders out – yet. Hummingbirds are usually late arrivals in our yard, sometimes June or July, so this was pretty early for our area. In and around Orange, hummers fly through … [Read more...]
Yummy Chicken Fingers
Chicken tenderloins represent one of the best buys in the grocery store. The tenderloins are those small pieces on the whole chicken breast. The chicken tender or tenderloin is a strip of breast meat attached to the ribs, that is part of the breast, but it’s not really connected so that it can be separated and used as it is. They are generally removed by the butchers when they make … [Read more...]
A Clover Lover
For the past few weeks, as I mowed my lawn, I have noticed beautiful flowers growing where they probably shouldn’t be growing - like violets and buttercups. This week I saw clover blooming. Clover is not at all a weed, but many consider the delicate plant to be invasive. Not me. I actually plant clover whenever I have a patch in my yard that may be in need of some grass seed. Clover is one of … [Read more...]
Mr. McGregor’s Garden
Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter - the four little bunnies from the tales of Peter Rabbit, one of my favorite childhood books. Rabbits are wonderful – in books, but not so much in gardens. For the past two seasons, rabbits have had their way with much of my garden. They are death on peas, beans and they even mowed down most of my cucumbers vines last summer. We were able to stop the deer … [Read more...]
Nags Head Now Open
Virginians who often spend summer vacations on the Outer Banks are now welcomed back. For the past month, Nags Head and Hatteras have been closed to all but homeowners. No longer. Nags Head is now open for business and the fish are hungry. Guide Capt. Reese Stecher (beachbumfishimng.com) looks forward to one of the best seasons ever. He reports lots of trout, puppy drum and stripers … [Read more...]
Counting Meal Worms
Having too much time on your hands is not a good thing. For example. I had ordered 5,000 meal worms for my bluebirds and they came in a vented box with a bunch of cardboard to separate the layers. I inspected the contents and all looked well, except…. How do you know if they really sent you 5,000 mealworms? If they only packed 4,900 that would be a 2 percent shortage and if some … [Read more...]
Grilled Cheese Hot Dogs
Certainly, nothing is better than a gooey, grilled cheese sandwich. Buttery, rich, decadent. But how about hot dogs? How can you beat a fat hot dog smothered in mustard, catsup and all the fixing’s? But what if you had a Grilled Cheese Hot Dog? Well, they are good, they are easy and everybody loves them. I picked up this recipe from Yummly and want to share it. Start with fresh … [Read more...]
A Real Homeless Problem
There is a real homeless problem in Verona, near Staunton. Thousands and thousands of homeless are swarming in the edge of the woods behind the 12thhole tee box at Ingleside Golf Course. No, not human homeless, but homeless honeybees. They are looking for a new home. My golfing amigos and I were playing Ingleside this Tuesday, when we saw the swarm of bees. I had just heard about … [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 perenials, but unlike many wildflowers, they are poisonous. Livestock that grazes in a field overrun with buttercups can … [Read more...]
I Have the (Baby) Blues
They hatched last Saturday afternoon and on Sunday morning. Three, healthy, precious baby blue birds. The adult bluebirds responsible selected the house on our fence last November. Almost daily, they have checked out the box and any bird or squirrel that drew near was dive-bombed - and this was before they built. I don’t think these are the same two that nested here last year, but … [Read more...]
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