I suppose they call them sunflowers because some of them think they should grow as high as the sun. At least that’s what the sunflower that sprouted and grew next to my garden must think. I thought it was an accidental squirrel planting, but Nancy thinks it may have been included in an assorted packet of wildflower seeds that she sewed along the edge if our garden. They say if you have bright … [Read more...]
Fish From Heaven?
Our goldfish pond continues to amaze. Last week, Nancy said she saw some tiny minnows swimming in the pond. I suggested that maybe they were her little imaginary friends, like Harvey the Rabbit. She gave me one of those looks that said, “You are treading on thin ice, buster.” And I said no more. But tiny minnows in our pond? Where did they come from, heaven? Then she called me over. … [Read more...]
Band on the Run
Bands like to play music. That’s why they get together with horns, drums, reeds and stuff and practice - so they can do what they love. Play music. But this has been a difficult year for bands, especially the Charlottesville Municipal Band. They don’t feel comfortable squeezing in 50 or 60 musicians into the band room to practice. But several smaller groups have formed, and guess what? … [Read more...]
Enjoying Peace and Freedom
By Charles Crenshaw I am at our home in Earlysville, sitting in our back yard watching another day come to an end as the sun sinks in the west. I am surrounded by God’s creation and nature except for the sounds of airplanes and one very loud automobile. It has been a hot day with temperatures up in the nineties this afternoon. I am surrounded by the sounds of … [Read more...]
The Rudee Angler
Not everyone has the time or the money for an all-day charter fishing trip in the Gulf Stream, but lots of folks would enjoy spending a half-day fishing out of Virginia Beach without paying a king’s ransom. For them, it’s the Rudee Angler, a head boat out of Rudee Inlet on the southern end of Virginia Beach. Some head boats take trips and return with barely legal trout or small croakers, but … [Read more...]
Sparklers and Bottle Rockets
Tomorrow is Fourth of July and there will be fireworks – serious fireworks, but you’re not supposed to have any in Virginia. That’s because our state would trust you with a 3,000 pound Ferrari that will do 250 miles an hour in about 10 seconds, but they think you might hurt yourself with a bottle rocket. So we can buy things that smoke and sizzle but nothing that leaves the ground. If it’s fun, … [Read more...]
Black-eyed Susans
Our roadsides are now coming alive with beautiful blooms and flowers – most coming from what we consider to be plain old weeds. Black eyed Susans, for one. Lots of those pretty flowers and weeds we see alongside our roads and highways are “come-heres”, native to other countries – Europe, Asia, Africa and the like, but the friendly little Black-eyed Susans are as American as apple pie. They are … [Read more...]
Squirrel Plantings
Each spring, we are always surprised to see things growing in our yard and gardens that shouldn’t be there. They are our “squirrel plantings”. One year, a very strange looking plant popped up in Nancy’s flower garden. It didn’t look like a weed, so we let it grow. It grew and grew, blossomed, then died. I finally pulled it up and found a cluster of peanuts. An enterprising squirrel had … [Read more...]
Mexican Chicken Wraps
Every now and then you stumble on a really good recipe – so good you want to make it again and again. That’s how I feel about the Mexican Chicken Wraps I tried this week, I needed some kind of dish with a little meat in it to serve alongside a Mexican Quiche I had prepared. I had some chicken loins in the freezer and thawed them out before leafing through some recipe ideas and saw the one … [Read more...]
Grass Fed Beef
It was Friday night – often our steak night. TGIF. Time to celebrate. Besides, we love steak. I stopped by Food Lion and they had a couple New York strip steaks that looked good - nice and marbled. Then I saw a strange package. It was Spring Crossing Cattle Co. They were grass-fed rib-eyes, a little higher in price than the others, and not nearly so marbled. But I had eaten a … [Read more...]
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