While we have a few of Atticus Finch’s mockingbirds, we have a gazillion house finches. I expect I have more finches per square foot in my yard than anyone else in North America. I have over a dozen that camp out at my front yard feeder and twice that many in the back. Fortunately, they are little fellows and don’t eat that much or I’d have to take out a second mortgage to buy bird … [Read more...]
Beware of the James
The James is a powerful and dangerous river. Last week, an Albemarle County family lost three children to drowning after a fateful attempt to swim. I can personally attest to the strength of this mighty river. When I first moved to Charlottesville, I asked about river fishing in these parts and was told to go to the James. It was a beautiful, charming river and I fished from the bank, … [Read more...]
Cross Keys Takes Home the Bacon
Early this summer, Cross Keys Vineyards participated in the 2023 Finger Lakes International Wine & Spirits Competition, in Rochester, New York. This is one of the largest charitable wine and spirits competitions in the United States, with some 3,000 entries, judged over three days by fifty industry professionals including: masters of wine, sommeliers (CMS), journalists, winemakers, and other … [Read more...]
Letters, We Get Letters
Letters, We Get Letters We get lots and lots of letters Dear, Perry, would you be so kind To fill a request and sing the songs we love best Geezers will recognize the lyrics above as a theme song for the Perry Como Show where he sang requested songs. Perry got lots and lots of letters, but us? Not so much. Recently, there has been a rash of thievery, mostly … [Read more...]
Golden Skillet Fried Chicken
Nancy and I found ourselves on Rt. 29 S below Chatham around dinner time and we were hungry. I had seen the Golden Skillet Restaurant there many times as we passed through TightSqueeze (a town, really). I remembered eating at a Golden Skillet years ago and it was good then. It still is. Really good. We went inside to eat, and each ordered a small Fried Chicken Platter. Before I could … [Read more...]
Drumming Up Business
Drum fishing, large and small, is smoking hot in the Bay. The reds are hitting cut bait in deep holes and are lurking near piers. The Elizabeth River has been a hotspot. Cobia continue to bite. Some anglers are chumming, and some are sight casting, but there are plenty of fish. There is some great sheepshead fishing now near most any structure. Spanish Macs are scattered from the … [Read more...]
Remembering Special Places
As Boomers look back on a life full of memories, certain places – special places – stick out. For me, one of those special places was the beach – Atlantic Beach, NC, not far from Camp Lejeune. My Aunt Anne and Uncle Sidney had a small cottage in Morehead City, just across Bogue Sound from Atlantic Beach. Every June, after school let out, we packed the family Pontiac sedan with … [Read more...]
Can We Save the Bay?
No one in then Virginia political hierarchy seems concerned that the menhaden reduction fleet based in Reedville is taking food from the mouths of stripers, trout, and other Virginia gamefish, but maybe they’ll pay attention as osprey nests begin to disappear. Ospreys feed heavily on menhaden and when vast schools of the oily baitfish instantly disappear, the food in that entire area for these … [Read more...]
Scary Looking Cardinals
For about 50 weeks out of the year, cardinals are majestic birds, gracing of all our backyards. But the first two weeks of August are not kind to these red beauties. I saw a cardinal at my feeder this morning that looked like he got into a bar fight and lost. His top knot was missing, he had several bald spots, and all his feathers were disheveled. Cardinals are now molting, a natural … [Read more...]
The Warble
We have a pet parakeet named Foster, a rescue bird. We got Foster 4 or 5 years ago to keep our younger parakeet, Snowbird, company. Foster was an older bird at the time, but she outlived Snowbird and is still alive and kicking. However, about 6 weeks ago, we noticed a growth on her lower back, just above her tail feathers. It was gross. I called it a warble, and it continued to … [Read more...]
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