Photo above courtesy of Karen Riddle By Bob Tagert For our spring road trip, we decided to sort of roll the dice. With no dice available, we decided to flip a coin. The first spin of the nickel had heads north and tails south. It came up south. The next spin came up west, so we needed to pick a point south west. This would put us near one of our favorite destinations…Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive. We decided to enter the park at the Thornton Gap entrance and take Skyline Drive north to Front Royal. April is a good time to visit Shenandoah National Park, especially for those seeking to avoid the crowds and enjoy the beauty of spring, including wildflowers and the forest coming back to life. On our trip there were few vehicles and the temperature was only a few degrees cooler than at the base. Deciduous trees are not fully leafed out in April so wildlife viewing opportunities can be better, as it is easier to spot animals. Some facilities are open in April but most, like Big Meadow, don’t open until May. The typical spring season is from the middle of March through the end of May, with average temperatures ranging from 35 degrees in March to 55 degrees in May. We were lucky, the sky was clear and the temperatures were in the low 50’s. Even though the fall and all of the leaf colors are the most popular time to visit, spring is a time of renewal and new beginnings. Leaves begin to show up on trees that have been bare all winter and pops of color can be seen among the brown leaf litter as wildflowers spring forth with the warmer weather. Wildlife that have been tucked away during the colder…
Provided courtesy of GardenHelpers.com At long last, spring has arrived! (or has it?) As you look out upon your garden, does the nagging question of “where do I even begin” sound familiar? There is so much to do in every corner of the yard this month that it is difficult to know where to start. In our opinion, the first and foremost thing to do is to stand back for a moment, and simply enjoy the beauty that Mother Nature has given us…. listen to the birds as they sing you a spring melody… dream a little, and then put on the gardening gloves and head out to make your dream garden a reality! Here are a few April garden projects that you can do to help keep your garden looking its best the rest of this season. Perennials, Annuals, and Bulbs April is the month for planting summer flowering bulbs like dahlias, gladiolas and lilies. Mix bulb fertilizer, processed manure and peat moss into the planting soil. Tuberous Begonias and Canna should not be set outdoors until all danger of frost has passed, so wait until next month. *Plant annual seeds of asters, cosmos, marigolds, and zinnias in the garden. *When all frost danger has passed you can move your stored fuchsias and geraniums outdoors. Trim them back, feed and repot if necessary. Water them well. When they have finished blooming, you should deadhead your spring flowering bulbs. Do not cut off the green foliage yet! These green leaves continue to grow for a few weeks, and provide the bulb with food for flowering next year. *Divide perennials like Daylilies, Delphiniums,Iris, Chrysanthemums, Daisies,and Phlox. The additional plants you create can be traded or given to friends, or moved to a new area of the garden. *Hybrid Tea Roses should…
By Julie Reardon Though at press time, warm spring weather isn’t here yet, by the time you read this it will be, and spring flowers will be in blooming in the Blue Ridge. There’s nothing like the green, green new grass framed by dogwoods and redbuds as the backdrop for an enjoyable day in the country. April is the month of garden tours, antiques and crafts fairs, horse racing over fences, and other outdoor activities. Pack a tailgate and take in a spring race meet at several locations in the hunt country in the coming weeks. April is when the upcoming stars of the steeplechase circuit really show their stuff. In addition to the point to point circuit (cheaper admission, closer to the action), there are several bigger, fancier meets including the Middleburg Spring Races or the annual see-and-be-seen affair where horses are secondary to the parade of people, the Virginia Gold Cup. You might enjoy a horse show or event at Morven Park north of Leesburg, which has something going on each weekend in April (www.morvenpark.org). Antiquing is a favored pastime of visitors to the Blue Ridge. In addition to the many roadside shops, the big antiques fairs and crafts shows make their spring debut this month too—check out two of the larger ones in Leesburg at the end of the month. Garden tours allow you a peek at how the other half lives. Some of the finest houses and estates in Fauquier and Loudoun counties open their doors to the public during historic garden week in Virginia this year. A total of over 120 private homes and gardens across the state will be part of 29 distinct tours taking place April 27 through May 3, 2025. Every year, the properties that are opened and the tours offered are…
By Bob Tagert As I write Publishers Notes today, March 29th, the afternoon temperature is to reach 84. Spring has definitely arrived. There is a slight chance of rain this morning but clearing later. Last week we had a beautiful clear day and decided to flip a coin to see which way to drive for our Road Trip adventure. The coin flip said to head south-west…so that is what we did. We ventured to Skyline Drive for a leisurely, uncrowded Sunday drive from Thornton Gap to Front Royal. Read why now is a good time to visit this beautiful park along the Shenandoah Valley on pages 24 & 25. Lots of other great reads in this issue. The following is a hint as to what we have covered this month. The Business Profile is about Carol Supplee and her store Imagine Artwear. This was a bittersweet piece for me to pen since Carol will be closing her “brick and mortar” store soon. An upside for you shoppers is that everything is on sale now and there are some excellent buys on her high-end, one-of-a-kind clothing, accessories and merchandise. Stop by and give this classy woman a fond farewell. In Personality Profile, Lani gets to know one of Alexandria’s newer creative talents as she profiles writer and producer Tess Banion…quite a talented lady. In A Bit of History, Sarah Becker asks, “Is the Character of Our Nation In Jeopardy?” This is a great read about what history tells us that may indicate what we are in for in the next few years. In Last Word, Miriam Kramer changes mediums and reviews one of Netflix’ new popular and controversial series as she steps into a violent world as she discusses Adolescence. It is getting a lot of press from several sides of…
By Steph Selice Animal rescues often have needs for space and resources far beyond current capacities. Animal lovers can help potential pets find loving homes through fostering. Foster humans have big responsibilities. Above all, a successful foster home will be safe, loving, and reliable. Foster families vary as widely as people do, but all understand that every creature needs to feel secure and loved. Some fosterers nurture shy creatures to become more socialized. Others care for sick animals. Fosterers care for companion animals of people who are homeless, in hospitals, in prison, or who have left unsafe domestic situations. Others foster animals rescued from testing labs or animal hoards. And some offer hospice fostering. Fostering can be as flexible as pets need it to be, with the support of caring people. Before You Foster: Getting Ready Before becoming foster families, people often ask similar questions: What do we need to know and do? And how will we be able to let animals go when it’s time? Most foster programs offer training/education to make sure you’re ready to foster. They’ll find out who lives with you, humans and pets, and ask about your home, work, and family demands. They’ll help you care for your foster, including veterinary visits and medications, and food/supplies (as needed and available). Fosterers prepare adoptable pets for new homes, sometimes nurturing animals harder to adopt but still needing loving care. Where do you start? Make sure your own pets have up-to-date vaccinations and other vet treatment. Fosters may require space separate from other animals. Your foster’s privacy needs could last from a few days to months. Time spent with your foster is essential. Foster programs encourage being with your animal at least an hour daily. The bond you nurture will help your foster feel loved, at ease,…
By Erin Shackleford Astro is a 7-year-old, 96-pound big ol’ boy who is as gentle as they come. Astro is an A+ cuddler and is exceptionally sweet and affectionate. We know from his previous guardian that he is house trained, knows cues for sit, shake and fetch, and has done wonderfully around kids. Astro loves to play fetch and chase tennis balls. Not only does he go chase them, he promptly brings them back and drops them at your feet. Astro is working very hard on his leash manners and clicker training. He does excellent in the car. He’s a staff favorite and for good reason! Bob is a 13-year-old female cat who is looking for a relaxing retirement home to live out her golden years. (I don’t know why she’s named Bob. LOL). She is sweet, social, and loves to entertain visitors. There’s nothing she loves more than a “sunshiny” window ledge and some bird watching. Despite being a mature lady, she still enjoys batting around feather toys and balls. She has a distinguished palette which prefers chicken flavored Churus. Bob is a happy, easygoing kitty who’d love to spend these warm spring and summer days lounging around the house with you! What do you say about Benny? There’s just too much hilarity and goodness to possibly fit in one profile. Benny is an 8-year-old, 61 pound male dog who is – plain and simple – just a good time. His vibes are immaculate and you really can’t help getting caught up in his joy. Benny loves pretty much everything … hiking, walks, chasing balls, playing with other dogs, but what he loves most of all is WATER. He adores swimming! Whether it’s a river, creek, stream or kiddie pool, Benny doesn’t care. He’s going to have the literal time of his life. If you’re looking for more “go with…
By Doug Fabboli I have talked about this in the past, but the most important attribute of my business is the many hands needed to operate a business like mine. Each set of hands plays an important part in my success and each set have unique skill sets. But what makes it all work is teamwork. Let’s start with the core of my business, the vineyard. Planting the grapes is a whole process unto itself, but maintaining it is fundamental to get quality growth, flavor development, and balancing those to maintain the health of the vine. Most of the cost to operate a vineyard goes into labor, and generally a team of 4 can manage about 25 acres. Extra hands are often needed at harvest and for shoot thinning. Team work is crucial to ensure the safety of the team and growing the best grapes possible. In the fall, when the grapes are processed into wine, the cellar is buzzing with activity. Receiving fruit, crushing, sorting, punch downs, pumping juice, making additions, pumping into barrels and many other procedures. Cleaning is a mandatory part of each of these processes. Making sure things are clean at the end of the day as well as during the day keeps the wines safe from spoilage and ensures the safety of the team. Everyone cleans together as a team. The cellar gets a little quieter once fermentation has finished. But, with a variety of wines, ciders and various clients who we make wines for, we seem to always be getting wines ready to bottle. Whether we are bottling with our smaller hand set up, or the larger bottling line, we need skilled hands to make this process happen as well. As we shift from production to selling the wine, I want to emphasize how…
By the Gastronomes If you haven’t had the pleasure of dining at this Alexandria icon, you are missing out. Located at 1225 Powhatan Street in the north end of Alexandria in the former Dixie Pig location (the neon sign still remains), Vaso Volioti opened Vaso’s Kitchen in this space in 2006. She opened another location at 1118 King Street (former Bistro Lafayette) in 2013 called Vaso’s Mediterranean Bistro. While both restaurants serve excellent Greek and Italian fare, the Kitchen is the more casual of the two and everyone really makes you feel like you are dining in a Greek family’s home. Vaso’s has been a favorite of ours since they opened and we were amazed at how long it had been since we’ve dined there. It was during the pandemic when we all had to be six feet apart! In any case, it felt good to be back there on a fairly quiet week night. Unfortunately, Vaso had left the restaurant before we arrived but we were entertained by her son-in-law Stratos and we exchanged some fun stories about our girl. Vaso comes from a traditional Greek family and both her sister and niece are in the restaurant business in Alexandria as well. Denise and her husband Chris are the proprietors of the popular Taverna Cretekou at 818 King Street and her niece Maria and husband George own and operate another Alexandria icon – RT’s Restaurant located at 3804 Mount Vernon Avenue. When you listen to their stories, you can imagine their family being much like the crazy family in the “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” movies. I can imagine how fun it would be to be invited to a family party. Vaso is a force of nature unto herself and brings her cooking style and fashion flair to the…
By Bob Tagert This month’s business profile is bitter sweet. Imagine Artwear, one of Old Town’s first and best retailers is retiring and closing her brick-and-mortar location at 1124 King Street. I first met Carol when we were in the now defunct Old Town Business Association. Her contributions have been many to this community. Imagine Artwear is one of the great success stories in Old Town Alexandria and Carol Supplee has worked tirelessly behind the scenes with the city and business groups over the years. I started the Old Town Crier in January of 1988 and when Carol bought her store in 1992, she began advertising with us and has every month since. It love success stories in Old Town, but it took a lot of hard work. Carol first discovered the American crafts world as she pursued a journalism and history degree at Northwestern University and that is where her interest in hand crafted art emerged. “My Mom loved to sew and she was very good at it. She made all of the clothes for her three daughters and she taught me to sew as well,” says Supplee. Carol’s Grandmother’s last name was Penland as in the name of the Penland School of Crafts established in the early 1920’s in North Carolina and is the largest and oldest professional craft schools in the United States. Carol married and when her husband was transferred to Virginia she came along and transferred to George Washington University to continue her education and graduated with a degree in Art History and a Masters in Museology. In 1976 Carol worked for the American Freedom Train to commemorate the United States Bicentennial. The train itself consisted of 10 display cars each representing a segment of American history. Her job was to select all of the…
By Lori Welch Brown Welcome to April, friends. Remember—April showers bring May flowers, and we have made it through the winter, not to mention the time change, mostly unscathed. Although—don’t mark my words here as NoVA weather is so unpredictable and who knows what to expect what with climate change, Mother Nature’s wrath, and the 24/7 weather channel that has us all running to Walmart for TP and milk every chance they get. Snow could be in our future. H-E-double toothpicks. Secure the compound—a blizzard tsunami earthquake tornado could be headed our way. Not to be all Debbie Downer—it’s just hard to know what—or whom—to believe any more. ‘Real’ news? Fake news? Facebook news? You can’t believe everything you read or really ANYTHING you read. Anyone with access to a phone is a bona fide expert. Education/certification/publication be damned. Followers + influence = Facts. So…who’s the fool? All of us it seems. That’s just one middle-aged woman’s cynical view these days. My previously rose-colored glasses have been tainted by a bright orange smear that prevents me from seeing anything clearly. I don’t want to get political here because it would only cause more division—and it’s the division that’s hard to stomach. All the whining and complaining and pointing fingers and promoting fake news—without any fact checking and/or verification of sources. I can’t figure out how to create an IG thread (or why I should for that matter), but apparently nursery schools are now teaching three-year olds how to create a meme with a photoshopped image and a boatload of inaccuracies. Toss in an out-of-context quote—and BOOM—they’ve got a viral hit before they’ve learned to tie their own shoes. Can’t we go back to a simpler, easier time? Like when our grandparents didn’t have running water and only had to walk eight…
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