By Matthew Fitzsimmons Peak Shenandoah is Virginia’s newest wine region. Named after Shenandoah National Park, it brings together six wineries located within 30 minutes of the park’s northern entrance at Front Royal. Region members include Arterra Wines, Capstone Vineyards, Chester Gap Cellars, Fox Meadow Winery, Rappahannock Cellars, and Star in the Valley Winery. These venues are heavily influenced by the mountainous terrain around them. But according to Star in the Valley owner Shane Waller, they are bound by more than geography. “Our wineries straddle both county lines and American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), yet we are still connected by a common character. When I look at these other wineries, I see reflections of us. Folks that tend to the vines themselves, make the wine themselves, and have small, family-run-tasting rooms they’re selling wine from. We’re all in the mountains and are just around the corner from fantastic outdoor recreation spots. That’s why I like to say it’s a wine region, because it’s an area where the wineries have similar characteristics. We named it Peak Shenandoah as a homage to the park, as there are a lot of people that come here for hiking. We want to let these visitors know there are other fantastic places to visit as well. Or if you’re here for wine, come have a great day, stay overnight, and you can have a great hike the next day.” Six Wineries Bound by a Common Thread Peak Shenandoah isn’t a federally designated wine growing area like the nearby Shenandoah Valley AVA or Middleburg AVA. At the same time, it’s more than a wine trail, where participants sometimes share little in common beyond being neighbors. “What sets our area apart from Loudoun or Charlottesville is elevation is the common thread for our participating wineries,” said Amanda Darvill of Fox…
By Michael J. McGroarty Don’t be afraid to trim those flowering shrubs and trees that need it. Failure to prune is probably the biggest gardening mistake a person can make. I spent 20 years landscaping homes and businesses, and I watched people make the investment in my services, then they failed to prune when the plants needed it, and before you know it their landscape looks terrible. If you make a mistake pruning, don’t worry about it. It’s like a bad haircut…it will grow out. Of course, use common sense and read the previous articles that I’ve written on pruning. Along with summer time comes high humidity. High humidity can cause a lot of problems with the plants in your garden and around your house. One of the simple things you can do is don’t water just before dark. Make sure your plants are nice and dry when you tuck them in for the night and you can cut down of the chance fungus being a problem. One of the more common fungi that I get asked about a lot is powdery mildew. This appears as a white film on the leaves of ornamental plants. Dogwoods and Purple Sandcherry are often the victim of powdery mildew. Powdery mildew isn’t extremely harmful to the plants, it’s just that the foliage is damaged, and little growing takes place once it sets in. Your local garden center will have a general fungicide you can spray if you’d like to try and control it. Usually once the plant defoliates in the fall the plant is back to normal. If you have perennial rye grass in your lawn, you must be careful not to leave your grass wet at night. There is a fungus known as pythium blight that appears in very humid conditions. This…
By Julie Reardon If every household in Virginia spent just ten dollars a week on locally grown agricultural products, it would bring $1.65 billion to the local economy in a year. Why not start this week by purchasing fresh produce from a farmer’s market or any of a number of nearby farms? Besides eating delicious, healthy foods, you can feel good about helping create jobs in Virginia, encouraging our local economy to grow, and keep family farms working and sustainable. Virginia Buy Fresh, Buy Local utilizes a network of organizations and agencies to support the education and development of consumers, farmers, and food buyers. The Virginia Grown program is a marketing tool promoting fresh, local products to consumers and has a proven track record for increasing visibility, developing additional media attention and enhancing marketing opportunities for Virginia Grown products. Virginia is for food lovers. Buying local foods helps create jobs, supports existing ones, and it’s good for you. Local goods don’t sit in storage, nor do they have to be trucked, flown or transported great distances, so they’re far more flavorful and retain more of their beneficial nutrients. Most people don’t include enough fresh fruits and vegetables in their diets, a major contributing cause to the national epidemic of obesity and diabetes as well as a host of other diseases. What better way for both children and adults to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables than buying garden-fresh, flavorful local and organic produce? The Washington D.C. area has plenty of suburban sprawl, but it also has more local and family farms within close proximity than many major metro areas, including a good number within a half hour drive from the Beltway. Buying locally helps support endangered family and small farms and has the added benefit of preserving scenic open spaces….
While we just celebrated Memorial Day last month and there were lots of flags displayed around the DMV and placed on our Veteran’s graves, we can’t forget to celebrate Old Glory itself on the 14th. Check your local community organizations to find events planned for the 14th in your area. You can also find more information about Flag Day from The National Flag Day Foundation’s website NationalFlagDay.com. We thought it would be a good idea to give our readers a bit of a history lesson on the origins of “Flag Day” and some tips on how to CORRECTLY display the Stars and Stripes. – Lani Gering, Old Town Crier “That the flag of the United States shall be of thirteen stripes of alternate red and white, with a union of thirteen stars of white in a blue field, representing the new constellation.” This was the resolution adopted by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. The resolution was made following the report of a special committee which had been assigned to suggest the flag’s design. A flag of this design was first carried into battle on September 11, 1777, in the Battle of the Brandywine. The American flag was first saluted by foreign naval vessels on February 14, 1778, when The Ranger, bearing the Stars and Stripes and under the command of Captain Paul Jones, arrived in a French port. The flag first flew over a foreign territory in early 1778 at Nassau, Bahama Islands, where Americans captured a British fort. Observance of the adoption of the flag was not soon in coming, however. Although there are many claims to the first official observance of Flag Day, all but one took place more than an entire century after the flag’s adoption in 1777. The first claim was from a Hartford,…
By Caroline Simpson There are a myriad of females in my family. Starting with my Mom; she has three sisters. Out of my ten cousins, there are only two boys, and I am one of two daughters. I love being from a female-full family. The girl power factor is unbeatable. There was always an opportunity for late night girl talks on the phone, not to mention the never-ending understanding associated with female companionship, and, of course, the ability to cathartically cry for absolutely no reason. I am one very lucky girl, and during this time of year, I am forced to think…my poor father! I frequently wondered if the fathers of all these females: my Dad, my uncles, and my grandfather, ever truly wished for sons. Even if they never outright said it, isn’t it is common knowledge that a father wants a son? Playing ball, burping, and getting dirty are all elements of that father-son relationship that my dad never experienced. Does he regret it? Is a prerequisite to feeling like a successful father the ability to share a love of bugs? I think not! Sure, daughters are different, more challenging, even. Playing ball was not my thing, but my dad made it a point to figure out what my thing was. One of my favorite memories is our visit to the Museum of Natural History. I loved rocks, and Dad spent a small fortune on a pre-organized rock collection from the gift shop that I still have. Then there was the time when Mom had a morning meeting and Dad helped me get ready for school. He was not prepared for the drama that was my hair, but he gave it his all. Five barrettes and a can of hairspray later, I walked to the bus stop with…
By Lani Gering We decided to stick close to home for this month’s Road Trip. At the suggestion of one of our readers, we ventured into the “City” to the U.S. National Arboretum and spent an afternoon. Our original plan was to visit it mid-week to avoid the potential of weekend crowds but Mother Nature thwarted that plan with a whole day of rain. We ended up being there on the Saturday before the Memorial Day weekend and parking at the Visitors Center meant making a few “loops” around the lot but on the third spin we garnered a space as close to up front as you could get without parking in a handicap space. I kind of hate to admit that the last time I was at the Arboretum was in 1985 when I was here for a 2-year assignment with the USDA. However, I didn’t feel so bad when my partner, who has lived in this area for 72 years admitted that he had NEVER been there. We are both losers…it really is a nice place that is less than a ½ hour drive from Old Town Alexandria; we will go back. I toured the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum and the National Herb Garden that are adjacent to the Visitors Center while Bob enjoyed sitting around the aquatic plants exhibit outside and watching the hundreds of Koi fish swim around. We then took a drive around the acreage. It really is a special place. There were several families and groups picnicking and a good number of folks walking and jogging the grounds. There aren’t any food venues but snacks and drinks are available in vending machines. There appeared to be ample bathroom facilities and water fountains throughout the grounds. There are also several benches that are…
Captain Bob circa 2023 under sail on the Patuxent River with the “Betsy Ross Flag” flying. By Bob Tagert As I write these Publishers Notes on May 25th, it is a perfect spring day. Blue skies with puffy white clouds. The high temperature will be in the low 70’s. The last round of rain has been helpful for the fields that I travel by in Southern Maryland each month and the crops of corn, soybeans and winter wheat are thriving. It really feels like springtime is here to stay for a while. Hard to believe that summer is just around the corner already. The popularity of Old Town and Alexandria continues to grow as does the traffic traveling through town. We live in the 300 block of South Washington Street and there isn’t a time of day or night when there aren’t vehicles headed in both directions. While I love living in Old Town and we depend on tourists to pick us up as a good resource for the region while they are here, the number of people that are roaming the waterfront and lower King Street are doubling every day. Summer is a good time for us locals to make plans to get out of town for a few hours/days. Fortunately, if you do decide to get out of town, we have many nice destinations within an hour’s commute – many that have been written about in the “From the Bay to the Blue Ridge” section. From classic small towns in Southern Maryland like Solomons in Calvert County, located between the Bay and the Patuxent River, to Leonardtown in St. Mary’s County, located on the water Breaton Bay which flows into the Potomac, there are many places to plan a day trip. If the lure of the mountains is…
By Ken Byrer From Aesop’s Fables to Doctor Doolittle, people have dreamed of speaking with animals as they speak to each other, asking our animal friends their thoughts on life. While such an exchange remains a prospect for the distant future hinted at by new technology, we have learned a great deal about how our companion animals communicate with us without shared words. Us Talking to Them: “Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy?” When humans speak to their pets, they usually use a modified version of the speech patterns they use for infants. An article in describes the approach as “speech directed towards pets and kids usually consists of shorter utterances, more repetitions, elevated pitch, and hyper-articulated sounds” and found dogs more responsive than cats. Dogs often reacted to any human speech, but cats only to their owner. Throughout the communication puzzle, dogs and cats come from very different places and retain the features they brought to the relationship. Social, pack-hunting canines appear more interested and suitable for communication than solitary, lone-hunting felines. “As much as we bark, meow, or pspspsps at animals, they probably miss most of what we’re trying to tell them,” according to a pet communication overview. To understand our pets, we need to pay attention to what they’re trying to tell us. Them Talking to Us (and Each Other): “People have to realize that dogs and cats don’t necessarily have a specific language that’s geared towards people. They use their own inherent language just like I would use English or a French person would use French. A lot of their communication is body signals or body language,” says DVM Leslie Sinn. However, cats seem to have adapted the meow vocalizations made to kittens in order to speak with us; adult cats rarely meow at…
By Erin Shackleford Wilbur This immensely happy guy is Wilbur. Wilbur is a 3-year-old, 80-pound gentle giant who is beloved for his easy-going nature and friendly demeanor. Wilbur loves to play with other toys and dogs, so if you have another feisty dog in the home, Wilbur may make a great companion. He knows the cues for sit and paw and will enthusiastically shake anyone’s hand. Wilbur also has great leash manners, which is good for a big guy like him. We know from Wilbur’s previous guardian that he is house trained too. Steve Good boy Steve is a chill 7-year old pup with black fur and adorable floppy ears. Weighing in at 90 pounds, he is a big guy who is looking for a new home where he can play, cuddle, and get lots of love and attention in the form of scratches, treats, and time with his people. Steve is house-trained and walks well on the leash. He has had several playdates with other adoptable pups here at the shelter and gone on a few field trips and done wonderfly – showing off his easy-going and friendly personality. Equal parts goofball and loyal companion, Steve is well loved by everyone here at the AWLA and we are hoping he finds his forever home very soon. Steve is currently spending time in a foster home but you can call to schedule a time to meet with him. Lewis Lewis is fun in dog form! This beautiful brindle boy is 3-years-old and 78 pounds. He loves to play fetch and do some zoomies in the backyard. He has gotten along well with other playful, energetic dogs. Lewis is housetrained, has great house manners (he knows what is a toy and – more importantly – what isn’t), and is also crate trained. Lewis is working…
By Lori Welch Brown Ohhhhhh, yeah. I feel alive, I feel the love, I feel the love that’s really real. Sunshine—I am feelin’ the love and it is real. What is it about you that makes us feel so alive and happy?! I know that there are people out there who love Seattle and rain and cold weather, but DANG. It is glorious when the sun arrives. Although I’ve been spending more and more time in North Carolina these past few years, I’m still a Virginia girl through and through. One of the things I love most about the state I’ve called home for decades isn’t actually the summer months, but rather the change of seasons. I can’t imagine living somewhere that requires I wear a coat in June or shorts at the Thanksgiving table. No, thank you. The change of seasons gives us something to look forward to—changing wardrobes, changing temps, changing routines. Moving from indoors to outdoors. It’s exciting—and I get just as excited for fall (hello, my beautiful boots!), winter (is there anything better than the first snowfall?), and spring (hike, anyone?), as I do for summer (one margarita, two margarita…). But summer, you are pretty special. When the season changes, the energy shifts. It’s not even officially summer yet, and I’m giddy like a school kid ready to toss my books and bolt out of algebra class. Freedom rings and the air smells of freshly cut grass and mulch. Flowers are popping up out of the ground, and I can hear the bells of the ice cream truck. My heart is all-a-quiver. My mind is already plotting and planning all the things I want to do and see this summer. Lie on the beach. Read a zillion trashy novels. Eat a truck load of ice cream….
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