Entries by vaobserver

A Friendly Medium for New Flavors

Homemade Pizza A Friendly Medium for New Flavors By JiJi Russell Few comfort foods rival a fresh pizza, hot out of the oven. Taking its place as a great diplomat in the hierarchy of foods, pizza crosses boundaries of age, geography, and social status with ease. Simply put: Few folks can resist a good pie. […]

Wild Chorus

Wild Chorus By Doug Pifer While working in my studio late the other night I heard a coyote chorus ringing through the October darkness. It sounded like a crazy Halloween party. A real coyote sounds nothing like coyote howls played in the movies. A shrill wail breaks into a rabble of barks and yips that […]

Now You See Me

Now You See Me A Cowgirl of the Yee-Ha Sisterhood by Mark Andrews   Few characteristics of the Shenandoah Valley create our sense of identity as strongly as our relationships with horses. Mark Andrews visited a special place in next-door Frederick County that shows how our fondness and respect for equine companions connects us with […]

See You at The Curve!

See You at The Curve! Iconic establishment on the mountain serves up a one-of-a-kind experience By Jennifer Lee   If walking into the Horseshoe Curve restaurant feels like you’re walking into someone’s living room, that’s because you are. Tracee and Jim Wink have been welcoming friends and not-for-long strangers into their cozy, colorful restaurant and […]

Gallery Artists Gather To Look Ahead

Gallery Artists Gather To Look Ahead Artists to suggest new programs with grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts Twenty of the 50+ artists who show and sell their work through Berryville Main Street’s Fire House Gallery gathered at the gallery on September 5 for something gallery director Kate Petranech calls, “a very pleasant […]

First Farmers’ Harvest Ball Set For October

First Farmers’ Harvest Ball Set For October Guests invited to “eat a little pig, dance a little jig, and go whee, whee, whee all the way home!” Three Clarke County non-profit groups are joining forces to bring the community the bounties of local harvest with the farmers who provide them. The Farmers’ Harvest Ball will […]

Ray Cather: Farmer, Ruritan, Neighbor

Ray Cather: Farmer, Ruritan, Neighbor By Annie Young Perhaps , like me, you enjoy traveling the back roads of Clarke County. I drive along while my baby sleeps in the backseat and find places that are new to me but have a long history in the county. One hot day this summer I passed a […]

Fascinated By Fungi

Fascinated By Fungi Just after school starts in autumn, big round puffball mushrooms pop up overnight, looking as if somebody scattered freshly baked buns in the yard. As a kid, I remember the field where the neighborhood played baseball was a prime spot for puffballs. We called them smoke bombs and checked them daily after […]