Bright Idea Outdoors Weblog

Come Join the Fun at Pumpkinfest this Fall at Layng's

 If you're looking for some good old-fashioned family fun this Halloween season, without the high prices charged at other Loudoun-area fall festivals, look no further than Layng's Flower Farm on Evergreen Mill Road.  Conveniently located to Leesburg, Ashburn and South Riding, Pumpkinfest at Layng's offers something for everyone.

Here are a couple shots from the Haunted Hayride:

 
 
I'm lucky enough be well-acquainted with Layng's ownership and staff, and they've authorized me to make a special offer to my readers.  Click below to download a coupon and save more than $25 at Layng's this week.

Download Layng coupon

See you at Pumpkinfest!

Random Notes and a Local Pizza Shop Endorsement

The original plan for my son's 3rd birthday party was to cook hotdogs and hamburgers for our approximately 40 guests.  As the day drew nearer though, that idea became less and less appealing to the chef (me) and we decided we'd rather go with ordered pizza. 

For many years when we lived in Ashburn, we were regular customers at Manhattan Pizza, then known as Manhattan Pizzeria.  Only recently did we rediscover the restaurant at its Leesburg location, and we quickly decided that Manhattan puts out the best pizza in town.  So naturally, when we agreed that we needed 10 pizzas and 50 wings for the party, I called Manhattan for a price quote.

I won't say exactly what that was, but I will say it was very reasonable, about $40 less than I expected.  I'll also say that my family and guests loved every bite!

If you're planning a party in the Leesburg or Ashburn areas, definitely consider Manhattan Pizza for the meal.  Click here to read more reviews...

This is supposed to be a hunting and fishing site, so why the h&!l is Matt writing about pizza?  I'm asking myself the same question, and the only answer is BUSY!  My business is picking up, and my wife just started a new job.  We're alternating time at work and time at home with the kids for the rest of the summer, and aside from the occasional pond fishing trip with the boys, I haven't had a lot of time for my beloved outdoor pursuits.  In fact, with deer season getting underway in about three weeks, I'm in serious danger of being completely UNPREPARED!

But that's life, and making a living has to come first.  I'm especially proud of how Kim has stepped up in that arena, especially after nearly a decade at home with the kids.  I'm not very good at showing it, but I'm extremely lucky to have such a smart and capable wife.

As for me, it's been about a year since I lost my old job, and I've made some real progress in the last week on putting that behind me once and for all.  My old employer and I are on good terms, and I hope he will take advantage of the consulting services I'm now offering.  Meanwhile, my biggest client, the County of Loudoun, is keeping me busy and I'm doing some some work for other companies and working on landing a project with a large HOA here in the area.

So hunting, fishing and blogging may have to take a back seat for now.  I'll just keep doing the best I can.  Look for some posts next week...

Leesburg Police Investigate Apparently Random Stabbings

I did not know about the "serial stabber" on the loose in Leesburg until I read about it today on www.leesburgtoday.com.  If you live in town or the surrounding area, you should definitely read this article.

A Trip to the Waterpark

Leesburg's A.V. Symington Aquatic Center opened last summer, and my boys had been before, but it wasn't until yesterday that I went for the first time.  Man, I didn't know what I was missing!

Here are some tips you can use if you visit the waterpark this summer:

• If you're a town resident, go early. The park opens to town residents at 11 a.m. and everyone else at noon.
• If you have a kid aged two or under, take him now. Kids that age are free.
• Pack a lunch. You can buy food at the waterpark, but it's really expensive. You can't eat on the pool deck, but there's plenty of lawn area where you can, and:

Don't miss out on the waterslides.  Most of the time, there's a gang of kids lined up for these fun features of the facility, but if you're an adult, go during "break."  You can walk right up and slide right down.  You'll be glad you did!

I Guess This Is Where I Went Wrong

Just like Rex grew up Watching Daniel Boone on TV, I was raised by the Dukes of Hazzard.

And if it wasn't the Dukes, it was the Bandit outrunning smokies in that black Trans Am.

Who knows how much different my life would have been if I'd watched something else?

Deer Tick Season Officially Underway

My family and I spent most of the afternoon today outdoors enjoying the beautiful Easter Sunday weather.  While the boys and I were going for a leisurely paddle in the canoe, my oldest son remarked that he'd lost a pocketknife at a particular spot on the bank earlier this year and asked me to let him out so he could look for it.  As I watched him pick his way through the weeds, brush and growing grass beside the pond, I just knew I'd be picking deer ticks off him before the day was over.

We were home by the time he noticed one crawling up his leg.  He was lucky; deer ticks are tiny and extremely difficult to detect.  I just hope there aren't any more.

Thankfully, none of my three kids have ever had the tick-borne illness Lyme disease.  I haven't been so lucky and have been treated for Lyme twice in the last 10 years.

This illness has reached near-epidemic levels here in Loudoun County, and, with the warm weather, I'd say deer tick season is officially underway.  Please be careful to avoid them and to check for and remove deer ticks after spending time outdoors.

For more information on how to protect your family from deer ticks and Lyme disease, email outdoorblogger@verizon.net.

A Last Look Back @!*&$(S#

I just got done writing a rather profound, if I do say so myself, final look back at 2009.  I focused on the pain and disappointment my family and I have endured during the last six months but ended with a cheerful look ahead toward the promise of the New Year.

Essentially, I put 2009 behind me.

So perhaps it is fitting that I somehow lost my changes and that, like 2009, that post is gone forever.  Reading it would have made me sad, and sadness is something I definitely don't need as tomorrow I forge ahead with the business of the day, the season and 2010.

Not So Bright Idea Leads to Minor Disaster

Returning to work after a week-long vacation is always tough, but my transition from Outer Banks fishing bum back to the life of a landscaper was going fairly well; until yesterday morning.

When my landscape crew finished a drainage job much faster than expected, I had the bright idea of sending them by my house to trim the bushes.  I took the two-man crew there, showed them what to do and retired to my office about six miles away.  Just as I was getting settled in, the phone rang.

It was the foreman, who told me in broken English that he had cut a pipe; I couldn't quite understand him, but the words "propane gas" rang loud and clear.  I jumped back in my car and called my wife at the house.

"Jorge says he cut a gas line!"

"Oh, I think he's trying to tell me that right now," she replied.

When I pulled up, I could smell gas from across the street and could hear it rushing out of the broken copper pipe.  My wife had already called the gas company, and they had someone on the way.  Still, as a precaution, I evacuated my family to Camp Cowboy and sent the landscape crew packing off to their next job.  Meanwhile, I stood on the other side of the street; waiting for my house to explode.

After five minutes that seemed like five hours, I decided the gas company was not making my emergency a high enough priority, so I called the fire department.  Their truck and the Washington Gas van pulled up simultaneously a few minutes later.

It turned out that Jorge had not seen the gas meter, which was hidden by thick juniper bushes that some short-term-thinking landscaper planted before I lived in the house.  Using gas-powered shear pruners to trim the shrubs away from the house, Jorge cut the copper pipe that runs from my basement to the gas meter.

With the gas shut off, and the firemen on their way back to the station, the gas man informed me that his company could not fix the busted pipe; I would have to call a plumber.  I saw an ad for My Plumber on the back cover of the yellow pages and dialed.  The plumbing company actually had someone there within 45 minutes.  About two hours and $290 later, everything was back up and running.

I've been in the landscape business for longer than I care to admit.  During that time, I've had guys cut phone cables, fiber optic lines, cable tv lines and many many invisible dog fence wires.  Until yesterday, however, I'd never even heard of a gas line--or any other metal pipe--being severed by pruning tools.  Interestingly enough, the Washington Gas man said he'd never heard of it happening either before this year, but that he has been on several calls in 2009 similar to mine.

With disaster narrowly averted at my home, I'll take this opportunity to pass a few lessons on to you:

• Don't ever plant shrubs so close to utility equipment that the apparatus will be obscured;

• Don't ever prune shrubs without first checking behind them;

• Gas-powered shear pruners will cut copper pipe; and

• Going back to work after a vacation is never easy, even if it seems to be at first.

An Old Photo from a Wonderful Day

Can you pick out the blogger in this picture?

It was taken nearly 10 years ago at Oatlands Plantation near Leesburg, Virginia.  The couple by the reflecting pool had just been married and was posing for pictures while guests enjoyed the cocktail hour.

I'm pleased to report that these two are still happily married and that people still talk about what a great wedding and reception they had.

Click here to see this photo and more images from Oatlands weddings.

Standing Watch

For one hundred years now, this bronze Confederate soldier has stood in front of the Loudoun County courthouse, keeping watch over downtown Leesburg.

As a native of the area, the courthouse and its rebel guard are central to many memories, especially those from my youth and young adulthood.  One of the most vivid of these memories is from the final days of May, 10 years ago.

At the time, I was working as a reporter for the Leesburg Today newspaper and covering a murder trial.  A young man stood accused of beating his infant son to death.  The other papers' reporters and I spent that evening loitering around the statue, waiting for the jury to come back with a verdict.

When we saw the bailiff leading the jury across the street to eat dinner, we knew were going to be there for awhile.  The girl from the Washington Post had a company credit card, and she treated the rest of us to dinner at the China King.

Later, word came that the jury would soon return, and we hurried back to our seats inside the old courthouse.  They brought back a guilty verdict on the lesser charge of manslaughter.

I know the young man went to prison, but I'm not sure how long he stayed or what happened to him afterwards.  I stayed in touch with some of my reporter friends after I got out of that game, but it's been years now since I spoke to any of them.

Still, I drive past the Confederate soldier several times a week, and he always brings back memories of the tragedy we wrote about that day and of the free meal we ate at China King.