#Virginia Vineyards

[virginia-wine-tour]

Virginia Wine Tour Adventure: Discover the Magic

Virginia wine country easily becomes unforgettable and embraces into its arms all wine lovers, nature enthusiasts, and anybody else in search of luxury. Beautiful rolling hills to the Appalachian Mountains, Virginia, has over 300 wineries, each offering something special. Independent journeys along Virginia wine tours ensure not only an indulgence in some of the finest wines on the eastern seaboard but also a wondrous journey through a breathtaking landscape, historic places, and friendly towns.

Why Virginia Wine Country is a Must

Virginia is seldom taken into consideration with the considerations between Napa Valley and Sonoma but it definitely has its reasons to be exceptional. Well known for over 400 years of winemaking, the winemakers of Virginia have mastered this art of grape growing and making, growing proud award-winning wines that almost give competition to those wines from more known regions.

Wine Regions in Virginia

Virginia is divided into a number of unique wine regions, each offering its own terroir and wine styles. Among some of the notable wine regions are:

Northern Virginia Wine Region: Outside Washington D.C., this is one region that is home to most of the state's renowned wineries. With rolling hills and proximity to the nation's capital, it's a popular day-trip destination.

Shenandoah Valley Wine Region: Sandwiched in between the Blue Ridge and the Allegheny Mountains is this valley. Next to the topography of this locale is experienced great wines, which mark the greatness of Rieslings and sparkling wines.

Central Virginia: Named for Jefferson's estate, "Monticello", Jefferson was known to be one of the great rabble-rousers for American winemaking and planted some of the first vines in this area. Now, Central Virginia is known to produce a lot of Cabernet Franc, Viognier, and Petit Verdot.

Eastern Shore Wine Region: Nestled along the Chesapeake Bay, the Eastern Shore provides a most unique coastal wine experience. The maritime climate means it produces excellent white wines of a crisp, refreshing nature, yet also regales with wines light-bodied and fruity.

Planning Your Virginia Wine Tour

A Virginia wine tour offers so much more than just a day of wine tasting—it's an experience you can tailor to your preferences. Whether you're looking for a romantic getaway, a weekend with friends, or even wandering solo, Virginia wine country has something for everyone.

What Wineries to Visit

Virginia boasts over 300 wineries, and planning a visit may sound pretty overwhelming. Focusing your trip in the regions that interest you the most will allow you to create a travel plan highlighting the best that Virginia has to offer. Just a few of the must-visit wineries are outlined below.

Barboursville Vineyards – Central Virginia

Notable for its Italian heritage, Barboursville is one of the oldest wineries in Virginia. One of the world-renowned wines of this winery is their signature—Octagon—which is a Bordeaux blend.

Stone Tower Winery, Northern Virginia: From every angle at Stone Tower Winery, one gets a panoramic view of the countryside in Loudoun County, which gives the place its rustic yet stylish feel. Their estate blend, in particular the Meritage, is outstanding.

Bluestone Vineyard, Shenandoah Valley: Bluestone Vineyards rests in the middle of the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, containing a very wide range of wines. Their award-winning Viognier and Petit Verdot should not be missed.

Chatham Vineyards – Eastern Shore: Located on Virginia's Eastern Shore, Chatham Vineyards offers this unique, coastal wine experience. Their Chardonnay, produced in Church Creek, is vibrant and crisp, with bright fruit flavors.

Best Time to Visit Virginia Wineries

Though they are open year-round, the best months to visit Virginia's wineries are during the fall harvest season, from September through November, which boasts cool temperatures, colorful foliage, and winning activity in the vineyards. The Fully blossomed vineyards and mild weather also make spring a picturesque time for visiting.

One of the most important aspects of planning your Virginia wine tour is transportation. For that reason, it's best to leave it to someone else to navigate the winding country roads and ensure safe and appropriate transport is available after multiple tastings. Transportation is always an element to wine tour options, so a visitor can fully relax and enjoy guided tours of some favorite wine tour experiences. Options are available for :

Hire a Private Chauffeur Service: If the touch of a human hand is what you are into, then the private chauffeur service is among your options. They will be able to craft a special itinerary involving your likes and dislikes. This option will be great for couples or just small groups who want this exclusive tour for themselves.

Group Wine Tours: Here is a more social option in case you want to go in groups. These tours come with its transportation to several wineries and tastings. Food may be involved, such as lunch or a picnic.

Self-Guided Tours: Those who love the open road can always enjoy the implemented freedom of a rental car with a customizable itinerary; just be sure to bring along a designated driver or use one of the many designated driver services available.

What to Expect on a Virginia Wine Tour

A Virginia wine tour is so much more than just wine tasting. It becomes an opportunity to get lost in the state's rich past, to enjoy breathtaking scenery, and to meet the passionate winemakers who put their hearts and souls into every bottle.

Wine Tastings and Pairings

Most Virginia wineries offer tasting flights where you can enjoy their wine creations. The tasting flights usually feature whites, reds, and rosés, along with dessert and sparkling options. A great number of wineries offer food pairings to match the wines they serve. The culinary experience further enhances your level of interest in wine touring, with options for farm-to-table meals to complement your wines, as well as artisanal cheeses and charcuterie boards.

Vineyard and Winery Tours

In most wineries, there is a provision for touring around the vineyard and sometimes at the place where the wine is produced. This practice gives an individual the golden chance of getting to understand the entire wine production process right from the growth of the grapes through to the final packaged wine. All through, one gets educated about the peculiar terroir of the regions, the challenges of growing grapes in the Virginian climate, and effort and talent that is truly put into the project.

Festivals and Special Events

Throughout the year, many special events and festivals are held in various Virginia wineries that make half the fun. Some of these most popular events are: Virginia Wine Month. Celebrate Virginia Wine Month with special events, tastings, and promotions at wineries across the state.

Wine & Garlic Festival (Amherst, VA): Celebrating a strange pairing – wine and garlic, complete with live music, artisan vendors, and of course, food and wine.

Harvest Parties : This goes on for a number of weeks, so many wineries host harvest parties that include the ancient art of grape stomping, live music, and spunky food.

Tips for a successful Virginia Wine Tour

Plan Ahead: So many wineries have schedules; it's preferable to plan your roadmap beforehand. Do not forget to look at the time and dates of opening.

Pace Yourself: Wine tasting can be an all-day event, and that means you slightly have to pace yourself. It's wise to start lighter with the wines, including whites and rosés, then move on to heavier reds.

Stay Hydrated: Make sure to drink water throughout the day to stay hydrated and cleanse your palate between tastings.

Don't Be Afraid to Ask Questions: Virginia winemakers are very enthusiastic about what they do. Do not be shy to inquire about such things as the winemaking process, the history of the winery, or foods they suggest pairing.

Conclusion

A wine tour in Virginia is fabulous, with the mix of wines and the Ebullience beauty and history of the area. Virginia wineries have much to offer to every palate, whether an experienced wine enthusiast or willing greenhorn. There is much to take in, from the rolling hills of Northern Virginia to the coastal charm of the Eastern Shore, where you can enjoy much great wine and fantastic views.

[paulpingminho]

[eopederson]

No Outside Alcohol Permitted - No Smoking Anywhere on Property, Carter Mountain Orchard, Albermarle County, 2017.

[vandaliatraveler]

Off-topic, but wanted to share.  I did my first wine-tasting this past week during a work-related trip to DC.  The event was hosted at Three Creeks Winery, located just outside Leesburg, VA in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  The wine was divine and the evening was near ideal, especially after the sun peaked through the winterish clouds just before dusk.  You can see for yourself how the winery got its name. I apologize for the crappy cell phone photos. 

[wildwithlight]

[david6of7]

Shenandoah Vineyards

Photography by David Velez

#davidvelez #david6of7 #travel #place #nikon #d3x

#virginia #shenandoahvineyards #wine #vineyard

#vino

[haybug1]

Wines of Virginia ~ Wines of the Week

It may be easy to fall into only enjoying wines from the typical states we may think of for producing quality wine in America, like California, Oregon, or Washington. However, every state in the country is crafting wine of some sort today, either from fruit grown in that state or imported, of which much is of high quality, like many options from states like Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, and…

[winerywedding]

Blog Home - Wine and Country Weddings

Virginia Wine & Country Weddings is a uniquely beautiful magazine to help you plan your elegant wedding in the heart of Virginia Wine Country. Vineyard Wedding

[joehaupt]

Wisteria Farm & Vineyard In Stanley, Virginia (November 2022) by Joe Haupt

[extinctionstories]

Once, there was a bird called a Heath Hen. It lived all along the coast of New England, from Virginia all the way to Maine. More abundant than wild turkeys, these grouse-like birds fed Americans native and colonist alike; some believe that it was actually heath hen that graced the table of the first Thanksgiving.

Yet countries grow, and so does the demand for food. Like the passenger pigeon, the bounty of heath hens seemed inexhaustible…until it wasn’t. By 1870, the heath hen was gone from the mainland, occupying only a tiny oasis on the island of Martha’s Vineyard; by 1900, there were only 70 in the world.

But humans had begun to notice the animals vanishing around us—to realize that there steps we could take to make it stop. Protections were put in place, and the birds began a recovery. In 1915, at least two thousand heath hens called the island home.

During the following nesting season, however, after years of misguided suppression measures, a wildfire ravaged the preserve, devastating the ground-nesting birds. Now lacking shelter, birds that survived the fire were easily picked off by predators. Efforts were made to rebuild yet again, but there just weren’t enough birds left. The final heath hen died in 1932, after having been alone for 4 years.

One of the stories that always sticks in my mind about heath hens comes from the people who went out searching for survivors after the fire. They spoke about finding female birds, burnt or suffocated by smoke, still sitting on their nests—their last act, to shield their young.

Those charred hens had no way of knowing that the eggs they guarded were some of the last the world would ever see—no conception of the ideas of rarity or foresight that might cause a human to go to lengths to protect such a nest. For them, it was enough to be a mother, whose child would always be as precious to her as if it had been the only one in the world, worthy of protecting with her life.

An epitaph of Jane Seymour, third queen of Henry VIII, who died in childbed, went, “Here lies a phoenix/by whose death/another phoenix life gave breath”. My above art was painted in clear acrylic medium blended with ink and the ashes of burnt feathers, and is titled ‘There Were No Phoenixes on Martha’s Vineyard’.

[libraryofmoths]

Moth of the Week

Eight-Spotted Forester

Alypia octomaculata

[Right | Left]

The eight-spotted forester is a part of the family Noctuidae, the owlet moths. It was first described in 1775 by Johan Christian Fabricius. It is predictably named after the 8 spots on its wings.

Description This species has a black body with pale yellow patches of tegulae (sclerites above the base of the costal vein/the top edge of a moth wing). The legs are black with the front and middle legs having orange hairs. The forewings have two pale yellow or white spots on both sides, and the hindwings have two white spots on both sides. It also can have a yellow and white patten on the back of the abdomen (middle to lower body).

Wingspan: 3 - 3.7 cm (≈1.81 - 1.45 in)

The larvae is lavender with orange bands breaking up each segment. In between the orange bands are thin black lines over the visible lavender. The enter body is sprinkled in black bumps and thin white hairs. The head is orange.

Caterpillar length: 2.54 - 3.81 cm (1 - 1.5 in)

Diet and Habitat Larvae of this moth eat the underside of the leaves of wild grapes, cultivated grapes, Virginia Creeper, and peppervines. Adult moths eat nectar from flowers of herbaceous (no wood stems above ground). Adults specifically eat from sweetleaf (Symplocos tinctoria).

This moth is native to Canada and can be found in eastern and central Northern America from Nova Scotia to Florida and South Dakota to Texas. It is also found in Mexico according to Moth Identification. They inhabit wooded areas that meet open fields as the fields have flowers to feed the adults and the wooded areas have grapevine and Virginia creeper to feed larvae.

Mating This species are univoltine (one brood a year) in the north, mating from April to June. In warmer climates there may be two to three broods a year, mating in April to June then in August. Eggs are lain on grapevines and Virginia creeper in the summer. Pupae overwinter in soil or wood cracks.

Predators This moth is preyed on in all stages of life and are dinural (active during the day). Larvae spit an orange tinted liquid when threatened and escape by attaching a line of silk threat to its perch from its mouth, then falling off the perch.

Fun Fact

The larvae of this species can be considered pests to commercial and decorative vineyards.

This moth has two subspecies: Alypia octomaculata octomaculata (Fabricuis, 1775) and Alypia octomaculata matuta (H. Edwards, 1883)

This species pupae can go into a dormant state while called a “diapause” where development is delayed. The longest recorded time for this species is 4 years. The reason this species exits a diapause is unknown.

(Source: Wikipedia [1][2][3], MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION, Moth Identification, MarylandBiodiversityProject)

[ereardon]

Come Back [Chapter 6][Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x OC]

Summary: Eight years ago, Bradley Bradshaw was just a college boyfriend who broke your heart. Now, he’s back in your life after a coincidental reunion, and he’s adamant about starting up a friendship. Will it be possible to be just friends with Bradley, or is he inevitably going to end up ruining everything you’ve spent the better part of a decade rebuilding?

Pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x OC [Nurse Maggie Brooms]

WC: 3.7K

Warnings: Cursing, angst, fighting

Series masterlist

Bradley was different in California.

You were used to the dense woods and Southern tendencies of Charlottesville. 

But Bradley, despite loving UVA, always seemed a little out of place. At the bar wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, he stuck out compared to every other guy in there, all clones wearing a Vineyard Vines button down and Chubbies with a pair of loafers just ratty enough to show their generational wealth status. 

So when he invited you to California for spring break of your senior year, you leapt at the opportunity. Not only did it mean a week away from campus and the looming threat of graduation. 

But it would be a chance to see Bradley in his comfort zone. 

Your mother insisted on getting you a hotel right on the beach, and a rental car, despite the fact that Bradley’s childhood home was in San Diego. She wanted to control where you stayed, and as always, you let her. Bradley stayed with you at the hotel, saying he didn’t want it to go to waste. A part of you knew that he wasn’t ready to share his memories yet. You respected that. 

Bradley looked happy. At peace. Driving with the top down of your convertible rental, you watched as he let one hand fly out the side, whipping down the freeway over the bridge toward the beach. 

Later, at dinner, saw the easy way he smiled and joked with the waitress, how he didn’t even squirm when you reached for the check and dropped your Amex gold on the table. 

He felt like a different person. You could literally see the stress lift off of him. 

It made you wonder — what did that mean for the future? 

You had two months. Neither of you had talked extensively about what your plans were after graduation. But you really only had a few options. Move home, find a husband, get married, be a housewife. Your mother’s preferred option. Or yours: find a job you loved and strike out on your own. Leave the South and its unspoken rules and formality. 

But Bradley. You didn’t know where his head was at. And you were terrified to ask. 

You loved the way the ocean lapped against the sand, and how one morning Bradley woke you up to watch the sunrise with him, his hand gripped tightly in your own, his hoodie soft and baggy over your swimsuit, the way he held you in his lap on the Adirondack chair on the hotel patio.. 

You loved the way the air smelled fresh and salty and how everyone seemed to take their time. It wasn’t like back East where everyone was in a rush, for no reason at all. 

Slowly, over the course of the week, you understood why Bradley felt like a different person in California. You did, too. You were more casual, more fun, more carefree. The weight of expectations had fallen off somewhere on the flight over. 

You were left to rebuild yourself. And you wanted that so desperately. 

“I love it here,” you whispered to Bradley on the last night of the trip. The two of you were laying in bed, his arm wrapped around you while you traced a finger up and down his bare abdomen. 

“Yeah?” 

You looked up at him. “I think I want to move here after graduation.” 

“Leave Virginia?” he asked, shocked. You had never lived anywhere else. Your family was generations deep in Richmond. It was almost unheard of that you would move somewhere else. 

You nodded. “It’s time to get away. Get out from under my parents.” You skimmed a finger over his jaw. “What if we move in together?” It came out in a whisper. 

Bradley shifted and you sat up, crossing your legs on the bed and facing him. “Here?” he asked, sweeping his arm out, gesturing toward California as a whole. 

“Why not? You love it here, that’s obvious. I need a fresh start.” You leaned forward and took his hands in yours. “I love you, Bradley. I want to make this work.” 

“Don’t you think we’re too young?” he asked. 

“I’m not saying let’s get married,” you replied, frowning. “I’m saying let’s move in together. Start a life somewhere. Together.” 

“You’d move here for me?” he asked quietly. 

You tipped your head, placed your hand on his knee. “Bradley, I don’t think you understand. I’d go anywhere for you. With you. I love you. That’s a permanent thing in my book.” 

Bradley pulled you into his arms, gently turning you until you were lying on the bed and he was hovering above you. He peppered kisses along your neck up to your ear, and finally pressed his lips against yours, one hand coming out and brushing the hair off of your face while his other arm kept him supported on the bed. “Let’s do it,” he said quietly. “Let’s move here after graduation. I don’t care if we don’t have jobs or things planned out. I just need you.” 

You wrapped one arm around his neck, pulling him in closer. “You have me. Nothing is going to change that.” 

Bradley leaned in and pressed his lips back against yours. You felt him pull the sheet away, press himself against you. You opened your legs, an invitation. 

You had decided a lot that night. 

That Bradley was your future. And that you were his. 

You had expected that decision, that night, to change everything. 

And it did. 

***

Despite your better instincts, you checked in on Bradley a few days after his twenty-four hour flu. Maybe it was the nurse in you. More likely, it was the part of you that for some reason refused to give up on Bradley Bradshaw. 

Either way, that’s how you found yourself out to dinner with the exact people you had embarrassed yourself in front of at the bar a few weeks earlier. 

You had dressed more modestly this time in a simple sweater and midi skirt and a pair of sandals. Taking a deep breath, you entered the restaurant to find that everyone else had already arrived. Bob spotted you first and blushed and you had to smile through the discomfort of remembering the last time you had seen him, your hands all over him in your sloppy state. 

Bradley spotted you next, jumping up from his seat and meeting you halfway. 

“Hey,” he whispered, kissing your cheek lightly and you let him. He put his hand on your low back and steered you toward the rest of the team. “You guys remember Maggie.” 

You blushed and took the empty seat next to him, which unfortunately was also next to Jake, or Hangman as the team called him. 

Jake flashed you a brilliant grin. “Hey there,” he said, Texas drawl on full display. “How are you sweetheart?”

You went to roll your eyes but realized you still needed to get back in the good graces of Bradley’s friends. Why, you weren’t sure, but a part of you craved their acceptance. 

“Fine,” you said, snapping open the menu. “How are you?”

He laughed and tossed an arm over the back of your seat. “You’re an uptight little thing, aren’t you?”

Bradley shot him a death look. “Hangman,” he said and his voice came with a warning. 

Jake lifted his hands up, palms facing you. “Sorry. I’ll just be over here, minding my own business.” 

You looked down at the menu like you hadn’t already scoured it at home and picked out your top options. You would wait and see what everyone else ordered before you made your final decision. 

“So, Maggie, we heard you pulled a Clara Barton and nursed Rooster here back to health.” 

You looked up and squinted. “Rooster?”

The table erupted in laughter and Bradley leaned over, sliding his hand easily over the back of your chair and whispering in your ear. “It’s my callsign. Kind of like a nickname for pilots.”

You nodded. That explained the weird names. Phoenix, Fanboy, Hangman. Your eyes floated over to Bob. “What’s your callsign?” you asked. 

He blushed and hung his head. “Bob.”

“Bob is your callsign?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He looked so sweet and nervous you wanted to wrap him up in a blanket. “I like that,” you said and he perked up, tips of his ears turning pink as he smiled beneath the wire glasses. “At least you don’t sound like a barnyard animal.” Bradley and Jake howled and you shot Bob a small smile. 

A waitress came by to take orders and you watched how easily Bradley pulled you into conversation with his friends. His hand remained on the back of your chair, fingers occasionally brushing against your shoulder, but you never asked him to move it. 

What you didn’t notice was the rest of the team silently taking in your body language with Bradley. How you stared at him for a moment too long after he told a joke. The way his eyes followed you when you told a story, so focused that he didn’t even flinch when the waitress dropped an empty tray a few feet behind your chair. 

By the end of the meal, you had gotten over the embarrassment of getting absolutely smashed and having to be carried out of the bar. They were a genuinely nice group and you could see why Bradley was willing to be friends with them outside of work. 

“So we never did hear why you two broke up,” Jake said, signing the check. The group had decided it was his turn to pay, something about a pool game bet gone awry. 

You froze and could feel Bradley stiffen next to you. Across the table, Phoenix raised her eyebrows in intrigue. 

There was a silent beat before you opened your mouth. 

“Just didn’t work out,” you said finally. “Senior year of college, you know how it goes. We had different paths.” 

You turned to look at Bradley. There was a pensive look across his tan face. The moment his eyes locked onto yours, you felt the room shift. There was an apology there, without any words passing between you. 

No matter how many times he said he was sorry, it still hurt. 

“Yeah,” Bradley said after a moment. “We were young.” 

You swung back around. The rest of the table was quiet. Jake had his head cocked to the side, an unreadable expression on his face. 

“I should go to the bathroom before we leave,” Coyote said, smacking his hands on the table and pushing his chair back. You nodded and stood as well. 

“Same here.” 

In the bathroom, you splashed cold water on your wrists before lifting your gaze to the mirror. Sometimes you avoided staring into the mirror for too long. It was too easy to pick at your flaws. 

As you pushed open the door, you spotted Jake leaning against the wall, toothpick clamped between his lips. He raised a hand, grabbing it before giving you a smile. 

“Hey there cupcake,” he said and you groaned, forcing a laugh out of him. “God, you’re sassy. I see why Bradshaw likes you so much.”

“I think the men’s room is that way,” you said, hooking your thumb over your shoulder. “If you’re lost.” 

He shook his head, inching nearer. You were dwarfed in a cloud of his cologne, it was borderline overpowering. “I came to say I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For asking about you and Bradshaw. Your history. I could tell by the way y’all tensed up that it’s still a touchy subject.”

You crossed your arms over your chest, drawing Jake’s eyes to your breasts momentarily before he shifted back up to look at you. “It was a long time ago,” you said. “Nobody likes to talk about breakups, so not sure why you would ask in the first place.”

He smiled. “You keep saying it was a long time ago, that it’s in the past. But it isn’t really for you, is it?” “What do you mean?”

He reached out and brushed some hair behind your ear. “I can see it in the way you look at him. You still care.” 

Jake’s green eyes centered on yours. “I loved him once,” you said quietly. “We needed each other. It's hard to forget something like that.” 

Jake dropped his arm, turning halfway to let you past him. You spotted Bradley standing at the table beyond Jake’s shoulder, his back still to you but you could tell he was laughing at something someone else said. “I think you still love him,” he replied and you looked up with shock. “And I think he loves you, too.” 

With that, Jake centered the toothpick back between his lips, taking off toward the bathroom. 

Back at the table, you grabbed your purse and Bradley put his hand on your arm. “Do you want to get a drink?” he asked softly. “We could go out, or my place. Up to you.” 

You nodded. “Yeah, sure.” 

You followed him in your car back to the bungalow with the blue door. It was a lot cleaner than the last time you had been there. No clothes on the ground or stray dishes on the coffee table. Bradley headed toward the kitchen and you followed on his heels. 

“Wine?” he asked. “Vodka. Gin. Diet Coke. I got it all.” 

“Wine,” you said, watching him select a bottle of red from a shelf and uncork it seamlessly. “Do you remember that dinner I took you to with my parents? Family weekend, junior year.” 

“How could I forget?” he asked, pouring you a glass and sliding it over. You turned the bottle in your hands. Leonetti Cellar 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon from Walla Walla Valley. You raised your eyebrows. That was a really nice bottle. He had come a long way from scoffing at the taste of a pinot noir. 

“I see your taste for wine has changed,” you murmured and he smiled. 

“Yeah, one of the Admirals got me into it. Although I can’t say it was worth what I paid.” 

“Well, I like it.” He took a sip of his glass. “Then it’s worth it.” Bradley turned his gaze on you and you felt like you were sitting in a spotlight at a comedy show. He could be so intense and say so little at the same time. “That’s not the only thing I remember from that night,” he whispered. 

“Oh yeah?”

He walked around the counter until you were only a few inches apart. Your hand was shaky on the stem of your wineglass and you placed your hands in your lap. “I still think about it, Mags.”

“What, the sex?”

He laughed softly, putting his glass down next to yours and running one hand down the side of your face. “That, too.” 

“I’ve had better,” you quipped and his eyes widened. “You can’t seriously think you were the best fuck I ever had. After all this time?” 

He dipped his head and you let out a laugh. 

“Oh my God, you really do have an ego.” 

He shook his head. “No, I know that I was young and inexperienced and didn’t know what it took to really please you.” 

“You had slept with half a dozen girls by then, minimum.” 

“But I didn’t care about any of them the way I cared about you,” he said and it made your breath catch in your throat. “Maggie, I have never loved anyone the way I love you.” 

You caught the grammatical slip, but you were worried that it wasn’t an error. “Bradley,” you whispered softly. 

“Let me finish, please,” he said and you nodded. “You telling me you loved me that night meant more than anything in my life up until that point.” He paused. “Even now, it’s still the singular best day of my life. I don’t think you understand how much it meant to have you say that.” Bradley ran a finger through his hair and took in a deep breath. He was so close you could almost feel his heartbeat in his chest. “You’re the only person in my life who has ever seen me for who I am and loved me despite it all, Mags. I should have spent my entire life dedicated to loving you. I should have spent every minute figuring out how to make you feel a fraction of the amount of love that you gave me that night.” 

You looked up at him. “So why didn’t you?”

“I didn’t realize what I had,” he whispered, pressing one large thumb to your cheek, “until you were gone.” 

You turned your face away, sucking in a deep breath, but Bradley’s hands came out to cup your neck, pulling you back to face him. 

“I lost you before,” he whispered. “And it was my fault, it was all my fault. I hurt you, and I’ve spent years trying to atone for the way I treated you. But you’re here, now. And I don’t want to fuck this up.” 

You closed your eyes briefly, felt the wet tears start to roll down your cheeks, over Bradley’s fingers where he held your face tightly. “Back then I thought you would be the guy who would never hurt me.”

You watched the pain flicker over Bradley’s face as your words sunk in. 

“And I hated to learn how wrong I was.” 

The flood gates had opened. You tilted your head down, letting the tears spill across your cheeks and Bradley’s fingers. He let go of your neck, pulling you into his chest, winding his arms around you. You folded into him easily, molded to his embrace. It was so familiar and intoxicating and you were mad that it felt so comfortable to touch him again. 

“Baby,” he whispered, pulling back and wiping at the tears below your lash line. 

“Don’t call me that,” you said, standing up from the stool and walking across the room, putting distance between yourself and Bradley. As if that would solve all of your issues. 

“Maggie,” he begged, stepping closer. “I still love you. For eight years I’ve never once stopped loving you.”

“Stop,” you said, putting out a hand to block him. “Just stop, Bradley. We can’t do this. We’re not twenty-two anymore. We have lives. We’ve moved on.” 

“That’s what I’m saying,” he said, exasperated. “I haven’t moved on, Maggie. I have thought about you every day for eight years. I don’t care about anyone else, I don’t want anyone else. I just want you.” 

“You had me!” you screamed and it stopped him dead in his tracks. “You fucking had all of me. I was ready to give my entire life to you. And you wasted it on some slut.” 

“Maggie.” His voice was a strained whisper. It was the same tone as the day you saw the text on his phone while he was in the shower and confronted him. “Sweetheart.”

“Don’t fucking call me pet names,” you yelled. “You lost the right to love me eight years ago.”

He shook his head. “It was a mistake. I was wasted and I’ve regretted it every day since.” 

“That’s it? You regretted it?” You put your hands on your thighs and tried to catch your breath. “Bradley, you walked out of my life that day and I never even got a reason.”

“There was no reason!” he yelled and the magnitude of his voice shook the house. You looked up in shock. You had never seen Bradley like this. Like he was overcome with anger and fear all wrapped into one. “I was fucking wasted and she was there and in the blink of an eye I ruined everything I had ever let myself want, Maggie. I thought I didn’t deserve you. That’s why I left and never looked back. I didn't deserve you. And you fucking deserved better than me.” 

Bradley leaned both hands on the wall, hanging his head, before pushing back and smacking the wall with an open palm. You heard the slap as it echoed around the small living room. His palm was pink with exertion, but when he looked up all you could focus on was his face. How drawn his features were, the tears flooding his lash line, the anguish that somehow etched its way into every inch of his skin.  

“Maybe I did it because I wanted better for you,” he roared. “Because I knew that you should have more than I could give you.” 

“Don’t fucking flatter yourself,” you bit back. “You did it because you’re a selfish asshole. You wanted someone new. Someone sexier. Someone smarter.” You sniffled. “You did it because you wanted to ruin things for us so you didn’t have to go through the fucking hassle of breaking up with me.”

“Maggie,” he begged, taking a step forward and you moved back instinctively. He dragged his palms over his face. “Why would I break up with you? You were my whole fucking world.”

“I knew you didn’t want to move to California with me,” you sobbed. “I saw your face when I suggested it. You didn’t want me here. You were desperate to graduate and make me just a part of your past.”

“No,” he said, crossing the room so quickly you didn’t have time to react. His hands burned where they touched your arms, his voice shaky. “Baby, no. The only thing I ever wanted was a life with you. Was I terrified? Yes, absolutely. But I never for a fucking second doubted how much I wanted you.” 

“You’re the one who left, Bradley,” you whispered. “The one who never looked back. Not as I lay there on the floor, sobbing for you. Begging you to stay. Desperate to make it work. You just stood there and watched me collapse and did nothing to explain yourself.” “Maggie,” he choked out. 

“What about that showed that you loved me?” you asked. “What about you letting me find out that you cheated on me by reading some girl’s message on your phone screen was you declaring that you wanted to spend your life with me? What kind of man just walks out on his pregnant girlfriend without a care in the world?” 

Bradley’s eyes flashed and his fingers dug into the tops of your arms. “What do you mean pregnant girlfriend?”

“I was two months pregnant when you left, Bradley,” you said quietly. 

Tag list: @abaker74 @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @luckyladycreator2 @marantha @tayrae515 @xoxabs88xox @mak-32 @bradshawsbitch 

[paulpingminho]

[pixelplayground]

HAAAIII PXL!!! What is your inspiration for The Magnolia Residences in Brindleton Bay? The Magnolia Residences are giving Neoclassical Parisian vibes. Brindleton Bay gives me Martha's Vineyard/Cape Cod vibes. What is your take?

Hello @lunaglammora,

The Magnolia residencies are in Magnolia Promenade but definitely Neoclassical / Georgian inspired. The newest townhouse I’m working on is leaning the same way but I haven’t thought of a name for it yet. Brindleton has always felt like an East Coast world to me that’s versatile in how it can be styled. Cape-Cod, Colonial, Low-Country, etc.

The first makeover I did was Charleston inspired, this one is a mix of both that and Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and Northern Virginia/D.C. 🤍

This was a cool question, thanks for asking!

[aziraphales-library]

Hello 🙂

I've got a very specific request please. Do you know of any AUs where Crowley and/or Aziraphale (or one of the other characters, if it's a different ship) are what could be described as "rednecks" (apologies for the term) and/or the fic is set it rural America? I know of "Long Haul", but are there any others?

Thanks in advance!

Hi! I'm not familiar with the USA, so not exactly sure what counts as 'rural America'. Here are some fics set in the US and are very strongly rooted in their location...

Adorable (isn't so bad, when you get used to it) by JoyAndOtherStories (G)

A slice-of-life human AU set in the US Midwest. Aziraphale and Crowley are heading to the farm owned by their long-time friends Anathema and Newt to help them celebrate their newest addition (a new cow paddock). There are a few surprises in store, but all good ones, even for professionally-grumpy Crowley.

H.O.L.Y. (High On Loving You) by Most_Loved_Tragedy (E)

Aziraphale Fell is escaping his abusive partner Gabriel Strong. He has no friends and no family to turn to as his parents died 11 years ago, which led to his moving to the US from London. His last ten years have been ruled by Gabriel who kept him cut off from the rest of the world.

While on the run, he misses his bus and ends up in the middle of nowhere USA. A kind person talks their cousin Crowley into offering Aziraphale shelter in a spare home he has for rent.

Aziraphale learns that even if you've lost one family, you can always find another.

Town Meets Country by Angel_of_the_Dawn (M)

Former preacher Azira Fell moves to a small rural town to work as a librarian and meets Anthony Crowley, former drifter turned farmer. Crowley helps Azira come to terms with his past and face the future.

Under Construction by summerofspock (E)

Crowley has one goal: sell the run-down lodge in the Cascades that his uncle left him in his will.

He doesn't expect to meet someone like Aziraphale, the kind handyman working on his uncle's property who turns out to be more of an enigma than Crowley first thought.

The False and the Fair by Princip1914 (E)

Growing up in the shadow of West Virginia’s Eden Mountain, Aziraphale Wright always expected to work for the family coal mining company. Anthony Crowley, the son of a down-and-out miner, was going to become a pilot and leave town forever. Now, thirty years later, neither of their lives have gone as planned, and an unexpected inheritance brings them back into one another’s orbit. Aziraphale hopes that they can move beyond their shared past, and a high school arrangement that ended in disaster, but he has secrets of his own that threaten their fragile reconnection…

Old Vines by sevdrag (E)

A.Z. Fell, one of the most respected names in wine and food blogging, has been sent on assignment with his assistant Warlock Dowling to spend six months in California Wine Country. Under direction (by his boss, Gabriel) to use this experience to double his blog followers and write a novel, Aziraphale is both excited and anxious about the opportunity.

Anthony J. Crowley is the owner and viticulturalist of Ecdyses, a winery that unexpectedly fell into his lap eleven years ago when he hit rock bottom. He may be in debt, yeah, but he’s paying off his loans — and despite pressure from his lenders and their team of inspectors, Crowley has found a kind of contentment tending his little corner of terroir and producing extraordinary wine. Crowley’s old vines are the heart of his vineyard, and he’s never let anyone in.

Crowley finds Aziraphale intriguing; Aziraphale finds Crowley enthralling. Turns out a famous wine expert and an experienced viticulturalist can still learn things from each other. The summer of 2019 unfolds.

And the one you mentioned...

Long Haul by snae_b (E)

First time he sees him he’s barreling down 40 like a bat out of hell. Thirty miles outside of Flagstaff and six hours behind schedule. The desert looming large on all sides. Red sand and sage stretching out for miles and miles in front of him. Juniper and pine and gray crag behind him. The flora might be changing but that's about it. Same bone-dry air that gives him nosebleeds. Same cute little cottontails and scrawny jackrabbits darting under his tires. Same two lanes separated by white lines... He checks his speedometer. He hasn't downshifted since the city limits. Sheer luck, that. He's coming up fast on another rig. Flatbed with Vermont plates. Bright white cab with gold wings painted on the side.  

Anthony Crowley might have gotten out of Missouri, but he hasn't escaped his past. He wears it like a cloak. When he crosses paths with a guardian angel, he starts to learn how to shed it.

- Mod D

[onenicebugperday]

This is a super specific question, but I LOVE eumorpha pandorus/pandorus sphinx moth. I live in their native range and would love so so so much to find one that had passed to preserve and mount. Have you ever gone hunting for specific bugs who have passed to collect them? Any tips you might have on this?

I can’t imagine moths would hold up well for long past death unpreserved but figured I’d ask.

Alternatively, do you have any vendors you’d recommend that ethically source their specimens that I could check out that may get these guys sometimes?

Thanks so much!

I think it would be VERY difficult to intentionally find a dead specimen of a specific sphinx moth in the wild that isn’t very battered/degraded. I think you’d be much more likely to find a caterpillar by checking out their host plants and then raising it through adulthood and preserving it after it passes. I know that includes grape plants and Virginia creeper. You’d have to google if there are others they might feed on.

If there are vineyards in your area they might be more than happy to give you caterpillars who eat their crops. I have a friend who manages a vineyard and he often sends me photos of cool bugs that he (unfortunately) has to remove from the plants. RIP, little friends.

But also, near their host plant may be a decent place to look for dead adults, too, as they would be laying eggs near the host plant.

As for ethically sourced bugs, I don’t have any sources that I use that I can rec, I’m afraid. You could try looking on etsy and ebay and asking the seller specifically where their specimens come from.

If anyone has any ethical sources for bug specimens they’d like to rec, feel free!