CONDON’S CORNER 

The Farm Choice Country Store: A Harrisonburg Delight!

©Marlene A. Condon 2025 All Rights Reserved

[Published July 17, 2025, by The Daily Progress, the daily newspaper of Charlottesville, Virginia, The News Virginian, the daily newspaper of Waynesboro, Virginia, and The Daily News-Record, the daily newspaper of Harrisonburg, Virginia.]

Providing squirrels with their own feeder of peanuts in the shell keeps them busy and satisfied so they don’t bother your feeders for the birds (Photo courtesy of Phillip Liskey)

The Farm Choice Country Store on South High Street in Harrisonburg not only can supply you with whatever you need to take proper care of the critters you love, but the owner can provide you with the information you need to keep them—and you—happy!

The Farm Choice Country Store: A Harrisonburg Delight!

Wow! Whether you have farm animals, pets, exotic animals (think llamas and alpacas), or you just want to feed our local wildlife, you’ll find a trip to the Farm Choice Country Store well worthwhile. Located on South High Street in Harrisonburg, it’s a clean and neatly kept supply store for both people and the animals they want to keep healthy.

 

For someone such as I who enjoys feeding and watching wildlife, the number of products available as you walk inside is astonishing. You have your choice of an incredible number of feeders of all types and a large variety of seeds to choose from. From 25-pound bags of peanuts in the shell for Gray Squirrels to a variety mix of seeds for birds (think sunflower, safflower, millet, milo, niger, and more, all packaged together), as well as nectar mixes and feeders for hummingbirds, you may well have a difficult time limiting yourself to only one or even a few selections.

 

But this store isn’t only for the birds and squirrels. Cruise around the different departments and you’ll be amazed to find everything you need to feed well pet rabbits and domesticated birds, cats, dogs, horses and other farm animals, as well as llamas and alpacas! This store is truly inclusive.

 

Are you a beginner and need assistance? The owner, Phillip Liskey, is delighted to help you find just what you need. He’s as much “into” helping to make animals “happy” as anyone I’ve ever met, and thus is the perfect person to give you advice and solid information so you can do the same.

 

I spent a good 45 minutes speaking with him and I was impressed by the number of folks during that time who stopped to ask him questions about feeding wildlife. He always knew right where the item they were looking for was located and was always happy to bring it out to their vehicle for them if it was a heavy item they needed help with. You couldn’t possibly spend time in a more friendly place!

 

I was surprised by how small the store is yet so well stocked. It’s absolutely loaded with inventory. Every kind of item you could possibly need to take good care of the critters you care about is there.

 

And the cleanliness is wonderful. I’ve been to farm stores in other locations and I can tell you for a fact that they were far from the immaculate place this store is. Spilled seed attracts rats and mice, rodents that exist specifically to “clean up” the environment. But people prefer not to see these critters inside or around buildings.

 

Mind you, I have nothing against rats or mice, having had both as pets when I was young and knowing they are vital for keeping our world running properly. And my guess is if you had a pet rodent, Phillip would know of just the right food to give it for a well-balanced diet. After all, he has had much experience with providing for animals of many kinds.  

 

As for the source of Phillip Liskey’s extensive knowledge of these critters, he told me that he worked for the local cooperative right out of high school, where he learned about nutrition and agronomy (the study of soil management and crop production). He also attended Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave, Virginia (in Augusta County) where he studied Ag Business.

 

Phillip then spent 11 years managing three stores (1976 to 1987) and eventually did the purchasing and promotion for all of their agricultural divisions.

 

In 1987, he started Farm Choice, focusing at first upon dairy and beef nutrition. But now, in 2025, you can visit his store to find products for just about any kind of animal you might want to keep you company on your own property.

 

Phillip and his wife rented three locations for their store and eventually began manufacturing their own brand of food for the critters people love. The couple then bought land and built their current store on South High Street in 2005. Phillip has spent 49 years helping folks to take good care of their animal companions of choice.

 

Enjoy a scenic drive to visit the Farm Choice Country Store in Harrisonburg. I can guarantee you’ll love it as much as I do. And if you have time to sightsee, there is plenty to do on the western side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, including checking out wonderful places to eat!  

 

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CONDON’S CORNER 

On Father’s Day: Memories of a Wonderful Father

[Published June 15, 2025, by The Daily Progress, the daily newspaper of Charlottesville, Virginia, and The News Virginian, the daily newspaper of Waynesboro, Virginia.]

© Marlene A. Condon 2025 All Rights Reserved

Carolina Wrens are superb parents, feeding and protecting their chicks both in the nest and for a few weeks after they leave.  

 

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had an interest in the natural world. My earliest memories of my maternal grandparents’ farm include a Red Fox in the driveway one evening when my family arrived, and the plethora of wildflowers along the road as we walked to a wild blueberry patch to pick some of these fruits for breakfast. 

 

By the time I was six years old and had finished first grade, my family moved from the big city to a small town of only about 10,000 people. It was the perfect place for me to grow up; farms and wild places were nearby so I was able to indulge my love of nature.

 

With no streetlights along our road, I was able to view the night sky in all its glory, unobscured by artificial lighting. My father would keep me company as I taught myself the constellations and made my first “scientific” notes for further reference.

 

My fascination with the stars and galaxies meant I needed a small telescope to further my pursuits, and I also took an avid interest in the new (at that time) efforts by mankind to reach outer space and eventually the Moon. My father played a key role in assisting my learning in these areas.

 

I recall the day he brought home a book on astronomy for me. I had read everything in our school library by the third grade and keenly wanted to know more. Thus, I was absolutely thrilled to get that book, and it has traveled with me to every place I have lived and resides now in my office book case.

 

It’s a fond, physical reminder of how well my father paid attention to my interests and assisted me to learn—despite the fact that he himself had not even been able to finish high school. My understanding is that he needed to quit school to help support his many siblings. And yet, despite the fact my dad never earned a high school diploma, he very much encouraged my own learning, for which I can’t praise him enough.

 

In addition to buying me my first book on astronomy, he also never missed the chance to purchase the numerous space stamps put out by the Post Office to commemorate American astronauts traveling into space. I thoroughly appreciated all of his efforts on my behalf to assist me in learning about our universe.

 

Additionally, my father was well aware of my love of nature. Thus, whenever he needed to visit his dentist an hour or so away from home, he would bring me with him to enjoy the ride through the countryside. I loved viewing the woods we travelled by and getting the opportunity to see wildlife.

 

My father passed away long ago, but I’ll never forget the wonderful opportunities he gave me to further my learning of the natural world. In fact, I can’t help but think of him every year as I keep tabs upon my Carolina Wrens. The male of this species very much reminds me of my father, as he’s always there to assist with the chicks. In this sense, my father was the ideal dad.

 

In spring, a Carolina Wren finds a female with which he will remain steadfast and true until he or she dies. He shows her the local nesting sites and even builds an almost complete nest in each location. The female gets to pick her favorite spot and completes the nest the male started there.

 

She lays one egg per day, which both wrens keep tabs on until the female lays the final one. She immediately begins to incubate all of them on that same day. She’ll lay five eggs for the first nesting of the season, then four eggs, and finally three eggs for the final nesting.

 

The female leaves the eggs occasionally to feed herself, although the male also brings her food as she keeps the eggs warm. After the eggs hatch, both wrens feed the chicks, taking good care of them until they are ready to fly the coop.

 

The chicks usually all leave on the same day, but sometime a chick isn’t ready and remains overnight in the nest. After being fed a little bit the next morning, it’s then enticed to leave as the parents call it while also tending to the young chicks that’ve already fledged.

 

The parents are kept quite busy feeding their family, and every evening they herd the chicks into one spot where they can sleep together. The parents leave to sleep elsewhere, and return at dawn to feed their young and get them back out into the world. Those babies have a lot to learn so there’s no time to waste.

 

Like the male Carolina Wren, my dad was the perfect parent.

DISCLAIMER:

Ads appearing at the end of e-mail blog-post notifications are posted by follow.it as recompense for granting free usage of their software at the author's blog site. The author of this blog has no say in what ads are posted and receives no monetary compensation other than the use of the software. 

 

 CONDON’S CORNER

Where's the money going? Albemarle should not have raised the real estate property tax rate 

[Published June 10, 2025, by The Daily Progress, the daily newspaper of Charlottesville, Virginia, and The News Virginian, the daily newspaper of Waynesboro, Virginia.]

© Marlene A. Condon 2025 All Rights Reserved 

Taxpayers (even in Greene County) needlessly pay for school buses that many parents don’t utilize for their children. In addition to wasting taxpayer money, these parents are also contributing to global warming by polluting our local air as they wait in very long lines to reach the school.

Many reasons could be enumerated for why the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors was wrong to raise the real estate property tax rate by four cents per $100 of value. Perhaps the most important objection is that many long-time residents are suffering the burden of ever-increasing real estate assessments and tax rates that accompany them.

Just recently a repairman in his twenties came to my house. He told me it was his last week working for the company because he couldn’t afford to stay in this area. He grew up here and wanted to remain, but his salary, that he was quite content with, “didn’t go far enough”. So, he would be leaving to live in another state. Local leaders should be ashamed that native sons can’t afford to reside here.

 

(When builders only supply overly large houses or lavish apartments containing such amenities as gourmet kitchens boasting expensive appliances, “a beautiful sunroom”, or other such luxuries, they create a demand for only those people with more money than the average joe to live here. We don’t have affordable housing in this area only because builders don’t, or can’t due to government zoning, build perfectly decent—rather than ostentatious—places for folks to live.)

 

Of course, if the imposition of taxes upon citizens included a morality factor, people would only pay taxes upon the original price that they paid for a home instead of the newer and always rising assessments. No one would be taxed out of his home simply because someone else decided to pay an exorbitant amount for a house next door.

 

But my personal reason for not supporting the tax-rate increase has to do particularly with the money going to schools. Taxpayers aren’t getting their money’s worth.

 

Everyone has heard about abysmal test scores, even though teachers have said they teach to the tests, which—let’s be honest here—is akin to cheating. Tests are about making sure students learned well what they were taught. They are not about virtually giving a child a cheat sheet so he knows what the questions and answers will likely be!

 

What has gone wrong? I see the problem as the school system having lost its bearings. It has somehow moved away from teaching the vital basics, well known historically as “the 3 Rs”—“reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmatic”—but of course, including other necessary subjects, such as civics, biology, chemistry, etc.

 

Look at the Albemarle County High School Program of Studies [2024-25HighSchoolProgramofStudies.pdf] and you would think you are looking at courses offered to college students instead of those in high school. What is the rush to push kids into career choices when students must learn first, and learn well, the fundamental concepts that are used every day throughout life and without which higher knowledge cannot be obtained? To some, this Albemarle County curriculum may look impressive, but it’s misguided. This drift away from learning fundamentals began decades ago.

 

In the 1980s, I noticed that spelling mistakes and the use of incorrect words started appearing in published documents, from National Park Service newsletters to Time Magazine. I’ve always been a voracious reader and I’d never before seen the likes of these kinds of errors.

 

I was at first extremely surprised and then puzzled as to why such sloppiness had become rather commonplace. Not everyone can master the intricacies of the English language, so some people are bound to make mistakes in their writing. However, publishers typically employ proofreaders who are capable of spotting these blunders and fixing them before the manuscript goes out into the world. Why were proofreaders not catching these flubs?

 

I remained perplexed until I decided at one point to perhaps teach in the local high school. With a degree in physics and knowledge of the advanced mathematics required to understand this field of science, I knew I could assist students to learn about these two areas of study.

 

It was suggested that I spend a day observing classes at Western Albemarle High School to see if teaching was right for me. I did that—and came home at the end of the day feeling depressed. What I saw that day appalled me because I knew the future would show the very real consequences of what I’d viewed, and it has.

 

For example, it may seem a trivial matter if people don’t pronounce words appropriately or grasp their meaning or spell them correctly. However, these shortcomings mean you can’t communicate clearly with others, which is the whole point of learning language skills. And you can hardly get through life without being able to do math.

 

The math class I sat in on was a joke. The teacher spoke for a grand total of ten minutes and the students were told to do their homework for the rest of the class period. When I was in high school, every teacher taught for the entire time (about 50 minutes) allotted for class. Students did homework at home, which is why it’s called homework. How much math do you think could be taught in ten minutes of instruction? Not much.

 

I also sat in on a physics class. I had thought the math class was bad; the physics class was far worse. The students were unruly, ignoring the teacher as they yelled back and forth across the room to each other while also throwing paper airplanes (no, the class wasn’t about aerodynamics). How much physics do you think could be taught under these conditions? Not much.

 

In other words, I did not get the impression that anyone in Albemarle County—or perhaps anywhere in our country as everyone follows suit— took learning seriously; neither school administrators or teachers, nor parents.

 

Knowledge is power, but only if it springs from a legitimate foundation of factual information. Nothing points to Albemarle County children getting the education they need to succeed in life, despite all of the money that is spent per student in the system. It’s time to stop throwing good money after bad. 

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Ads appearing at the end of e-mail blog-post notifications are posted by follow.it as recompense for granting free usage of their software at the author's blog site. The author of this blog has no say in what ads are posted and receives no monetary compensation other than the use of the software. 

 

 CONDON’S CORNER

On Mother’s Day: Lessons from A Mama Raccoon 

[Published May 10, 2025, by The Daily Progress, the daily newspaper of Charlottesville, Virginia, and The News Virginian, the daily newspaper of Waynesboro, Virginia. Published May 11, 2025, by the Daily News-Record, the daily newspaper of Harrisonburg, Virginia.] 

© 2025 Marlene A. Condon All Rights Reserved 

“On Mother’s Day: Lessons from A Mama Raccoon”

 

My mother, who is now deceased, was always there for her children. She didn’t excuse or condone anyone’s bad behavior or the poor choices they made in life, but she didn’t nag about it and was always right there to help us when needed.

 

Her behavior represents to me the true meaning of a mother’s love.  You could do something stupid, such as when one of my older brothers totaled his car by speeding and losing control of it (thank goodness he wasn’t seriously injured), but he knew he could call home and my mother would come to get him and help him to deal with the situation.     

 

On this Mother’s Day, I’d like to offer a tribute to all moms, whether they be human, or not!  I’ve amassed fascinating accounts of wildlife behavior that I feel can provide valuable, insightful lessons for folks. Herewith, a couple of those accounts that might guide you on your own journey through life.

This heartbreaking scenario is difficult to witness; you feel sorry for the young animals that so obviously do not want to leave their mom. But you know intellectually that those kits are ready to behave as adults so life can be perpetuated.

 

Love in its purest form.

 

While you might feel the mama raccoon in this story is cruel or heartless, I can say I’ve witnessed a mother raccoon exhibiting great patience and love for her baby.

 

Years ago, I had a Chimney Swift box placed on a tall radio tower in my yard. My hope was this species would use the box for nesting. That situation never happened, but a female raccoon decided one year to use the box as a den for her babies.

This “Chimney Swift” box (never used by that bird species) on the radio tower by the author’s driveway served as a raccoon den one year. 

One day I heard a plaintive cry (I have microphones outside my house for research) that indicated an animal in distress. I immediately looked out and saw a small, young raccoon running around in circles at the base of the tower, obviously quite distraught. I realized it must have fallen from the box and I felt helpless. I couldn’t possibly catch it nor get it back to the box (about 20 feet off the ground), even if I could!

 

But not to worry. I noticed the mother raccoon calmly climbing down the tower to retrieve her baby. Just as you see a mother cat do, she picked up the young-un by the scruff of its neck and made the arduous journey back up the tower—a vertical climb made quite difficult by the force of gravity—carrying that baby by her teeth.

A mama raccoon carries her kit back to the den box it had fallen from, 20 feet straight up a radio tower in the author’s yard. 

It was a stupendous feat, illustrating a mother’s love, devotion, and concern for her offspring. I see my own mother in this raccoon’s dedication to her family, as the raccoon seemed to simply do what she knew had to be done. That’s love in its purest form.

DISCLAIMER:

Ads appearing at the end of e-mail blog-post notifications are posted by follow.it as recompense for granting free usage of their software at the author's blog site. The author of this blog has no say in what ads are posted and receives no monetary compensation other than the use of the software. 

 CONDON’S CORNER

No-mow May 

[Published April 29, 2025 by the Daily News-Record, the daily newspaper of Harrisonburg, Virginia, and published May 1, 2025, by The Daily Progress, the daily newspaper of Charlottesville, Virginia, and The News Virginian, the daily newspaper of Waynesboro, Virginia.] 

© 2025 Marlene A. Condon All Rights Reserved 

Many entities (Virginia Tech campus is seen here) endeavor to grow so-called native plants that are actually not native at all to their area, such as these Purple Coneflowers that are only native to the southeastern and mid-western sections of the United States.

No-mow May started as a movement in the United Kingdom (where lawns as typical landscaping originated) to get people to allow flowers to grow that could feed pollinators, such as bees. Many folks in the United States have thought it such a great idea that they are now pushing back against local “tall grass and weed” ordinances that don’t allow non-cutting of lawns for a full month.

 

Considering that many government entities love to tout how environmentally friendly they are, it’s surprising to think citizens in some localities can incur penalties if they participate in No-mow May. The problem is that many folks don’t want to view tall grass and “weeds” (i.e., wildflowers) growing next door, not even for a limited amount of time.

 

The broader purpose is to make folks aware of the necessities of wildlife, with the hope that they will start to landscape in a more sustainable manner that helps all wildlife—and people, too. Unfortunately, as with any new idea about how the environment should look, naysayers abound.

 

The main argument that pops up concerns “management”, because this word is synonymous with “aesthetics”.  In a blog post, Benjamin Vogt, a landscape designer who makes money informing people what plants they should be growing in the western part of our country where he wants people to recreate prairie, writes that, “Just letting your lawn go will not result in a lovely meadow that neighbors or wildlife will admire.” (Needless to say, Mr. Vogt wants you to pay him to plant your meadow.)

 

He goes on to say that, “What you WILL get are a host of plants with marginal to little benefit to wildlife, and several that will be terribly aggressive: crabgrass, creeping charlie, barnyard grass. And of course [sic] invasive species placed on most city's [sic] noxious weed list, like musk thistle or garlic mustard.”  

 

https://www.monarchgard.com/thedeepmiddle/just-say-no-to-no-mow-may

 

These arguments against No-mow May strike me as an attempt to instill fear and anxiety in homeowners about a supposed chaos that will overspread their yards should they participate. It’s certainly true that many people see natural areas as “messy” and feel the need to create “gardens”—organized plantings of one’s choosing that require continual work fighting Mother Nature.

 

However, my observations have shown me that gardens comprising a few specimen plants neatly arranged in rows, rather than the “chaotic” (i.e., natural) form that Mother Nature employs, are of limited value to wildlife. For one thing, they are not at all akin to genuine habitat, and when every gardener is told to grow the identical plant species, they are hardly creating a biodiverse environment.

 

Additionally, I’ve yet to see an artificially created “meadow” that persists beyond a few years. Some of the plant species might reproduce successfully, but most just disappear very quickly. 

 

The folks who denigrate “weeds”, such as Creeping Charlie, crabgrass, and so-called invasive plants, demonstrate how little they actually know about these plants. Creeping Charlie (more often known as Ground-ivy in the East) feeds a host of early pollinators, such as bees and butterflies. Crabgrass seeds are eagerly taken by wintering birds, such as Dark-eyed Juncos.

 

And “invasive” plants are, in reality, extremely useful to wildlife; it’s simply environmental dogma to posit they are not. Musk Thistle is in the Aster Family, which means it is every bit as useful to wildlife as any US-native plant in that family. I’ve no doubt its flowers feed loads of pollinators. Even Garlic Mustard blooms feed tiny pollinators in early spring.    

 

Mr. Vogt writes, “If we're not working smartly with a plan and a management/design goal [which is how he makes money], then we're just being lazy and ideologically polarizing for no reason. That's not helpful or neighborly.”

 

I would argue that plans and management are about what people desire, not what wildlife urgently must have. I would also argue that it’s not helpful or neighborly to inflict noise pollution from mowing upon one’s neighbors, nor to ignore the requirements of wildlife when all of us are dependent upon the properly running environment these critters provide for us.

 

The conversation shouldn’t revolve around aesthetics or other supposed negatives of No-mow May, but instead the reality that people must change their attitudes towards wildlife and landscaping in general. Back when folks had better things to do than spend time creating manicured surroundings, no one complained about overgrown fence lines or yards that didn’t emulate the cookie-cutter look of compliance so obvious in suburbia today. And—please note—there was far more wildlife back then.

 

People’s opinions of what constitutes a healthy environment require a makeover; they must be made aware of the full extent of harm their self-imposed neatness has inflicted upon our natural world. Nature by design isn’t natural; it’s a garden—and they are not one and the same.

DISCLAIMER:

Ads appearing at the end of e-mail blog-post notifications are posted by follow.it as recompense for granting free usage of their software at the author's blog site. The author of this blog has no say in what ads are posted and receives no monetary compensation other than the use of the software.