Tidewater Talk

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Welcome to another engaging episode of Tidewater Talk with your hosts, Brodie and Co. This week, we dive into the vibrant happenings of our local community, starting with Brodie's excitement over apple blossoms and the challenges of ensuring proper pollination. We also discuss the unusual increase in wasp sightings and the persistent pollen problem affecting both people and pets. Co shares her nostalgic journey with 90s music, highlighting how a good tune can transform a mundane commute. We explore favorite local spots for solitude and relaxation, like Chesapeake City Park and First Landing, and discuss the thriving running community in Tidewater, complete with local meet-ups and events.

In our community spotlight, we celebrate young Caroline Wetherington's inspiring initiative, Caroline's Barkery, which raises funds for the Virginia Beach SPCA through homemade dog treats. We delve into the fascinating history of exotic pets in the Tidewater area, revealing tales of domesticated deer and trained otters. The episode wraps up with local news, including the opening of a new Publix and upcoming weather forecasts. We encourage our "neighbors" to share their local tips and stories, and we discuss the importance of community contributions to our podcast. Join us as we explore the heart of Tidewater and connect with the stories that make our community unique.

[00:00:00] Co:

For sure.   Good evening, neighbors, and welcome to Tidewater Talk.   You're hanging out with Brodie and Co. And each Tuesday, we'll dive into some local news stories,   give you an updated weather forecast,   and share some tips on the best places to eat, explore, and experience   all that our vibrant community has to offer.  

[00:00:23] Brodie:

I'm Brodie, and I have apple blossoms.   So excited.  

[00:00:28] Co:

Oh. Yeah. Do they smell?  

[00:00:30] Brodie:

No. I haven't well, I haven't stuck my nose in them yet. That's a good question.   But   we got new trees last year, and they didn't have apples last year. But now they're little blossoms.   I hope it'll Nice. Hope we have enough bees around here to  

[00:00:49] Co:

get Oh.  

[00:00:51] Brodie:

Because you have to have with apples, you have to have two apple trees. Right?   Because they have to get the pollen from one to the other. And   so,   I don't I don't know if I put them close enough together, and hopefully there's enough bees and   I don't know. But   I got little apple blossoms. Pretty excited.  

[00:01:12] Co:

That's cool. I don't know about bees, but I've been seeing, like, a lot of wasp lately.  

[00:01:18] Brodie:

Yes.   Yes. So many. Yeah. Yes.  

[00:01:22] Co:

They're everywhere.  

[00:01:24] Brodie:

I don't know if that's normal or what. I'm glad you said that. I was wondering if it was just me.   Mm-mm.   There's been a ton.   And they're like a different kind. Right? Like the reddish ones?  

[00:01:38] Co:

Kinda reddish brown. Yeah. Yeah.  

[00:01:41] Brodie:

I wonder if there is more this year.  

[00:01:44] Co:

I don't remember it being like this last year, but Me neither. I've seen a lot of them.  

[00:01:50] Brodie:

And then more pollen this year. Right?  

[00:01:53] Co:

I don't know if it's more. I mean, last year was a lot too.  

[00:01:57] Brodie:

God. My cars were totally yellow and seemed like it was just everywhere and just   all over me. Yes. I just didn't feel comfortable all week.  

[00:02:07] Co:

You know, wear my glasses outside or anything. It's everywhere.  

[00:02:12] Brodie:

Right.  

[00:02:14] Co:

Yeah.   Well, I'm Co   oh, I'm sorry. You were still No. I'm just feeling  

[00:02:21] Brodie:

go ahead.  

[00:02:23] Co:

Well, I'm Co, and I jammed out to my old nineties music today. Really?   I did. Awesome. I was in traffic.   And, you know, sometimes you get a little bit   angry being in traffic and impatient.   And, you know, you just turn on a good song and it can change your mood.  

[00:02:42] Brodie:

And did it?   It did. You got happy?  

[00:02:46] Co:

I did. Not happy, but I was jamming.  

[00:02:50] Brodie:

What kind what what was one of the songs?  

[00:02:54] Co:

Tony Tony Tony, It Feels Good.   Yeah?   Yeah.  

[00:03:00] Brodie:

Awesome. It's like   just one of those that hits you right,  

[00:03:05] Co:

Yeah. It does. Good.  

[00:03:07] Brodie:

Yeah. I've   had problems with that lately. Seems like I, yeah, get in a mood where I'm in podcasts for a while during a commute, and then you're like, no. I just need some good music.   Turn on something   old that I used to like and I just   it hasn't been hitting right anymore.   Yeah. I don't know.   Maybe I need to go all the way back to the nineties.   Yeah.  

[00:03:33] Co:

Or just keep stepping up ten years   until you find your spot.  

[00:03:41] Brodie:

So   where do you go when you wanna be alone?  

[00:03:47] Co:

Actually, my commutes are pretty much, like,  

[00:03:50] Brodie:

my only time alone on a regular basis. But So what if you were going home and you're like, actually, I don't really wanna be at home either.   And I don't wanna be driving. I don't wanna I don't know. Maybe a commute's   your way to be alone, but   I don't why don't you wanna be at home?   What what what's wrong with home?   I'm just kidding. What?  

[00:04:14] Co:

It's like, why why did I say what did I say? Why don't why don't you wanna be with your husband, Co?  

[00:04:23] Brodie:

Just kidding.   No. No. Just sometimes you just wanna go, I don't know, shopping or out to the beach or something. So what's something you like to do in Tidewater?  

[00:04:35] Co:

So last summer, what I do a lot is I just like, go park my car at the Chesapeake City Park and read a book. Like, put the seat all the way back.  

[00:04:45] Brodie:

Lean the seat all the way back. Do you have a Kindle or you like paper books?  

[00:04:51] Co:

I like physical books.   Yeah. Yeah?  

[00:04:55] Brodie:

Mhmm. Awesome. That's a good idea.   I like,   first landing.   That's It's what my wife said. She likes First Landing. Just kinda go for a run out there   and through the trees. The the Spanish moss is beautiful and   not too many people and then dogs. She loves dogs.  

[00:05:19] Co:

Awesome.   I've been thinking about running again. I haven't run-in a while.  

[00:05:24] Brodie:

Yeah. This community is Yeah. Huge into running.   Yeah. There's a whole lot of runners around here.  

[00:05:32] Co:

Yeah. They have a little, I won't say little, but, one of the,   what do you call it? Running stores?   I forgot. Fleet Feet? Something to   point two two point I don't remember what it's called. It's not Fleet Feet though. But it's another one that's here in Chesapeake. They have a meet up, like,   I think on Monday evenings where you,   just run around the block or you could do two two loops if you want.   Or Really?   Mhmm.   So I might start going out to that.  

[00:06:04] Brodie:

Yeah.   And let us know what it's called and have a good day.  

[00:06:08] Co:

Yeah.   Alright. I'm a bad reporter. Come here with half information.  

[00:06:13] Brodie:

That's alright.   I do wanna know.   The pollen yeah. I wanted to mention the pollen again because I think our dog has allergies.   Really? Yeah.   He's, Like,  

[00:06:30] Co:

sneezy?  

[00:06:31] Brodie:

Yeah. Every time we take him out for a walk or a run or something, he comes back sneezing, and he doesn't really care to go out and have   a chase his ball or anything lately.   It was really weird. And he'll have a little coughing fit when he gets back home.  

[00:06:50] Co:

Oh, poor thing. I know.   And then Do you have any, like, dog Zyrtec?  

[00:06:58] Brodie:

I don't know. That's a good question.   I'm gonna have to look that up now too.   Man, he got all kinds of good questions, co.  

[00:07:09] Co:

Just silly.  

[00:07:15] Brodie:

I saw this awesome article   on   this girl that,   made dog treats during COVID.   Mhmm. And   I   think I can just  

[00:07:32] Unknown:

From the pandemic, a mission formed for a local girl who loves animals. In this children of change, you'll see how she put her culinary skills to the test and ended up raising thousands for a good cause.  

[00:07:46] Unknown:

We were stuck at home, and so we saw a lot of things on, like, Instagram, Facebook about people donating to charity,  

[00:07:54] Unknown:

and we thought it was really cool. Caroline Wetherington is a seventh grader at Norfolk Academy. When she's not focused on schoolwork, she is focused on her passion project, Caroline's  

[00:08:04] Unknown:

Bakery. I bake homemade dog treats, and then I sell them. And all of the profits are put towards buying supplies for my local animal shelter, the Virginia Beach SPCA,   and donated  

[00:08:17] Unknown:

the week of Christmas. This 12 year old and her mom bake both peanut butter and pumpkin treats for dogs,   all ingredients deemed safe for your pup.   Caroline says it takes a lot of time to bake hundreds of dog treats, but she says it's worth it. With the money raised from the sale of the treats over the years, she's been able to buy more than $6,100   worth of items for the animals of the Virginia Beach SPCA.  

[00:08:42] Unknown:

It feels really good. It feels like I'm making a difference on the community and impacting   the animals that don't have as much as.  

[00:08:51] Brodie:

Oh, as the ones that are adopted.   Really cute girl, Caroline Wetherington.   We have a awesome SPCA around here too.  

[00:09:03] Co:

Yeah.   That was a good story.   I gotta find out where that place is and go and buy some of those treats. My dog would eat them.  

[00:09:13] Brodie:

Yeah. I got it in the show notes.   Pretty cool, though. She's   a young girl taking that kind of initiative and then helping out the community with it.   And, you know, I'd be wanting to use that money for myself at that age.  

[00:09:29] Co:

Right.   Especially   what was she? 12?   Like, I think that's what they told me. 12 years old.   12. That preteen,   you know,   this time has started changing how you look and how you do your hair and  

[00:09:47] Brodie:

Yeah. I had a paper out at that age, so   I wanted a bike and   Yeah.   Stereo.   Some nineties CDs.  

[00:10:02] Co:

Oh, definitely CDs.   Right. And a portable CD player. Yeah. Walkman no. Discman.   Discman.  

[00:10:12] Brodie:

Too bad they don't have paper routes anymore.  

[00:10:15] Co:

I think they do. Like, so my husband and I, we walk around our neighborhood super early and there's,   a guy in a car that throws newspapers   on people's   porches.   Really? We actually yeah. We actually were getting the paper for a while and I don't   know where or how we signed up for it or how my account got linked to it and it was a pain to cancel.  

[00:10:40] Brodie:

Which paper?  

[00:10:43] Co:

It's I'm talking bad about them. The, Virginian   Pilot.  

[00:10:48] Brodie:

That's not bad. That's awesome that they're delivering it.   Yeah. I mean I just  

[00:10:54] Co:

said it was hard to cancel my subscription.  

[00:10:57] Brodie:

Yeah. But that's cool that it's still delivered.  

[00:11:00] Co:

Oh, yeah. He's still out there every morning.  

[00:11:03] Brodie:

Crazy.   That's neat.   Yeah. I know that if I was delivering papers at that age, I wouldn't   or even doing dog treats or any kind of money. I wouldn't be giving it back to the community.   So that's really cool over.  

[00:11:19] Co:

Right.   Yep. So we did something that we don't usually do this week. You shared your article with me ahead of time. So   I knew that it, you know, it involved   pets. And so I went out and I looked for,   you know, something local, maybe something in history that had to do with dogs or pets in general   in our area.   And then I came up on the, Virginia Beach History Museum's website,   vbmuseums.org.   And there was this story   about the,   the Thoroughgood   House.   So the Thoroughgood House   well, it's not really about the Thoroughgood House, but   it it's about people that lived at the Thoroughgood house after they left. Right? So   but, anyhow,   John Thoroughgood,   it's his historic home, and   it was,   on Little Creek. It's a 840   acre plantation.  



[00:12:21] Brodie:

Like, where the base is now?  

[00:12:23] Co:

Right.   Cool. That's what I got from it.   So but, anyhow,   the   story on the museum's website goes on to say   that,   more often than not, there were exotic and uncommon pets in in this area,   that they would call favorites.   So they keep animals like deer, beaver,   otters, and raccoons.   And there was a note from 1752   from doctor Benjamin Jones,   who said that he kept over a hundred deer to amuse his children and grandchildren,   and that deer were often domesticated   and wore a collar like a dog.   And in portraits of the time, deer were painted to look like greyhounds.   Really?  

Yeah.   And then it goes on to say that beavers and otters were trained to dive and fish for their their owners.   And then there was a Finnish Finnish Swedish travel from 1748   to 1751.   Excuse me. This Finnish Swedish botanist, and his name was Peter Kolm, and he noted   seeing each of the animals, the deer, the beaver, the otter, and the raccoon   as tame as dogs,   but they couldn't stop the raccoons from stealing.   Yeah.  

[00:13:54] Brodie:

Wow.   That's there's a lot there.   I have a lot of questions.  

[00:14:01] Co:

Come on. Yeah. I don't I don't have any answers to any questions   on how to train beavers   or otters.   Wow. Or how they or how they bring back fish for their owners and not eat it. Like, how do you train them to do that? I don't know.  

[00:14:19] Brodie:

I know a couple people around here that are getting into the hawk hunting, though,   or Uh-huh. Falcon hunting or   yeah. Hawk hunting.   So they   let their bird go, get some food, and bring it back to them.   Isn't that crazy?  

[00:14:35] Co:

That is so crazy.   Yeah. It kinda sounds like it goes, you know,   it's outside of the nature of the animal.  

[00:14:44] Brodie:

Yeah. Exactly.   Mhmm. Why would that animal bring back a rabbit for me?  

[00:14:49] Co:

Even though, like,   cats do that sometimes. Right? Like domesticated cats?  

[00:14:55] Brodie:

I guess.  

[00:14:56] Co:

Like bring back dead rodents and stuff? Yeah. Nothing you wanna eat.   But they don't know if they're eating it.   They're hunting for you because you can't hunt for yourself.   To you. Oh. Well Let's see. I also wanted to,   let everybody out there listening know that   the new Publix in Chesapeake is set to open   on April 23 at 7AM.   So that is gonna be located at 1620   On Cedar Road.  

[00:15:35] Brodie:

Cool. Publix is good, aren't they? I haven't ever been to one.  

[00:15:39] Co:

Yeah. I've heard Publix.   I like them.  

[00:15:44] Brodie:

Awesome.   Do you wanna talk about the weather?   Sure.  

[00:15:50] Co:

Let's   talk about it.  

[00:15:53] Brodie:

Yeah. Right now, it is 54 degrees where I'm gonna   Oh, shucks. I don't I think you're at 53.  

[00:16:01] Co:

Okay. Thank you.   Because I can't see the  

[00:16:05] Brodie:

It's   a nice cool day today.  

[00:16:11] Co:

54 is nice. Day. Right?   It was a weird day. We got rain. It was cold. Then the sun came out, and then it got cold again.  

[00:16:20] Brodie:

Yeah. I actually, like, needed a hoodie.   Yeah.   The   humidity now I'm working at a wood shop, so the humidity has been playing with the wood, expanding, contracting it,   and making it rough to work with.   So, yeah, it's been changing a lot.   And tomorrow's supposed to be sunny and up to 65, and then we got rain coming on Thursday   Thursday night, I mean,   and Friday.   And then Saturday should be sunny with the 62,   and Sunday is sunny with 61.   Doesn't look like too much wind or nothing, though.  

[00:17:07] Co:

Man, nothing   drastic I'm seeing.  

[00:17:10] Brodie:

Did you guys get some thunder last night?  

[00:17:12] Co:

What was I doing last night? I don't think so.   We had I've maybe I went to bed early.  

[00:17:21] Brodie:

Like, our boy gets freaked out by it, so we were up pretty late.   Dang it.   But   he's cute still.   But it looks like just some,   I guess, thunderstorms tomorrow evening.   Other than that, just some showers and   little winds.   The bay shouldn't   see any waves over two to three feet.   So if you wanna go out boating this weekend or something, that'd be awesome.   Or go run your dog   through First Landing.  

[00:18:01] Co:

And see the Spanish moss.  

[00:18:04] Brodie:

Right. So we do this   podcast off of value for value. So if you're getting any value out of it and   have any news stories and tips for your knee   or get any value out of it, then give some value back.   If you have any tips or news stories or something for your neighbors, then let us know at, tidewater at [email protected].   We like to call you neighbors, not listeners, just neighbors,   because,   we're here for you, and we wanna hear from you. Value can be anything,   whether it's art for the show or whether it's a tips or,   call it time, talent, or treasure,   or if you have some local news stories.  

Another big help would be sharing it on social media or liking it on your podcast app, or you can give monetary back.   We take donations at the   tidewatertalk.com,   which brings me to my   Tidewater tip   for this week.   And they   and that'll lead into the question for next week.   So the tip is where to get,   Caroline's Bakery.   There's a link in the show notes that's on Facebook, and they're taking,   orders.   We like, we just talked about the proceeds goes to the local SPCA.   My question is, where do you take your dogs or pets or something in this area?   So is there, like, a park or something that you like to take your dogs   to? Where do you walk your beavers   near raccoons?  



[00:19:47] Co:

Where do you do otter training?  

[00:19:50] Brodie:

Yeah.   Where do you take your deer that are painted like   greyhounds?   No. If there's some local pet tips, though, is kinda what I'm looking for. You know? If you have   a good, dog groomer or something or   or a restaurant that takes dogs.   No. There's some of those around. I don't know if there's many here, but   I've heard of them before.  

[00:20:18] Co:

Let us know. You know what else I'm interested in? Like, any, like, mobile groomers.  

[00:20:25] Brodie:

Oh, yeah.  

[00:20:26] Co:

Like, the ones that come to you and they have the van   and take your pet. I'm sure there's plenty around.   I think that'd be   a good service.  

[00:20:36] Brodie:

Yeah. That's a great idea.  

[00:20:38] Co:

Well, I have a couple   of   things happening around the area this weekend. Alright.   So   there is a bunny hop five k and one mile family fun run,   that starts at the Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion on 16 Crawford   Circle in Port Smith   on,   Saturday   at five eight well, it goes from 5AM to 12PM.   I I don't think you need that long to do that run.  

[00:21:08] Brodie:

Well, that's how you can get back into running though. Yeah. Just  

[00:21:14] Co:

stop every three steps.   Yeah.   I need water. There is Do you have to hop? Well, now it's gonna be a little bit faster.   Yeah. And, actually, that address is the children's museum.   Oh, awesome. I didn't look at the little logo.   Also, at the children's museum this weekend on Sunday,   Thomas and Friends Explore the Rails.   So that might be fun.  

[00:21:44] Brodie:

How often do they do that? I wonder.  

[00:21:47] Co:

I don't know because I've seen it on here before.  

[00:21:50] Brodie:

Right. Must do it fairly often.   I thought it was like a traveling thing where the   Thomas train went to different areas.  

[00:21:59] Co:

Oh, like a show? Yeah.   I wanna click on it. I'll click on it in a minute, but this I wanna tell you about this one. I don't know if you'd be interested, but it's also at the Children's Museum.   They have a a special needs Sunday on the thirteenth.   Oh. Yeah. I don't know what they do.  

[00:22:21] Brodie:

Yeah.   Might be interested. I'll have to read more about it. A lot of times Yeah.   Because every special needs is so different   that   sometimes it's not   for our special needs.   Right. Like, they have,   a lot of the movie theaters will have, like,   what's that called? Your when they turn down   the sound and turn on the lights   for people that have,   special needs,   and it's still too much for our boy.   But sometimes the special needs things are neat. They're just more attentive and   wanna help you   get some good volunteers that are   into   helping.  

Usually have a big smile on their face. That's what our boy loves the most. Just somebody that's   friendly and want is interested in him.   That's what he needs.  

[00:23:19] Co:

So   this,   Thomas and Friends Explore the Rails, I think it's just at the Children's Museum for,   a limited amount of time, like January   to April   27,   I believe it says. Okay.   But it's a it says it's a new exhibit,   and the kids can step into the world of Thomas and Friends and visit iconic stops on the island of Sodor,   like Knapford Station and Sodor Steamworks   and team up with Thomas to solve fun challenges and explore hands on engineering adventures.  

[00:23:59] Brodie:

Cool.  

[00:24:00] Co:

So I don't really know what that means.  

[00:24:05] Brodie:

You haven't watched enough Thomas and Friends.  

[00:24:08] Co:

I don't even know if I pronounced   half of those words   correctly.  

[00:24:15] Brodie:

Well, if you're into trains, you know Thomas and Friends. Right?  

[00:24:19] Co:

I'm not into trains.   What?   No.  

[00:24:25] Brodie:

We are.   We wrote the   we actually went to the zoo this week.   How was it? It was awesome.   And they have a cool   train.   It goes all the way around the around the zoo, and you get to look at the different animals. And   they have, they have a special car   for,   people in wheelchairs, but   it's   it's just a ramp that they put down, and you can't really push anybody up it.   Mhmm. So I   I don't know if it's really considered accessible, but   we had me and my wife. So we just kinda lifted them up and got them in there. Told them how, like, put your foot here, then do this, then do that, and then we'll get you in there. But he just loves being on a train. It was like the highlight of his week. Like, how how often times they're not would you say that you just have, like, with the things available out there that are supposed to be helping,  

[00:25:27] Co:

like,   would you say, like, more times than not, you have to, like, just make it work? Yeah. Or or is it helpful?   Yeah.  

[00:25:36] Brodie:

No. I mean, some of like, if we go to,   Busch Gardens   theirs is really accessible. They got this whole elevator that comes out of the train and comes down and   straps straps in a whole wheelchair, and then you can whoever's pushing it can get on with them.   And then it goes up into it, and then you push them into the train.   It's really cool.   So a lot of times, it's really good.   That's good. We're not big complainers, though.   I know it might sound like it because I talk about it a lot on here. But  

[00:26:13] Co:

No. I wasn't saying that. I was just No. You know, really, I was just wondering.  

[00:26:18] Brodie:

Yeah. We like to make it work. I I don't I haven't really thought about that if that's more than   most times. That's a good thought. I'll have to think about that one.   Okay. Maybe give me tips. On the spot. No. It's good. Gives me ideas for more tips on accessibility   and stuff. Was that the tips?  

[00:26:38] Co:

Yeah.   Cool.   Just just a little   things going on in the area.  

[00:26:45] Brodie:

Alrighty.   Well, thanks for joining me for episode 10.   Oh.   10 episodes.   Yeah.  

[00:26:54] Co:

We're, Moving on up.  

[00:26:56] Brodie:

Yeah.   So we average about half an hour. So we've been talking  

[00:27:03] Co:

for five hours. That's more than I've talked to   anybody else besides my husband.  

[00:27:13] Brodie:

That's a lot,   It sounds like a lot.   Five hours?  

[00:27:18] Co:

But it's been over five weeks.  

[00:27:20] Brodie:

Yeah.   Ten.  

[00:27:22] Co:

Ten weeks. Ten I'm sorry. Ten weeks. Yeah. Yeah.  

[00:27:27] Brodie:

Still, you add it up like that and it sounds like a lot.   Well, we do wanna hear from everybody.   What's your   Yeah. Let us know. Let us know. Dogs, your pets.   And if you know about a mobile groomer,  

[00:27:41] Co:

we wanna hear about that. Or if you are a mobile groomer Oh, yeah. Definitely. Let us know about that. Thank you much.  

[00:27:48] Brodie:

Nice talking to you, Cole. We'll talk again next Tuesday.  

[00:27:53] Co:

For sure.   And that wraps up another week's edition of Tidewater Talk.   Thanks for hanging out with us, and don't forget to check us out at tidewatertalk.com.   Have a fantastic week, and we'll catch y'all next time.   Try and top that for a killer show.