March

Spring?

This morning, for the first time, it felt like spring may be approaching. I live half a block from a Wendy's and not even two blocks from Burger Time. Within just a few blocks of my house there's also a steak buffet place, a rib shack, McDonalds, a hot dog stand, and Burger King. Add all these up, and when the wind blows from the south or the east I get really hungry in a hurry! If the wind blows from the north or the west the breeze carries a slightly different aroma - pit bull with a hint of gun powder. We don't talk about that much. But this morning the air was absolutely still - a rarity in Iowa - and the ground wasn't frozen. This meant that for once I could smell the damp earth, the mulch. It smelled like spring. Spring! It's in the air, I tell ya!

Generally, this time of year is pretty mucky in Iowa. February and March are the snowiest months of the year here, but in early March the temperatures start to get a bit erratic. So the snow melts and turns to mud, then it snows again, but it melts right away and adds to the mud... The mud lasts until late April. This year, though, February was warm and dry. We have no snow on the ground, and no mud, either. It's eerie.

A couple more weeks and I'll be able to get my bike out of storage. A few more months and I'll be able to ride it without looking like a hippie Eskimo on wheels. I'm getting a bit excited, I tell ya. But, a quick look at the forecast dumps muck on my bright outlook - freezing rain and snow again this weekend. *sigh*


It's All a Bit Hazy...

I designed a label for pork tongues this morning. I haven't been able to concentrate on anything since then. I've eaten beef tongue (good stew meat, as long as you don't know what you're eating), but pig tongue? Where does that end up? What do you serve with pig tongue? Is that a white wine, or red?