Little green balls of death

Little green balls of death
Originally uploaded by rochelle, et. al.

I guess someone really hates Brussels sprouts.

What a week's worth of food looks like

I keep revisiting these photos and pondering the various implications within. The trite observations are easy enough: Italians eat a lot of bread, Germans drink many of their daily calories, Americans hardly eat any real food whatsoever and people in Chad don't have enough to eat.

It's inspired me to photo document my groceries for two months. I decided on a month at a time because what I buy during any given week isn't necessarily what I'm eating that week; if canned tomatoes are on sale into the cart and cupboard they go. I also really don't know how much I spend on food. Although Quicken has a category for groceries, I put everything I buy during a food shop under that category, even if it's paper products, medicines or light bulbs. So I'll spend some time pouring over my receipts and figuring out how much money I'm spending on actual food. I'm also curious to know if I'm buying and eating as much fresh produce as I believe. Since we're coming up on a new month, I'm going to photograph my groceries for the month of March and repeat the process during the month of July (which is when the farmer's markets here are in full swing). I'll be posting the pictures on my Flickr account and I'll probably post a month end wrap up here.

I admit this is a way to keep the dining table free of books and sewing projects once in a while. I'll need somewhere to lay out the groceries.

Finally, Neil Gaiman has posted his novel American Gods on the web for your reading pleasure. As I understand it, it will be available for two months free of charge by way of his blog's 7th year birthday gift to his readers. Or something. Anyway, he asked his minions to spread the word and the link far and wide. Of course, I do his bidding. You will find the link in the sidebar to the right.

What the Vikings were wearing back in the day

I've been interested in historical food and dress for many years. It's what makes history come alive for me - understanding what people where eating, drinking, wearing and doing for fun, rather than just knowing what war was going on or who sat on the throne at any given place and time. So I read with interest an article published on LiveScience about a Viking woman's costume found in a grave 10th century grave in Russia, though unfortunately the article doesn't say where in Russia (and it's a rather large place). The reproduction of the dress shows a brightly colored silk garment worn trailing behind and joined in the front by two metal breast shields. It must have been a costly garment, considering the bright blue color and the fabric, which was silk.

Before the invention of synthetic dyes fabrics in bright colors, such as deep blue, purple and bright red, were very expensive and therefore indicative of rank and wealth. Purple has long been associated with royalty for this very reason; the cost of harvesting this dye (collected from a marine mollusk) was so vast that the resulting cloth was out of reach for all but the wealthiest of people. The fact that this Viking garment was made from silk also indicates wealth as the cloth (or the fibers themselves) could only have come from China, a journey of many hundreds of miles.

Corn Mache

Lamb's lettuce
Originally uploaded by Berlinalex

I stopped by someone's porch today to pick up my order from the Wyoming Farmer's Market after hours party. I got a huge bag of corn mache and another huge bag of arugula - probably more than I can eat before it wilts. Corn Mache is a tender winter green, also known as Lamb's Lettuce or Corn Salad. It has been cultivated in Europe since the 16th century and it said to have a flavor reminiscent of mild hazelnuts.

I also ordered some indulgences from the market: a great smelling beeswax candle, an equally great smelling bay-lime handmade soap and thricely great smelling hand salve. Speaking of nicely scented extravagances, I had an email from Lush Cosmetics announcing a couple of special events at Kenwood Towne Center. Which alerted me to the fact that there is now a Lush Store in the Macy's here in Cincinnati. I'm not sure how I missed the fact that they were opening a branch here. They have lovely handmade cosmetics, mostly of the soap and shampoo varieties, but I've usually been too cheap to spend the money on shipping charges. Now I won't have to.

Thanks to Berlinalex for making this lovely photo publicly available.

Tumbling Tumblers

After a ten hour workday (on a Monday no less) I'm not much inclined to write anything. Therefore I leave a link that relates to one of my earlier posts regarding the origin of the tumbler. Amanda Clark discusses naughty, round bottom shot glasses that were all the rage during prohibition over at Serious Eats.

White-necked Jacobin

White-necked Jacobin
Originally uploaded by lilysecret42

This is one of the photos I scanned today, taken at Asa Wright Nature Center some eleven years ago.

I just checked the comments page and it got an award! OK, it's a Flickr group award and there's no money or anything, but it's the first award I ever got on Flickr. Wheee!

Remembering Trinidad

I feel like I've been very busy all weekend and yet haven't accomplished much. The laundry is still unfolded and the floors still unvacuumed. But I did scan about three dozen photographs from my trip to Trinidad 11 years ago (my brother-in-law wants them for a slide show) and I cooked up a load of Indian food. There's chana dal and a couple of other curry vegetable dishes on the lunch menu for tomorrow.

I went and saw Sweeney Todd with some friends at the Aronoff Center downtown yesterday afternoon. I liked it - but didn't love it. I was quite dazzled with the skill of the cast even so; I don't know how anyone managed to find so many people who could play a musical instrument and sing and act.

At the grocery store this afternoon I bought some wine that was marked down as discontinued. One of the bottles I purchased was Boutari Kretikos (from Crete). I'd never heard of it before, but I did a little research and it's got some fine reviews. I think I'll swing back by the store on my way home tomorrow and buy the rest of the bottles; there weren't very many and it was quite a good price.

Overheard

This came wafting up from the courtyard just now...

Male voice, "Hey guys, do I have a distinctive waddle, from behind, when I walk?"

Winter Greens and Bird Behavior

Today I found out that the Wyoming Farmer's Market has a few items available even in mid-winter. The market sells locally produced goods and food and they've arranged a pre-order and drop-off system for the off season. I ordered a beeswax candle, some soap and hand salve, as well as arugula and corn mache. I know I've had arugula in salads before, but I've never purchased it separately. I've never had corn mache to the best of my knowledge. I have a couple of days to learn about both of these greens before I bring them home.

Oh look, I found a lovely recipe for an arugula salad and I just happen to have most of the ingredients on hand. Perfect.

After placing my order for the farmer's market, I happened to witness some fascinating bird behavior, although I'm rather ashamed to say it was on America's Funniest Home Videos. I tried to find it on YouTube; no luck on the original but the following video shows the same actions. The Green Heron drops bits of bread in the water as bait to lure fish into striking range:



It's not the only bird that uses its brain to get at food. Crows have been witnessed placing hard-to-open nuts into roads; after the nuts are crushed by a passing car the crows help themselves to the freed nut meat. I've seen Grackles steal dry dog food from pet bowls and carry the nuggets to a bird bath, where they dunk them until they are soft enough for the bird to swallow. Bird brains indeed.

Future Music Festival

I found out today that the Loveland Castle, Chateau Laoche will be hosting a music festival and farmer's market June 13th through the 15th. They are raising money to put a new roof on the old castle. It's a most worthy cause and I plan on attending provided I'm in town. It's just so freaking cool to have an honest-to-goodness castle nearby.


The people from England can stop pointing and laughing at me now.

Ramps

Clean Ramps
Originally uploaded by dano272

There's a native American seasonal delicacy I've not had the pleasure of trying yet - ramps. Ramps are a member of the onion family and occur throughout much of the Appalachian Mountains. Their potency is legendary; one meal of ramps is supposed to linger for days, the odor emanating from the skin of the consumer. I'm willing to take that chance. There are many ramp festivals held in the spring across the Appalachians. It looks like the nearest one to Cincinnati is held in Richwood, West Virginia. The town hosts the Feast of the Ramson each April. I may not make it this year but it's now on my list of places to visit and things to do. In the meantime I'm going to keep an eye out for ramps on my hikes. A college professor of mine told me they do occur in Ohio, but they are scarce. I have a notion of a place to check next month; I'll have to study some photos to be sure I get the identification right. Although I imagine the smell will be a dead giveaway.

O Happy Day

The most important thing I learned today (following a visit to the endodontist) was that I do not need any root canals at this time. I was certain I would; it's the sort of luck I have with my teeth. Relieved doesn't begin to cover it.

I also learned that Amazon UK has shipped my order for Odd and the Frost Giants, by Neil Gaiman. It's a special edition for World Book Day and cost all of £1.00, although between the exchange rate and the shipping costs, I won't have saved much money by waiting until it's released in the states. Still, the American edition isn't due out until October and there won't be any special price on that.

Fava Bean Love

So, it turns out I actually like fava beans, when they're prepared properly. It seems I somehow missed the fact that the beans have a tough, leathery skin that needs to be removed before eating. No wonder I didn't like them before. I'm amazed that more recipes for fava beans don't mention this rather crucial fact and I feel a bit of an idiot for not figuring it out for myself sooner. I only cottoned on after I read a thread on Chowhound regarding favas. By the way, Chowhound is an excellent resource for anyone with cooking and/or food questions. Now that they've fixed the thread search function you can get all sorts of useful information.

I soaked the beans overnight in plenty of water, then removed the skins. They came off quite easily after soaking. After that I followed this recipe for ful medames and the result was quite delicious, in my humble opinion.

Fava beans are Europe's only indigenous bean and have been cultivated since the Iron Age. In ancient Greece and Rome, fava beans were used in voting; a black bean represented a 'no' vote, with a white bean indicating a 'yes' vote. The 6th century B.C. Greek philosopher Pythagoras (he of the Pythagorean theorem) reviled the fava bean and forbade his followers from eating them. He thought that the beans contained the souls of the dead. His superstitious dread may have resulted from witnessing favism, which is a hereditary disease. Individuals who lack the gene for producing the enzyme G6PD (which assists in oxygenating red blood cells) risk severe illness and even death by kidney failure and hemolytic anemia after eating fava beans. The genetic susceptibility to death by fava bean is most concentrated in Mediterranean populations; the vast majority of people have nothing to worry about when eating fava beans. Which is fortunate, as they are quite tasty when handled correctly.

Photo from benketaro on Flickr

Farms, Movies and Fava Beans

Yesterday I drove out to Red Sun Farm in Loveland to see what they had to offer. They had beef, pork, chicken (frozen) and fresh eggs for sale, as well as a small selection of organic cheese, honey and various other natural products. I ended up spending about $40 on bacon, pork country ribs, ground pork, stew beef, ground beef, a whole chicken and a jar of dried basil. That's probably enough meat for two months for the likes of me.

I cooked an egg this morning for my breakfast and I'm happy to report it was fantastic. The yolk was a deep, almost orange, yellow and the taste was wonderful. Plus, they were about a dollar cheaper than the organic eggs I've been buying a Trader Joe's; bonus. Tomorrow I'm going to cook up some of the pork ribs in a orange-garlic-chile sauce in the slow cooker. I have high hopes.

I did a quick mini-bird count for the Great Backyard Bird Count on the Kingfisher Trail in Winton Woods yesterday too. I totaled 12 species and 36 individuals, the most numerous being Carolina Chickadees. Nothing rare made an appearance, but I did hear a Barred Owl calling in the distance.

I also went with some friends to see The Spiderwick Chronicles last night. I enjoyed it; it was a good story and the movie was fast paced and action packed. I need to read the books now; it seems the entire fourth book was left out. Go, take the kids, you'll all like it.

I've been thinking about fava beans today. I have a jar of dried fava beans (called broad beans in the UK) and I was thinking about tossing them out. I cooked up a batch of them some time ago and I just didn't care for them. But I really hate to waste food so I'm going to try making ful medames (one of the national dishes of Egypt) before I give up on them entirely. I've heard that fava beans are best when they're fresh but they are only available for a short time in the spring here. I'll try to grab some this year. I also came across a tidbit of information which said that fava beans are the only bean native to the Old World, but I haven't had time to delve into that yet so I'll leave it for another day.

Citizen Scientists

One doesn't have to hold a science degree to contribute to the sum of human knowledge. I just learned of a new project today, called Budburst, which is enlisting the help of citizen scientists across the country to record the timing of the leafing and flowering of plants.

People can also help with monitoring amphibian populations through FrogWatch, sponsered by the National Wildlife Federation. The website has helpful identification tools, including sound recordings of the calls and croaks of various frogs and toads.

This very weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count, which is a huge four-day event involving people reporting the number and species of birds found around their homes. Anyone can participate; this is a great introduction to the world of birding for novices. It doesn't involve any special equipment other than eyes and ears (although binoculars really are helpful).

Valentine's Voodoo

The featured article on WikiHow this Valentine's Day morning was "How To Make A Voodoo Doll." That made me laugh. The New Orlean's style doll looks a lot like a couple I purchased in a touristy souvenir shop last time I was down that way.

I finished up Michael Pollan's excellent book The Omnivore's Dilemma today and I can't recommend it enough. It's a thoroughly enjoyable read and a thought-provoking look at what (and why) we eat.

Finally, I saw where the City of Cincinnati is considering rewarding people with coupons for goods or services based on how much they recycle. I have been recycling in Cincinnati since the seventies. I want my thirty years worth of coupons, dammit.

Maplets

I recieved a nice little map book from the Department of Transportation in the mail today. It is a booklet of national scenic byways and "All-American Roads" and it contains small maps and descriptions of beautiful and/or interesting roadways in nearly every state of the union. They are available free of charge at Byways.org and are just the right size for a glove box.

Happy Birthday, Charles

Today is Darwin Day, commemorating the birthday and celebrating the life and achievements of one of the most influential biological scientists in history. Expect a lot of hoopla next year, which will mark both the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Robert Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of the Species.

I also wanted to write about a nifty service offered by the Blue Ocean Institute, through which you can text message their "fish phone" and instantly receive a reply as to the sustainability of the fish you are considering. However, it doesn't seem to work from my phone, which is probably Cincinnati Bell's fault. Then again, maybe the number was overwhelmed by the fact it was mentioned in the New York Times today and collapsed under the strain. I'll try it again in a few days. Meanwhile, I'll keep carrying the little wallet card I downloaded from the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program. I learned about the fish phone from Mark Bittmans's excellent food blog Bitten.

Look Before You Leap

Today I learned that that BASE, as in BASE jumping, stands for Bridge, Antennae, Span and Earth. I didn't know it was meant to be capitalized so I never noticed the acronym before. I just assumed "base" meant a stable platform, as opposed to an airplane, which of course it does.

Sadly, the reason I learned this is because this guy BASE jumped off the Perrine Bridge over the Snake River Canyon in Idaho. His jump was successful, but he'd evidently neglected to make sure he knew the way out of the canyon beforehand and died of exposure after getting lost. It just goes to show, having an exit strategy is a crucial part of any major plan.

Closer to home, we are under a winter storm advisory and it's actually snowing this time. I am mounting a defense; a hearty pot of kale and white bean ragout to stave off the chill.

Green green green

I was really in the mood for green things today. I'm ready to be done with the winter root vegetables and move on to green spring leaves. I bought kale, spinach, watercress, zucchini and green beans at the grocery today. The spinach went into a frittata with goat cheese and some tomatoes that were getting a bit too soft to use in salads. I thought it came out so pretty I took a picture of it. It tastes damn good too. I also whipped up a Thai green curry with mushrooms, green beans, zucchini and tofu, so there's breakfast and lunch sorted for tomorrow.

I came across the term hoophouses a couple of times this weekend and found out that's the name for those inexpensive, portable greenhouses I see on farms from time to time, usually in the spring. I believe that's how the Greenacres Foundation is producing green vegetables this early in the year.

Of local interest

In between laundry and deep cleaning the kitchen and bathroom today, I did some research on local farms. I hit the farmer's market almost every week (in season) for fresh vegetables and fruit and I love it. However, that still leaves me going to the grocery store for cream, bread, eggs and the little meat I buy. Since I only eat meat once or twice a week at best, I can afford to spend a little more for organic meat. I'd just as soon support my local farmers and I managed to find a few places that aren't a very long drive from me. Mind you, I haven't actually been to any of these places yet, so this is not a recommendation list.

Turner Farm

• Located in Maderia, Turner Farm sells their produce at Findlay Market from June through Thanksgiving and from their farm year round. It looks like they have loads of produce variety and they sell chicken, lamb, pork and honey in season.

Red Sun Farm

• Red Sun is in Loveland and they sell grass-fed, free-range beef, pork and poultry. This will be one of my first stops.
  

Greenacres Foundation

• A farm and educational center in Indian Hill. They have Black Angus beef, pastured poultry, fresh eggs, raw honey and produce. It looks like they already have some spring greens available!

I've also been wanting to find a good bread bakery and I found a couple of possible candidates:

Old World Bakery

• I've been buying their pita bread in Krogers for years, but I've never visited their store. They sell pitas and bagels and they're located in North College Hill. They have a restaurant there which serves gyros; I'll report back.

Breadsmith of Cincinnati

• OK, it's a franchise, albeit a small one. They have several varieties of whole wheat/grain bread available and they bake fresh each day. I'll give them a shot.

Faience

I broke down and purchased Immortal Cities: Children of the Nile tonight, which is an ancient Egyptian city builder computer game. I've long been partial to city builders: Caesar, Pharaoh, Emperor, I've played them all. In Children, one of the city shops is an artisan who sells faience jewelry. I vaguely remember purchasing "mummy beads" at the Cincinnati Art Museum when I was a kid and I seem to remember the word faience associated with them. I also remember the beads had a peculiar smell to them, not unpleasant but odd and undefinable for me at the time.

Faience, as it turns out, is the oldest manufactured artificial substance, first produced (probably in Egypt) around 5,500 years ago. It is a non-clay ceramic substance, primarily composed of crushed quartz or silica mixed with lime, soda or ash, which is finished by glazing and firing in a kiln. In ancient Egypt, faience was used to produce many different types of objects, from beads and jewelry to figurines and pottery. The typical color of a finished piece was a lovely blue-green due to the copper used in the glaze, although many other colors of glazed faience were also produced.

The only place traditional faience is still being made is in Iran; the modern Egyptian version is mostly made from soapstone for the tourist trade. This makes it unlikely in the extreme that my 50 cent strand of "mummy beads" was actually faience. In fact, they may have been made of some sort of resinous material, which would account for the odor. I'd love to have some again and I always look for "mummy beads" whenever I go into a museum gift shop now, but I haven't managed to find any.

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Happy New Year!

Today ushers in the Year of the Rat. Since I was born during a Rat year, I'm rather partial to this Chinese astrological sign. Being a Rat doesn't have the negative connotations that Westerners might associate with it. On the contrary, Rat people are thought to be charming, hard-working and intellegent, although they can also be cool, calculating, ambitious and quick to anger when threatened. The Rat happens to be the first sign in the Chinese zodiac. There are a couple of different legends as to how this came to be and they lend some insights into the nature of Rats.

Legend of the Chinese Zodiac

According to Chinese legend, the twelve animals quarreled one day as to who was to head the cycle of years. The gods were asked to decide and they held a contest: whoever was to reach the opposite bank of the river would be first, and the rest of the animals would receive their years according to their finish.

All the twelve animals gathered at the river bank and jumped in. Unknown to the ox, the rat had jumped upon his back. As the ox was about to jump ashore, the rat jumped off the ox's back, and won the race. The pig, who was very lazy, ended up last. That is why the rat is the first year of the animal cycle, the ox second, and the pig last.

From the Chinese Culture Center

In other stories the animals are summoned before either Lord Buddah or the Jade Emperor, yet the intellegent rat stows away aboard the ox and leaps onto the bank to arrive before all the other animals. An entirely different version has the Rat using trickery on his friend the Cat in order to elevate his status amongst animals:

The Rat and the Cat

A long, long time ago, the Cat and the Rat were the best of friends. They accompanied each other everywhere they went and they shared their food. One day, the Cat learnt that the Jade Emperor was going to elect twelve animals to represent the twelve calendar years, and invited all animals to a party. The Cat suggested to the Rat that both of them should make a presence.

When the day finally arrived, the Cat told the Rat, 'I am going to take a nap so that I will be in my top form. Can you please wake me up when it's time to go to the party?' 'No problem.' the Rat replied, 'Just relax and rest. I will wake you up when the time comes.'

After the Cat fell asleep, the Rat thought to himself, 'I am among the smallest of all animals and I don't stand a chance in making one of the twelve if the Cat will go.' So when the time came, the Rat left on his own without waking up the Cat, and was elected as one of the twelve Zodiac Animals.

When the Cat found out what the Rat had done, he was furious. The two became worst enemies. This is the reason why cats are not one of the twelve animals and they love to chase after rats.

From Yutopian Online

Go... look at some carrots or something

Because I am entirely knackered, out of ideas and haven't learned anything new today, I'm simply leaving a link to the World Carrot Museum. I love a world that has such a place in it.

Baby Broccoli

I brought home some vegetables labeled baby broccoli from Trader Joe's this week. Now, I've grown broccoli before and it never goes through a stage where it looks like this so-called baby broccoli, so I figured the name was a marketing ploy. It looks a lot like Chinese broccoli (gai lan) and I've always preferred the taste of that to our garden variety stuff; I thought it might be the same thing. As it turns out, baby broccoli is a hybrid cross of broccoli and Chinese kale. It is also sold under the names asparation and broccolini.

I steamed it for twelve minutes and served it along side some mahi-mahi with a miso sauce over both. It's really tasty and the entire stalk is edible, unlike regular broccoli, the stalk of which has to be peeled in order to render it edible.

Road Trip!

I just finished reading a Gourmet Magazine article on the Warther Museum and Knife Factory. They still grind their high-carbon steel knives by hand, just as they have for four generations. I think the knives are gorgeous and since they are located in Ohio, I've added it to my list of destinations for 2008. I can always use another good kitchen knife or two. I'm planning a visit to Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania in the fall and Dover would be as good a stopping place as any on the way home, even if it is a bit out of the way.

Storm Front

Re-posted from the Jim Butcher Announcements Yahoo! Group:

Great news for American fans of the Dresden Files TV show. On March 8th, the Sci-Fi Channel is finally broadcasting the unaired pilot in the US! This two-hour cut of "Storm Front" made its debut on Canada's Space network last month. Unfortunately, it's slated for 3 A.M. I think this is why they invented TiVO.

Hiking in Germantown

As usual, I decided to forgo any Super Bowl related activities today and went for a seven mile hike instead. I walked the long loop at Germantown Metropark, which is southwest of Dayton, Ohio. It's a great trail, wandering through old growth forest, cedar groves, riparian bottom land, a meadow and across a dam. It circles a portion of the valley through which the Twin Creek flows. The Twin Creek itself looks like it might be a tidy little river to try in the kayak during warmer weather.

The deeper woods were full of the calls and hammerings of Pileated Woodpeckers. I even saw a group of three cavorting through the treetops. It may seem like the dead of Winter out there but the Pileateds have Spring in their blood. There were other woodpeckers about as well, the common Red-bellied and the less common Hairy Woodpecker made themselves known. I even spotted a grizzled possum trundling along through the leaves in broad daylight.

It took me a ridiculously long time to walk the trail though, about four hours. The combination of having short legs and a naturalist's curiosity make for some mighty slow walking. Also, the last mile or two of the trail was often steep and icy; after I'd slipped and fallen twice I slowed my pace even further. During the second fall my trusty hiking staff saved me from crashing onto one knee and so I arrived home without injuries, not even a bruise. I sometimes get odd looks and comments from other hikers in regards to my stick, but it's saved me from nasty falls on more than one occasion.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Although a lot of people regard groundhogs as nuisances, due to their habit of digging large dens which can undermine buildings or create hazards for livestock, I've always quite liked them. I enjoy seeing them emerge in the spring as a sure sign that winter is on its way out and I like watching the way they waddle about, heavy with fat, in the autumn just before they go to ground for the cold months.

Also known as woodchucks or whistle pigs, groundhogs are a large marmot, which is in turn a type of ground squirrel (again with the squirrels!) The name woodchuck comes from the Cree word wuchak, while whistle pig comes from their habit of emitting a loud, high pitched call when startled.

Groundhogs are true hibernators, retreating to an underground chamber for the duration of winter and living off stored subcutaneous fat. During hibernation, its body temperature will drop to less than 40°F (4°C), its breathing slows to once every six minutes, and its heartbeat drops from more than 100 beats per minute to four.

A solitary animal, the groundhog digs an extensive underground burrow which may have as many as five entrances, so that it is never far from a bolt hole while feeding above ground. Although they prefer an underground escape when confronted by a predator, they can both climb trees and swim well. It is perhaps due to its employment of a variety of methods to avoid becoming dinner that the groundhog has a reputation as a trickster in Native American mythology.

Origin of the Groundhog Dance

(From Myths of the Cherokee, by James Mooney)

Seven wolves once caught a Groundhog and said, "Now we'll kill you and have something good to eat." But the Groundhog said, "When we find good food we must rejoice over it, as people do in the Green-corn dance. I know you mean to kill me and I can't help my self, but if you want to dance I'll sing for you. This is a new dance entirely. I'll lean up against seven trees in turn and you will dance out and then turn and come back, as I give the signal, and at the last turn you may kill me.

The wolves were very hungry, but they wanted to learn the new dance, so they told him to go ahead. The Groundhog leaned up against a tree and began the song, Ha'wiye'ehi', and all the wolves danced out a in front, until he gave the signal, Yu! and began with Hi'yagu'we when they turned and danced back in line. "That's fine," said the Groundhog, and went over to the next tree and started the second song. The Wolves danced out and then turned at the signal and danced back again. "That's very fine," said the Groundhog, and went over to another tree and started the third song. The wolves danced their best and the Groundhog encouraged them, but at each song he took another tree, and each tree was a little nearer to his hole under a stump. At the seventh song he said, "Now, this is the last dance, and when I say Yu! you will all turn and come after me, and the one who gets me may have me." So he began the seventh song and kept it up until the wolves were away out in front. Then he gave the signal, Yu! and made a jump for his hole. The wolves turned and were after him, but he reached the hole first and dived in. Just as he got inside, the foremost wolf caught him by the tail and gave it such a pull that it broke off, and the Groundhog's tail has been short ever since.

As to the origin Groundhog Day itself, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources recorded this brief but interesting history:

Jotting Notes

Well, the ice storm didn't pan out at all. All my neighborhood got was loads of cold rain, which was enough to make me stay home today. I futzed around the apartment all day, occupying myself with reading, laundry, cleaning and making a kick-ass pot of cranberry bean and tomatillo soup.

I also signed up with Jott.com today and spent some time learning how to use it. I'm quite taken with it so far. I call the Jott number from my cell phone and from there I can send myself reminders (it texts a message back fifteen minutes before the due time), send events to Google Calendar and send to-do list items to Remember the Milk. I can also send a message to Blogger and Jott will transcribe and post it. The voice recognition seems to work really well. I can't figure out why this is a free service, but I'm not complaining.