Digging out

It took me twenty minutes just to clear the snow off of my car this morning. There was a good ten inches piled on the hood and the windshield, somewhat less on the rear window. Once I'd cleaned the car I drove over to Hyde Park, one of Cincinnati's tonier neighborhoods. There are always joggers in Hyde Park and today was no exception, snow and ice be damned. I saw a man jogging down the street holding what looked like a pizza box at first glance. When I got closer I realized he was jogging with a box of donuts from Busken Bakery.

The reason I drove to Hyde Park this morning was to meet a woman from Mohr's Animal Acres in Urbana, Ohio. They are regulars at the Hyde Park farmer's market and in the off season they've arranged a pre-order system and they meet their customers in a bank parking lot to drop off the orders. I picked up some lamb for my traditional Irish stew for St. Patrick's day and some smoked ham to put into bean soup.

So since I've set out on my quest for locally produced food during a Cincinnati winter I've found an untended honor system store, where you write down what you took and leave payment in a lock box, I've picked up pre-ordered winter greens from a porch in Wyoming and bought meat out of a parking lot. It seems so very clandestine for some reason and I'm having so much fun doing it. I'm really looking forward to visiting farms that will be selling peas, asparagus and strawberries this spring. Those goodies are generally in season well before the farmer's markets open, but I feel sure they'll be worth the extra effort.

Snow Shadows

Snow Shadows
Originally uploaded by lilysecret42

The great Cincinnati Blizzard of 2008 has passed and given way to blue skies and sparkling snow. I put on my coat and headed out for a bit to stomp around in the drifts and make sure my car hadn't been hit by a snow plow (it's fine). Fortunately digging out won't be too bad; it's heading into the fifties later this week.

I posted just a few pictures in my Flickr account and there's a short, silly video at YouTube taken this morning.

Blizzard!

The predicted snowstorm has been upgraded to a blizzard. It's Cincinnati's first blizzard since 1978! Staying home from work today was truly a capital idea. I think we've had four or five inches of snow so far and we're expecting up to a foot total snowfall. I'm so very ready for spring.

I spent the day studying my Intro to ArcGIS course work and I love GIS. It's so much fun playing around with maps. I see a new career blossoming before me.

Finally, I leave you with this interesting New York Times article about MSG. I worked for many years in a Chinese restaurant and the "no MSG!" people always got under my skin. So many would claim to be deathly allergic but would still order the hot and sour soup or the eggrolls after I (not so) patiently explained that those items contained MSG and there was nothing we could do about it. I still think claiming to have an allergy when none exists does a real disservice to those people who have genuine life-threatening allergies, such as those to peanuts or shellfish.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Night Lights

I have never been able to sleep throughout the night; I'm usually up and prowling around at least once, more often twice during a typical sleep cycle. Because of this I have three night lights placed in strategic locations. The one in the bathroom up and died recently, so I purchased a light sensitive LED plug-in unit to replace it. I quite like its bluish, icy glow. I also ordered some LED replacement bulbs for the rest of the night lights. I think that leaves me with just one light bulb I've not converted to CFL or LED. The last hold out is a bare bulb, suspended by an ancient cord, that lights the pantry. I've not changed that bulb in the six years I've lived here; I'm just wondering how long it will last at this point.

The weather forecast is calling for an ice storm and other assorted nasty weather tonight. The city is going to be trying out a beet juice formula on the icy roads tonight. Sadly, it's not going to turn the roads bright pink in the process.

I may take a snow day tomorrow, depending on the conditions of the not-pink roads and my overall mood. I've put some cranberry beans on to soak overnight - bean soup is on the menu for dinner tomorrow. I almost always make my bean soup with tomatoes; I'm going to try using tomatillos instead this time and see what the results are like. I'll report back.

Finally, Jim Butcher will be posting the first four chapters of Small Favors, Book 10 in the Dresden Files series, which is due out in April. Chapter One is up now, with a new chapter to be released over the next three Tuesdays.

Signs of the Pileated

I managed to get in a hike at Caldwell Nature Preserve today. The ground was rock hard except where I was crunching through frost heave. I didn't see another soul on the trails, although it was a balmy 27^o today; a far cry from the 4^o it was just yesterday morning.

I came across this scarred tree trunk on the Pawpaw trail. The large, elongated holes and the massive damage were clear signs that a Pileated Woodpecker had been at work here. They are huge black and white crow-sized birds with a magnificent red crest. I didn't actually see any today, but just a couple of minutes after I'd photographed this tree trunk, I did hear at least one calling from across the ravine. They are shy birds and are much more often heard than seen, so learning what their calls sound like is most helpful when searching them out.

Edited to remove broken link.

Snow day

There are few things quite so delicious as waking up to a snow storm on a work day - when you don't have to go to work.