Hiking the Shaker Trace Loop

Today I walked the long loop (7.8 miles) of the Shaker Trace trail at Miami-Whitewater Forest. It's not my favorite path; long stretches of it pass through miles of corn fields, which make for rather dull walking. It has the advantage of being paved, however. Between the melting snow from last week's blizzard and the following rain, I thought I would be ankle deep in mud on most of my favorite trails. There were just loads of birds making themselves known today and it made the walk enjoyable; there's a list of what I saw (or heard) below, haphazardly ordered. Still, I was quite footsore by the end; walking on pavement tires me out much more than walking on dirt and leaves.

I spotted the pictured large tree obviously felled by a beaver along the Dry Fork Creek. Extirpated from Ohio by 1830, beavers started making their way back into Ohio in the 1940s and have been expanding their range ever since. The range map on this page doesn't even show Hamilton County as confirmed for an active beaver population, but I suspect is is simply out of date. I saw signs of a beaver family living in this area ten years ago.

On a different note, one of my favorite authors was in the news these past couple of days for having donated a million dollars to Alzheimer's research. Terry Pratchett was recently diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease himself. His legions of fans have started a campaign to match Terry's donation called Match It For Pratchett. There you will find links to donate directly to the Alzheimer's Trust or you can buy a t-shirt, decorated with elephants and the Great A'Tuin. It's a worthy cause even if you're not a Pratchett fan. If you've not read any of his work, you should do so; he's brilliantly funny.

Belted Kingfisher, Eastern Phoebe, American Crow, Blue Jay, Song Sparrow, Carolina Wren, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Mallard, Canada Goose, Cooper's Hawk, Killdeer, Red-Winged Blackbird, Red-Tailed Hawk, Kestrel, Wild Turkey, Grackle, Turkey Vulture, Rufus-Sided Towhee, Eastern Bluebird, White-Throated Sparrow, Downy Woodpecker, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Giving away what?

I boxed up a bunch of books to send to my sister today and took them to the post office. When it was my turn at the counter, I told the clerk I wanted to send the box via media mail, which is the cheap rate for books and other printed matter. She gave me the price and told me that media mail was subject to inspection and if the material inside wasn't media it would be returned. I said the box contained all the Harry Potter books and she looked absolutely crestfallen. "You're giving away all your Harry Potter books?" I quickly explained that I'd bought myself a nifty new boxed set and I was giving my old books to my niece and nephew, then she brightened right up again. We were quite chummy by the time I'd completed my transaction.

In other news, I'd really like to get my hands on one of these cheese making kits.

Finally, here's something really useful; how to stop that annoying "unused icons" balloon from popping up on your Windows PC.

Books for kids

Shamelessly ganked from Neil Gaiman's Blog: 100 Books Every Child Should Read

Heck, I think I should read the ones I've never read, too. Why should kids have all the fun?