Random Notes from a Crank

What you see above is my dog when he and I ventured out to walk by our local lake. With all the snow we've gotten, no one has shoveled their sidewalks, so Mac and I are relegated to walking on campus because it has been plowed and shoveled. 

I'm tired of walking on campus though, so we ventured out to feel the icy wind in our faces. 

Mrs. Nasty and I were in Springfield Sunday, and we took the opportunity to dine at Darcy's Pint. That's the only place I know of around these here parts that has a muffuletta on its menu. 

It's one of best sandwiches of all time. When I'm there, I always think about getting a reuben, one of my favorites, but I can get those lots of places. 

This is the time of the year when I browse Johnny's Selected Seeds catalog and think about the possibilities this spring and summer. 

Usually every growing season I try out at least one new plant or variety of plant. This coming season I'm thinking of growing broccoli rabe, Italian eggplant, and some Bibb lettuce.

I made some spicy beef lettuce wraps a while back, and I really liked Bibb lettuce, which I've never grown. 

Random Notes from a Crank

A few weeks ago we got a new dog, one of the breeds that I always wanted. He's an eight-year-old Brittany named Sampson. And the name is apropos because he's the tallest Brittany I've ever seen. Breed standard is 25-40 pounds, and he weighs in at 60some pounds. And he's not fat. 

He's just tall, really tall for that breed, so that maybe why his name is Sampson (after Ralph Sampson?). 

Our other dog, a twelve-year-old beagle-lab mutt hated him for weeks, but now I think she's gotten used to him. Knock on wood. She's a grouchy, territorial, old broad. 

The excellent deal about the new dog is that I'm walking him almost every day, so both of use are getting exercise. I think I might have lost some weight already or at least something off my waistline. 

If you ever want to get frustrated, try coaching certain fifth graders to play football. As parents know, there is a difference between hearing and listening. 

Listening and following directions will get you places no matter what your age. 

In good news, Spokane, WA had made news by committing to going 100% renewable energy. In what I hope are prophetic words, the state Chair of the Sierra Club said, “Cities across the country are demanding clean energy not just because it’s the right thing to do for the environment and public health, but because it’s cheaper in the long run than fossil fuels. Spokane’s leadership on this measure will help kickstart clean energy development in the Pacific Northwest and speed the transition to a cleaner, cheaper future.”

In bad news, Grist reports about Moscow Don's propping up of a dying and polluting industry is just going to hurt communities: "When Trump Tries to Bring Back Coal, These Communities Pay the Price." 

And as is related, "The EPA's Coal Plan is a Ripoff for Americans, According to the EPA." So the US is now looking forward to "more hospital visits, more sick days away from work and school, and the early deaths of up to 1,400 people each year, by 2030."

The change is going to cost a shitload of money for Americans: "EPA’s press officers aren’t exactly highlighting the findings that the proposal would leave Americans worse off. In a fact sheet, for example, the EPA trumpets its finding that ACE could save power-plants up to $6.4 billion in compliance costs. But wade into the details to look up that scenario (check out table 18 on page 165), and you see that the EPA weighs that $6.4 billion against health costs that run between $16.6 billion and $75 billion."

Deer Sightings

As I do on a pretty regular basis, the last couple of nights I took my dog, Darby, for a walk. Since we don't get started until after I read to my daughter at 9:00, we usually depart from the homestead around 9:15.

The last couple of nights we've seen deer, which isn't a big surprise since I live on the south side of town where town quickly moves into rural landscape.

Last night we saw a trio of does in a large yard near the outskirts of our burg, and tonight we took a different route and happened upon what appeared to be a small buck and doe munching on the flowers in the front yard of some poor bastard. Both times we were able to get pretty close to them, maybe 50 yards or so.

Although I know there are folks out there who have turned to hating deer (see the aforementioned poor bastard's situation as an example), as the small buck and doe ambled off south, I was struck once again how gangly yet beautiful those animals are--the muscular profiles, the white tails at attention, the loping and graceful gait.