A New Day

Friday, February 4, 2011

Winter's Day

Brilliant sunshine

fills long forgotten coffers

in race towards spring

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Groundhog Day

Sweet reminder for

the day that groundhogs predict

Spring shall soon arrive

late on Wednesday

but inspired to write quick

and join One Shot Team

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Weather Forecast

storm rattles windows

fat flakes freeze across my face

no shadows for spring?

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Tomorrow is Groundhog day. That means that Wiarton Willie is supposed to come out of his hole and look around. If he sees his shadow, he is supposed to scurry back into his hole and hibernate, leading us to six more weeks of winter. With no shadow, conceivably he should be more comfortable and therefore stick around to check out the outside world. The ordained meaning of this is that spring is right around the corner.

Well, checking out weather reports that are flying across radio airwaves, as well as other forms of media information, I suspect that dear Willie will not be leaving his hole at all. With Blizzard warnings in effect and 25-35cm of snow forecasted, Willie's hole is going to be buried pretty deep. A toasty warm burrow is where I will be hunkered in tomorrow, but I will listen to see what Willie has to say.

What think you? Is there any end in sight to this Winter?

Monday, January 31, 2011

Walk This Way

Brett was sitting at a table with a ridiculously huge grin on his face and a beer in front of him.

“Hey Mate!” he exclaimed, as he weaved his way to standing to give me a hug. “Good ta see ya! I’ve been to the Carlsberg Brewery.”

The crooked smile on his face gave proof that the tour had been a good one. I couldn’t help, but laugh. I ordered a beer and sank into the chair across from him to hear what he had been up to since I saw him last a few days ago. The 14-hour bus ride slowly slipped off my shoulders as I watch him giggle and titter. He was pretty soused and very willing to talk. Not sure if it was his silly grin or just being off the bus in general, but I was pretty happy to see him.

“…and then I jumped up on a chair and was just grabbing handfuls of them. The other bloke was waving a net around and catching mitt-fuls of ‘em! It was awesome!” he spluttered.

“Grasshoppers?” I queried. “Why? What were they going to do with them?”

“Why, eat ‘em of course!” Brett laughed.

My face contorted in a grimace and I could not be help but exclaim “ew”

He cackled and slapped his knee. He really was quite drunk and funny to watch.

Brett went on to explain. “They come across the lake this time of year and people go bananas! It is a feast for everyone. They scrape the little buggers off the walls, and floors, and wherever, then toss them into a little oil to fry‘em up.”

“Blah!” I exclaimed, as he shook with laughter again. “How many did you catch?”

“Hundreds of “em mate!” he said. “They were everywhere! It was excellent fun.”

I shook my head and smiled at his enthusiasm.

“Tomorrow, I will take you to the market so you can try some,” he said.

I wasn’t so sure I was interested in trying grasshoppers, but replied “we’ll see” to appease him. We sat in the bar until Brett’s stories became illegible and I had a pleasant glow on. He kept on rambling on about this and that until I had to pack him up and take him back to the hostel. I promised him that I would try grasshoppers when we went to the market the next day, still shaking my head at his animation. The way he talked, they were like manna from heaven, but I would find out for myself.

Oh, and really, they aren’t manna at all. While I did pull off their wings, I was not instructed to pull off their legs, so couldn’t get beyond them “walking” down my throat. Yeah, not my idea of a delicacy I’m afraid. You should try it if you get a chance though. They are a great source of protein! You might like it.
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