Hi Ho, Hi Ho..

It's back to work I go. I'm playing "Dodge the Storms" and getting to work while I can. Tomorrow may be another story, as we are expecting ANOTHER 10 to 20 inches of snow. That's on top of the 28 inches we already have. Husband is home and will be moving snow to make room for more snow. No where to put shoveled snow at this point. Sigh.....

A to Z Mondays, Food Addtion: C is for..

CRABS!

If you live in Maryland, you probably have been to at least one crab feast. Eating steamed crabs in the summertime is a pastime that's practiced all over Maryland. There are crab houses and seafood restaurants that serve them all year long for the die-hards.

So if you come home and see this on your kitchen table....

You had better get out the newspaper or brown paper, the mallets, knives, paper towels, beer and a big appetite...

These crabs might look dirty to you. Actually the Maryland way to cook crabs is to steam them with lots of seasoning. Every place has their own special recipe, but they all taste about the same.
Here is a brand that a lot of people use at home when they steam crabs. I always have a can of this stuff in my cabinet. It's good in chicken salad, crab dib, steamed shrimp and lots of other things. They even sell potato chips with crab seasoning on them!

So if you are ever in Maryland, make sure you go and get some crabs. It's tradition!

Don't forget to go see Jen's blog for more A to Z Monday players. And have a good Monday, readers!

The Aftermath

Today it's sunny and cold. Everything is sparkly and crystalized. The sun and the white make for some really defined shadows.

I finally got out the peanuts and dispersed them all over the yard. They're a big hit with the squirrels. Or should I say squirrel? This Greedy McSquirrelypants chases off all other hungry squirrels. I've seen him eat a few, but mostly he takes them under the pine trees to bury them for later. I went out to broaden the dining area, sprinkling more peanuts over a bigger space. Hopefully, this will deter him from making this a one-squirrel restaurant.

There are a few trees down in the neighborhood. One big fallen tree has caused half of the neighbors to lose power. We have power, thank goodness. Those across the street do not. Some have left for warmer abodes. We offered our house for shelter, but didn't get any takers.

The Knucklehead Sisters don't know what to make of this. Big walls of snow are confusing to a buggy-eyed Boston...

Bella was all for exploring....

....for about 30 seconds! Then she made a U-turn back to the front door.

Think good thoughts for us "Merlinders". We are supposed to get more of the white stuff this week. I am trying to stay strong, but I have an urge to drive down Route 95 until I see palm trees.

Enough Already!!

Ummmm........yeeeah....

What can I say? Take a look at the dragonfly on top of the rain gauge from last night's post. In an hour or two, it'll be gone.

The husband has cleared a path from the sidewalk to the driveway. For what? We can't go anywhere....

The pond has all but disappeared.

I have some takers at the feeders. If I can get out to my car, I have a bag of peanuts to sprinkle outside. Right now it's blizzard conditions, and they'd just be covered up in an hour.

Anyone know a cure for cabin fever? Thank goodness I have a basement full of yarn and some food in the fridge!

And So It Begins..

The big storm is coming my way. Weathermen are calling for anywhere from 18 to 30 inches, depending on who you listen to.

This little rain gauge was given to me by a friend for my birthday. I've stuck it into the middle of the back yard to keep an eye on how much snow we really get.

As you can see, the dragonfly at the top stands about 19 1/2 inches from the ground. I'll check back later to show you how much of this gift gets covered up. It has started to really come down, but the roads are mostly just wet at this point. My office closed at 3:00, and I don't plan on going anywhere else for the weekend.

I went to the grocery store last night around 10:30. It looked like armageddon. Not one loaf of bread left. About 4 gallons of low fat milk left. No meat to speak of, and the produce was picked over badly. Lots of toilet paper left...They must have anticipated the crazy Marylanders on that front. No eggs at all. It was weird.

A Visitor At Dusk

Last night in the early evening, I was lying in the sunroom with my tea, pug foot warmer Bella, and a blanket. Through closed windows, I heard a series of low loud hoots. Sounded like a sentence being repeated over three times. My husband looked out and saw this figure in the pine trees. Bella got up and paced and barked in a low warning bark.

These are the best pictures I could get with my camera and little light. You can click on the pictures to really see his beauty.

It's a Barred Owl, I think. I hope he sticks around. But no hooting in the middle of the night, please. The dogs will go nuts!!

He reminds me of Old Mr. Brown from the book Squirrel Nutkin by Beatrix Potter. I loved that book when I was a little girl. My owl can give the same stink-eye as Mr. Brown gives Nutkin!

Blah.

I feel a little like my garden gargoyle..

Home sick today. I have no voice (some may not be upset about this development). Spent all last night coughing and just being generally miserable.

Woke up to more white stuff. Though my main thought is "ENOUGH ALREADY!!!", I must say that it was beautiful this morning when I bundled up and took the dogs out.

Like frosting on a cake, everything becomes more beautiful with a brushing of the fluffy white stuff.

Hope you all are having a healthy February.