“First day of spring” me bollocks.
The toppling temperature records and soaring pollen counts tell me otherwise.
The Duck! City croaked another mark yesterday with a high of 88°. And our earliest day of 90° or better — May 3, 1947 — looks like an endangered species as well.
This is a small platter of fried spuds to anyone living in Tucson (101°), Phoenix (105°), or Palm Springs (107°). All records, set yesterday. Helluva note when St. Me Day comes with a chaser of heat stroke. If MarkWayne BillyBob JimmyJoe Knucklegobbler and his ICEholes come looking for you in any of those ZIP codes all you need is a parabolic reflector and hey presto! Instant Death Ray.
Speaking of cookery, the hot soups and stews and anything involving the oven have long since been 86ed from the menu here at Chez Dog. Last night we dined on Martha Rose Shulman’s shrimp and mango tacos with a side of rice and green salad. As “spring” scampers into summer, this ol’ dog needs his wok.
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Our tulips broke soil the last week of February, and the cottonwoods and pear trees think it’s May already.
And when trees get stressed by not getting enough winter shut-eye, they are more susceptible to disease and bug infestation. Like the pine beetles didn’t already have enough of a head start.
When you grow flowering plants for the visual appeal, but then you cover them up with beetle-catchers like they’re ornaments on a Christmas tree, makes you question your life choices. Last summer’s war against the Japanese beetle invasion left everyone scarred and angry.
I fear for the backyard maple. It should never have been here in the first place, and it’s struggled for years. Happily, the pines, ornamental plums, and pistache are holding up nicely. Those pines and a plum provide a lot of our shade.
We should’ve surrendered more grass when we had the landscaping done. It was a balancing act — available water and desire for some cooling effect — and the water is now front and center. The news on that front, as it is on so many others, is all bad.
Wasn’t even the Vernal Equinox yet and just about everything in the yard here was in full bloom. Bird houses look occupied, cycling in summer gear. Still waiting for the lilacs to wake up. But really……Weird.
93 here yesterday. I assume it was a record high for the date.
I finally found a carbon steel wok that works on a flat top electric stove.
Pricey, but it works well, truly flat 6″ diameter bottom, and well made. I have used it for two weeks for both high temperature stir fry and lower temp sauté. Would work well on a gas range too.
https://madeincookware.com/products/carbon-steel-wok/13-inch