Local Music Video

I can't believe that I didn't discover this sooner, but better late than never.  A couple of Minnesotans released a music video in January.  It took my fellow blogger, lifeshighway of Along Life's Highway - The Yard Art Game, to alert me to its presence. 

I'm only posting this because I feel like it's now past the possible winter jinx period.  There's no way that this would anger the snow gods and cause them to drop more wintry precipitation, is there?  I sure hope not.  

North Dakota Snow in May

Apparently snow is not unheard of, but still pretty rare in May.  We celebrated the arrival of May with some snow last night and this morning, not a lot, an inch or two.  This makes seven consecutive months with measurable snowfall (Fargo has had eight months in a row since they received some snow in October that missed us) in Grand Forks.

How rare is snow in the month of May?  The last time (according to the Grand Forks Herald) Grand Forks received snow in May was May 11, 1946, quite a while ago.

These poor tulips were just getting ready to open, you can see the flower buds just ready to pop.  I'm sure they still will, they're pretty hardy flowers and acclimated to cold.  Maybe the color will look even more striking with the snow underneath. 

Along with snow there have been some impressive winds in the 25 to 35 mph range with gusts higher than that.  The western and central parts of the state have been under blizzard warnings and Bismarck (the state capital - this could help you in a trivia contest someday) and Dickinson have recorded of gusts of 60 to 70mph.  Crazy.

We're going to spend a cozy day inside.  The yard work that was planned for today has been put on administrative hold pending nicer weather.  Just in case you're wondering, the folks here at Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes helped spread the word about this nasty winter.  See the November post - Pig Spleen and Weather Predictions.  And maybe it's time for you doubters to recognize the power of the pig spleen.

Another Awesome Deaf Dog Video

Here's another deaf dogs video.  I think you'll find it's much better than the first one. I'm sensing a trend towards better and more frequent video sharing.

This video stars Shaak Ti and the Puppy, but also includes Tito the Wonder Puppy.  You'll notice that Tito only likes playing when Shaak Ti is upside down and vulnerable or otherwise defending herself against the massive puppy onslaught.  Tito plays dirty, no doubt about it, he just bides his time for Shaak Ti to be preoccupied, then darts in, CHOMPS, and off he goes.  Except for occasionally getting run over by the other two, Tito rarely gets any payback for all this deviousness. 

Beets and Borscht and Biscuits

There are a few veggies that we haven't planted in our first few years here in North Dakota like beets, corn, chard, and carrots. Why? Alycia's parents in Cavalier, North Dakota plant them in multitudes and always have extras, so there's no need for us to plant them in our garden.  At the end of the growing season we get a delivery of a couple dozen quart sized freezer bags full of cleaned, blanched, and ready to eat beets.  It's a pretty sweet set up.

What to do with all these beets?  Well we eat them occasionally in salads or as a side dish, but the best thing to do with beets is to turn them into a delicious borscht.  A big ol pot of borscht, with plenty leftover to freeze for Alycia to take for lunches. 

I'm not much of a close up food photographer, so I'm probably not doing this delicious dish justice.  Plus, I was good and hungry so there weren't multiple shots happening. 

A big dollop of sour cream is the perfect finishing touch for this hearty, earthy, savory soup.   I also made some tasty Parmesan cheese drop biscuits* to accompany the soup, it all worked out so well. 

*Sorry, there were no pictures of the biscuits, they were warm and crusty and begging to be eaten, so there was no time for photos.

What do you do with your beets?  Anyone have a favorite beet recipe they'd like to share?

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Deaf Dog Video

It took me like 3 years to realize that my digital camera also shoots videos.  Me and technology aren't always the closest of special friends.  This is my first foray into home videoing and as such, you get to suffer through my growing videographer pains.  Yes, this video is pretty bad, but I promise that my subsequent video taking efforts will be much better.

Here's Shaak Ti and Puppy playing. Turn on the sound for the full effect.

I Control the Weather

Yes that's right, apparently I control the weather.  After writing that Spring is Officially Here, the weather Gods promptly made an example out of me by dumping 8 inches of snow on Grand Forks over the weekend in a somewhat unusual spring snowstorm.  It also snowed lightly yesterday and is forecast for another inch or two of snow today/tonight and another chance on Friday.  It has been duly noted that I am too big for my britches. 

We went from this scene.....

...back to this all too familiar scene.  I tried to convince Shaak Ti to stand in the same spot for comparison purposes and she would have none of it. 

It's also been a quiet week here on Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes since some manner of sickness has knocked me flat on my backside.  As such I haven't posted much this last week, sorry, I'll make it up to you.  

Spring is Officially Here

We might not be out of the woods yet in terms of flooding (don't fret we're dry here and in no danger whatsoever), the river is expected to crest around 52 feet here in Grand Forks on Thursday or Friday, Spring is definitely here.

Shaak Ti does a great job modeling next to the last snow patch.  I took this photo a couple of days ago and this was the last of the snow in the yard (it's along the North side of the garage so it never gets direct sunlight).  After a few days of 50+ degrees and some rain, this patch is currently the size of a dinner plate (my dinner plate not your dinner plate, which is likely substantially smaller).  Snow be gone!!!

The tulips have also started to pop, a sure sign of Spring!!  These will probably be a foot high by the end of the week and we might have blooms very soon. 

The weather now is so fantastic it defies adjectives, warm during the day and cool at night.  The mosquitoes haven't come out to play yet so outdoor time is fun and fancy free with no bugs.  I'll get some seeds started indoors this week and they should be ready for transplant by Mid-May.  Even though we have pleasant Spring-like weather, we're nowhere near our final average frost date, and I jump the gun by planting the garden even in Mid-May. 

Flocked

Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes and it's humble creator, El Gaucho, attained worldwide recognition yesterday when it was mentioned in the Along Life's Highway - The Yard Art Game blog.

See the Flocked entry on this fantastic blog to read what all the hubbub was about.