Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

All hail the time of the bunny!

People are complicated. Love is not.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

Come on, man.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Feels Like Summer Around Here

Feels Like Summer Around Here

by | 157 Comments

This post is in: 

It was up in the 70’s here today- got a bunch of work done, got the car washed, some more stuff unpacked, a couple loads of laundry finished, and am now sipping on a mojito.

I’m sunburnt as hell, too.

BTW- Got up and took Lily for a walk at like 6:30, then she “helped” me clean around the house for an hour or so, and when I took my shower, I guess she just decided it was time to go back to bed:

I can’t tell you how many times I have almost sat on her sitting down to put my shoes on, but she just loves to bury herself underneath the pillows and comforter.

Reader Interactions

157Comments

  1. 1.

    Amanda in the South Bay

    Ironically, here in San Francisco it feels like summer as well. I’m at Java Beach coffee right on the beach (the name doesn’t lie) enjoying a cold beer and wi fi, and its a beautiful sunny day (if a little windy). It was actually cloudier in Mt. View than it is in the city.

    Also, lets raise a toast to Jim Webb for helping pass the post 9/11 Gi Bill , which allows me to drink beer at a coffee shop during spring break in San Francisco in the afternoon, rather than having to work full time and try to squeeze college in.

  4. 4.

    DecidedFenceSitter

    Cheers Amanda!

    I’ll raise my glass, well my baguette as I’m munching on dinner leftovers to my dear Senator, that as much as I dislike the man on social/finance issues, he does at least do what he says he’s going to do for his people.

  5. 5.

    RedKitten

    ‘Twas drizzly here today, but the weekend is supposed to be beautiful. SamKitten had his first visit with his new sitter today, and it went really well. She also watches three other kids — a 9-month old and two 2-year olds. He seemed to enjoy his new friends, and they seemed to enjoy him.

    I’ll feel a lot better leaving him there for the entire day on Tuesday when I go back to work.

  6. 6.

    gbear

    Same thing in MN. 79 and muggy in St. Paul right now.

    I took a very small bouquet (3 blooms) of daffodyls from my garden in to work with me yesterday. This was a big deal at the office. It’s still pretty early for blooms.

  7. 7.

    freelancer

    Today in Omaha it is 85, slightly cloudy, and windy as all get out. And I have been stuck inside enduring one of the most stressful workdays ever. Here’s to getting off in an hour.

  9. 9.

    Pasquinade

    John, you need to plant some Cosmic Catnip grass for Tunch. Once it up, just snip some off for him.

    @BorowitzReport: “I like Palin’s tweets. They’re as incoherent as her speeches but considerably shorter.”

    @BillMaher: “You know what, Sarah? If we were killing off useless people, you’d be the first to know.

    @rbadr: I’m starting to notice unsettling similarities between the speech patterns of Sarah Palin and Kaylee from Firefly.

    @BorowitzReport: Palin: Obama’s drilling plan “does not go far enough in terms of wrecking the environment”

  11. 11.

    JenJen

    Since everyone’s weather-blogging, I’ll brag too… gorgeous, sunny, breezy day in Cincinnati today. The air is just cool enough so that it’s enjoyable. Perfect baseball weather, really.

    A lot of us deserve a day like today after the winter we had. Enjoy, everyone!

  14. 14.

    Rey

    Same here in the Mid-Southern western side state of Tennesse. Past two days have been breezy, sunny and mid- 70s- ahhhh! Just finished off a shrimp salad and cracking open a bottle of Moonbuzz Pinot Noir… life is good, atleast for the next few hours. I only plan to have +2, I swear..

  17. 17.

    Seebach

    You know what’s fun? Dealing with suicidal customers who feel they’ve been ripped off.

    And then finding out they were just joking and it was fun to them.

    Four days without a reply to my job applications.

  22. 22.

    Chuck Butcher

    @gbear:

    Where did you have snow??

    Um, Baker City, Oregon – that would be NE OR 45th Parallel at 3500′ valley. Still snow in the shade.

    It did get to all of 44F today.

  23. 23.

    Carrie

    Temps today reached 77 F. here in the Ottawa valley.
    We’ve had such a mild winter that the trees are starting to bud weeks ahead of schedule.
    Going to the garden center tomorrow….
    I’m so happy i’ve got ladywood….weeeeee

  24. 24.

    South of I-10

    Beautiful day here too, upper 70’s and breezy. Thinking I may have to enjoy a glass of wine outside. The downside of that is all the oak trees are doing their thing, so I will be covered in pollen in about 5 minutes.

  26. 26.

    Martian Buddy

    D’awww.

    My cat does that sometimes, except he crawls in underneath the blanket and the sheet and curls up right in the center of the bed.

  27. 27.

    General Egali Tarian Stuck

    50’s cool and cloudy in the high desert, and a little windy. We will start cranking up the heat in a couple of weeks though.

    It will be time to clean out the garden soon . Maybe Charlie will help some with the digging this year.

  28. 28.

    Chris Johnson

    DAWWWWWW best puppy evar :D

    You make rescuing a dog seem like a hell of a fine thing, Mr. Cole. If I didn’t already have a bunch of street-refugee cats…

  30. 30.

    Dee Loralei

    @Rey: Rey it has been beautiful in Memphis last few days. I’ve even got a spring in my step, which is a good thing since I have to go wrestle an 85 # golden retreiver in obedience training. We had Veal Milanese for dinner and I really wanted a Pinot Grigio, but alas, the class.

    But, I am looking to buy a Mazda Miata for my 19 year old son and I to share tommorrow. Perfect convertible weather.
    If anyone knows a good reason I should re-think the car, please let me know and I’ll check back after class.

    Thnxbai!

  33. 33.

    demo woman

    Last Thursday I gave the mutt home made broth on her food. It did not settle and of course she could not get sick on the tile but chose the rug instead. Oh well, I cleaned it and brought her outside. When I went to bed I followed my routine and turned on the light, then the TV and turned off the light and climbed into the bed and felt squishy yuck under me. Okay she was really, really sick. So I showered changed the bedding and thought that I would wake if she needed me. Alas that was not to be, she went into the other bedrooms and was sick on the other two beds too. Spring cleaning came early. All the bedding and mattress pads had to be washed and the comforters dry cleaned to the tune of !00.00. After research I decided that it was the onions in the broth that caused her illness. She like Lily is pretty small and her system could not handle the broth.

  38. 38.

    PurpleGirl

    I don’t how warm it got in NYC this afternoon but the sun was nice and strong today. We’ve had a lot of rain and it’s been drab and depressing so the sun was much appreciated today. The sunny days are supposed to last a couple of days (through Monday, I think). Soon I should be able to sit on the terrace in the afternoons.

    John — that is a great picture of Lily.

  39. 39.

    soonergrunt

    77 degrees here in OKC. Nice and not too windy.
    The first interview went very well, but it’s only the start of a multi-round process, and it’s the one for quite a bit less money than I was making. The second interview for almost as much money–well, the first one went well anyway. I haven’t heard anything from my company about Georgia or Florida though. Gonna keep pushing. It’s early and I have time before I have to really worry about money.

  42. 42.

    Max

    @Dee Loralei: My mom has a 2004 model (I think) and every time it rains, it rains in the car.

    The dealer said there is some sort of drain mechanism that you have to regularly tend to. The dealer also told her she shouldn’t drive it is the rain. WTF?

    If you buy one that has that, make sure you tend to the drain thing.

  43. 43.

    slag

    A most excellent picture! I’ve rarely seen a dog look so incredibly contented.

    My cat did the same thing this morning. Days like these there’s just no point in making the bed.

  44. 44.

    stuckinred

    @demo woman: WARNING!
    ONIONS are toxic to your dog!
    Onions are toxic to dogs. The toxicity is dose dependent, so the bigger the animal, the more onion need be consumed to cause a toxicity. Onion toxicity causes a Heinz body anemia. Heinz bodies are small bubble-like projections which protrude from a red blood cell and can be seen when the cells are stained. This “bubble” is a weak spot in the red blood cell and, therefore, the cell has a decreased life-span and ruptures prematurely.

  46. 46.

    Svensker

    she just loves to bury herself underneath the pillows and comforter.

    Well, yuh. She’s a smart doggie and knows where the bestest, most snuggliest places are. Soooo cozy.

  47. 47.

    General Egali Tarian Stuck

    @Martian Buddy: Cruise over to memerandum and check out the important news there. Then scan the thread topics here. But like I said, it could just be me.

    The sane news is Obama is still president and democrats control congress, which could be related somehow to the outside craziness, so I don’t know.

  48. 48.

    Currants

    When I see this Lily photo I think of the first few days of description and photos, and it makes me smile. Even though I’m not a pet person, I can tell a good thing for man and beast when I see one.

  49. 49.

    Currants

    ETA
    When I see this Lily photo I think of the description and photos of the beginning of her new life with John (TOO MANY PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES THERE SORRY), and it makes me smile. Even though I’m not a pet person, I can tell a good thing for man and beast when I see one.

  50. 50.

    Violet

    @Dee Loralei:
    A friend of mine just bought a new Miata and she loves it. LOVES it. Highly recommends it as a car.

    OTOH, another friend bought a second hand Miata off someone who was selling it because her son just got his drivers license and she was terrified of him behind the wheel of something so fun. So take your pick.

    Lily is OMG teh cutest dog EVAH! I heart her.

  51. 51.

    Bad Horse's Filly

    Thunderstorm here and I’m really enjoying it.

    Apologies if this has already been pointed out, but our President is da bomb:

    He talked about the misinformation that has been spread by opponents of the bill, including House Minority Leader John Boehner’s labeling of health reform as “Armageddon.” The President said: After I signed the bill, I looked around. I looked up at the sky to see if asteroids were coming. I looked at the ground to see if cracks had opened up in the earth. You know what, it turned out it was a pretty nice day. Birds were still chirping. Folks were strolling down the street. Nobody had lost their doctor. Nobody had pulled the plug on Granny. Nobody was being dragged away to be forced into some government-run health care plan.

    Edit: no idea why the bold. Block quote fail.

  54. 54.

    South of I-10

    Here’s a fun story for today. My 5 year old had a note from a little boy in her booksack that said her name and “I lave you”. She also asked me this week where babies come from. Good times.

  55. 55.

    Karen in GA

    @Martian Buddy:

    My cat does that sometimes, except he crawls in underneath the blanket and the sheet and curls up right in the center of the bed.

    I have a cat that does something similar. She jumps up on the bed and paws frantically at the blanket until I lift it up, and then she crawls under. Usually when I’m sleeping. If I don’t do it fast enough for her, she claws at my head.

    Cute kitty habit fail.

  56. 56.

    BombIranForChrist

    Out here in the Pacific Northwest, the weather has decided that it wants to have Winter after all. Go to hell, weather.

  57. 57.

    Francis

    Beautiful day in Long Beach, but windy and my allergies have driven me inside to play on the computer with you idiots.

    My story may cause a chuckle or two:

    I’m 45 and been practicing land use/water law in So.Cal for 17 years. If you haven’t noticed, the epicenter of the recession was So.Cal. residential development, ie, my business.

    So, time to do something completely different. A friend says that if I can pass the patent bar he can give me a job. So, off to the USPTO (Patent and Trademark office) to find out the requirements. Holy SH*T! I need 8 semester hours of college chemistry for chem majors, just to qualify to take the patent bar exam. So, off to the community college system. Holy SH*T x2! In order to get into basic chemistry for chem majors, I need either to take intro chem, or pass a qualifying exam.

    What’s the textbook for the qualifying exam? A HIGH SCHOOL TEXTBOOK. I’m 45 years old, I’ve been practicing law almost 20 years, I have a BA in Computer Science from Dartmouth and I’m studying a g*dd*mn high school chemistry book, with the test in six weeks, so I can take 2 semesters of college chem, so the PTO will allow me to take the patent bar exam.

    ah well, I’m unemployed, so I’ve got the time to do it. but still.

    +3, plus allergies, plus allergy meds. This is why I’m blogcommenting, not studying.

  59. 59.

    Svensker

    @South of I-10:

    My 5 year old had a note from a little boy in her booksack that said her name and “I lave you”. She also asked me this week where babies come from. Good times.

    That just slays me.

    (It just keeps getting better, too, take my word for it.)

  61. 61.

    Ed in NJ

    70s here today, also. Rivers are down to only 2 feet over flood levels. Drying out the basement after the floods for the second time in 2 weeks. Only saving grace is everything was already ruined 2 weeks ago.

    Of course, unlike the last floods in NJ in ’07, we have a competent president, so FEMA isn’t running around town passing out checks to all the white people to make up for all the dead black people in ’05.

  63. 63.

    demo woman

    @stuckinred: She seems okay now but I learned the lesson the hard way. I have given her organic boxed broth before but now she is restricted to just her food. She’s only 18 lbs and is about 11 so I really have to be more careful.
    It’s the first dog that I poisoned..

  64. 64.

    soonergrunt

    @South of I-10: You have fun with that while you can.
    My girl is 11 and it’s not quite as cute anymore.
    It’s even less fun when someone else’s 14-year-old daughter is tapping on your 15-year-old son’s window at 1:30 AM.

  68. 68.

    Amanda in the South Bay

    @South of I-10:

    That is soooooo cute!

    @Francis:

    When I looked at paralegal patent jobs, they all assumed ( I guess cause I live in Silicon Valley) some sort of EE/CS/etc. degree. College chemistry? That sounds a wee bit ridiculous.

  69. 69.

    stuckinred

    @demo woman: Great! I had no idea about the onion thing until our lil rescue cocker became anemic after her bladder stones and cataract surgery. Everyday is an adventure with the pupsters.

  70. 70.

    Martian Buddy

    @General Egali Tarian Stuck: Ah, I see now. No, it’s not just you: between the militia nuts getting crazier and the foreclosure situation getting uglier, I’ve got this nasty feeling like the other shoe’s going to drop soon. Hopefully I’m wrong–I often am.

    @Karen in GA: Mine only does that when the bed is unoccupied. He prefers to curl up over top of my ankles when I’m sleeping and cut off the circulation to my feet.

  71. 71.

    AhabTRuler

    small cars don’t do well in accidents involving big cars.

    Eh, if that’s your argument, we should all be driving SUVs, SUCKs, and pickemups. Generally, well designed safety devices are going to be your friend, but someone will always be able to find an failure mode that exceeds survivability.

    I haven’t really paid attention to the safety of the MX-5, or of convertible rollover safety requirements in general, but I would think that would be the biggest concern. I grew up driving a ’72 MGB (fucking BR Green, as if there’s another colour), which is the sort of roadster design that the Miata is based on. I never worried to much about accidents in the MG, but without a roll-bar, a rollover in that car would have been…messy.

    @Dee Loralei: If you can find them locally, advanced driving courses are very helpful.

    I also think that if you catch him using the cellphone in the car you should break his wrists, and if you catch him drinking and driving you should break his ankles.

    If you catch him having sex in the car, take notes and report back on the geometry, ’cause that’s a small car.

  72. 72.

    LuciaMia

    Drying out the basement after the floods for the second time in 2 weeks.

    Damn, Ed, that sucks big time. Here in my corner of NE New Jersey I finally had some water in the basement. But that was due more due to clogged gutters. The rain pooled in the front of the house and found it’s way thru a hairline crack in the foundation. Still it was mainly a problem of putting down fresh towels to sop up the wet
    =
    and diverting the outside pool. NOTHING like those folks in Wayne and Little Falls. I simply cannot imagine going thru that again and again.

  74. 74.

    HRA

    Honestly this is true. It was 85 degrees in Buffalo, NY at 7 pm.

    Tiki claws at the bed covers and only gets in bed after we get up. Tiki is a 19 lb shorkie. I think there is something wrong with John’s scale. Lily looks more than 17 lbs.

    Whatever – she’s a lovely girl.

  75. 75.

    MikeJ

    @AhabTRuler:

    I grew up driving a ‘72 MGB (fucking BR Green, as if there’s another colour)

    You kept one running long enough to drive it? I’m impressed. British cars are the most fuel efficient in the world. You burn no petrol sitting in the driveway.

  79. 79.

    AhabTRuler

    @stuckinred: Well, the trick is not to get into the accident in the first place.

    OTOH, when i managed to zone my way through a red and into a minivan at a right angle going 35-40 mph, I was pretty fucking glad that I was in an ~2000 Acura, since I walked away without a fucking scratch.

  81. 81.

    stuckinred

    @AhabTRuler: I broke my back in a van wreck in 1975, laying in the back head first with my wild man Special Forces buddy drivin us into a telephone pole. I’m a lucky dude to have done as well as I have over the years.

  84. 84.

    kdaug

    82 and windy in Austin. Our 100lb golden retriever and I spent the afternoon pulling vines off the fence in the backyard.

    (Fun fact: Turns out 100lbs at a low center of gravity, yanking and pulling with puppy-like abandon, is a WAY better method of vine removal than my crotchety ass wants to do by myself.)

  85. 85.

    bkny

    that’s a cute photo of lily; it cracks me up to see these photos of these well-loved pets taking over the damned bed. tbogg’s boys come to mind. my sister’s chihuahua crawls inside one of the pillowcases. the first time he did that she couldnt figure out where in the hell he’d gone.

  86. 86.

    John Cole

    You make rescuing a dog seem like a hell of a fine thing, Mr. Cole. If I didn’t already have a bunch of street-refugee cats…

    Oh, getting Lily was the best decision I ever made. I always used to say that I like dogs and that I get my fill on the family dogs, but you simply do not understand the difference in relationship between your own dog and you and someone else’s dog and you.

    I really don’t do anything without her.

  87. 87.

    RedKitten

    It’s even less fun when someone else’s 14-year-old daughter is tapping on your 15-year-old son’s window at 1:30 AM.

    Ah, that brings back good memories. I dated someone off and on for three years in high school, and I swear, he never once actually used our front door.

  88. 88.

    Cain

    @BombIranForChrist:

    Out here in the Pacific Northwest, the weather has decided that it wants to have Winter after all. Go to hell, weather.

    On the other hand, we were headed for a drought in the summer. So, I say snow , snow, snow and get that ice pack up! Good skiing weather too I reckon.

    cain

  89. 89.

    stuckinred

    @John Cole: Ding! Lil Bit and Bohdi go everywhere with me. All our vacations are planned around where they can go, we walk a couple of miles to a coffee joint everyday and everyone says. . .they are such happy friendly dogs! Well yea. . .

  91. 91.

    General Egali Tarian Stuck

    In case anyone doubts we live in bizarre times, the bitter old man from AZ has finally slipped his mind.

    “When I say repeal, people say you’re not going to be able to do it,” he said on KQTH FM Radio. “I am confident we will get majorities in both houses in the fall. And that means the power of the purse…If we cut off the money, it doesn’t take an override to a veto.”

    He wants to kill Obamacare by simply defunding it and not repealing it, though it will still be the law of the land. That ought to turn out well for the country.

  93. 93.

    KRK

    @Karen in GA:

    Mine does the same. Though his best trick, after the frantic blanket scratching, is to do a leisurely walk down to my toes and back and then to demand release from his fabric prison. Much more charming is when he does a quick flop on his side and braces his back leg against my stomach as though to keep me from invading his space.

  94. 94.

    Mark S.

    Tonight on Teabagger Confessions:

    This last Monday, while we visited a friends home, an acquaintance of our friends that I had not previously met started on a rant about teabaggers. I interrupted with “why do cunts like you always insist on using such derogatory terms for “tea partiers”. She was stunned – strange for such a mouthy person – not the least because her 11 year old daughter was sitting next to her. Our friend looked at me and said “that was out of line” and I said “exactly – just my point” and then told the 11 year old exactly what “tea bagging” is. The girls mother left the room with her daughter in tow.

    Is it any wonder Althouse found her husband in her comment section?

  95. 95.

    Chuck Butcher

    @stuckinred:

    66 Chevy Longbed Fleetside

    62 Chevy II, steel dash, collapsable tilt column, 425 HP 355CID, 3spd auto, 5x power seat, p-steer, strut front suspension, p-brakes disc/drum.

    Other than smacking yourself on dash, good handling, braking, lotsa power, 3050lb. (0-60 4.4 sec, 0-85 660 ft)

  96. 96.

    Pranky

    83 degrees in Chicago today. Broke a record. Windy as hell, but everyone is loving it.

  97. 97.

    Origuy

    @Francis: Along with the high school textbook, spend some time with Larry Gonick’s The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry. Gonick’s books have solid information, with a presentation that helps you learn it.

    Hey, where did the Amazon link go?

  98. 98.

    stuckinred

    @Chuck Butcher: Suuweeeet! 355, is that a big block then? I looked at those collapsable columns when I put the new 3 speed saignaw (first time I had syncro in 1st in 20 years) but I couldn’t hack the $. I do have very nice 74 nova baby-moons with the bowtie!

    Huh, I looked it up and it’s a small block. The things we don’t know! Mines a 350 crate runnin a sorry 2bbl!

  100. 100.

    stuckinred

    @AhabTRuler: Damn dawg, sure was similar. My injury was a compression fracture of t-6 because I was tucked and when we hit the pole I flew forward. Head up 2 inches and I was dead or a quad. As it was I just got rods on the spine and went on my merry way (after a year in a full body cast).

  101. 101.

    demkat620

    Evening all. It was a spectacular 72 here today. Beautifully sunny and warm.

    And the best part, the kids got to play outside all day. Loved not having them fighting with each other all day and night. My daughter is asleep already.

  102. 102.

    Chuck Butcher

    @stuckinred:
    79 350 010 block .030 over ie 355. roller cammed, Vortec heads, 2.5″ exhaust sys, 11:1 CR on 92 octane. 750 AFB manual body/auto choke on RPM Performer Vortec. 79 Malibu tilt column, Fatman Fab strut front/3rd gen Camaro based w/big discs.

    3.42 posi 8.5 ten bolt narrowed to fit, Strange axles.

    Take that WoW folks

  103. 103.

    uila

    @John Cole: Had a dream last night that I ran into you at the WV game… and now I have to wonder… do you actually have the cheesy moustache that my subconscious evidently thinks you have?

    @RedKitten: Good luck with the full day separation. The first day is rough (on you, that is, the kid doesn’t mind at all) but gets better quickly. Sounds very much like the situation we found for our daughter and she loved it.

  107. 107.

    Alice Blue

    The past few days in west Georgia have been beautiful, sunny and warm. All the fruit trees are in bloom, but spring doesn’t officially arrive for me until the wisteria blooms. The woods around our house are full of it. By the time the wisteria fades, the jasmine around our front porch comes to life.

    On the down side, the grass has grown five inches in the last two days and we have 27 acres . . .

  108. 108.

    General Egali Tarian Stuck

    And now from our “Cut your nose off to spite your face because the darky POTUS says so” files

    MADISONVILLE, TEX. — As vendors sold yellow “Don’t Tread on Me” flags nearby, Texas State Board of Education member Don McLeroy assured a gathering of Tea Party activists one recent evening that President Obama was going to keep his hands off the schools in the Lone Star State.

    There would be no bid for Obama’s Race to the Top grant program, no endorsement of new math and English standards that Obama backs. And the state school board, under McLeroy’s prodding, would continue its push to adopt social studies standards that set Texas apart from other states because, among other changes, they recast sections on the American Revolution to put more emphasis on Christianity and less on the writings of Thomas Jefferson.

    Texas – Striving to have it’s children grow up dumber than their parents. No easy feets.

    And, It is well know factoid that Thomas Jefferson was in fact, an Obot.

  114. 114.

    demo woman

    @General Egali Tarian Stuck: Imagine this, a few decades ago my children and I moved from Texas to Ga, they were a year ahead of the students here. Actually in the eighties when crazy Ross Perot tried to improve the Texas schools, it worked.

  117. 117.

    CaseyL

    Here in Seattle, as the boys have said, the rain has returned – sporadically, that is: between drenches, the weather clears to sunny and warm. The trick is to get out and do stuff quick, before the rain starts again.

    Tomorrow, I’m meeting a friend and we’ll try to get a hike in between downpours. I’ll take my rain shell in case we’re caught by surprise.

  120. 120.

    CynDee

    @John Cole: It looks like organic mustard. It can be verrry gooood. Do not be prejudiced; there is everything to like about it.

  121. 121.

    Anne Laurie

    @gbear:

    I took a very small bouquet (3 blooms) of daffodyls from my garden in to work with me yesterday. This was a big deal at the office. It’s still pretty early for blooms.

    Here in New England, we’ve got a ‘microclime’ experiment running. The daffodils with a southern exposure, next to the basement window heat-sink, started blooming a good 10 days ago; the daffs on the east side of the house (6-10 feet away) are just starting to bloom. The daffs on the western fenceline are beginning to bud, and the ones on the northern fenceline are just getting tall enough to bud. All this within a 75×80 foot area! At least we haven’t had to worry about flooding — although the rainiest March on record hasn’t given me much of a chance to catch up on the yardwork!

  122. 122.

    danimal

    Hey, I read that the Obama administration increased CAFE standards significantly today. I didn’t read about a winger freakout about the social!ist takeover of the automotive industry or any of the usual Chamber nonsense when gas mileage standards are discussed.

    Maybe the oil drilling announcement had its desired effect.

    And Lily is a jewel of a dog.

  123. 123.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    Ms. Judy has a thing, you know a thing, whereby when I stick Cuball up the stairs to let Lucky out into the yard, Judy sneaks into the bedroom and creeps under the comforter, where she stays while I drink my tea and watch Morning Joe. at about 7:25 she realizes that it is time to go and gets out of bed and goes into the living room. It is very strange.

  125. 125.

    IndyLib

    81 degrees and breezy here in beeyootiful southern Wisconsin. It snowed 10 days ago and it’s supposed to be back down to 60 by Saturday, so I enjoyed the hell out of today.

    Today reminded me why I love living in places with 4 distinct seasons. There are two days a year that make the world feel brand new and amazing. The first day it snows in the winter and the first day it’s obvious that spring is here to stay. You just don’t get that in places that have the blurry seasonal changes.

  126. 126.

    debit

    @South of I-10: When I was 5 I knocked down the object of my affection so he couldn’t get away when I kissed him. Sadly, he did not return my affections. Could have had something to do with the gooseegg on his head, perhaps.

    @thread: Chloe is another under the covers dog. She jumps on the bed just before I get in and flops on the pillows then wriggles. When I do get under the covers, she waits until my back is turned, then burrows under the blankets until she’s plastered against my back. I anticipate record electric bills this summer just to keep my room cool enough to make this arrangement remain comfortable.

  127. 127.

    General Egali Tarian Stuck

    @Mike Kay: In the article they schemed using some trickery to get it into a bill that Obama wouldn’t want to, or couldn’t veto. Something called “fencing off” or somesuch. It’s a completely crackpot ploy to outcrazy JD Hayworth in the AZ senate primary. Which takes a lot of lunacy to accomplish. Goopers wouldn’t support actually doing that, in that it would likely bring not only the new health care paradigm crashing down but likely take the economy with it.

    I just posted it to mark and mock the level of wingnuttery that is out there these days.

  129. 129.

    Mike Kay

    @danimal: But the CAFE standards are lower than Europe’s, which means the President is a corporatist.

    /renewable hemp now

  130. 130.

    stuckinred

    @Alice Blue: The lobblolly’s were planted when the cotton failed and people walked off the land. They are fast growing and can take root in our lousy Georgia clay. We planted ours to screen the Dixie Painting parking lot across the kudzu ditch!

  136. 136.

    Alice Blue

    stuckinred: There are acres and acres of loblolly pines in Meriwether County–I think they were planted by the paper companies. Lots of pulpwooding goes on here. But cotton died a slow death; the gin here in town was in operation until 1970. There used to be a lot of peach groves. A local story has it that during the Depression, the farmers couldn’t sell their peaches so they started making and selling peach brandy. The oldtimers still talk about the day the “revenooers” showed up.

  137. 137.

    Alice Blue

    Question: If I’m responding to a comment that I want to link back to (like everyone else is doing) how do I do that? Does this question make sense? I’m a new commenter and I’m definitely not the most computer literate person around.

  140. 140.

    gbear

    @Anne Laurie:

    I’ve got the micro-climate thing going too. The flowers bloomed at the base of a 6′ tall, south facing retaining wall. Spring starts soonest at the bottom and top of that wall.

  143. 143.

    CynDee

    @Alice Blue: It took me a long time to discover that little thingey; it’s so subtle and arty.

    @John Cole: That is the best Lily pic ever! And that’s saying a lot. I’ve got a whole gallery of her and Tunch in iPhoto. Thank you for letting us know them and see them.

  145. 145.

    South of I-10

    @SiubhanDuinne: I told her the truth in an age appropriate way. I want her to feel like she can ask/tell me anything and I will tell her the truth.

  146. 146.

    Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist

    We had nice weather for most of last week here in Salt Lake City, then a full day of 20-30mph wind and then a full day of blizzard (dropped about 6″ which are happily melting off but not gone yet.)

    Pretty typical Utah spring, actually.

  147. 147.

    Mnemosyne

    It is frickin’ freezing in Los Angeles today. (Yes yes, 60 degrees doesn’t sound cold to people in the East and Midwest, but when it was 85 yesterday, 60 is really frickin’ freezing.) I think we’re going to have to turn the heat on before we go to bed tonight because it’s going to get down into the 40s overnight.

  148. 148.

    Cain

    @Mnemosyne:

    It is frickin’ freezing in Los Angeles today. (Yes yes, 60 degrees doesn’t sound cold to people in the East and Midwest, but when it was 85 yesterday, 60 is really frickin’ freezing.) I think we’re going to have to turn the heat on before we go to bed tonight because it’s going to get down into the 40s overnight.

    God, I really want to tell you to fuck off. Honestly.. it is 46F here in the Williamette Valley (that’s Will-AM-ETTE). :)

    cain

  149. 149.

    Steeplejack

    @Bad Horse’s Filly:

    Omit the blank line between your “normal” text and the blockquote when you’re composing. You’ll still get a blank line in the final comment, but the blockquote won’t be bold.

  150. 150.

    Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist

    @Mnemosyne: (Yes yes, 60 degrees doesn’t sound cold to people in the East and Midwest, but when it was 85 yesterday, 60 is really frickin’ freezing.)

    I get a similar sort of thing – when it was well below freezing out I didn’t mind going to the store, but now that it has been warmer but dropped back a bit, I won’t leave the house. Weird.

  151. 151.

    kdaug

    Interesting. We’re looking forward to opening the windows this weekend to bottle up some ~45 degree lows.

    Guess it depends on where you live – just don’t like hearing the whining when we’re @ 110 in August. (There’s a reason we do SXSW in March).

  152. 152.

    electricgrendel

    OMG! Someone save Lily! She’s being eaten by the tacky! ;) j/k. Good to hear you’re up and about more. Super precious pic of the dog.

  153. 153.

    electricgrendel

    OMG! Someone save Lily! She’s being eaten by the tacky! ;) j/k. Good to hear you’re up and about more. Super precious pic of the dog.

  154. 154.

    Mnemosyne

    @Cain:

    If I liked the cold, I would have stayed in Chicago, but the winter we had when I was 14 when it was 70 below zero pretty much made up my mind that I was haring off to sunny California the instant I could get out of the house. Weather-wise, I haven’t looked back since, even though I do hate the three months of 100+ days we get here in the Valley.

  157. 157.

    Dog is My Co-Pilot

    Lily loves her sack time! Very cute. I remember the pictures you posted of Lily when you first saw her at the shelter. To think how far she’s come, and what a happy, contented dog she is now, doesn’t it just melt your heart?

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