A co-worker (I work with atmospheric scientists) emailed around some photos of rare clouds. They are very cool, but I’m glad I never saw these clouds in person. Because frankly, they scare me.
Maybe it’s the uncanny resemblance to UFO’s and tornadoes that spooks me. I get an eerie feeling when I look at them.
You can decide for yourself…
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FYI In case you are wondering …
These are “lenticular clouds”. They’re caused when the winds are just right so when they flow over Mt. Rainier , the air gets pushed up where it cools and condenses into clouds. It’s usually a sign of rain within 24 hours because typically the moist flow that precedes a storm in this area is the perfect set up for these clouds.
Ladies, is it just me, or does this make you want to write a Hazardous Materials Data Sheet (HMDS) on the element: Man?
Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to write a HMDS for the element: Man. There is no deadline or competition. OK, we all know there will be a bit of competition 😉 . But the only prize is getting to write something fun and reading ones you didn’t write.
Oh, and men? Feel free to accept this mission as well 🙂
That’s right. Today, February 2nd, is the big day. Punxsutawney Phil, the official predictor of Spring, will make his annual appearance and declare 6 more weeks of winter. Or not.
image from flickr
I’m not going to go into the history of Groundhog Day, but if you’re curious you can visit the little rodent’s Club. Instead I will tell you a little family memory….
One year when our kids were middle school age, I decided to invent “Groundhog Pie”. Like Sheppard’s Pie, but using “groundhog meat”. It looked a lot worse than it tasted. When I cut into the crust and served the first piece, I was reminded of a childhood song that had “greasy gopher guts” in the lyrics.
They must have suspected it really wasn’t groundhog, yet everyone played along. Even my pickiest of eaters scarfed it up. These kids, who diligently removed each and every piece of onion or mushroom from their spaghetti, blindly ate groundhog pie. Go figure.
This was many years ago. I want to add the recipe to my cookbook, but I didn’t write it down in my cookbook notes. Maybe I hadn’t started the book yet. Regardless, I will let you in on what I do remember.
Groundhog Pie
1 pkg. of Pillsbury rolled pie crusts (has 2 in it)
1 pound ground meat (beef, pork, or chicken will work)
1 bunch of fresh spinach (rinse well)
3 cloves garlic, minced fine
1 small can of chopped tomatoes, drained.
Remove pie crusts from the fridge and allow them to warm to room temperature while preparing pie filling. Brown the meat in a large skillet until done. Drain and return to skillet, adding spinach, garlic and tomatoes. Stir together for 1 minute at low heat.
Line a pie pan with 1 crust, making it fit tightly to sides and bottom. Poke bottom a couple of times with a fork. Leave 1/4 to 1/2 inch of crust edge above the rim of pan. Add filling. Cover with top crust and pinch the bottom and top edges together to seal. Poke top crust a couple of times with fork.
Bake at 350° for about an hour.
You can also sprinkle cheese on the filling before covering with top crust if desired.
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