IT'S SPRING!

When I went out to replenish the bird bath this morning I noticed, just above my head, the first of the Redbud tree's blooms had turned into a green leaf.

On the official first day of spring!

It won't be long before the entire tree will go from the showy purple blooms into a green foliage for the birds to hide in.

Spring is here!

SORRY - GOT TO BRAG

SWMBO and I have a new great-granddaughter.

Cadence Rose Milburn came into the world just after 8:30 last night in Tennessee.

7 pounds 11 pounds, 21 inches.

The proud parents are Russell and Kayla.

FAME (of a sort)

My old buddy, Baseball Steve, got his wish from this political season the other day.

He got a picture with Bernie Sanders.

Steve (on the right) and an audio guy had just shot an interview with Sanders by Rachel Maddow.

So the old shooter got a selfie out of it.

The two Phoenix guys look happy.

Sanders looks, typically, befuddled and as if the other two are holding him up.

Meantime, I had a little touch with fame myself recently.

The first week in March marked the 50th anniversary of the great blizzard of 1966 which slammed into North Dakota.

I was working as a radio-tv newsman in the state capitol, Bismarck, at the time and, after walking three miles to work through snowdrifts and white-out conditions, spent the next three days at the station, much of it on the air on radio and television.

A relative of mine who still lives in North Dakota saw that my old t.v. station would be doing special coverage of the storm and called to tell me about it.

I then emailed the station weather men and newscasters and asked if I could get a DVD of their coverage.

That resulted in them asking me if I would mind driving down to Phoenix and being interviewed for their coverage.

Since the station in Phoenix is also one I once worked at I was happy to oblige and the interview was done by a friend from my days there who is now their anchorman, Mark Curtis.

I since have received the DVD from Bismarck and after viewing it and seeing how battered my visage appears after all these years, I rather wish I hadn't agreed to the interview.

Fame.

It's a fleeting thing.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

It is Friday, the high temperature here today is predicted to be 73 F., and I'm feeling really chuckle-y.

So let's get on with it.

Okay, this next one is my favorite this week.

When you stop laughing hysterically, please accept my hopes that you'll have a wonderful weekend.

Now.

Resume laughter.

Here, kitty-kitty.

Oh, c'mon. I told you it was warming up!

(For those of you too young to know, that's a steam radiator.)

THROWBACK THURSDAY

I tried a new (to me) recipe last night - Gjelina's Roasted Yams.

They were a wonderful accompaniment to a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.

I used sour cream instead of Greek yogurt. 

And if you're kind of eyeballing your measurements and the sauce is a bit tart, a teaspoon of honey added to it fixes it instantly.

(Thanks, SWMBO!)

Also, though the recipe doesn't say it, don't forget to oil the foil on the roasting pan.

Sorry, I didn't take a photo but there's one in the linked recipe above.

Now for the real business of the day.

Oh, I know.

It's St. Patrick's Day.

But I'll drink to get to that later.

The real business of the day is a picture for Throwback Thursday.

I can't identify all of this Merry Gang of Thieves but the fellow holding the handle of the wagon is the one who provided the photo recently, my lifelong buddy Jim.

He says he thinks the guy standing at the far left is me.

Tommy is behind Jim in the wagon and Jerome (Romey) is just above him, with his chin obscured.

Standing on the far right of the photo are Dorrance and his younger brother Boop (another Bruce).

I know you Gentle Readers don't know these childhood friends of mine but just think: that photo is somewhere around 70 years old!

Have a good St. Patrick's Day and remember, it's a day when everyone is Irish!

ON THE ROAD (again)

Okay, so I cheated yesterday.

I used a photo for my Tuesday Travels post that I had used before.

Maybe I was distracted by Super Tuesday 2.

So here's a pic you can file under Tuesday Travels or Wednesday Woes.

Whatever.

It was taken recently at a stop on the road to Jerome and the Verde Valley and Sedona.

Nice road.

Beautiful scenery.

It's about 25 miles from my door.

Lucky me.

TUESDAY TRAVELS

On this election day in several states, I give you two guys in Washington in 1980, looking glum possibly because neither of them WERE elected.