1/2″ Ship Auger

I hope you don’t find this boring. I was looking around for things to photograph this evening and not having a lot of success, frankly. I’m much better off when I get outdoors but it was getting late and I wanted to find something to photograph. I came across this 17″ long, 1/2″ ship auger drill bit. I don’t remember for sure why I first bought this long bit but I think it was drilling a long hole through the corners of a built-up pond I made out of 4″ by 4″ lumber at our old house. In any case, I like the helical flute on this and, whether it’s worth it or not, it’s my photo for the day.

Sculpture In The Snow

I took only a few pictures today and, not terribly surprisingly, I suppose, they involved snow. Are you tired of the snow yet? I know a lot of folks around here are ready for spring and I’m pretty sure it’s just around the corner. I can almost feel the daffodils starting to push their way up through the cold, wet earth. But for now, we still have a bit of snow. I spotted this piece of natural sculpture when I got to work this morning. Between the stems and their shadows, it paints a pretty picture. Look for spring, but enjoy the remainder of winter.

Snow Cream

Without question, proper Italian ice cream (i.e., gelato), with its particular texture (generally no egg and with less fat than “standard,” American ice cream), is just about the best thing in the world for dessert. A close second, and considerably easier to make if you have the ingredients on hand, is snow cream. The recipe is about as easy as anything can be: one can of sweetened, condensed milk mixed with one can of crushed pineapple. Then mix in as much fresh, light, fluffy snow as you can. You want to be ready to eat it right away, because it melts fairly quickly. Of course, the snow is the tricky ingredient, as it’s not always easy to come by, depending on where you live and the season of the year. This evening it was available in abundance. The other two ingredients are easily bought ahead and kept for the occasion.

Table Knives

Dorothy and I drove up to Frederick today, but more about that in my next post. We had a little time to kill so we went downtown and wandered into an antique shop. I took a few pictures in there, but this is my favorite, a table covered with flatware. It was laid out with the knives, spoons, and forks in different segments of a circular display, all radiating out from the middle. The knives all range in price from $4 to $6 and the sign said 20% off. All I took were a few pictures, though.

Icy Trees, Wet Roads

It stayed cold overnight but got up into the mid 30s (F) fairly early this morning. When I went out to the car, the sky was clear but it was &x201c;raining” under the trees and I got fairly wet. The ice that had coated everything yesterday was melting and coming off in largish pieces. I tried to take a picture of the Zelkova trees on Norbeck, which were glittering in the morning light, but it doesn’t really do the sight justice. The roads were wet, not at all slick, fortunately.

Snow In The Trees

We had another little snow fall this morning. When I checked early Montgomery County had decided on a two hour delay for schools. That hasn’t mattered much this year but I was planning to go in to do some things with the fifth grade. Because it was already scheduled to be a half day today, the delay meant school was canceled. Montgomery County decided to close, anyway, a little later. Cathy and I went to work together and had no problems with the snow. The roads were all fine. This is the view from the front of my office building, into the trees beside the parking lot, taken from a third floor window. There are a few mid-sized trees growing on the banks of a small stream. The thickets toward the top of the picture are brambles.

Broccolini and Burger

I’m afraid all I have for a photograph for today is another meal. This evening I decided to make burgers. I topped them with sauteed tomatoes and onions and then melted some Irish Dubliner cheese, which is something like cheddar but a bit more buttery and quite good. I had the burger sans-bun and paired it with some fresh broccolini, boiled briefly just until tender. Turned out pretty well, if I say so myself.