A Lovely Ash Wednesday

I think we had a little rain over night and some wind.  The combination helped speed up  the thawing process.

We've still got a long way to go with mountains of snow on the deck and a good covering in most of the open spaces.  

More and more green patches are opening up, though, and that is good.

My walking ensemble this morning included one less layer of clothing as I left the vest behind and felt plenty warm in the fleece.

Turkeys were gobbling up a storm over on the hillside near Dan Wood's place, and I saw Jack Filipowski pull into his cattle-barn complex.  

That reminded me that I haven't seen any baby calves yet in his Hereford herd.  I'm guessing they're inside and protected, and I was guessing that he was probably at the barn checking for new babies.

I used to love that time of year when we had our Hereford cattle on North Boyer.  The first light of day had me up, dressed and out there, hoping to be the first to run back to the house and announce a new baby in the herd.

Then, my dad Harold would get up, come outside, gather his syringes and give the young 'un the necessary shots for childhood diseases afflicting calves.  

White muscle was the culprit back in those days.  

Normally healthy calves would be racing around one minute and dead the next if they weren't vaccinated for white muscle.   

Anyway, I'm sure Jack is pretty busy this time of the year with his big herd of Herefords.

On my way back home this morning, I heard something in Gary Finney's field to my left.  I looked over, and there was a lone turkey skittering about in the snow.  

The bird didn't seem to know exactly where it wanted to go.  I let out a "gobble," and it turned off to head up the hillside. 

~~~~Bill just headed out the door for work, and I learned that I won't be fixing dinner tonight.  On this Ash Wednesday, Bill will be going to his Presbyterian service where they serve soup.  

So, I'll probably just graze tonight. 

We're keeping Valentine's Day pretty low key too.  We don't have a lot of choice. Bill may have a meeting, so we're content to nibble on whatever's around here.  

PLUS, tomorrow is probably THE BIGGEST GAME of the season for the ZAGS. They're playing St. Mary's and DELLABADDOBA.  Did ya notice "BAD" in there?

He's the villain, and I haven't met a person yet (GONZAGA fan anyway) who doesn't use his name in vain or purposely mispronounce it. 

He's probably a really nice young man, especially when he's flinging those 3's and helping his team beat teams other than Gonzaga in last-second victories.  

The ZAGS are playing in the DELLABADDOBA household too, so tomorrow's game should be a nail biter. 

What I hate worst about the 8 p.m. games with the ZAGS is the thought that if they lose, I'm gonna be mad all night and not sleep. 

My bedtime is usually between 8:30-9.  When I stay up that late, it's already difficult for me to get to sleep.  

So,  feeling almost sick to my stomach if the ZAGS lose makes it all the more frustrating trying to grab some winks.  Yes, I'm that crazy!

All this said, I feel great confidence in our Bulldogs that they will rise to this important occasion and play a phenomenal game.  

A ZAG victory will do me and a whole lot of other ZAGomaniacs just fine as a Valentine present.  

Plus, on this Ash Wedneday, I hope the ZAGS have come up with the ultimate sacrifice by giving up all losses for the rest of Lent and their season.  

The sun is shining brightly through my window.  A great day lies ahead, so I'll shut up and wish everyone else a wonderful Wednesday.