Mid-January Day

It’s a mid-January day in central Virginia. I wish some climate-change deniers would come to my house and mow my grass. When I moved into this house nine years ago, grass mowing season began in early May. After a few years it had moved to April. Last year I began mowing the lawn in late March. Now it’s just January and while I have no intention of mowing my lawn in mid-winter, I can’t deny that it needs mowing. The grass hasn’t grown too much but the weeds are out of control.

Rose bushes bloom beside my house. The bushes are confused. They think it’s spring. I can’t blame them. The outside temperature was 61° F today and the sunshine made it feel warmer. But winter isn’t gone. It’s just hibernating for a spell. It will return. After all, it was only two days ago that we got snow.

The weather was too nice, the day was too pretty, to stay inside. I decided to walk around the ‘hood. On my walk I encountered Harley, a toy poodle. He was towing Mike, his human companion, at the end of a long leash. Mike and Harley walk past my house every day and usually twice a day.

I encountered a young man shooting basketball shots from the center of the street to a net set up at the curb. I walked past but then turned and asked, “Mind if I take a shot?” “Sure,” he said and bounced the ball into my hands. I took two shots and missed both. I hadn’t touched a basketball in five decades, plus it was a windy day. I decided the wind was the problem.

Later on my walk I encountered a black dog named Pepper. Pepper was accompanied by a youngish human female, name unknown. She (Pepper) was skittish but allowed me to pet her a little bit. I assumed she was named Pepper because she has black fur, and pepper, the spice, is also black. At least, black pepper is black. White pepper, on the other hand, is white. Black peppercorns and white peppercorns come from the same plant. Black peppercorns are picked green and dried in the sun until they turn black. White peppercorns ripen on the vine before they’re picked. White Pepper is also the name of an album by an experimental rock band named Ween. That’s a completely free nugget of information. You’re welcome.

I passed by two churches on my walk around the ‘hood. One is Baptist and the other is Presbyterian. The latter church had a sign which assured me that the next step was mine. It didn’t indicate what that next step might be. If I had extended my neighborhood walk by one more block, I would have passed by a third church. The church I didn’t pass was a Methodist church. I live within a veritable potpourri of Protestantism. Sola scriptura, sola fide.

I was almost back home when I encountered Paulette and Sippy Jane. I have earlier blogged about Paulette and her Shih Tzu, so no need to go there again.

All in all, a pretty nice day. A little cool, windy, lots of sunshine, people out walking their dogs. Back home, I watched the NFC title game. San Francisco beat the Falcons 28 to 24. That means San Francisco is going to the Superbowl. Last weekend, as I’m sure you’ll recall, the Falcons blew a 20 point lead to fall behind, only to make a comeback in the last half minute of the game to win. Today the Falcons blew a 17 point lead but this time there was no miracle comeback.

What am I doing now? I’m watching the AFC title game, of course: Ravens vs. Patriots. (It’s halftime.) The winner will play the 49ers in the Superbowl. I’ll let you know how it ends – just in case nobody on any of the TV news channels mentions it.

[Update] The AFC title game is over. Who won? Hint: Ray Lewis’ retirement just got postponed by two weeks.