I love spring.
One of the things that I enjoy is the return of the birds that overwinter in the South.
Today, after an early spring snow storm, I decided to take in the sun by sitting on my deck with my book in my lap and a soda at my side.
One of those birds greeted me by pooping on the page that I was reading.
Good shot, actually.
Spring is great for some. Terrible for others. For example, back in New Mexico all they get in spring is 40-50 mph wind gusts for weeks, dust and sand, and tumble weeds.
But down here in the great state of Florida it is pretty nice.
Spring means different things to folks. In my life at this moment we're burning off brush piles built on garden beds and keeping an eye out for the morels.
We feed the birds through the winter and they reward us by hanging around and nesting here and eating a whole lot of bugs that would otherwise be eating on us and in the garden.
We sold them for $75.00 a lb at the local Mushroom Festival last year (they don't always bring that much, the shrooms just happened to be scarce at festival time last year). My whole clan hunts them.
They're truly gourmet dining. Right up there with the King Bolete or Golden Chanterelle and other much sought after mushrooms. They are my favorite to fry fresh, however the dried ones are excellent also.
We sold five pounds and kept that much at least. It just so happened that the very week of the festival I had to buy a new Stihl chain saw so those that we sold paid for that.
My middle daughter and I are anxious to try a new thing this year, seasoning with morel mushroom powder. Several other strong flavored mushrooms, like truffles and King Bolete (porcini), are dryed and powdered for seasoning. Should greatly stretch their use around here.
In all honesty I did feel a little guilty just for a very little while...and then I got over it... :)
I received a check from the hospital recently. Apparently I was overbilled for a procedure last summer. I'm going to deposit the check in my checking account then turn around and write a check out to my church with "Missions" noted on the check memo line.