An Insolent Southern Man

First of all, I hope everyone had a good Christmas. I know I did. Second, we got a new griddle, but I didn't make French toast over the weekend when it snowed. (If that doesn't make any sense, then you need to go back and read here.)

The weather forecast is for snow flurries Sunday night through Monday morning. There's no chance listed for any accumulation, but one thing that's 100% for certain, the grocery store's milk section will look like this:


Having worked in a grocery store, I can tell you that people around here go absolutely nuts. Most folks act like they're not going to be able to get out for days. Milk, eggs, and bread become hot commodities. Am I missing something here? Are we supposed to make French toast when it snows? Is that some sort of southern thing I missed?

I've been at the store part time now for going on 3 years. It's snowed twice since. It's even snowed 10-12 inches, and we were still open. And you know people are going to be out riding around looking at the winter wonderland too. My point is, there's no need to panic. No need to rush out and buy up all the milk, eggs, and bread. (Unless that French toast thing is true...) Just sit back and enjoy it for the 12 hours it's on the ground because you know it's going to be gone tomorrow. =D

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I read a blog every day posted by the caretakers at the lodge on top of Mt LeConte in the Smokies. During the warmer months, the lodge is open to the public. They take reservations for people that wish to hike up and spend the night there. I think a shared bunkhouse that will sleep four will set you back about $100 or so, but good luck getting a spot. From what I understand, it's in such demand, that a lottery is how they decide who gets to stay.

I've never cooked anything that required so much prep. It also made my recently cleaned kitchen look like a garbage truck had an accident in it. Nonetheless, I wanted to try something different. So I figured since it was freezing outside, that soup would be an appropriate supper.

I'm a backpacker. I have been since about 1992 or so. I love being on some high mountain ridge in the fall, looking down into a blaze colored valley. Or maybe spending a summer night up in a hollow under a rhododendron thicket by a rushing stream. Even walking on snow covered trails in sub freezing weather in the dead of winter, when you might go an entire weekend without seeing another soul is a great time for me. It's quiet then. Very peaceful. There's been times you could stop moving and your ears would start ringing from trying to hear anything in the silence.

If you live in Georgia, then you probably know that we had a cold front move though earlier in the week. It's been really windy since it went through too. Before the front came, my yard was buried under a sea of leaves from the nine enormous oak, and four mature pecan trees that are located on our lot. You may or may not know that I've been nursing a broken leg since the end of September. I'm getting around better now, but I'm not ready to get out and rake leaves. Even if I were, I'd still not likely get out and actually rake them. Run over them with the lawnmower is more like it, but not rake the whole yard into piles in which to burn, bag up, compost, or whatever.

My neighbor across the road however, doesn't share my contentment to let nature take her course leave the yard covered. She has a couple of white pines in her yard, which they keep the needles neatly raked up around the trunks of the trees. She's an elderly lady that has a grandson, who is older than I am, living with her. I've been living here since 2001, and I've never known him to have a job either. Yet, she pays a man to come and mow their grass and keep the yard neat and clean every week or so. To make matters worse, they own a John Deere riding mower -and her grown, unemployed grandson still doesn't cut her grass! ( I've actually seen him do it once. That was earlier this year. And that was the first time ever in the almost ten years I've been here.)

Since they live to the east, and these post front, super strong prevailing winds have been out of the west, guess whose yard is now covered in leaves? Not mine!

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