Opossum, anyone?

At a message board I frequently post on, we recently had a discussion about all the ways to cook nurtia, a beaver-like rat specimen that destroys wetlands and bogs. That led to my pigsfeet blog earlier this week.

Now, I'm here to report on the opossum, the nocturnal creature that I haven't even found a use for.

It seems this man, Clay Logan, hosts several thousand people every New Year's Eve for the annual Possum Drop.

It's North Carolina's equivalent of the New York City Times Square extravaganza and Logan actually lowers a caged opossum as the clock winds down to midnight. Notice I wrote lowered instead of dropped like the do in other cities. Dropping an opossum would be inhumane to some folks while lowering is an allowable form of entertainment.

So if you have nothing else to do next December 31, join me as we head down to Clay's Corner, which I understand to be a small hamlet (population has remained at 200 for the past 100 years) near Brasstown, in Clay County, NC.

After all, it's the Opossum Capital of the World.

Editor's Note: Special thanks to the author of a new blog I came across yesterday, Dogs, Puppies and Prose, who visited Brasstown this past December 31 and witnessed the event. Also thanks to Boodro, the poster on Bits and Pieces that has lowered us to this new level of enterprise.

What's For Supper?

Hey Grandpa, What's For Supper? was one of the joke lines for the Hee-Haw TV show back in the 70s. If you missed it then, you can watch reruns now on cable's RFDTV. In the joke, Grandpa Jones would rattle off a litany of foodstuffs that were considered southern delicacies to some and gawd-awful to others.

I don't know if it's a Mardi Gras thing or just the beginning of a change in eating habits but a recent perusal of our local newspaper's church dinner ads got me thinking about it. And, a recent dialog on the Pulitzer-Prized Bit's & Pieces Blog between Boodro, Nancy, Michael C., Mark A., John and myself last night must have made me hungry enough to find something to compliment Boo's Fried Nutria.

So I am inviting my family and friends at B & P to join me Saturday for a Chicken and Pigs Feet marathon. Be sure to RSVP so I know how many feet to order.

Heir II Wins A Group 2

It took Heir II about 15 minutes today to accomplish what he couldn't in four years: win an All-Bull Run District medal.

How he did it makes it all the more fun. He was entered as a last-minute substitute for Strasburg High School's Co-Ed Varsity Forensic Team when two classmates couldn't participate in the district competition held at Madison County High School.

Heir II has always had nothing but disdain for any academic achievement. Just because he will graduate in June as the top male student in his class and among the top six or seven overall. He excels in math, takes AP classes and has maintained straight A's throughout most of his high school career but try and get him to go out for the Academic Team or be a member of the One-Act Play or, the Forensic team and the Heir would run the other way.

That was our surprise when he called at 1:30 pm this afternoon seeking permission to "go to Madison for a forensic outing."

I thought he meant he was going to James Madison University with his girlfriend Caisee and her Advanced Biology classmates to view a cadaver. We were the surprised ones when he got home tonight and proudly displayed his silver medal.

"I got second place for Impromptu Speaking," Heir said. "How wild is that?"

"What did you have to do?" SisIggy asked.

"What I do best," he said. "Talk for 15 minutes about Michael Phelps and Trimming a Christmas Tree. You know, just bullsh** them."

Yes we know. He's been doing that to us for the past 17 years. And to think you can earn All-District honors for it.


Now he gets to go to the state's Region B Co-Ed Forensic Championship, March 15 at Buffalo Gap.

And that's no BULLSH**.

Flu anyone

We've had a rash of flu-like symptoms here in Dirtland for the past week. It's debatable who the instigator is in all of this but Heir I claims he got his from his girlfriend. Of course, he had taken a two-day trip to visit friends and play non-stop video games just prior to coming home and polluting the basement.

Heir I is still in school so I am banking that he picked up the bug there. He missed several days of school but managed to play a basketball game with a bunch of asses one night and had a candlelight picnic on Valentine's Day with his girlfriend...

Heir II is back in school now, just in time for the talent show.

And we can't forget SisIggy. She had it bad the past three days but is showing signs of recovery. At least we can hope and pray.

Making My Bride Happy

I could have given SisIggy the ride she always has wanted.

This balloon floated over our house yesterday and I was able to snap a couple of shots...

But I had a better and less expensive idea for her for Valentine's Day. Not that I'm cheap but we all need to be more frugal in these tough economic times. I went to the local grocery store, purchased fresh ingredients (most items were on sale) and prepared a romantic dinner for two.



(The Heirs both had dates also. Heir I prepared his date a Ramon Noodle casserole and Heir II had a candlelit picnic for his girlfriend).

What I finally came up with:


Spring Garden Mix sprinkled with Feta Cheese with Ranch Dressing on the side
Beef Sirloin grilled rare over an open flame
Baked Idaho Potato garnished with Butter and Sour Cream
Strawberry Parfait topped with Whipped Cream

It might not make the cover of Bon Appetite or even Kevin Weeks' blog but I thought the dinner was a nice touch for my bride tonight in honor of our 22nd year together. We've been married for 21 years but I proposed to SisIggy back on Valentine's Day, 1987.

Those that have known us all that time already know the story on how the proposal was made. For those who don't, here it is: I took an ad out in the local newspaper where she worked taking obituaries from local funeral homes.

I was one of those who called obits into the papers and one day in 1986, I had the honor of calling in five obits to her. By the fifth one, she swore I was making them up just so I could talk to her. We continued our phone calls for a few weeks and then I asked her out.

Our first date was Oct. 10 of that year and I proposed the following February.

The ad, by the way, generated an article in the same newspaper that was picked up by the AP and sent to newspapers and other media outlets around the world. We had our 15 minutes of fame and then some and then we settled into a cozy life where we have raised two fine boys into manhood and can appreciate a nice quiet dinner for two - at home - without spending too much money.

We did have our Hallmark moment - we watched a movie afterwards on the Hallmark Channel.

Paraskavedekatriaphobia, Anyone

I've never had a problem with paraskavedekatriaphobia. In fact, if truth be told, paraskavedekatriaphobia has always been a good day for me.

If you don't know the definition of paraskavedekatriaphobia, don't worry. I didn't either until I looked it up. First, I don't believe in bad luck. Never have. Never will.

I graduated high school on that day in 1975 and for the next 33 years I observed Friday the 13th with reverence. Not anymore.

Yesterday, we had a tornado hit less than a quarter-mile from our house. I was outside at the time assessing the damage from the winds that started during the night. The first thing I heard was the sound of a run-away freight train and then, off to the west saw a 40-foot long aluminum roof fly off a new equipment shed, fly 30 feet up in the air and then crumble onto the ground about 400 feet away (towards me).

Later in the day we heard more wind gusts (they continued, by the way, until early this morning). NOAA had our area under a high wind warning with possible gusts above 65 mph. The agency was right - pretty good considering it doesn't have a cabinet-level secretary running the Commerce Department yet.

And then, this morning we saw what the storm left us:




I fed and watered the birds. The fountain broke and tumbled over
early yesterday and Rich Little, our
Northern Mockingbird, stared at me
like he was giving me the finger.

Danny Kaye, our Red-Bellied Woodpecker was the only bird to stay at the feeder, hanging onto the suet feeder for dear life.



Then came the tiring task of collecting all of the shingles. A few were in the backyard. Several more in our landlord's yard, some in the road in front of the house and even more in neighbor's yards across the road. I even found one a half-mile away.

Once the landlord gets back from his bus run, hopefully we can assess the damage. With potential rain and snow forecast for Valentine's Day I hope we can at least get a tarp on the roof and maybe even repair it today.

A Lot to Catch Up On

Our Internet has been on the blink for much of the year but really bad for the past three weeks. I finally had enough on Tuesday and called our ISP and found out that our modem doesn't work well with the company's new equipment.

They told me they would give me a new one if I would pick it up. An hour later I had it and PRESTO, we were back to the 21st century.

I will be catching up on everything I wanted to say in the next few days so come back and check it out.