Post

It may not look like much of anything -- a couple whitewashed boards lying on pavement but to us, history fell apart today when a passing motorist careened into The White Post.

The landmark is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the original post was placed here by George Washington in 1750. The post provided early visitors directions to four distinct points of reference: Berry's Ferry, Battletown, New Town and Greenway Court, the home of Thomas, Sixth Lord of Fairfax, the original owner of what is now all of the Northern Shenandoah Valley, northern West Virginia and parts of Ohio.

Washington, by the way, surveyed this area for Fairfax in the mid-18th century before going on to other things.

The locust post underneath the structure was not damaged and a new facade will be in place by the weekend.

What A Weekend!

Temps hit in the high 70s both Saturday and Sunday which meant I had to dig out my shorts from winter storage.

I know, the weather won't last but I just had to do it, if for no other reason than to pick on John (not no name) from Wisconsin, who was enjoying another snowy weekend.

We decided another BBQ was in order and we took out frozen Cornish Game Hens we got on a super deal last month. After thawing, I fired up the rotisserie on the grill, skewered the hens and sat back and watched the birds slowly turn on the spit.

Ninety minutes later the hens were done and we were ready to eat.

Taking a cue from Kevin Weeks, we knew plating was as important as the quality of the food. Fortunately, Heir II's stash from his restaurant gig Sunday included a green bean and carrot medley that meshed nicely with the Jadite plates and coloring of the birds.

Sis made homemade dinner rolls that added to the color and the meal was a success.

The Recipe:

1 1/2 cups White Vinegar
1/2 cup EVOO
1/8 cup Tabasco Sauce
1/4 cup Sea Salt
1/16 cup Freshly-Ground Black Pepper
1/4 cup Basil, fresh chopped
1/8 cup Garlic Salt fresh garlic would be better, diced)
1/8 cup Sage
1/8 cup Thyme

Stir all ingredients until salt has dispersed throughout the solution. Stir while basting. Basting should be done after meat reaches 130 degrees internal temperature, about 10 minutes before removing from rotisserie.

Rest meat 10 minutes before serving.

Bon Appetite!

No Name Cafe Was A Hit

SisIg and I really enjoyed the buffet at the No Name Saturday night. As always, the ambiance was superb and the BBQ Pork exquisite.

Thanks for inviting us!

No Name Cafe Here We Come

We're heading to the No Name Cafe later today for dinner but will be back in time to watch all the electronic clocks in the house lose an hour. Catch everyone tomorrow.

Another Sign of Spring

Blink an eye (yea, I know when you only have one, it's even more of a joke) and you miss signs of spring.

Yesterday I witnessed crocuses popping through the soil here at Dirtmanland. Today, I saw they were an inch taller despite Hokie and Abby stepping all over them.

SisIggy saw we now had tulips sprouting in the front flower bed and I saw one of our forsythia starting to green.




I can't wait until I have to get the battery back in the riding mower and mow the back 40.

BBQ on a Spring Day

Yesterday was such a lovely day it was meant to be outdoors. I picked up the back yard of all that had been blown in by the recent windstorms and even got most of the dog droppings (when you have six dogs in a confined area and haven't done the task for a month this can be time-consuming). We want to get it all before we heat up and produce a gas factory.

By lunchtime I commented it would be nice to grill dinner and SisIggy thought that an excellent idea. We settled on BBQ Chicken and I went to the freezer to get four leg quarters so they could thaw.

Then I prepared my sauce:

2 cups catsup
1 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup Rasperry Walnut vinaigrette
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1/8 cup lime juice
1/8 cup Tabasco Sauce
3 T brown sugar
1 t sea salt
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t tyme
2 garlic cloves
1/2 t garlic salt
1 medium onion, diced

I mixed all the ingredients, brought it to a boil and then simmered it for an hour.

Then I began grilling the chicken while SisIggy prepared corn and a salad and set the table.
Heir II had a girls soccer game he wanted to go see so we (yes all four of us) sat down to dinner at 5:15 pm.

By 6 pm, the dishes were done and we were able to enjoy a nice, quiet evening.

The Crocuses are Coming; The Crocuses are Coming

A sure-fire sign of Spring:

I found this patch of crocuses popping through the ground at the corner of the house today. If I can keep the Aussies off them, I think they will be in full bloom by Saturday. It got into the 70s today and may reach that again tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday.

Eat your hearts out my friends to the north.