"In the central portion of the great North American Continent there lies an arid and repulsive desert, which for many a long year served as a barrier against the advance of civilization. From the Sierra Nevada to Nebraska, and from the Yellowstone River in the north to the Colorado upon the south, is a region of desolation and silence." - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Most "Most Livable Cities" Speak German

From Yahoo:
VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria's capital Vienna once again defended its position as the city offering the best quality of life in the world...
Europe has eight of the world's top 10 most pleasant cities: Germany and Switzerland each have three cities in the top 10, while New Zealand, Canada and Australia each have one.
That's seven out of ten in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.

Now, for the obligatory Vienna travel photos:




Tuesday, March 20, 2018

The First Day of Spring

The first day of Spring, March 20, 2018:


A few from two weeks earlier illustrate our love of snow drifts:



Tuesday, February 13, 2018

January, Compare and Contrast

A garden in California, January 17th:


A garden in South Dakota, January 21st:


Out for a walk in California, January 17th:


Out for a walk in South Dakota, January 17th:

Linzer Cookies!

From January 2, 2018, the 9th Day of Christmas!


Thursday, November 23, 2017

Wait for the Pie

A short excerpt from Laura Ingalls Wilder's Farmer Boy includes a delicious reminder about Thanksgiving priorities:

Almanzo simply ate. He ate ham and chicken and turkey, and dressing and cranberry jelly; he ate potatoes and gravy, succotash, baked beans and boiled beans and onions, and white bread and rye ’n’ injun bread, and sweet pickles and jam and preserves. Then he drew a long breath, and he ate pie.
When he began to eat pie, he wished he had eaten nothing else. He ate a piece of pumpkin pie and a piece of custard pie, and he ate almost a piece of vinegar pie. He tried a piece of mince pie, but could not finish it. He just couldn’t do it. There were berry pies and cream pies and vinegar pies and raisin pies, but he could not eat any more.

Source: "Every Meal Almanzo Eats in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Farmer Boy"