Happy Groundhog Day!

Puxatany Phil is full of it.
P.R. hype.
Every year they say the same dang thing...HE SAW HIS SHADOW!
Well, duh!!
When you got about a gazillion bright lights focused on you for the cameras in predawn murkiness-OF COURSE YOU WILL CAST A SHADOW!

I pay attention to the Ozark whistle pigs.
They have their act together. Now these guys are never wrong.
According to my crack team of experts in the backyard, out behind the barn, our winter is for the most part-over.
But then again it never really had begun. This has got to be one of the oddest winters in my 20 years here.

However, my equally reliable persimmon pit prognosticator indicates heavy snow and ice...but they don't say when. It could be anytime between now and April.
So we could have one last hurrah before it's all said and done.
I can clearly recall a St. Patrick's Day when we got close to 2 feet of snow!
And snow in April is not unheard of in these parts.

In a totally unrelated vein, I finally managed to catch something on fire in my microwave last night. I had always heard of that sorta thing happening, but had never experienced it first hand. And as those kinda things always are...it was a stupid mistake.
Whenever we leave the house for any length of time we keep the doggies inside. They chase cars and are generally a nuisance, so we keep them in to spare any mayhem.
One of them suffers from a dab of anxiety and takes it out by tearing up anything he can get a hold of. So, we put the kitchen trash up out of reach and any items on top of the microwave get stashed inside the micro. This includes boxes of popcorn, a can of grits and in this case, a half full bag of rice.

Once we got home last night I wanted a late din-din, so I reheated some homemade chicken & noodles. Had to take all the stuff out of the microwave first-popcorn, grits...ok we're good. Pop in the bowl and hit the button. Went off to do other stuff.
Microwave beeps.
Got the bowl out, it's not really hot, but warm enough.
But after a minute or 2 I kept smelling something burning...a nasty plasticky smell.
Where the heck is that coming from??

I'm wandering around the house, bowl in hand, sniffing deeply, trying to locate the source. WTH??!
It's in the kitchen...but where?
Go to the microwave...open the door...OH CRAP!!!!
Way in the back was that little wadded up bag of rice, flaming brightly!
I blew it out, took out the glass turntable thingy and dumped the contents into the sink. Yuck.
I have to admit I was laughing during all this.
But my worrywort Mom side was internally scolding me. Yes, yes-I know, it could have been far worse. Yes, I know I should have been paying more attention-shut up,please.
Man, burnt rice stinks!
And my eldest kid remarked that burnt rice grains look amazingly like mouse poop.
(Hmmmm, maybe we should salvage some of it...April Fool's Day is coming up!)