Lately

I'm so glad we're done with that week-long cold spell! I know 20 degree isn't really that cold, for many parts of the country, but around here, that's ridiculously cold, and we don't know how to handle it. Going for a run after work this week when it's a toasty 35 degrees has been great!

Imogene, though, isn't as thrilled. When it's in the 30 - 45 degree range outside, my apartment stays reasonably warm (by my standards) indoors, so I don't bother turning the heat on. Since it's no longer useful to lay underneath the heating vent, she's taken to cuddling up with the laptop cord.

I wasn't quite as lazy this past weekend as I was the previous one. I did a 5k race on Sunday morning. On Saturday I was even a little domestic, making a batch of beet dip since I'd gotten beets in my most recent produce box. I thought they were just normal red beets - they looked typical on the outside. But once I started peeling and cutting them, I found out they were candy cane beets! They don't really taste any different, but the usually-bright-fuchsia dip turned out a lovely shade of pink - lovely other than that all it reminds me of is an old-fashioned jello salad made with a red jello mixed with cottage cheese.

The most entertaining part of my weekend, though, was perhaps Sunday afternoon, when returning from grocery shopping, I saw a turkey walking around the apartment complex parking lot. Just hanging out. I saw him again this morning, running around (a running turkey is a quite amusing sight, FYI). Turns out Abe saw him a couple weeks ago, as well. One side of the complex does border a river bank/ravine sort of area, so I guess this guy must live in that natural area, and comes looking for food or something around the buildings? I don't know. I thought it was strange how many outdoor cats I saw wandering around, but this tops that.

Does anyone know how to tell whether a turkey is male or female? Any suggestions for a name to reference Mr./Ms. Turkey? My usual default is Bob, but somehow I don't think s/he looks like a Bob.