Well, you may remember that when FOJTE left earlier this
month, we had a nice photo of a hand wave as they departed the digs for home. Well “TY” and entourage departed today, but
in order to develop a similar shot I would have had to have artificial
lighting. A 0350 call time resulted in a
0445 launch, and it was quite dark. And,
they were going to “drive it” as part of their party included our “granddog”
Stanley, a Wire Haired Pointing Griffon (no less). I’ve remarked about him
before, and he enjoyed his stay in our digs.
He particularly liked being in the pool.
We of course are not accustomed to having a four legged
guest, but it worked out well. Small art
objects were secured, and others as necessary.
“Hey! Where’s my hat?" only to
see a gray beast trotting away with it in his mouth. Then of course there ensued a game which he
greatly enjoyed as to retrieving said chapeau.
Their mission in life is to point out game or water birds and then
retrieve same. Stanley is working on that role,
but the last phase is tough, that of actually giving up what you just
retrieved. . FOJTY and wife have “shown”
the dog in various shows around (not the Westminster…yet) and Stanley has
garnered enough points to earn the rank of “Champion”. We don’t much understand it, but it is fun
seeing pictures of our lanky six foot three son in a suit (!) parading Stanley around.
That particular breed of dog is relatively unknown, but some
friends here have Lillie, who in fact came from the same breeder
in Texas. So they invited Stanley out to
visit Lillie, and oh by the way, the parents could tag along if they wished. So we drove over to their property in Calvert
County on a spacious farm so the dogs could meet.
As I grew up, I never had a dog or any pet past a parakeet and goldfish,
and generally was somewhat “cautious” around dogs, especially larger active
ones. FOJTY had no worries and of course
it all worked out wonderfully. They met
up and immediately (personification here) became friends (Stanley is at the top of the image)
But what was really neat was how they played with each
other.. Great fun (PS a Feeder First trying to upload a video. Hope it worked - it's worth it) Griffs at play!!
Anyway we were sorry to see them all head off into the breaking
dawn this morning. Kind of quiet around
here, but I do know where my hat is!
Other stuff
Well, the world of wine never changes. For my Father’s day, MFO gave me a lovely
gift of two bottles of the big boy Cab from Silver Oak. One bottle each of the 2005 and 2010 vintage. We (lovingly) consumed the first during FOJTE’s visit,
and the other is resting comfortably in my newly organized wine cellar (thank
you FOJTE and wife!). Since wineries can now
ship to Maryland, we get “opportunity” notices regularly from the Silver Oak
folks, notifying us of “deals”. For instance,
the other day we got notice of the release day party for the 2011 Alexander Valley Cab, on 1 August. Of course price is not mentioned, if you have
to ask…. Etc. Anyway, a little pamphlet
came with the invite that contained “Tasting Notes” for the 2011 vintage. Now don’t get me wrong, Silver Oak generally
produces an EXCELLENT wine, but no, they have get in some wine speak. I won’t bore you with the whole paragraph (!)
of at least 100 words but some excerpts (underlines mine for a tinge of originality):
“..has a bright ruby
red color with purple undertones….The nose exudes aromas of black cherry,
cedar, and black olives…On the palate, it’s dried herbs, cocoa and lavender flavors
are framed by dusty tannins and a savory texture.. finishes with lively acidity and a lingering
persistence”
Gimme a break!! that description could apply to most any Cab
you run across. And by the way, is there
such a thing as “fleeting persistence”? and on top of that the Robert Parker vintage chart gives the
2011 California North Coast Cabernet vintage an overall rating of 78!! For him, that’s pretty dismissive. Pre release prices not included, but generally
they sell for $80 - $100 per bottle. A
quick look at my older Wine Advocates couldn’t come up with a specific review
and rating, but I image it is there someplace.
Sorry, can’t make the party..
Are you kidding me?
A Facebook friend of mine is somehow addicted to “sharing”
articles he runs across. We’re talking
(I am not making this up) hundreds of
articles per day. I generally scan the
timeline for anything that catches my eye.
One such entry did the other day, something about a “secret menu” at
McDonalds. What a hoax I thought. Well maybe not. If you’re interested just goodle “McDonalds
Secret Menu” and your screen will fill up.
and not just from odd sites either.
Besides “Hack the menu dot com” there was an article from the New York
post who generally don’t go in for hoax stuff.
If you’re curious you can look at their piece here. Most of the stuff I wouldn’t want to attempt
to actually eat, but it is a fascinating thought. Also referenced are “secret menus” at places
like Panera. Not time to delve further
this time..
guess you could secretly
DFD
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