No, you weren’t mistaken. That was spring weather you saw this week, and it looks like it will finally stick around.
On the weekend, chances are you spotted your neighbours emerging from an extended indoor hibernation to check out warmer weather and sunny skies.
That’s what I did, at least.
The ladies were off at dance competition in London, leaving the guys – the cat and me – home to fend for ourselves.
Finn, the cat, isn’t interested in yard work. In fact, if it is light outside, he’s not all that interested in the out of doors.
But when that sun sets, he wants out on the prowl. I’m sure there’s a neighbourhood gang of cats that hang out on porches or under vehicles near us.
It seems they all get along for the most part, as Finn has yet to return with any battle scars. Then again, he’s all fur, so that might serve as a bit of a suit of armour.
Plus, he’s neutered, so his hormones aren’t exactly driving him to do battle to win over a female feline.
Regardless, he’s useless in the yard. He came to the back door, stuck his head out, but backed up when I tried to urge him outside on Sunday afternoon. He vanished all together when I pulled out the leaf blower. I guess that sounds too much like a vacuum cleaner for him (and he HATES those things).
So I puttered about for a bit on Sunday, and relaxed for a bit longer. Some leaves wound up in a leaf bag destined for the leaf and yard depot, while others were shifted into a new pile to allow for improved drying before removal.
I fired up our secondary pond pump to finally get water circulating. Normally, I have that pond running by late March, but this spring’s weather has been anything but normal.
We’ll pull the netting in the near future and fire it up properly.
I wasn’t alone in my backyard efforts in our neighbourhood, that’s for sure. I even heard a lawn tractor a few doors down. Surely no one was mowing yet (although I have mowed the lawn in early April in previous years). I think everyone was out and about just taking in the sunshine.
Warm weather also means barbecue season! I know I’ve in the past been an all-weather BBQ fanatic, but the desire to head out in a blizzard has pretty much exited my system. It’s one thing to barbecue some delicious meat on an unseasonably warm winter day, but it’s another entirely to don a balaclava and brave -17C weather, with a cold wind (I’ve done that) to cook some meat.
I still prefer barbecued meat to pretty much every other option, but I prefer feeling in my extremities more.
But now, there are no excuses. When the kid doesn’t have dance practice, I want to barbecue.
We have chicken, steak, salmon, pork chops, burgers, sausages and even a huge pork shoulder calling out from the freezer. I plan on answering.
The latest effort came on the weekend with pork loin chops. A little Dizzy Dust seasoning, and a brush of Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce at the end made for a tasty meal with potatoes.
That Sweet Baby Ray’s is magic. It’s the best standard barbecue sauce in our books. I love the line of Pappy’s brand Kentucky Bourbon Q sauces, such as Fighting Cock and Moonshine Madness, but they are thinner sauces, best utilized after the cooking is complete. They’re awesome for wings, by the way, or just pouring over a chicken breast (just ask our daughter, Brenna).
Half the fun is trying a variety of barbecue sauces until you find your favourites. I’ve tried a lot of them, some hot, some merely sweet. But Ray’s is the best overall for brushing on meat in my books.
And I love Fighting Cock (named after a bourbon) for overall flavour. Moonshine Madness adds more heat, but retains excellent flavour as well.
All are available locally.
