Beginning of Spring

[Bird]

So yesterday was the "official" first day of Spring. Of course, I've already mowed my yard 3 times this "spring". And I've applied fertilizer. And my wife already thinks I need to spray for insects.

About 10 more days and my younger brother and his wife will be hooking up the RV to go to Washington (state) for the summer.

However, the wind has died down, the low temperature now is 57, forecast to go to 76, so both of our daughters and their husbands, our grandson, one of my wife's brohers, and both of my brothers are coming to visit today, so I just lit the fire under all the pork ribs my smoker would hold.

 

[polo1665]

The first day of spring rolled into Ohio with the high temperature in the low 40's yesterday. I had to come to work at 2:30 AM today and the temperature was 22 deg. Supposed to warm up though, and atleast the sun was shining yesterday. The winters in Ohio can be pretty over cast and glum, just seeing the sunshine kind of warms you up.
I'll betcha there's going to be some lip smackin' and bone chewin' going on with those ribs. If I was closer I'd ask if you could adopt me into the family for a day

Mark

 

[LBrown59]

The 2 days before spring were about 70 degrees.
By the time spring got here the next day the temp had dropped to about 40 degrees.

 

[polo1665]

The 2 days before spring were about 70 degrees.
By the time spring got here the next day the temp had dropped to about 40 degrees.

Cruel world isn't it? Gets your hopes up and then dashes them.

Mark

 

[chh]

I am so ready for spring, tired of feeding cattle. I hate mowing the grass so we have been letting the mules and horse take care of the yard so far. 2 weeks ago we had temps in the mid 80's, last week I was working outside in the sleet. This week actually has been mostly "normal" spring weather with highs in the 60's.

Come on Haying Season!!

 

[LBrown59]

I'll betcha there's going to be some lip smackin' and bone chewin' going on with those ribs. If I was closer I'd ask if you could adopt me into the family for a day

Mark

Looks like it's going to be a busy time at the bird house.

 

[Thomas]

Second day of spring start at 12F and whopping 41F now...no grass in sight here,just little mud and whole lot of snow.

Enjoy the ribs and warmth Bird.

 

[Bird]

Whew, Thomas, that's too cool for me. I've had the doors and windows open since before daylight, and it's 77 now. And the ribs turned out very well; sure went good with the beans, Texas toast, cole slaw, garden salad, and a tray with pickled okra, dill pickles, bread & butter pickles, and olives. And after a couple of hours, a bit of the cake my wife made.

 

[whistlepig]

Whew, Thomas, that's too cool for me. I've had the doors and windows open since before daylight, and it's 77 now. And the ribs turned out very well; sure went good with the beans, Texas toast, cole slaw, garden salad, and a tray with pickled okra, dill pickles, bread & butter pickles, and olives. And after a couple of hours, a bit of the cake my wife made.

That's not fair! We're still about month away from that kind of weather.

 

[irvingj]

Bird, that was downright mean!

As Thomas said, we're ...well... still covered up here. I've still got a good 12" of general cover, blower build-up still 2-1/2' (but dropping!)

Drove down to Bridgport, CT yesterday to pick up a used mower deck-- most all snow was gone by Brattleboro, VT; looks like they'll be mowing grass in CT next week!

After last week's fiasco --blower removed, FEL on, then came home to a foot of snow...-- I don't dare take the blower off! Now I'm hearing "snow showers" today, possibly 2" in the mountains.... (Ever seen 8" of "flurries"?)

I use an outdoor firepit in warm weather, but it looks like it'll be a while yet! Oops! I got to wipe my mouth, seems I've started drooling!

 

[irvingj]

Here ya go, Bird-- it finally got light enough to take some pics....and it's snowing now.... (tractor's hiding in its little spot there under shed roof, with blower attached!)

 

[jinman]

And the ribs turned out very well; sure went good with the beans, Texas toast, cole slaw, garden salad, and a tray with pickled okra, dill pickles, bread & butter pickles, and olives. And after a couple of hours, a bit of the cake my wife made.

Bird, I took one look at the picture of your ribs in the smoker and had a double-DOH! moment. One of the nastiest jobs after smokin' is cleaning up the water/drip pan. There in your picture is the perfect solution: line the pan with foil. DOH! DOH!

 

[LBrown59]

That's not fair! We're still about month away from that kind of weather.

It's not all that bad South of Canton Ohio

 

[scott_vt]

so I just lit the fire under all the pork ribs my smoker would hold.

Good Mornin Bird,
Darn those ribs look good ! Have you tried the JD recipe that I gave you awhile back ? Sounds like your temps are just about perfect, at least IMHO !

Drove down to Bridgport, CT yesterday to pick up a used mower deck-- most all snow was gone by Brattleboro, VT; looks like they'll be mowing grass in CT next week!

Good Mornin Irving,
No grass mowin yet ! But it shouldnt be too many more weeks !

Did you come down RT 8 to get to Bridgeport? If you did you could have stopped in at our Ct home, door is always open when not in Vt !

 

[Bird]

Scotty, I thought about that JD recipe too late. I had already applied my own dry rub when I remembered it. And yesterday we had no wind until later in the day when we had just a light breeze. Today, it's still just as warm, but south wind that's so strong it would be difficult to maintain the proper temperature in the smoker. I rinsed the ribs, patted them dry, applied my dry rub, and patted it in Friday, then put them in the refigerator over night. Then yesterday, I kept the temperature in the smoker at 250-275 for a little over 5 hours. About once an hour, I open the smoker door just enough to allow me to quickly spray the ribs a bit with an aerosol bottle with red wine, 7-up, and water mixed in about equal amounts. The last hour or so, I basted the ribs a couple of times with KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce thinned a bit with water.

 

[Bird]

Bird, I took one look at the picture of your ribs in the smoker and had a double-DOH! moment. One of the nastiest jobs after smokin' is cleaning up the water/drip pan. There in your picture is the perfect solution: line the pan with foil. DOH! DOH!

Yeah, Jim, and I can't even take credit for that idea, since the manual with my smoker suggested that to make cleaning it easier and to make it last longer. So I just keep it lined and ready for the next use. When I finished cleaning it yesterday, I re-lined it with the heavy duty foil so it's ready for next time.

 

[3RRL]

Bird, those ribs look great!
It's always exciting when Spring arrives around my place. All the wildflowers and Oak trees are sprouting and it's green again. Probably like your family, we will have visitors too. Several of my kids and grandkids are planning to visit us Easter weekend. We will have an Easter egg hunt in the meadow for the little kids. They are all planning to camp at our old South Camp, but we have to get it cleaned up for them. It's been 1/2 year since we've spent any real time down there, so the wild flowers and plants took over again!

 

[Bird]

Wild flowers? I just noticed my first bluebonnets for this year less than an hour ago. I hope the forecast for rain tomorrow night is right. If we get the rain, we should have lots of wild flowers very soon.

 

[scott_vt]

Bird, I took one look at the picture of your ribs in the smoker and had a double-DOH! moment. One of the nastiest jobs after smokin' is cleaning up the water/drip pan. There in your picture is the perfect solution: line the pan with foil. DOH! DOH!

Good Afternoon Jim,
Boy will I concur on that job as about the nastiest ! Especially havin the smoker still runnin even though you have takin the meat off the grill, and then have the water pan boil dry ! Absolutely not fun, thanks for that great tip Bird !

Scotty, About once an hour, I open the smoker door just enough to allow me to quickly spray the ribs a bit with an aerosol bottle with red wine, 7-up, and water mixed in about equal amounts. The last hour or so, I basted the ribs a couple of times with KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce thinned a bit with water.

Good Afternoon Bird,
Kathleen and I both love the KC also ! Also thanks for the tip on the spray bottle ! Sounds like a great idea !

 

[gordyy]

wildflowers heck we are getting the first thunderstorm of the year and still have 2 ft of snow around