If you want spring, bub, send a tweet to the Groundhog

Seems Huckleberries got the wrong impression that winter was coming to an end after reading tweets and Facebook posts by chief meteorologist Kris Crocker/KXLY. In one tweet, Kris said she was taking down her Christmas tree. Finally. In another, she said she was practicing her golf swing in anticipation of her best year ever on the links. Huckleberries added two and two – and assumed that Kris was calling winter off. Well, you know what they say about assuming things. Huckleberries tweeted Kris to ask if this was so. She responded: No way, Jose. We’re only halfway through winter. Stunned, Huckleberries decided to seek a second opinion. We should know this morning how much more winter is ahead. Punxsutawney Phil and his shadow may be our last best hope of putting a stake through Old Man Winter 2016-17.

Wanted: Bumpersnicker

Erin Daniels Bangle, a Spokane teacher whom Huckleberries met years ago when she attended North Idaho College, wants her Idaho bumpersnicker back. The orginal, “nifty” sticker left with the sale of her Chevy Tahoe – a black-and-white one shaped like Idaho made out of the names of several Gem State towns. There was a heart or star designating the city of Sandpoint. Why does Erin want this particular sticker? “It told fellow drivers that we are from Idaho,” Erin comments. “And we know things. Like we can drive in the snow. And took drivers’ ed at age 14. And find ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ funnier than others.” Erin bought the sticker at Fall Fest at Schweitzer Mountain back when. Now, she wants to know where to buy another. Anyone?

Huckleberries

Poet’s Corner: “In their normal location,/a wonderful spot,/where they should be awaiting,/is where they are not” – The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Hey, Where Are The Keys?”) … BTW, Washington poet laureate Tod Marshall tells Huckleberries that he has a title for the compilation of 200 Bard poems: “The Bard of Sherman Avenue: Poems by Tom Wobker.” The book will be available for sale for $10 at Huckleberries Blogfest 2017 (1-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, at Coeur d’Alene’s Fort Grounds Grill) … Sitting in the snow between snow-covered Tubbs Hill and snow-covered McEuen Park, a sign proclaimed authoritatively Wednesday: “Fire Danger ‘Moderate’ Today!” Yeah, the exclamation point was there after “Today!” to emphasize the non-existing danger. And all Huckleberries can say is – Really! … “Just so you know,” says Huckleberry Friend Beth Myers – “A Baby Ruth and a Cabernet goes well together.” Beth knows whereof she speaks. She tended bar and served tables at The Cellar, the posh downtown eatery and bar that closed its doors in January for lack of a liquor license.

Parting Shot

Huckleberries appreciates that sign painted on the wall of the popular Crafted Tap House & Kitchen in downtown Coeur d’Alene – a quote from Henry Ford: “Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” And the industrial gastro-pub does it right, especially the Spunky Crawfish Chowder appetizer. Mmm mmm good.