Ah, the vagaries of Montana weather!

The beginning of this week had our mailman in short sleeves, the Paul family members complaining about being hot in the house, and the windows cracked to let in some much appreciated fresh air.

And yesterday, the Gold Wing made its first appearance of the month, with me aboard. Exhilarating!

Can Spring be far behind?

They’re really stylin’ (nice job, jO, on the design).

Only problem: I don’t have one yet

They’re for coaches only, at this point. That means that jP has one, and I’m jealous!

Grrr…

No, it’s not a typo…I’ve consciously used that spelling (and pronunciation) for a long time. My Mom tried to break me of it, but when she couldn’t, it became a family joke. Kinda corny, I guess.

At any rate, a lot of folks think the holiday is related to the St. Valentine’s Day massacre, but it was actually established back in the 5th century by a certain Pope Gelasius, in honor of an ancient Christian martyr named Valentine. Gelasius was one of three African-origin popes in the early Catholic Church. That’s cool.

In the 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer referred to the holiday in his famous Parlement of Foules:

For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.

I guess Chaucer thought that a lot of birds chose their mates on this day, but I’m not sure the Ides of February would be a great time for doing that. Just a thought…I’m not a bird.

But geez, I love Middle English!