vastateofmind

Currently 53 with a few low clouds rolling through. Forecast definitely backed off from the Thu-Mon idea of showers/drizzle to mainly late tonight through Sunday evening. Despite occasionally waving my "I LOVE ONSHORE FLOW" freak flag, to @mappy's point...we could use some precip to knock back the tree pollen explosion. Like her, my seasonal allergies are spiking big-time this week.

LOL, I had to do a quadruple-take to fully understand your meaning. And yes -- at this point, Kona was really put out with me because A) I kept her inside while I mowed an hour before this, and B) then forgot to let her out while I snapped these pics. #BadDogDad BTW, we finally did get several rounds of heavy sprinkles over the past hour....so those clouds weren't necessarily lying. Not heavy enough to show up on radar, though.

Mrs. V called me on her way home from work short while ago telling me how ominous the skies look. Sure enough, the sky to the west does have that telltale "Yep, storms incoming" look that we typically get in these parts, usually starting in a few weeks....but there's ZERO activity on radar, in the entire metro region. Very weird...

Hit 85 IMBY short while ago...and just as I was going out to mow the yards! Yeah, that seems a toasty temp for this time of year, but honestly, it was NOT bad even in the sun. At least, I didn't get AS gross/sweaty as I normally do while mowing on afternoons from late May through early September.

Any chance we can get the "vomit" emoji enabled on the fly-out reaction button at the lower right of each post, just until we get clear of cicada season? Asking for a friend.

OMG...I'll bet the Boulevard Imperial Cask will be absolutely amazing...do share your impression when the time arrives! Unfortunately, I could only enjoy one Boulevard while at the Brass Tap last week....they are all about the lofty ABV counts, but man, they do it so well.

Looks awesome, as usual....a neighbor has a beautiful bed of phlox going, I LOVE that stuff.

Currently 41, and looks like we have a great spring day on tap.

Same! I continually bypass it on the cable box guide, but on the rare occasions that I stop and watch (including the video posted here), i nonetheless find myself on the final turn inevitabbly yelling, "Go, go, go, GO!!!" at some horse I know nothing about. What an incredible pic!!! Go, go, go, GO...Miss J the Younger!

A glorious day, all the way around!

And to you and your family as well! Hope all of the doggos don't keep you on too tight a schedule...

A final helles lager for the road tonight...one we brought home last week from Rocket Frog in Sterling, VA. Excellent...and apparently named after one of Rocket Frog's owner's daughters.

Thought of a number of you IPA/stout-loving denizens here when Mrs. V brought this home from Wegmans a short while ago -- Founders' (from Michigan) KBS Maple Mackinac Fudge imperial stout. VERY flavorful, borderline a dessert beer, and at 11.x ABV, perhaps the last one you should have for the night...but then again, maybe not.

Oh, I have a feeling that tipping a few shots of bourbon...or a few IPAs...or whatever...would be a good deal of fun with you and numerous others here, @CAPE...

Too funny...

Come over here and sit by me for a spell, @George BM, and I'll pour as a shot (perhaps two) of bourbon....and you can discover the wonderful, warming qualities that it has.

Yeah, I feel you, man. I posted a pic of Smartmouth's "Saturday Morning" much-hyped Lucky Charms/marshmallow IPA a few weeks back, finally tracking it down a YEAR after its debut. To your point -- the exact marshmallow taste just wasn't there, but it honestly was just a good, general IPA. At the end of the day, this Dunka looks like a tasty stout....glad you got to try it!

THAT sounds like an outstanding collab stout....I love when the breweries start sharing the talent with each other, great things often happen. Pour pics later!!

Am working my way through Star Trek: Enterprise after being away from it for nearly 20 years now. I vaguely remember Jolene Blalock, who is T'Pol on ST:E, made pretty regular appearances in Maxim back in the day. She IS an underrated actress -- I'd say she and Nimoy have done the best out of dozens of actors/actresses who've played Vulcans in all incarnations of ST over the years. She's that good.

Yeah, unfortunately, I do remember that period last year....lost most of the flowering trees in one night.

You Baltimore crew have access to some of the most interesting beers....dang!

Generally speaking, I never met a Dogfish Head brew that I didn't get along with. Driving back from the Sterling brewery mini-crawl last weekend, we passed the Dogfish Head AleHouse & restaurant in Chantilly on the way home. We briefly considered stopping for dinner, but then we'd have felt the pressure to get some fresh draughts there, and at that point, we did NOT need anymore. I love when they pour their fresh draft mix of "black and tan" at the restaurant. #YUM

Nice find, and sounds really good! Mrs. V and I hit up the Brass Tap in National Harbor yesterday afternoon -- a pub chain, but they typically have a great selection of local beers in whichever branch you visit. Food is darn good, too, as pub grubs go. I started with the Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad (OUTSTANDING) and finished off with a Heavy Seas IPA (also good). My wife had the DC Brau On The Wings of Armageddon and a Brew Dog Hazy Jane, also both excellent. She suggested that we take an Uber to NH's Brass Tap next time to "properly sample" several additional beers....I think she's onto something. Here's NH's Brass Tap draught menu for those interested -- Brass Tap National Harbor Beer Menu | DRAUGHT (brasstapbeerbar.com)

DAMN. Must be killer wind chills up there! We're getting some good gusts here, probably up to 30-35 mph, and only up to 41.

Agree 100% -- and it does help ease the blah. I noticed the same thing this morning looking out across the neighborhood. It's amazing how that slight green tinge starts slowly spreading across the tree canopies, growing a bit more visible each day, and then realization whacks you across the head -- "Hey, the leaves are almost here!"