Fire News

Two of the five big fires in Lehigh Acres yesterday were about three miles south of me. The fires combined burned about 2000 acres and 25 homes. They've arrested a couple of stupid 10-year-old boys for arson, and they're going to arrest a third kid. I hope they throw the book at them. I'd sure hate to be their parents, because they'll probably be sued into bankruptcy.

The winds have died down today. Yesterday was really, really windy. That and the dryness of the vegetation are the main reasons that the fires got so big. April is usually our driest month, and most places haven't gotten more than a trace of rainfall all month. May is the transition into the rainy season, and it really can't get here soon enough.

Intense Dark

The latest trendy item on the candy aisle at the store is gourmet dark chocolate. It is, after all, a health food, high in anti-oxidants and other things that are good for you. Like dark beer, dark chocolate is an acquired taste; I've picked them both up over the years.

The bars are large and segmented, meant to be broken into pieces and savored over more than one sitting. They brag about their high percentage of cacao; Ghirardelli's Twilight Delight crows about its 72% cacao content. Other Ghirardelli dark chocolate flavors include Espresso Escape, Citrus Sunset and Toffee Interlude. Hershey offers a more pedestrian bar with dried cranberries and macadamia nuts. I tried one of those, but barely noticed the cranberries, since they were overwhelmed by the dark chocolate. The toffee in the Ghirardelli Toffee Interlude bar is a bit more noticeable. And the chocolate? Robust. Very robust.

If you're not into dark chocolate, there's always Peeps. Yes, 'tis the season. There was an article about them in our local paper today, noting that they're almost a cult candy. They make Bunnies, too, but I think that's probably heretical to any true Peeps aficionado.