The Riley Factor #42

The Riley Factor -- February 19
(All the news that's fit to print, along with some unfit to print rumors, prognostications and bloviations.)

Fort Plain, NY, February 19 -- The Opening Question: Is snow falling if the wind is blowing so hard that the snow is carrying horizontally and never actually reaches the ground?  'Wind' is the weather word in Middle-of-Nowhere, NY, on this bright blustery Friday, luckily with temperatures near 30.  In a related story, Montgomery County Sheriff Department officers reported seeing a dog-kite flying near Rock Creek Farm on the Fort Plain-Canajoharie town line, a golden colored aircraft with a blue collar-like stripe and none of the required markings for ultra-light flying machines.  The vehicle made squealing-like noises and bore a tail that said 'Riley Was Here'.  Back on earth, Riley and Susan set-out on an early Friday morning stroll to the greenhouse to inspect plantings, add to the indoor crops and pick-up a few pieces of firewood for the kitchen stove.  On Thursday afternoon, Riley was sequestered in the kitchen as Susan and Lena met in the library and used captured lightning to accent and amplify various sewing projects aimed at benefiting the local community.  Carpentry work in the pantry and on the cellar stairs landing continued on into the night, with men's and women's curling at the Vancouver Olympics playing-on via television in the background, with both U.S. men's and women's curling teams proving again that they couldn't toss a curling stone into the ocean if they were standing on the deck of the ship, as their records slipped cumulatively to winless in seven games.