Blogger gone to Iowa

Ice on the Mississippi River near Hamburg, Illinois, Dec. 23

Dear readers:

Your blogger is away from the usual desk, for about two weeks, and output will be diminished for a while. I’m in Waterloo, Iowa, working as a volunteer on the John Edwards campaign. This website does not endorse candidates before the primary, so I’ll strive for neutrality in any comments here.

For starters, how about this photo I took the other day in Illinois of the icy Mississippi River. Two days before that I was in shorts and T-shirt in Miami Beach. I am kept fairly warm here by the energy of political action, but I still look forward to getting back to warm weather.

A few seconds after I took this photo, a great blue heron came flying down and landed on the clear ice near the shore. It looked bewildered standing there on top of the "water" with a barrier between it and the minnows.

Jan. 3 caucus date for Iowa Democrats

This is the earliest ever. Decided Sunday evening in a conference call, Iowa Democrats will caucus on the first Thursday in January, the day of the Orange Bowl game, Jan. 3. Mark your calendars -- in pencil.

I grew up reading the Des Moines Register; here's the link for you to sample it.