Springy

I have, somehow, caught a cold. It's really weird. I don't usually get sick around this time of year, and I usually don't get sick this frequently. My throat got that scratchy/tickly feeling 'round Thursday and it went on from there. Come Saturday evening, I've got a full blown chest congestion. I woke up this morning and I sounded like Barry White . . . or maybe Tom Waits.

***

That said, I stupidly mowed the lawn this morning, even though I felt like crap. Whenever I see a lawn that's wild with dandelions, I feel the urge to cut them back. Our lawn was covered! COVERED!!

***

More springy things. We're getting these tiny yellow birds to visit our feeders after a long season of sparrows, sparrows, and more sparrows. It's good to see a bit more variety. I haven't looked up the names for the birds yet. We've also got lots and lots of woodpeckers visiting our suet. Golden Flickers, Hairy Woodpeckers, etc., all come down to visit. For awhile, we had a Golden Flicker pecking our house until I made a mobile out of blank CD's which I strung from a beam near the pecking site.

Also, our Japanese Maple has now taken to leaf as have our apple trees.

What's more, sun. We've had a succession of sunny days which has been glorious. Only problem is it's been hard to do work and, as I've complained earlier, we've still got 5-6 weeks of school left over here.

***

AWP Panel proposals are due Tuesday. Get 'em in. Remember, you can only be on two panels and three proposals. I had forgotten that fact and had to back out of one.

Oliver de la Paz