Relax; take it easy...

Calendar dates don't really count - as far as I'm concerned, it's SPRING.

Exhibit A:

Crocus and daffodils from our front garden, taken this afternoon.

The birds have been singing in the mornings for the last week and a half, AND, on Monday night, I heard SPRING PEEPERS. *gasp!* So cute! The last couple of evenings I've walked at the park, and the frogs are just extraordinarily loud and wonderful. :D

All right, I'm keeping this post around to review for a while since the temperature is set to drop for the forseeable future.

IT'S SPRING, GOSH DARNIT, AND IT'S WONDERFUL! :D

( A Day for Science at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute )

This used to be the dining room. One day, it will be the dining room once more.

( Ah, the sweet, sweet sound of sanders in the morning )

And a nice picture of the still-decent outside:

Unless you're really there, the pictures of the giant sequoias just don't get across the shear enormity of these trees. Oh, well. I'll attempt it, anyway. In this picture, I'm the little blue speck at the lower-right part of the picture near the base of the tree. For comparison, I'm 5'4" tall. Kind of boggling, isn't it?

Holy mackerel. Where did May go?

Honestly, I spent the last month getting caught up on all seven seasons of Deep Space Nine. I watched the last ten episodes in one day. Incredible, and oh-so-worth-it. It's also evidence that I need a steady, permanent job. Who else has the time to do things like that?

Seriously, though, I'm glad that I waited until now to see the show. When it first came out, I was 12 years old, and I really didn't understand or appreciate it. What struck me while I was watching it was just how pertinent the issues it tackled are to today's world. I guess that makes it visionary. :)

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Our area is under a flood watch again. It's strange that such things can become commonplace. Or maybe that's because my home is never in danger of actually flooding because we're maybe three miles from the river (and have no basement to worry about). Here are some pictures of the spring flood two years ago. Scary stuff.

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I won't be around much this month, either, but at least I've got a better excuse than excessive television viewing. I've got a week blocked out for camping at Cherry Springs State Park in Pennsylvania (amateur astronomer hotspot) and a trip to Rehoboth Bay in Delaware; the last week of June is also split between Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks in California. I'm a lucky duck, that's for sure.

After a month of ownership... my balloon is still floating. I'm not talking about the funny, dragging sort of floating that "tired" helium balloons exhibit after (usually) a few days, either. Has anyone else seen anything like this before? I am simply amazed. And altogether entertained. :D

The balloon that I received on my birthday on February 10th. This photo was taken on March 8th. Yes, as of this writing (March 10th), the balloon is still floating and touching the ceiling.

( Click for more of the Great Balloon Adventure starring my cat, Buddy :D )

Pennsylvania declared a state of emergency a couple of days ago due to the flooding of the Delaware River - again. This time, about 3,500 people were evacuated. Flooding occurred in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, actually, though I don't know how New Jersey is doing at this point. My father, who works in Trenton, took some photos of Route 29 from the Jersey side of the river. Here are a few of them (the files are pretty large - about 250K each):

The next two shots are from Bristol, PA; I've always wondered how they do repair work to the electrical wires that run to powerlines...

Between the flooding, state testing for juniors, final exams for some students, the ending of the marking period, and beaucoup de teachers being out for various reasons, things have been really hectic around here and at work. And I filled my car up at $2.189/gallon today. I can't complain, though, considering that I have a job, and my parents' house is about three miles or so away from the river.

And, there is always something good to report - I saw a cabbage butterfly just before five o'clock this evening! First butterfly of the season! I imagine that it hatched today in response to the temperature of 78F (25C) and sunshine. I've got to focus on the positive! :^)