springtime in the ornament valley; croci poppin', and all kinds of other things new every day; hydrangea, flowers and trees whose name i don't know. students leave town, going to colder homes up north, or to southern illinois farmsteads that are much like here; but, i could never understand going to florida for spring, when it busts right out here, middle of march. up in iowa or minnesota, i could see leaving in march, it's the peak of winter, the climax of cabin fever, but here, we're outside every day; the ground is soggy, and a little cold, but signs of life are everywhere.

trying to concentrate on the boys a lot; i've been very busy, and now i should be able to put aside some time & just give it to them. slowly we move into the outside, make a fire, get some fresh air & sleep better, but the boys as usual are all over the place, sometimes wanting this, sometimes that, sometimes nothing. in my free time i'm doing a pop exhibit on castle park (see photo below); i have about a dozen; i might make another calendar out of them, or, just use them on the web as everything else. i have a headache of pop-art reorganization, but this will be more pleasant if i'm actually making exhibits and linking them to each other. castle park, next exhibit. quakers, coming. also, downtown, cdl, turley park; maybe murphysboro. i'll hit all the high spots in my life; leave no place undocumented.

meanwhile i should be finishing up my last term, and preparing for a new one, also preparing for tesol conference in denber in late mar. lots to do there; too much maybe. so much that, when i think about it, all i can do is fantasy pop art. driven, and motivated to avoid. so it goes. but, it's spring; first priority, get outside. take a deep breath. open the windows quick; summer is coming, and then it's all over.

so there's no pool for the break; i'm free, and walking all over town in new shoes, or new "kicks" as my son would say. they leave my legs tired, my feet sore at the bottom where i am rough on them. have to toughen up those feet a little, maybe take the seven-year-old to the park, where he can run around, get outside. get the bicycles working, plant the garden.

on a route where i notice every single new sign, every change in cars parked outside, it's incredibly inspiring to walk out, at night, and see and smell so many new kinds of flowers; smells are also rich and sweet. clouds rush overhead lit up by an almost-full moon; they might be bringing in more cold, but in their breeze we know it's at least change. i'm all for change. winter was getting a little bleak.