A recipe for misery.

Having the pollen count suddenly shoot up to about a billion while you are in the midst of experiencing a cold is most definitely a recipe for utter, complete misery. That is how I spent my Easter weekend (and Monday). How was yours?

Spring is lovely. Too bad mother nature is such a bitch.

Turning the corner

Can you believe it's already February? I'm never sorry to see January go.

This forsythia bush always jumps the gun on spring and blooms very early. It was no surprise to notice some tiny yellow flowers beaming through the cold and gloomy weather we've been having. It looks a little bit out of place, but all the same I am glad to see it. The rest of the yard will catch up.

Gold vs White

Went to the annual "T-Day" game for a football fix. Yes, I am hard core.

My observations? I feel better about the defense (we lost a lot of starters); the running game has improved; O-line is a question mark; we should see more passing next year; the #3 quarterback might be #2 before the first game (#1 did not play due to a shoulder injury); there were still way too many fumbles; and we have NO kicking game... none (heck, Coach Paul Johnson himself blocked a punt, I kid you not). But a lot of good players were sitting on the sidelines, and I am optimistic about our next season. It should be a lot of fun.

How many days until September 5th?

Spring Roll

Zima enjoys her first catnip high of the season. The catnip plant is only a nubber (you can't see it in the photo because she is rolling on it), but apparently it was enough to induce full on cat euphoria.

Recreational catnip use.

The "feline opium den" is back in business - the catnip has some fresh new growth that is irresistible to cats (and apparently quite tasty).

Owl Watching and Other Outdoor Projects

The barred owls continue to include our yard in their territory. We usually see the male shortly before sunset, as shown in the photo (yes there really is an owl in those trees, and yes I need a telephoto lens and do not have one). It was a nice, mild weekend in Atlanta, so we hung out on our patio late this afternoon with the cats. The male owl flew into a nearby tree to roost before the nightly hunt began. He called to the female a few times and she answered. We didn't get a glimpse of her, just heard her replies. She may be nesting already. There was also a brilliant red male cardinal wooing a female with song. It is safe to assume from the duet that she was interested. Never saw her either. It appears to be the bird-romance time of year. Our birdhouses are cleaned and ready, and I have been putting out dryer lint for the birdies along with keeping the feeder full. In a few weeks, it will be time to hang the nectar feeders again for the first wave of migrating hummingbirds. Ahhh, spring! Almost here...

Speaking of our patio, we met with a contractor on Saturday to discuss transforming that concrete pad into a screened-in porch. It is something we have wanted to do since we bought the house. We have a wonderful, wooded, peaceful back yard. We would enjoy it a lot more if we could sit out there and not get chewed up by mosquitoes. Before and after photos will be posted here once things get going. Hopefully that project will proceed more smoothly than the damn bathroom project, which is STILL going on. It seems like no matter what we do, those walls aren't good enough to paint.

May Day

How's your May Day going? I'm stuck inside an overly air-conditioned workplace with almost nothing to do except look at the gorgeous day outside and wish I was somewhere else. I like to stay busy at work. This is the main reason why I don't really like my "alternate work location" that I have to go to 2-3 days a week. The other reasons? Parking sucks, the food sucks, and the computer sucks. I had about four applications open and the dang computer was making such a ruckus I started to worry for my own safety. Something in there was spinning around faster than Linda Blair's head and I was concerned that any minute it would break through the case and come flying out at me at warp speed. Well. Anyway. It didn't.

One of the things I do to keep myself from talking to the walls is to bring in the local newspaper when, like today, I suspect work is going to be slow. In today's edition, I found out that Atlanta has an official "Smog Season" which starts today and lasts until the end of September. I did not know that... mostly because there is smog here pretty much all year 'round, any time the weather is nice and it doesn't rain for a while. Ozone in the stratosphere is a good thing, but in the troposphere - not so much. When I'm outside this evening, I'll be sure to cough and wheeze festively, in honor of the occasion.

I'm thinking of celebrating May Day (or the Opening Day Of Smog Season In Atlanta, whichever) by buying some shoes. Zima will probably celebrate by getting stoned on catnip over and over (it's hard to keep her away from there now). But if your May Day is not complete without someone dancing around a May Pole (I almost referred to this as 'pole dancing' - whoops), then here ya go:



Happy May Day, Lei Day (Hawaii), Beltane, Workers Day/Labor Day/Day of the International Solidarity of Workers, "National Love Day" (Czech), "Lusty Month of May" (Camelot), Mother Goose Day, Save The Rhino Day, First Day of Smog Season (Atlanta), etc.

Go out and be happy! If you're not happy, watch the video. It'll help, I swear.

What's the deal with pollen counts?

According to our local newspaper, a pollen count over 120 particles per cubic meter is "extremely high". We've had three days this week with pollen counts over 5000. This is an order of magnitude greater than "extremely high" on the scale. There is no way to distinguish any difference between a pollen count of 500 or 1000 or 5000 without resorting to ridiculous nomenclature. Very extremely high? Stupendously amazingly high? Really, really astronomically tremendously very high?

What we need is a non-linear scale for pollen counts. Sort of a pollen count Richter scale, if you like. Because otherwise, every spring day that does not include rain will end up being rated "extremely high" for pollen, and that doesn't tell us anything that a glance at our car wouldn't give away.

Spring: geeky facts, cleaning, and crossing stuff off my list

It's official -- as of 8:07pm EDT, 3/20/07 (or 00:07 UTC, 3/21/07 if you want to get technical) the vernal equinox has arrived! Now here is where I would usually post a bunch of science geek links about the event. Oh what the hell. Here they are: Why are the day and night not exactly equal on the first day of spring? Because the sun is not a point source! That whole "standing an egg on its end on the vernal equinox" thing is bad astronomy, i.e. just a myth. If you are dying to know the exact moment spring arrives, here are the dates of the vernal equinox every year from 1452 to 2547. That ought to cover ya.

I'm feeling the need for sunshine and spring cleaning. Not exactly looking forward to the cleaning part of it, but we ordered a new vacuum cleaner and when that puppy arrives, I will be vacuuming every surface in the house. Cats beware!! There are dust bunnies bigger than a rottweiler floating around under things and in corners and it is high time we get rid of them. Our vintage 1965 vacuum needs the bearings re-packed, and nobody seems to want to do it even if we pay them good money, so the house has not had a decent vacuuming in months (just a quick going over with our little stick vac right before company comes).

And for some other fresh news, I'm happy to report that I am writing this post using my newly-repaired notebook computer. You know, the one that has been broken for approximately two years, that I never used because it was such a pain in the ass to get it to boot up. That one. I finally sent it in, and now that it has a new motherboard, it is as good as it ever was. Getting this sucker fixed was number one on my big damn list of shameful procrastination, so I am happy that it is now a "to enjoy" item rather than a "to do" item. I guess that one of these months I'll have to move on down the list and get a new cell phone with a local number.