First Day of Spring!

We all seem to have weathered winter and come out on the other side. It's been a tough one, no doubt about it. Even the revered Weather Pig, the Great Gallumphing Groundhawg, who predicts the end of winter in my old hometown, is glad to see the final weeks of winter tick away.

Outside, my scrawny azalea bushes are trying mightily to bloom and there's just something heart-warming about that effort. Oh, sure the forsythia has been showing off for a week or more, but my azaleas have to exert more effort due to my devotion to the principles of Darwinian gardening. ("Good luck, boys! You're on your own!" is about all my plants can expect and they know it.) And no, the lush azaleas in this post are (alas) not mine.

St. Patrick's Day has come and gone. That's a day that is often used to mark the beginning of the planting season. Growing up, it seemed that many people used that as the day to start breaking up the garden plot and maybe even set out potatoes and onions. I'm not that ambitious about my garden, which is still a tangle and will be so for a while yet. (See earlier notes on Darwinian gardening.)

Even so, I'm feeling better about things. Warm weather will do that for you. I may even sort through the clutter in the shed and see if I can find a shovel and hoe to work on that garden patch.

Soon.

In the meantime, I'm speaking at Gardner-Webb University on popular culture in the classroom, including a comparison of Whedon's dark Slayer, Faith, to St. Luke's Prodigal Son. Hansel & Gretel will make an appearance in that one, too. How, you may ask? Well, details can be found here. Should be fun - stop by if you can!