The long march toward spring

In the past week the light has gotten brighter. The sun is higher in the sky, and the world looks different. There was tremendous rain this weekend and much minor flooding. The net result is quite a bit of erosion and much less snow. That snow which remains, however, is crusty and dirty. In some places the grass is showing some green, although it may just be my imagination.

It will be six weeks, at least, until it starts to be anything like spring. But we're going through the necessary steps: cold, nasty rainstorms; goopy mud, re-frozen mud, and more goopy mud. We'll probably get a few more snowstorms and a bunch of sleet and slush. For me March and April are by far the toughest weather months. But I remind myself that there's no other way to get to May and June.

We're now in our 10th and final week of classes. Students look paler and more tired than usual. Faculty, staff, and students are all fatigued. I think everyone is looking forward to the "spring" break.

Tomorrow I'm going to try and make a bunch of edits and update references on a paper I've been writing for a half decade. But right now I'm going to take my Maudite and watch The Daily Show and then get some sleep.