Signs of Spring

We are enjoying the many signs of spring all around. We've seen ducklings and goslings taking field trips with their parents up and down the river. The geese have been very honky lately. Flowers are blooming; the trees are leafy. Molly and I got water shoes. We've been walking up and down the river: wading in the shallows and walking on the rocks. We pick up whaterever trash we find. Yesterday we found a bicycle tire, a street sign pole, an insulated coffee mug, and a sweatshirt. There is an old shag carpet wrapped around one of the trees; it has been there so long that grass and other plants are growing out of it. Why do people throw trash in the river? Yesterday we also stumbled across some fish nurseries full of tiny fish. Between that and the empty mussel shells, we have a good idea what the heron has been eating. We also saw a crayfish swimming away. Our neighbor was shooting a BB gun on the river on Saturday. I hope he wasn't shooting birds or fish.

Last week was rough. We were both really tired -- likely exhausted from the stress prior to the oncologist visit. However, it was hard to get enough rest, because the a$$hats (our name for the tree-eating Asplundh Tree Experts, as in "tree experts, my a$$!!!) finished mauling the trees in our apartment complex (nearly a month after their deadline) in the state's effort to eradicate the Emerald Ash Borer. They took down the last two large ash trees one apartment down from us, and only managed to kill one non-ash tree and maim half a dozen others. It was a very frustrating and loud week. I get so angry at them for their unthinking, uncaring destruction and desecration of other wildlife and ecosystems as they work. Give a boy a phallic toy . . .

Wednesday we went to see Great Big Sea in concert at the Southern Theater in Columbus. This was the first pop/rock/folk type concert Molly had ever gone to. What a first time it was! The Southern Theater is a beautifully restored classical theater. Great Big Sea is a folk rock band from Newfoundland, Canada. The first set was mainly folk songs, while the second set was more pumped up and rocking. The group is high energy, and clap and dance throughout the concert. We went with a friend from school who let us know that Great Big Sea was coming to Columbus. This was her seventh time seeing them. It was an awesome good time. Do check out Great Big Sea's website http://www.greatbigsea.com/ to find out more about the band and to hear clips of their music.

I'm still wrangling with the insurance company for all my medical bills -- major grrrr. Plus all my education loans switched into repayment, since I had to drop all my classes this semester. I'm having to file for economic hardship deferments for all of them. Another GRRRR!!! Being anxious about paperwork and idiots doesn't lend itself to healing. I'm doing lots of reading for fun. I just finished the Firebirds anthology edited by Sharyn November. I'm now reading The Green Man -- Tales from the Mythic Forest. Next in my pile is The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm. Recently I've also read Little, Big and The Translator by John Crowley.