spring things

Out the back door this afternoon - I love all neighborhood trees.

I'm pretty sure this is a black walnut. I walk under it on my way to work - it's so lovely! It leafs out later than most.

Sword fern - these grow like crazy here in my part of Oregon. Did you know they can be cut all the way back every fall or late winter? I love watching them uncurl. 

more fern because WHY NOT??

What's new with you? I've been hustling around trying to get some garden stuff done. Now is THE TIME. But then I've also been reading a lot and soliciting recommendations from others. What about you? What are you reading? What's your current hustle? 

spring sky

Clouds in the sky, clouds in the rhododendron. Spring is here in a big way. Happy end of April / start of May!

Questions:

• do you use a feed reader? 
• If not, why not? 
• If so, which one?
• is it google reader? 
• what are you going to do now that they're shutting Google Reader down?

I've just downloaded feedly and I'm taking deep breaths because it's not EXACTLY like what I just left. (I do this every time - when the original Bloglines shuttered I was a mess until I got comfortable with Google Reader. Fortunately, the window of freakiness gets shorter and shorter as time marches on.) I'm trying to adapt a non-attachment attitude and it's almost working. A L M O S T.

But seriously, what are you doing? 

it was more of a figurative tomorrow

Common Spring Fever is a stealth problem with untold victims. Sufferers may become confused and antsy, believing perhaps that they are losing their marbles/religion/car keys. The fact is, this affliction -- this Vernal Itchiness -- is caused by a combination of weather, allergens, and of course the potent Northern Hemisphere Spring Virus. Wind and blossoms, hail and bird's nests, rainbows and mud, gentle breezes and cutting wind. WTF, April?

Some Symptoms of The Fever:

1) Poor choices: Yesterday I went barelegged to work, even though it was really too cold for no tights. The sun was shining and I had to do it! (maracas dress, which NEVER FAILS to make me laugh aloud at least once when I'm wearing it.)

2) Crazed impulses: I could not settle down long enough to write this blog post until I first put my hair into braids and tied a hand dyed silk ribbon around my neck. I look like a waitress in a theme restaurant. (theme: impaired judgement.) But I did it just in time! knock knock knock. I've found that interactions with door to door do-gooders go a little smoother and more quickly if they think you might be crazy. (this time it was a gentleman named Rogue from the Sierra club who was handily dispatched since I'm already a member and he was looking for someone named Katherine.) I have no real beef with door to door do-gooders; I know it's a thankless job and most of them are trying to DO GOOD, but I have to say I do appreciate the ones who are gracious (like Rogue!) opposed to the ones who call you a "panda killer" if you don't have the time or inclination to sign their petition and agree to donate X dollars per month in perpetuity. (This made me laugh and laugh and laugh. "Maybe tomorrow, hippie," INDEED.)

3) allergies

It's Still National Library Week:

Here are a couple of cool things I found via the library's internal reference blog. I read it when things are slow on the desk. (yesterday was pretty slow, which I'm chalking up to THE FEVER.)

1) Did you know that the New York Public Library now has a page on iTunes where you can subscribe/download some really great material FOR FREE? I love this kind of stuff, and there's even more available on the NYPL website.

2) EW.com has a feature on 18 Sexy Trips to the Library Stacks. I have to say that their description of sexy is so broad as to be ridiculous (Philadelphia? really?), but to their credit, they did track down 18 movies that feature libraries in honor of National Library Week, and let's face it: "18 Sexy Trips to the Library Stacks" sounds a lot more catchy than "Hey! We thought of 18 movies that have libraries in them."

List of cool places to keep lists to come sometime this weekend! I've run out of time and want to do give it a little more thought. Happy Passover/Friday/Spring Fever!