Today the deluge stopped, so I ventured out and took some photos of my flowers and garden. Maybe I will post a couple here eventually. All the rain didn't seem to hurt the plants. But the same can't be said for many places; the Oneonta area took a big hit, in the Capital District, Schenectady's stockade is under water, and although not on the same scale, our driveway in Samsonville got washed out again.

Tomorrow, we are off to Lenox, MA. This time, we'll see Prairie Home Companion at Tanglewood. No link, because Tanglewood doesn't seem to have a website. Strange. Anyway, it seemed so far off when Bob bought the tickets in January, and now it is here already.

Next week we'll be in Samsonville. My connection is dial-up there, so the swimming pool always wins out over the computer.

Update on the geese.

I thought with the start of summer, I'd be posting here more often - and considering the nonstop rain that prevents doing my favorite summer activity, working in the garden, this should be an alternative, but I really haven't been writing much. My summer session class started Monday. But so far, there isn't much work to do, so that's not it. Just don't have much to say, I guess.

Two posts on one day! I love historic stories. The Times Union has been doing a lot of them lately, since it is their anniversary.

I got the garden in yesterday, so now the only thing left is to plant zukes in Samsonville. It is supposed to rain today (so far it is just overcast) so my plan for the afternoon is reading Teacher Man, by Frank McCourt.

Last week, I got all the flowers planted in Castleton, and over the weekend, we opened the pool in Samsonville. Now all that's left is to plant the garden. I did the digging yesterday. I am itching to get the plants and seeds in today, and put up the fence, but it is kind of overcast, so I'm afraid I will be eaten alive by mosquitos. The forecast looks more clear for tomorrow, so I may resist the urge to brave the bugs and wait until then to finish the vegetables. I've got my summer session online class all ready, so what is there to do today? Clean the house. Ugh. But it would be productive.

Here's a story for anyone who wonders why I love beagles. Belle is one cool dog. I just know Wuj could have been this heroic, too.

I can finally say that I am done with the spring semester! Today I finished emailing students the breakdown of their grades, and a memo of my thoughts on the class. I don't know why it took me so long to get finished. Actually, I do. In my four classes, I had 119 students this spring. For some reason, there were more than usual that I felt the need to send more than the generic merge memo with grade details; I wanted to write some specific comments. That was kind of hard, and a few weeks distance was a good idea in terms of gaining perspective. Most of the remarks were complimentary, but I had one student that I really disliked. That's odd for me. I usually like all students, even the slackers and ones who cheat. But this student really rubbed me the wrong way. That smirking face in every class. The obnoxious, nearly insane comments in journal entries. The student had a major impact on the atmosphere of the class. Amazing that one person can have such an impact. I tried hard not to let it influence the grades I gave, but I had to address it in some way in the end of semester memo.

Finally it stopped raining and the weather is nice - time for pool opening and planting! (My summer class starts June 26.)

More on the geese. So he thinks Scotia's approach is refreshing? Does that refer to the planned killing, or the efforts of the volunteers?

Hey, I know...since all solutions are at best temporary, let's let the Geese have the lake. People can find somewhere else to swim.

Here's a more promising article in today's TU on the Scotia geese. Way to go, volunteers! The mayor comes off as an even bigger jerk than I originally thought - and that says a lot, because his jerkiness was already well established. So he's received letters from Kansas and other places across the country, but he believes it is solely a local issue? I guess he doesn't mind that this planned atrocity has made Scotia a nationwide joke - and a very unfunny one, at that. He doesn't mention Rensselaer County, but hailing from there, I am close enough to conduct business in his town (and have in the past) - rest assured, I will not spend one dime in that community.

Here is a website where you can sign a petition against the killing of, and get other information about the Canada Geese in Scotia.

Sam is 1.



Actually, we don't know his birthdate, but it is around now. I designated June 1 as the date. So yesterday, we sang "happy made up birthday to you, happy made up birthday to you" to him.

It is hard to get his picture. He sticks his nose in the camera and doesn't pose. It took me six times to get these two. I think he is not that photogenic, he is much, much cuter in person.