Once again, I've been neglecting this blog, instead opting to spend more time writing for my music blog.

We're well into Spring now, although from the gently dancing trees and gray light I can see out my window, you wouldn't know it. I recently purchased a bike, and when I combine the miles I've ridden with the miles I've walked in the last month, I find that I've already logged 93 miles this season. Jeanine has come along for the bulk of those miles. We've found more creek trails nearby, and discovered that they connect to other creek trails that eventually lead into the hills. The hills are carpeted in Spring wildflowers and alive with amorous animals. On a recent hike, we saw mating Checkerspot butterflies, slugs, and a beautiful pair of interlocked Coast Horned Lizards. I haven't seen a Horned Lizard in the wild in nearly a decade now, so this was a happy moment indeed.

The statewide AEOE (California Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education) conference took place last weekend, and I took Willow along. She ended up having a blast, partially thanks to the cool playground at Westminster Woods in Occidental, where the conference took place. When picking which workshops to attend, I chose them with Willow in mind. We met a Great Horned Owl, played in the creek, walked along a bluff overlooking the ocean, watched Harbor Seals, tracked animals, investigated skulls and Dermestid beetles, and looked through microscopes at tiny creek critters. She started the weekend with a cold, but by the end, the fresh mountain air had cured her. Or maybe the oceanside breeze literally blew the snot out of her.

Today marks my second Mother's Day without a mother. I can't begin to relate all of the things my mom did for me over my lifetime, from giving birth to me to instilling in me an intellectual curiosity about the world around me, and... everything else. The last time I saw her alive was early last year, when I stopped by her house to help dispose of her Christmas tree. She wasn't feeling well - a slight cold, I think. Willow was with me, but stayed outside. My mom was worried about passing on her cold to Willow. It was a short visit, and of course I had no idea it would be our last one. You never really know when you'll see somebody for the last time. Remember that. Visit your mom. Happy Mother's Day.

Summer is fast approaching. It's hard to believe that another school year is winding down.

Currently listening to: White Hills "Black Valleys"