Spring is "springing up"!

Yesterday I served a substitute teaching assignment at Alamo Heights Junior School. Part of my assignment involved going out during the first lunch (sixth graders) to monitor activity on the track and field part of the campus. It was a beautiful day outdoors, with clear blue sky, sun-warmed air and a gentle breeze.

Next to the track stood a plywood box of about six feet by three feet by three feet or a bit larger, stood on end. Another sub guessed that it was left over from the "Spring Fest" that the Junior School had held just days before. I guess because it sort of stood out like a sore thumb, it made me think at once of the monolith in the movie 2001 a Space Odyssey.

Have you seen that movie? I saw it on its first run in the movie theaters, back when I was a junior in high school. Loved the music, enjoyed some of the camera work, was intrigued by the battle between the pair of astronauts and the computer HAL. But I found the ending of 2001 to be just plain weird!

Back to "springing up". . . I mentioned that the weather was beautiful. It may be that this year when the schools have their spring break it WILL be spring-like. You see, I've always considered that "spring vacation" or "spring break" came too early; after all, it falls early in March, well before the official first day of Spring.

One concern I have as "spring break" and official Spring approach, is about the wildflowers. After several months in which all but one had near-normal or above-normal rainfall, February was DRY. I fear that another drought may be starting to afflict us.

And I long to see abundant wildflowers, like the first four Springs I lived here!