These birds really know their seasons

Spring is upon us! All of the signs are here:
Today was (finally) beautifully sunny and warm, the flowers are beginning to bloom, and ...

We gathered our mail Saturday afternoon as usual. Tonight, though not expecting any mail, I happen to glance into the mailbox.


A bird has built a nest in our mailbox ... on the spring equinox, as if on cue.
Fascinating! And surely a positive omen ...

Brad

Hope

It's been three months exactly since my family and I found out about Sarah's death. A wonderful friend of mine gave me this poem so I could find just a little bit of comfort....

Hope
Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me

The South Will Rise Again

A few weeks ago, there was a Civil War reenactment of "The Battle of Aiken" in Aiken, South Carolina (about 21 miles from Augusta). Since my parents were in town that weekend, we thought it would be a fun cultural experience. Boy was it an experience! For those non-Civil War buffs, General Sherman was on his way back north from Savannah (still burning up shit) and this battle prevented him from razing Augusta.



One of the highlights of the reenactment was the death scenes of the soldiers on the field. When a soldier died, the player made the scene as dramatic as possible in order to draw attention from the audience. They would draw out their death, twitching their legs and arms, and then finally positioning themselves in a way to make themselves comfortable for the rest of the battle. I'm talking like making a little pillow and covering their head with their hat. Here is a picture of a dead Union Soldier.



Although, one of the funniest things that happened was when Brad and I were walking through the Rebel Camp and two "soldiers" dressed up in Federal uniform walked up to two "soldiers" in Confederate uniform and asked them where the Union Camp was located. No wonder the North lost!