I�ve been trying not to get too excited about today�s warm weather. It�s sweatshirt weather. It really feels like spring. I spent much of the morning playing baseball with AJ in the yard with a giant plastic orange bat and oversized white plastic ball that make an appealing SNAP when they collide. AJ�s clearly been working on his game with his dad when I haven�t been paying attention. While his batting stance is a little unorthodox, he makes contact with the ball 90% of the time. He bangs the bat on the ground in front of him like a pro, swings it up over his shoulder and gives me the eye. Despite my unreliable pitching skills, he is able to whack the ball over my head, startling a number of irritable woodpeckers out of the tree behind me.

But the best part is when AJ pitches. He palms the ball in his chubby hand, looks it over carefully, gives me a mischievous look and yells, �Watch out for my knuckleball!�

We made an attempt to feed the ducks, but they seem to have moved on to more exciting locations in honor of the beautiful weather. There was only a single pair of mallards today, and they didn�t seem very hungry. The bread we threw into the water was devoured by the apparently ravenous trout swimming just below the surface. AJ enjoyed the splashing they made, but they were not as satisfying to feed as the ducks, so we went and sat on a bench and admired the view. AJ took this picture from our favorite seat:

I pulled the first weeds of the season and discovered that not only are the daffodils coming up, but the day lilies as well. I still haven�t spotted the crocuses, but the spot where we had the biggest clump last year is still buried under a mound of snow shoveled off the driveway, so hope remains. I am now heading upstairs to make a half-hearted attempt to remove the garden dirt from under my fingernails and to dig into this afternoon�s read, Michael Farell�s Collaborative Circles: Friendship Dynamics and Creative Work. It looks to be an interesting book and one which, I hope, will help me to better discuss the organizational culture I�m writing about for my dissertation.

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