I'll admit: I was fooled. We had beautiful weather for so long I thought it was here for good. This happens every year. Two days ago, we had a high of mid-70s. Then all of a sudden, yesterday, we had a high of just over 40, and that will continue for the foreseeable future. We still go on walks, but less than before, and our plans to plant our leek, lettuce, and arugula seedlings out in the garden have been put off a few days until we can acclimatize them to the new normal. The beautiful daffodils out front, and the spring flowers everywhere, now seem a little out of place.

My best guess is that Mother Nature saw I scheduled my oral qualifying exam for Tuesday April 5, and didn't want me to be too distracted before then. Then, as soon as I am done and ABD, she will jack up the temperature again, and I will happily go spend time in the garden...

Actually, gardens! Yesterday we met with a representative of the local neighborhood association, and agreed to take care of 3 (!) (very small) plots at the nearby community garden! It's about 3 blocks away, which will be annoying for watering purposes but not a bad distance in general. We plan to grow some squash over there, and to put in our extra tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants (we always manage to start too many). I'm not sure that will fill 3 plots, but we will be imaginative. And we'll have our work cut out for us.

But that's good, because again, the temperature's going up after I finish the qualifying process. Right?