It is February 17 and things are blooming. I’ve been in Georgia for almost 13 years, this still seems wrong.

Funny the things you see when it’s the end of a very, very long week.

An old New York Times box still sits on campus, not sure why.

Woke up early this morning to the smell of … something, burning or melting. I hunted around the first floor for a while and could not figure out what it was. I brushed my hand against the dishwasher and pulled it away – the door was scorchingly hot.

The main control board failed in a disastrous way – after completing its cycle the night before, it never turned off the heating element. Opening it up, what were once small cups and storage containers had been transformed into modern art and puddles of plastic.

On campus, I found a tree blooming and then the building was stormed by … by … Valentine Ninjas,

Campus life is worth living.

No wet floor in sight.

On the road early this morning, heading to Columbia, South Carolina, to visit with students in advance of our Woodall Weekend Workshop. My friend Denise McGill teaches there so I got the full-tour of the University of South Carolina campus.

Architecturally, it’s a very pretty campus. But it has some … oddities.

I am thankful that my wife doesn’t believe in card-company holidays, though that usually doesn’t stop me from pretending she does.

And, no, I did not buy one.