I’m officially ready for summer. I’m officially weary of wet and cold. I know spring is coming. I can hear a difference in the morning song birds, the very air itself feels different, I can see weeds (and some grass) sprouting in my yard, I can feel romance stirring in my blood. I am ready for flip-flops and shorts, ready to feel the warmth of the sun. Much work comes with the spring when you own a house, but that is just part of the deal. There will be the annual repair of the air conditioner, I still have some screens for my carpenter friend to construct for my windows, I have landscaping, and I have other chores. The good thing about spring is that it leads me into summer. I need to do some research on how my favorite writers were affected by summer and how they viewed them.

Though I know summers are becoming increasingly shorter for teachers, I intend for this to be my most productive summer ever. Pelican will publish my children’s book, Jim Limber Davis: A Black Orphan in the Confederate White House, sometime in May. When it comes out, I will pack my schedule and burn up the roads doing signings and readings and children’s programs, etc. I need to start working on my calendar now. Wish me luck.

Tomorrow, I’ll be in Winnsboro in Franklin Parish for my second presentation for Battlefield Louisiana: The Civil War in Louisiana. This week we’re evaluating the book about the Louisiana Native Guards and the black experience during the Civil War. Today, back to the salt mine of public education.