I spotted the red freesias in bud just as it was getting too dark to take pictures without a flash. The result does nothing to convey the other-worldliness of the buds. The real colors were ocher instead of yellow, and deep, dark magenta instead of reddish. I'll try again in the morning, if it doesn't rain like they're saying it will.

Of course, they -- the Weather Channel -- says it is currently raining outside, but it isn't, so probably they will be wrong tomorrow as well.

April is a bunch of buds ready to bloom. I am astounded at the landslide of replies and submissions the Piker Press has received in response to my letters asking a number of previous contributors to offer something in the Press for our Tenth Anniversary Month. The five April Anniversary Issues will be fat and fine.

And what does this mean for me, personally? Why, it means that I am going to be working harder than I have for ten years (which was about the time I retired from the paying job). April is going to be nutso for me. I hope it rains a lot so that I have an excuse for not fiddling around out of doors. Not only will I have 3 - 4 times the material to edit and format, but also will have a major artistic expenditure, as I would like each of the Anniv Ish stories to have its own illustration. Alex has already turned in two, and I have a stack of manuscripts available should she desire more prompts for her art.

I'm going to start formatting stuff tomorrow, after we get back from Lowe's, where Bernie promises to get me a functional shoplight. My halogen ones, though I love their spectrum and their heat, are totally unreliable and burn through bulbs in a matter of hours.

The work is going to be stimulating, I know; and after reading and editing so much of other people's work, I'm going to have a thrilling May, getting back to my own.