***

It's spring. Too much to do around the house.

Lots of things are broken or out of order. A circline lamp fixture went bad in the kitchen. Naturally, we have no idea where the previous owners bought it, so we'll end up getting a different one and thus having to replace the other, still-working fixture (to avoid the mismatch).

A toilet upstairs has an object, probably some toy, stuck in its inner workings. The plumber informed us the best choice is just to get a new toilet. Since we're doing that, we might as well retile the bathroom. And if we're retiling the bathroom, might as well install a new tub. Contractors charge more, in the long run, for various small jobs than they do for one big job. So if we're hiring one, perhaps we should have them remodel the whole house?

***

Heidi is seven months old today. Her favorite activities now are grabbing things and staring at people.

I've been gradually, secretly transporting various small toys of Michael's out of the common areas into his room. He doesn't seem to have noticed yet.

A bird has been trying to build a nest inside our dryer vent. We first heard it a few days ago. I disconnected the vent and, sure enough, it was full of twigs, leaves and other bric-a-brac. The next morning, we again heard sounds, and again the vent -- cleared out the previous day -- was filled up with nest material. This bird is pretty industrious.

My wife is feeling sad for it -- after all, the poor thing is putting all its energy into a nest that keeps vanishing. If the situation isn't righted, it might lose its chance to lay eggs. I'm unhappy about it too. The only thing I can think of is to block off the vent with some kind of wire screening. That way the bird will be forced to look for another location, and we can dry clothes again without fear of them catching fire.

***

Coming to work on Monday I noticed the pear trees alongside Interstate 95 had just started to bloom. Today, three days later, they are covered with white blossoms. The process happens so quickly.

Last year, around this time, I was caught in a rush-hour slowdown. With the pears in full flower on each side of the highway, and all of us inching along in low gear, it felt as though we were out on some kind of spring tour.