The republicans to whom I refer occupy the Michigan State House. It is down the street from my office. The other repub of more immediate interest is the pres of the college. We have been working without a contract for two years. The college spent about $1.5M on a lawyer from an anti-union "brain trust" to stall things. We just got to look at the contract!!!!

I am in a very red state run by some of the most pernicious repub weasels/weevils/whatever (autocorrect has been having fun as my fingers are forgetting how to spell) /politicians in the country. They have made this thing so much worse than it could be.

My pay is calculated by the days I work. So that summer off is not vacation -- it is time off without pay. If I vote "yes" for this thing then I get to have approximately the same pay for thirty two (32) more days of work. Oh joy! This document is so filled with squiggly words. You know the kind that a lawyer will tell you means the exact opposite that any sensible educated person might construe it to mean. I do understand why two of my colleagues retired last week. They must be independently wealthy or something because I cannot afford to retire. I could legally but I'm not old enough for social security and with what the state keeps saying they are going to do with my pension it is too scary. I want to retire but, I've wanted to retire since I passed that thirty year point.

Interesting times ahead (for all meanings of the word interesting) and those 32 extra days -- I see myself keeping track of billable minutes, oh yes.

Found this and just had to add it here. Ignore the comments, they contain the usual amount of internet trollery.

Eerie Mackinac Bridge photo makes rounds on Facebook, a reminder of Michigan's winter at its best | MLive.com

Well not me, but Kari my gardener is out rescuing a poor Fairy rose from attacking aggressive orange day lilies. I used the orange day lilies on the north side of my house as ground cover and they keep escaping. If I didn't have help then my yard would contain Variegated Bishop's Weed (Aegopodium podagraria 'Variegatum'), Orange Day Lily (Hemerocallis fulva), Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata), Wode (Isatis tinctoria) and a Reine de Violette rose. The Bishop's Weed, Daylilies, and Phlox were all mistakes of the previous homeowner. The Wode was mine and the Rose isn't a mistake but nowhere did it say if this rose is happy it would try to eat my house.

Diana gave me a link to a store that has some amazing batik fabrics. Oh dear, I see new clothes and hopefully I can get them finished this summer.

anthropologist: When Same-Sex Marriage Was a Christian Rite

Some history to add to the conversation.

One step closer to school being over. All that is left is graduation next Friday night. We have to wait a week because MSU is holding graduation ceremonies at the Breslin Center and we have to wait until they are done. Monday was get grades in day. Tuesday through Thursday were "Faculty Held Hostage Days". I cheated and took this year"s Personal Days for Tuesday and Wednesday. I went in today because it was program day and went to an early meeting where we were told that we were being reorganized again. All admins seem to want to do is shuffle us (all the easier to keep the level of tension up).

This morning I came out the door at an unghodly hour (for me anyway) and the neighborhood sparrows were screaming terrible things. It seemed like like my side of the street yelling at the other until I caught motion out of the corner of my eye. I looked up and it was a hawk circling. The buffet was screaming at the hawk, ahh. It was too small to be the female redtail that lives in the neighborhood, too big to be the christmas tree ornament, so I watched the silhouette for later identification. I caught sight of it again and could see that it was a blue-ish gray.

I also present you with pictures of my garden taken at assorted times this week.

An over exposed pic of the rugosa at the front door just to prove I do have roses blooming this early.



Assorted things in front. The iris are mostly all open this image is from Monday.







Out back but the dandelions need to go.

Grading is mostly done. Tomorrow is trolling the server at school to find out if any one hid something while I wasn't looking.

Then I will be able to talk about my garden and stuff. Did I say I have roses blooming as well as iris? Photos to follow sometime.

But it certainly looks like they might. The sky is black with that weird green light. I got home as quickly as I could tonight, I do not own a flying car.

I am now turning off my computer but will post some pretty garden pics later. I have roses blooming on May 3rd!!!

And for your reading enjoyment:

Tennessee: Miscarriage Will Be Murder — Legislature Passes Embryo Bill | The New Civil Rights Movement