Powerlines, as far as the eye can see.

It seems Spring took a vacation, leaving Old Man Winter to tend the garden. In other words, it got cold again. It even snowed a bit yesterday.

Looking on the bright side (literally), the cold weather has checked the northward progression of this year’s Central American smoke plume - for now. That damn smoke is becoming an annual annoyance.

People go ga-ga for Spring up here. If the day is warm and the sky is clear, they’ll be outside. Gardening, playing with the kids, chatting with neighbors, walking the dog - I’m not used to it, to be honest. People don’t go outside in Texas.

Of course, I joined in the fun by digging in the dirt all day. We’ll plant tomorrow. I’m curious to see how fertile the soil is here. There’s a giant field of alfalfa beyond the back fence that appeared practically overnight, so I have a feeling the garden will do great. Have to keep the rabbits out, though.

Unfortunately, my back doth protest from all the digging and lifting.

Early wildflowers, sheltered beneath the trees in eastern Nebraska’s Fontenelle Forest. The forest hasn’t greened up as quickly as the surrounding prairie, but I was anxious to test a new lens. I’m very much satisfied with the results.

Last week, AEON called and invited me to interview in Chicago in early May. Perhaps the Los Angeles office saw my Nebraska address, figured I made a mistake, and forwarded my application and resume to Chicago. I can’t win for losing.

I gave the recruiter a tentative “yes” over the phone, but I suspect I’ll cancel. Why? I think I’ve come to realize that, as much as I’d like to spend some time in Japan, I have little desire to teach English. I fear falling in love with the place, yet growing to hate my job - a nasty predicament, as teaching English is about the only thing a foreigner such as myself can do for work in Japan.

I’m a little relieved, to be honest.

In some ways, I live at the edge of civilization, where concrete gives way to corn and soybeans. Of course, the land on which I now sit was once covered with corn and soybeans, and just as it came to change, so will that which greets me when I stare out the window. You can only sit at the edge for so long, civilization riding off into the sunset.