ex hex

i am the kind of person who can never

(never ever)

recall who sang what or

what it was even called.

and i can't sing it for you, either.

but i sure do know what i like,

& i LOVED this band!

music hound hubby

is never

(truly - never)

wrong about these things.

so i put on my all-purpose boots

(purpose one:  be taller than a few of the people in front of me)

(purpose two:  keep my feet dry in the rain puddles)

(purpose three:  look really hip. or is it cool? hm. rad?)

and joined him to check out a new(ish) band.

 the rain moved the event inside the art building,

which meant interesting surroundings

and terrible acoustics.

it's THEM.

'them' being EX HEX, the most recent band formed by a woman named Mary Timony.  reference earlier disclaimer regarding my musical literacy.  i'd never heard of her, but SHE IS AMAZING.

reflection of bass guitarist, Betsy Wright

reflection of drummer, Laura Harris

reflection of Ex Hex and Mary Timony's converse sneakers.

 heyyyyyy.

she's kinda my age.

cooooooooooool.

 she looks happy.

and just a little tired.

the sound was so distorted by the building's acoustics, i had to retreat to other areas in order to record anything that remotely resembled what they actually sound like.

Attempt 1: The Stairwell

 or....try looking at this music video.

 the first group they reminded me of was Blondie.

awesomesauce.

Attempt 2: Upstairs

or....there's this music video.

Attempt 3: Looking at Art

Attempt 4: Looking at more Art

or....this music video.

Attempt 5: Looking at Downstairs Art

Attempt 6: Last Try

I Lied.

(but beware the sonic distortion)

where do i sign up?

raindrops

on the hostas

in the puddle

at the tip of the andromeda

along the moss path

ode to a pb&p sandwich

oh, facebook newsfeed,

you devilish thing.

 deciding, based on past

viewing history,

of what you think

i might dream.

 playgrounds and curriculum,

cute puppies and tickles;

 little did i know,

there's also peanut butter and pickles.

 but you were correct,

algorithm in the sky!

 and i gobbled it right up

with a well-contented sigh.

and, of course, i took pictures of it -

posting quickly and, bonus!, tagging my friends.

~

so now i expect i will see

more and more advertisements

of savory treats just for me.

tulips, dogwoods, camellias ~ oh my!

before our yard turns into a sea of pink,

(the azaleas are just starting to pop)

i am enjoying the slightly more sedate spring

of tulips, dogwoods, and camellias.

the tulips

started appearing the second year

we lived in this house.

they were a complete surprise -

a red one here or there

showing up

just when i had stopped looking

for daffodils.

and, oddly, last year a yellow one

appeared far afield of the original red ones.

and
now, this year, four yellow tulips bloomed,

each slightly different from the next.

then, this morning, i discovered

two peach-colored tulips

amid the periwinkle!

honestly, any flower that can fend for itself

is welcome in this yard.

~ the more the merrier ~

tulip after a morning rain

tulip with a little green friend

classic tulip

we appropriately, given our street's name, have many dogwood trees around the house.  mostly white (which i prefer) but, also, a few younger pink ones.  several perfect white flowers were, inexplicably, lying on the moss path yesterday, along the west side of our house.  perhaps the wind blew them off the branches.

perfection, yes?

dogwood parasol

our state flower...& sky, of course

the house i grew up in was, prior to my family's tenure, the home of The Camellia Lady (which was one of many titles she held), so i was very pleased to gain a yard here in my current city that is filled with camellias (albeit almost all of mine are pink rather than the wide variety in my parents' garden).  my favorite camellia in our garden is a frilled rosy red that is so intricate it appears to be several blooms in one.  for some reason, it is in the very farthest corner of the yard and is a bit difficult to get to (which i need to remedy this summer).

 ~ two photos because i just couldn't pick one ~

 . . . blurred lines . . .

even as i am enjoying the spring wind and sunshine, the yard is starting to prepare for summer.  the goldenrod leaves are spreading near the house & i'm trying to decide how far to let them go.  the little wild daisies are staking their claim around an ancient dogwood that holds up half the clothesline, circling around two tiny transplanted dogwoods, and have just started appearing at the edge of the backyard near where water pools when it rains.

the lull before the pollen

door number two

UNC-Charlotte also has a meteorology program, housed in the geography department.  amazingly, enrollment increase at this UNC campus accounts for almost fifty percent of the entire system's growth in the past five years!  & it shows no sign of stopping...enrollment is predicted to reach 35,000 students within ten years.

getting our bearings before setting out

 the campus buildings all seemed fairly new or are undergoing renovations.

there were many places to grab a bite to eat

the promenade looking towards the student union

ah-ha!  our primary destination.

checking out the research posters

stumbled upon a great resource ~ a senior meteorology major!

 Samuel actually knew this student from a youtube channel

& recognized him.

the t-shirt kinda tipped me off.

 MAILBOXES

before our official tour, we walked across campus to find lunch.  then we walked all over the place on the tour.  then we walked across the campus, again, to see the basketball arena.  it was quite a warm, muggy day; the folks on the tour from new york state finally bailed.  but the sky sure was carolina blue!

 so....that is possibility number two.

who knows?

door number three is closer to home,

& that tour will have to wait until the fall.

exciting times!

door number one

it is definitely not because we are old enough to have a child close to entering college - but we do, in fact, have a child who will be.  and he knows what he'd like to do when he grows up!  so, we are visiting colleges this spring break.  longest drive first had us heading into the beautiful mountains.

the student mailboxes...how quaint!

in particular, he was interested in seeing the atmospheric sciences department.  on such a small campus, we were able to sit right down with one of the professors (no graduate programs = no teacher assistants = professors do it all) and chat about their program.  what a great opportunity!

the college-bound one saw one of his data points (which he reports through a community weather group) on this snowfall research poster ~

the library

i can't read what he's pointing at - can you?

Asheville newspaper from the 1840's

the mountains

 it was warm and cloudy

then cool and rainy

and finally muggy and sunny

spring!

 

pretty purple pinecones

 

UNC-Asheville has no football team...

their big sport is basketball!

checking out Rocky the Bulldog

couldn't resist stopping quickly in downtown Asheville before heading home ~ such a fabulous place!  we browsed through our favorite antique mall (housed in an old shirt factory)...no great finds today but fun regardless.

 & that is what's behind Door Number One.

stay tuned; he hasn't applied anywhere yet!