By William Wordsworth
It is a beauteous evening, calm and free,
The holy time is quiet as a Nun
Breathless with adoration; the broad sun
Is sinking down in its tranquillity;
The gentleness of heaven broods o'er the Sea:
Listen! the mighty Being is awake,
And doth with his eternal motion make
A sound like thunder--everlastingly.
Dear Child! dear Girl! that walkest with me here,
If thou appear untouched by solemn thought,
Thy nature is not therefore less divine:
Thou liest in Abraham's bosom all the year;
And worship'st at the Temple's inner shrine,
God being with thee when we know it not.
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It rained and rained and rained on Sunday, causing road closures all over the state and flood watches that turned into warnings toward evening when Rock Creek approached flood stage -- it's expected to jump its banks shortly and cause problems for the houses and streets around it. We'd been hoping to go to Great Falls to see the swollen Potomac River after Adam got finished volunteering at Hebrew school -- Daniel was at robotics again for most of the day -- but it was raining so hard by the time we retrieved Adam from my parents that we knew it was hopeless, so instead we went shopping and took care of a few chores, then went to get Daniel.
Since we ate our leftover pizza for lunch, Paul made pancakes for dinner, then we spent four hours watching the Les Miserables 25th anniversary concert on PBS...actually, two and a half hours watching the concert and an hour and a half dealing with pledge drive breaks, but it was worth it because the cast is terrific (whichever Jonas brother played Marius wasn't all that impressive, but he can carry a tune, which was not true of several people in the 10th anniversary revival). Lea Salonga is a lovely Fantine and the real treat was getting to see Colm Wilkinson -- whose voice remains wonderful -- singing "Bring Him Home" at the end.
Daffodils have begun to bloom outdoors at the National Arboretum -- I just hope the rain today and the chill tonight don't cut them off before their prime.
Snowdrops, crocuses, plum blossoms, and various other early spring flowers have begun to appear as well, though no tulips yet.
The forsythia isn't fully in bloom, but the bushes look yellow even from a distance.
We saw many centipedes on the path to the National Capitol Columns...
...and quite a few birds, including a field of Canada geese eating grass and a field of robins looking for worms. The robins in particular are a sign that spring is very close.
Here is younger son sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree...
...and here I am by the same tree, cut in half to leave the path clear.
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