Kris's spring concert

Rainy the last few days. Kris had her spring concert tonight. Her duet went fine.

Arthropod Adventures

Unseasonably warm weather the last few days, with highs in the low 80's. All sorts of flowers are opening up all over. The second picture is of Kris singing "There's a Place for Us" from West Side Story at her last voice lesson on Friday. On Saturday I spent most of the day proctoring a national screening exam to try to qualify a couple students for the international Chemistry Olympiad. That evening I mowed our lawn for the first time and noticed 2 things: 1) there are lot of dandelions in our yard, and 2) there is a lot of moss in the yard (maybe because we have had such a cool, wet spring?) This morning after Sunday school I was fossil hunting along a local creek bed, and a crayfish walked up and tried to crawl under my boot. I was standing still; it must have thought I was a rock! When got home I was breaking up a rock looking for marine fossils like criniods and I found my first trilobite! (A crab-like creature...actually this is only the tail, so I guess it is really a trilo-butt.) I've been looking for one for 3 decades, and it has been a thorn in my side not to find the state fossil of Wisconsin! There was a chemistry department picnic this afternoon, but in addition to that we tilled the garden and got some planting done (and now I am stiff). Last full week of classes this coming week!

Confluence

The annual meeting of the Illinois State Academy of Sciences was held yesterday and today at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. I'm in the second year of my 3 year term as chair of the chemistry division, so played host to that part of the meeting. I was also interested in going because I had applied for a position there 11 years ago and wanted to see what the place was like. I was somewhat like the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, with a big circle drive and a rural location, but it had some roughly three times the population. Their science building is in pretty rough shape. The meeting itself went OK with only a few logistical challenges.

I visited some interesting places in the area. A show on PBS has mentioned the Camp Dubois visitor site, which commemorates the camp where Lewis and Clark and company spent the winter before leaving on their trip to the Pacific. I have a bit of interest in that historic trip and the site is only several miles from the SIUE campus, so I arrived early enough to make a short stop there. There was a reconstruction of the fort complete with a couple reenactors and a museum with a reconstruction of the big boat that the expedition used to haul supplies up the Missouri River. The boat is what I really wanted to see; it was taller and skinnier than I expected. From that location it was a short drive to the current confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers (which is close but not quite where it was 200 years ago). In the picture, the Missouri flows from upper right to left and the mouth of the Missouri is straight ahead (I think it is the Wood River on the near right). I had heard that the confluence was somewhat turbulent, but that is not what I observed. A friendly fisherman there tipped me off to another interesting location that I checked out on Friday evening after the day's meetings. There is an island in the Mississippi river that can be accessed by a car bridge, but on the other end of the island there is a bridge that used to be a toll bridge for Route 66. Instead of carrying cars now it is only open to foot and bike traffic. The mile-long span crosses the wider channel of the Mississippi River, so I walked from Illinois to Missouri and back for the fun of it - and the view. As I understand it, this Chain of Rocks Bridge gets its name for a formation nearby that used to be a significant navaigation obstacle on the river. Now there is some sort of dam there and at the high water level the only thing that was really visible were areas of turbulence - I saw whirlpools 2-3 feet wide sometimes. I could see St. Louis (including the arch) on the horizon and two century-old water intake structures that looked like castles on ships. I get the impression that the whole area has lots of bike trails. After I finally got to the hotel in Troy, I found a Jack in the Box - I think the St. Louis area is the farthest east they get.

Today we had more meetings, I ate at a Red Robin, and drove back to Peoria. This evening Kris and I checked out a puddle in the woods where we found tadpoles last May. We found them there again, they are so little that at first I thought they were large mosquito wrigglers. So now we have a tank o'tadpoles again. No morels were observed - I heard people were looking for them in Edwardsville, but spring is 1-2 weeks ahead down there.

Kris's Science Fair

Kris had her science fair this afternoon. She earned a perfect score. The other picture is of Karen doing readings at church on Easter Sunday.

Have a Blessed Easter!

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Philippians 2:5-11 (New International Version)

Spring weather

Pic is of Kris and her friend Sam hanging out at a pond near his house. It was warm on Saturday; today we woke up to over an inch of snow on the ground. It is pretty much melted now.

Here are the lyrics to another song of the season, called "Thief" by Third Day (also good in concert).

I am a thief, I am a murderer

Walking up this lonely hill

What have I done?

I don't remember

No one knows just how I feel

and I know that my time is coming soon.

It's been so long.

Oh, such a long time

Since I've lived with peace and rest

Now I am here,

my destination

guess things work for the best

and I know that my time is coming soon

Who is this man?

This man beside me
They call the King of the Jews

They don't believe that

He's the Messiah

But, somehow I know it's true.

And they laugh at Him in mockery,

and beat Him till he bleeds

They nail Him to the rugged cross,

and raise Him, they raise Him up

next to me

My time has come,

I'm slowly fading

I deserve what I receive
Jesus when You are in Your kingdom

Could You please remember me

and He looks at me still holding on

the tears fall from His eyes

He says I tell the truth

Today, you will live with Me in paradise

and I know that my time is coming soon

and I know paradise is coming soon.

Happy Palm Sunday!

I think the Circuit City extended warranty company might have gotten my digital camera zoom fixed right this time. Here is a test picture on Bugs. The rabbit picture reminds me that this blustery April day is Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday is just one week away.

Here is are the lyrics to a Good Friday-ish song that I like. The song is called "Sometimes Love" by Chris Rice (it was good in concert years ago, too).

Is our world spinning backwards?

What has brought about this change?

Can’t you see that people aren’t the same...
I wish I were dreaming,

and could wake up from my sleep

And find us all the way we used to be...

‘Cause the love that used to be is dying

Is anybody even trying?

And I don’t know how,

I don’t know why

But something in my soul is cryin’ (listen)...

Sometimes love has to drive a nail into its own hand

Sometimes love has to drive a nail into its own hand

One pair of hands broke some bread and washed some feet

Opened eyes and soothed an angry sea
Belong to a man who could see our deepest need

And showed us love the way it has to be
‘Cause he knew the price that love requires

And he laid down his own desires...

He stretched out his hands to save his friends

And said "no other love is higher"(so listen to me now singing)

Sometimes love has to drive a nail into its own hand

Sometimes love has to drive a nail into its own hand

Love can change us, love can make a way

Only Jesus' love can change us, love can make a way

Sometimes love has to drive a nail into its own hand

Sometimes love has to drive a nail into its own hand

April 1

I did two April Fools jokes. One was to our resident geologist, telling him I heard a report about Redoubt Volcano having a huge eruption that would send small amounts of ash all the way to the Midwest (in actuality its ash plume is smaller than last week).

The second was to my Gen Chem II class. No pretend meltdown and smashing a cell phone this year. I gave a quiz, but most of the questions on the quiz were answered by information given in the other questions! It was fun watching the students react: furiously working, then "getting it", and looking up at me and smiling.

Pix of the day are from the lighthouse along the Mississippi River near Hannibal, MO. (Karen and Kris liked it, but the sun was in their eyes in the picture.)