The spring of 2026 has arrived.

Spring has arrived. Sure, the trees are in bloom and all, but the real pink flags of spring are in other places: Half-empty foil blister packs of antihistamine tablets on the kitchen countertop. Fresh hanging laundry be-speckled with white Kleenex clumps because I forgot to check the pockets for used tissues. Again. Magpies watching from their high perches with the beady-eyed intensity of a Flock camera. I have not yet been swooped this season, but I can see them planning trajectories and making target aquesitions. Dog in thunderstorm hypervigilant alert mode. He does not bode well when Thor visits. Running to hide in the shower, he gives us a good 30 min warning of any incoming storms. With predictions of a wild summer ahead, we have re-built our vegetable garden with the goal of improved resilience and productivity. We still do not have any water collection tanks (mainly because I have been too indecisive as to where we should locate one) or solar panels (mainly because I have been…