The cloud hanging over the head of most Twins fans right now is the uncertainty over whether the TV broadcasts will be on most nights like they have been for the past few years. I am not even listening to the furor because I suspect it is a big corporate game that will resolve itself right at the end.

Went down to teach two classes at a Master Gardener Spring Festival at the college in Fergus Falls. They had about 450 people in attendance. Many classes offered, plus vendors selling blooming plants.

My class was on trees and shrubs, so I brought some slides. People are color-starved, so the slides were popular. People ask good questions. Once they get going with questions, competing with each other for the floor, there is no longer any need for an outline. Just go with the flow. The morning class was lively, the afternoon class needed a shot of coffee.

It is happening! Spring is advancing, the snow is disappearing, the forecast looks warm. I don't care how long I get away during the winters, they still seem long, and I can tell on the people who have been here all winter that the cold is wearing thin.

Walking through the greenhouses is a particular pleasure on these warm days--the temperature gets up into the 80s in the greenhouses which are not yet in use. In the ones which are full, we have to vent them to keep the temps down or else things will stretch out.