An early April walk on the Appalachian Trail in central Virginia seems pleasant enough.  I wonder though, as I see my porch here in southern Pennsylvania turning white this evening from a late snowfall that may continue off and on through tomorrow night.  The weather is supposed to turn warmer next week but will remain damp.  We begin our planned nine-day backpack on Monday morning at Pearisburg near Blacksburg.  Give our adventure your thoughts and prayers. 

We returned home on Sunday from a weekend visit to Chappaqua and Brooklyn.  We helped our daughter install a small vegetable garden.  We drove to York on Monday for a visit and so that Anne could join Chuck's Mom for a round of chemotherapy.  Mom is doing well with the cancer but has become almost deaf.  That may lead to other problems, but for now it is only a nuisance.

Our stay here is to be short.  We leave for Cherokee on April 30.  Anne starts work on the first Monday in May.  We look forward to the stay in Carolina, but this will now be a busy year.  That is not bad.  We'll pack the canoe and welcome visitors in the Smokies. 

Meanwhile there is lots to do here.  We're still planning and making reservations for an August visit to Alex in SF and a Canadian Maritimes "vacation" after Labor Day.  I installed a storm inlet after another round of basement flooding.  Water should never again pool on the basement patio and seep into the basement through the door.  Still finishing that project and working on other household improvements.

The taxes are done, hurrah.  Filing on-line was an amazing hassle but worked the third time.  We needed a new IRS pin number.  I guess that is an annual routine.  Next year we will know we can't use this year's.

Now the woods are a glorious white.  The moist snow is sticking to the branches whitening them as well as the ground.  We would not have enjoyed this show if we had stayed in Florida.