Saturday afternoon on Hawk Hill.

The above photo was taken earlier this afternoon on the campus of Saint Joseph's University; as you may notice if you look carefully at the tree in the foreground, Hawk Hill is now covered with snow (I may be mistaken, but I believe that this is the first snow that Philadelphia has seen this winter - it's certainly the first that I've noticed). Having weathered the first week of a new semester, I went outside after lunch today to capture some photos of the icy snowscape before retreating to the warmth of my room to listen to some great music.

As for the new semester, it's shaping up to be a busy one. Having agreed on short notice to take over a course from a colleague who has had to cut back on teaching in order to take on new administrative responsibilities, I have three preps rather than my usual two. All three of my courses are ones that I've taught before, but I still have to put a lot of time into preparing for them: I believe that good teaching requires regular revision and reconsideration of what you've done in the past, so I'm not one to simply recycle old lectures and hope for the best. The first week was predictably hectic, but I'm excited and looking forward to what I expect will be an enjoyable semester.

In other news, I also expect that I'll be glued to the television and the computer screen tonight following the returns from the Republican presidential primary in South Carolina. Unreformed political junkie that I am, I enjoy the drama and intrigue of a hard-fought primary: a campaign where the outcome is uncertain is always more exciting than a de facto coronation. A couple of posts related to this year's primaries have been gestating in my mind, but I have been too preoccupied with schoolwork to actually write them. As long as there is a real race to write about after South Carolina, hopefully one or both of those posts will appear in the coming days. AMDG.