It's a dark green morning. Heavy leaves bow over grass. On the trellis, a flurry of roses, crimson and velvet, tremble in a faint breeze. 

I dreamed that my backyard was full of starving goats, new babies, a dead baby, no hay, no fence, no gates. This sort of dream always signals nerves--what I need to get done, what I've forgotten to get done--but I wish it would not consistently arrive in the form of animal neglect. I wake up feeling like the worst person on earth.

Anyway, it's over now. The odd thing is that, awake, I don't feel particularly overwhelmed. I'm in fairly good shape for the conference . . . a faculty meeting today, some materials to post on the website, but mostly I'm relaxed and ready. I guess my brain thinks I should worry more.