Spring is sprung

It was the first day of spring, in all its glory: a bright blue sky, a breath of wind, layers of clothing shed and time to throw open all the doors and windows and let the musty old house fill with fresh air. That clear sky would be perfect for observing the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter, I thought.
Then, just around sunset, the temperature suddenly dropped by several degrees and a southerly buster blew up. Wonder Boy's piano teacher ran in shivering, and I hastily shut all the doors and windows to keep out the chill. I went outside to set up my camera and tripod in the back yard for the perfect photograph of Venus and Jupiter, when I saw the ominous front of clouds coming up from the south. No stars tonight! (Well I did manage to get one ridiculously poor snap through a gap in the clouds but it's not even worth showing you.) I hope the bad astronomer had better weather in his part of the world.
To console myself, I spent the evening sewing shells and beads onto my jeans bag. Here's a picture of the ocean floor, featuring the glass bead (with orange spots) that Wonder Boy called the beche-la-mer.