I have a garden, a yard, an orchard, flower beds, lawns and woods. There is a marshy area down by the road that I call a “seasonal water feature.” Some years it’s soggy later than others. There is a “sacred grove” of cedars and maples that I protected from clearing when we bought the place, […]
Month: May 2012
Today in the Garden
The bees are out in force. Here is a link to a short video of bees on the medlar (about 38 seconds long). The bees are LOADED with pollen on their back legs. The sound when standing near the medlar is mesmerizing. At the very end, you can see a tiny jumping spider that hitched […]
Lilac festival parade
I went as a chaperone with the high school band to the Spokane Armed Forces Torchlight Parade at the 74th Lilac Festival. Here is a poor quality video I took, you get just a small hint of their sound, and an impression of the pace they moved at. It was dusk, and all I had […]
A Good Week!
Fourth Grade, Fifth Grade, High School, Primary School. I pretty much hit all the major levels this week, and enjoyed them all! What I am learning: Be firm right away. The kids need reassurance that they are in capable hands. Notice the small annoyances right away and the big ones aren’t as likely to happen. […]
Mothers in My Life
I have one mother, whom I adore, and see as often as we can get together. Her mother, my beloved Granny, died a couple of years ago. My paternal grandmother, my Nana, died in 2001. I have many fond memories of both my grandmothers, and though we lived at a distance, we tried to visit […]
A Passion for Purple
I am not sure how, but a LOT of the plants in my garden this time of year are purple-bloomers. Here are just a few of the ones that I decided to take pictures of today. What aren’t here (that I can remember) are the invasive ground cover in the orchard, the lovely purple ground […]
Garden Sparkle
I was in my garden today, and took a lot of pictures. I am experimenting with using the “gallery” feature of wordpress, trying different configurations and such. Hadn’t used it with the latest update (or two or three) so still figuring things out (check back again tomorrow for another post). White is, in my opinion, […]
Storytelling and Writing
We talk about “voice” and “audience” in writing, but don’t often help the students see the connection between this writing and the long storytelling tradition they are joining.
Another icon of childhood gone
Maurice Sendak gave voice to young children’s feelings. Why do kids have tantrums? Because life isn’t fair and they can’t argue with it or control it. Where the Wild Things Are gave us an outlet for anger. Little Bear which he illustrated gave us a reflection of love and growing up. I think the stories […]
EAGLES!!!!
Yesterday Grant helped me take a video of the neighborhood bald eagles. They have been “patrolling” the local seagull colony, waiting for unguarded nests. You can hear the eagles’ tiny warbling cries, and occasionally the seagulls calling out, as well as my own young one’s running commentary. Enjoy! Well, my upload attempt failed. Will try […]