Home to a Spring Bouquet

When I arrived home today the first thing I did was pick a bouquet. JEJ was gracious enough to pose with the beautiful mix of flowers.

Sibling Assignment# 95: A Visit to the Rainforest

Silver Valley Girl gave our most recent sibling assignment.
Write about a journey, trip, or place you would like to visit this summer, and why.
You will find her post about yearning to travel the chain lakes of northern Idaho here. As our brother heals we hope he will join us soon also.I have always wanted to take a camping trip to the Olympic National Park in the northwest corner of Washington state. From the pictures I have seen and the people I have talked to that have visited this park, it sounds like a perfect place for a camping trip. This national park would be such a contrast compared to the places I usually visit on the eastern part of the state.As I imagine hiking through the rainforest snapping photos in the middle of the hot summer I can just feel cool air, see green moss and blue water, and smell the woodsy, moist forest.I would also enjoy taking the drive to the Pacific Ocean and experiencing a sunset at this northern corner of the state of Washington. I have been to the southern end of the Washington coast and the Oregon coast, but this corner of the state has always held my interest. We already have plans for an Oregon coast trip this summer, but maybe this will be scheduled for another time.

Frozen in Time

Thursday afternoon I experienced one of those frozen in time episodes. I was back on campus at the University of Idaho for a series of meetings for the Northwest Inland Writing Project and as I stood between the Women's Gym and the Education Building snapping pictures I felt like it was the spring of 1976 and I was leaving my job at the gym to walk back over to the Ed building for an afternoon class. The weather had that windy, cold feeling of late spring that I remembered well. The spring flowers were just beginning to bloom. The odd shaped KIVA was still jutting out the side of the second floor of the building that was my second home during college.Shadowed by the afternoon sun the Memorial Gym may be covered with more ivy, but looked exactly the same also. There was one significant change. From that vantage point in front of the gym the trees had grown tall enough to hide most of the famous I Tower that stands high on a hill as a landmark of the university.

I found comfort in returning to those college haunts for a few days. When I return to the Ed. building I always peek around the corner to the University kindergarten on the first floor where I enjoyed my first experience working with students. I love to wander around the College of Education library recalling delightful hours of immersing myself in children's literature collections. The walls are still covered with bright, cheerful projects from the Art Methods class.

Yes, there are new computers that await you when you enter the building now. You can get Vandal Air wifi or try out a Smart Board in many classrooms. Starbucks is close by and you don't have to use the pay phone in the basement anymore, but the bones of the building are still there to remind me of where I began this long and rewarding journey of teaching and learning. I paused and relished that frozen in time experience a few more minutes.

Tulips Two

The tulips are now in full bloom outside at our house. We purchased this new type of bulb last fall. I love the color and shape. What I don't love is the cold temperature this morning. I am glad tulips are hardy flowers! Happy Friday.

Happy Earth Day:Thou'st Made the World Too Beautiful This Year

A view of Kellogg Peak and Haystack Peak in Kellogg, Idaho from Mom's front yard.

God's World
by Edna St. Vincent Millay
O world, I cannot hold thee close enough! Thy winds, thy wide grey skies! Thy mists that roll and rise! Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache and sag And all but cry with colour! That gaunt crag To crush! To lift the lean of that black bluff! World, World, I cannot get thee close enough! Long have I known a glory in it all, But never knew I this; Here such a passion is As stretcheth me apart. Lord, I do fear Thou'st made the world too beautiful this year. My soul is all but out of me, let fall No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call.The late afternoon sky by Kettle Falls, WashingtonA view of the sunrise from my deck.Driving north on Highway 395 by Colville, Washington

Nature's Artwork in the Afternoon Light

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We have been waiting for these tulips for days and weeks and months!