In A Word: Busy

 There are days in my teaching life that I don't get much of a breather. The school day begins with early arriving students, a quick cup of coffee, admit slips from sick kids, an unexpected visitor, an accidental water spill, a lost notebook, important phone call, teaching, learning, papers piling on the desk, sad news about a former student, preparing kids for conferences, early release, quick lunch, then student-led conferences. Whew! At some point in the day my desk looked like this:

 I was glad we held the conferences in a classroom in the other building that was more organized than mine! Tomorrow we will have conferences again. I love the opportunity to visit with families about student progress.

In a Word: Bloom

 I am going to post each day this month using the NaBloPoMo theme IN A WORD.  I will focus on a word and illustrate it through photos, words, poetry, or a quote.

Today my word is Bloom. As the gray skies of February are becoming the gray skies of March it is easy to think of blooms. Yesterday a garden catalog came and every single flower looked like something to order as I gazed out at the falling snow. I now get their marketing technique of sending out those catalogs this time of year.

When I walk into the grocery store I am first drawn to the bouquets. Who can resist a bunch of tulips or a single rose knowing blooms from the garden are still months away?

My blog friend Kerri at Colors of the Garden did a beautiful post the other day posting photos of blooms from last year. How much it brightened my day to see daffodils again! If you are living in a snow globe as my sister said this morning, or  are having difficulty even getting down your driveway just stay inside and take time to gaze at these blooms, courtesy of my garden last year.

How Is It That the Snow

How Is It That the Snow

How is it that the snow
amplifies the silence,
slathers the black bark on limbs,
heaps along the brush rows?
Some deer have stood on their hind legs
to pull the berries down.
Now they are ghosts along the path,
snow flecked with red wine stains.
This silence in the timbers.
A woodpecker on one of the trees
taps out its story,
stopping now and then in the lapse
of one white moment into another.

-Robert Haight

Sibling Assignment #146: "Travel Without Traveling"

I gave the next series of sibling assignments which were taken from the book Visual Poetry by Chris Orwig.
"Travel Without Traveling" Without going more than 15 miles, set out to photograph your geographic context like it has never been photographed before. Imagine you are a foreigner and only have a short time to capture what captivates you. Create a set of photos. Share your photos with writing about your geographic context. I will connect my siblings' posts here. (Most of these photos were taken on the Nostalgia setting.)

OId Kettle Falls : Remembering Another Time, A Different Place

I spent time yesterday visiting what the locals call "Old Kettle".  When you visit this site today the land is redesigned for day use picnics and gatherings.

 One part is called The Locust Grove because the giant fragrant trees remain, surrounded by covered picnic areas, barbecue pits, and green grass.

 I imagined the place as winter in the early 1900s. The resort town was snowbound. The grand hotel was probably empty. People were  having a difficult time getting through the snow and keeping warm. It was ten degrees and the wind was blowing. One snow covered step remains. These are questions I would ask.

   

Did they walk to the nearest town?

 Did they even venture out toward the water in the freezing weather?

 Did they find beauty in the stark landscape?

 Did they realize that this place where the Colville River drained into the Columbia River would all soon be different?

Did they realize the building of the Grand Coulee Dam would change the landscape and add another reason they had to move and establish a new town? 

Could they imagine roads being built?

 

A railroad that was closer

and a bridge that spanned a much larger lake that buried their beloved falls?

Today I can enjoy the beauty of Lake Roosevelt, but also mourn their loss of a town, the falls, the gathering spot for fishing, and life as it was.

Top Ten Reasons Why Frigid Weather Is A Good Thing

10. I discovered you can make hummingbird slushies in the feeder I forgot to empty in the fall.
9. It makes the hot morning coffee taste better.

 8. It is easy to perserve kitten footprints for photo ops.
7. No mud.

6. We can always find Annie.
5. There is something to look forward to when you get up in the middle of the night... reading the thermometer or stoking up the fire.

 4. The cats are also easy to find.
3. No mosquitoes.

 2.It makes me appreciate the greenhouse.
1.I have a good excuse to curl up under a blanket with a good book and keep warm.

A Few Reasons I Thought Spring Was Coming

 I saw a robin last week. I hope he had a parka hidden away for the snowfall we had last night.
The hummingbird nectar that should have been dumped in the fall thawed out and is all ready for the spring birds.

 We gave Annie a haircut. Dogs hair is ready to cut in the spring. Poor Annie will need a sweater if this keeps up.
The dogs and cats were tracking mud into the house.

My coat needs dry cleaning and... I am tired of hat hair,chapped lips, and dry hands.

The egg tree has been put out and the house is in need of spring cleaning.

Old Man Winter... you are beautiful, but you have really worn out your welcome.