Never Tease Mother Nature

So, last Saturday, we blithely planted our tomatoes. We lolled around outdoors in the balmy sunshine and patted ourselves on the backs for living in this pleasant climate in February.

Sunday, the wind picked up, the chill blew in, and it poured cold rain for hours. We shivered through the day. I worried that our tomatoes were going to need a cover for the night. It didn't get that cold, however. But, as the day dawned....it did get pretty dang cold. This was the view from the school parking lot on Monday morning.

See the top of that mountain behind our house? The one WITH SNOW ALL OVER IT?? And that was just a dusting. The tall mountains across the valley were totally white. It was fantastically beautiful!  The lower-elevation red rocks with were dusted more thickly with snow than our big rocks and they were spectacular! There is something especially attractive about red rocks and snow.

Well, it has remained quite chilly all week. We just barely made it into the 60's each day. (I know, I know...New England is under a blanket of ice. It's even freezing in the South.) They're predicting more rain and snow here again this weekend. Guess, we've learned our lesson. We will definitely wait until March before we plant tomatoes next year. February is STILL WINTER, and we won't forget it.

 The students were SO excited to see the snow this close to home.

It stayed cold enough that it wasn't all melted until we went up to collect them from recess at 1:10 P.M.

Washington's Birthday

Did you know that George Washington was a farmer? And that it was his favorite job of all the things he did in his life? Well, he wasn't exactly the guy with the shovel in hand. He owned thousands of acres, and had a big staff and a large group of slaves, too. So, of course, they did the actual work part with the shovels, the plows, the horses, etc. But, in my teaching of 4th grade back in Maryland, we went to Mt. Vernon, his home, on a field trip each year. We learned all about his life before, during, and after the visits,  and one of the interesting ways they taught the students about his life was to divide it into the four jobs that he had.

First, he was a surveyor as an older teen. Second, he was a farmer. He'd inherited the estate from his older half-brother, Lawrence, upon the brother's untimely death. The third job, of course, was general of the Continental Army, and, fourth was president of the United States. During the Revolutionary War and the Presidency, he maintained Mt. Vernon as his home, and his wife, Martha and her two children lived there. (She was a widow when she married George.)

His other roles caused him to spend so many years away from Mt. Vernon, and because he loved living there, he lamented the lost time. If you've never gone to visit this historical site, you need to put it on your list. It's beautiful and educational, and it is easy to see why he didn't like being gone. He was an innovator, not just a farmer who did what had always been done. He built a large greenhouse and grew lemon and orange trees, and even a few banana trees. When he was at Mt. Vernon (and not fighting the French or the British or being president) he kept extensive records about everything grown there, the latest results of tree grafting, and which kinds of wheat were turning out most suited for their soil. He quit growing tobacco early on and went into grain because it gave a better return for the effort. He'd go out everyday and ride all over the estate to check on things.

So, why am I talking about farming, again? Well, we celebrated the 1st president on Saturday by doing a little farming ourselves. A mighty little...we planted our tomatoes. We've found that if we get the tomatoes in the ground by early March, we can usually get a big harvest before the strong heat starts up. It's one thing to be 105 degrees during the day, but until early June, it usually cools down a little at night. But, when the nights stay hot, too, then the tomato flowers won't bloom anymore and the few blossoms left won't set fruit. So, since the plants need 60 days to produce fruit, we've learned to plant them so they have plenty of time to pop out juicy tomatoes for a month or two before they wilt in the summer blast.

If we do that, then we just let them sit there sagging through June, July and August. By mid-September, the nights are cooling down again, and the tomato plants perk up again. In October they put out new leaves and pretty soon we get flowers and all through November and December we can harvest more tomatoes! Usually around Christmas time, it starts to get really cold, dropping into the 30's at night. So, I go out and pluck off all the green tomatoes that have formed, and bring them in to ripen on the counter. We always get some frosty nights in December and January and that finishes off the plants. So, tomato-time is officially finished until my favorite month: February.

 It isn't just my birthday that makes me celebrate. It's the sunlight increase, and the warm air that spreads across the desert. We decided to take advantage of the fabulous warm week we'd had and dig up the garden, pluck out the weeds and plant this year's tomato crop. Even though it is raining and brisk out there tonight (40 degrees---it was 77 yesterday!!) I know that winter is OVER and we're on the countdown to caprese salad and tomato sandwiches and the yumminess of the world's healthiest food.

 Here's a close-up of one of our plants.

 I didn't plant anything else but tomatoes this year. We have ten plants. I'll add basil next month when it's consistently warmer.

 Basil thrives in the summer blast furnace.

 Spring is really here! The geraniums survived the freeze because I brought them over from the edge of the patio to the shelter of the house and covered them with beach towels. They like the sunshine and warm air. Me, too.

Here's what happens to desert plants that get lots of water.

 Flowering succulents are beautiful and bees love them.

Best Valentine Bag Ever

The fourth graders had some time to make a Valentine bag in school last week. I gave out a bag and some pink, white and red paper to each student and let them have at it. One boy asked if he had to use hearts. I assured him that it was his container, and he could do with it whatever he chose. Voila:

His dad is a retired Army ranger. I told him it was my favorite Valentine bag, ever.

Valentimes...

Unless you are the mother of a nine-year old girl, or a fourth grade teacher, you may not realize what a important day it is tomorrow in our schools here in Las Vegas. You see, on Friday, there is a staff development day planned, so no students will be at school. That means, that TOMORROW, THURSDAY, is the BIG DAY.

I went for a quick trip to the market tonight to pick up milk and oranges and a couple of things. I drove into the parking lot, and was --- for a minute -- astounded at how busy it was! But, I immediately realized why so many cars were there, and the parking lot was filled with moms and little kids. They were all rushing in, at the last minute, to get their Valentines! The place was packed with elementary aged kids, agonizing over the choices left in the pick-over section where all the cards, candy and doo-dads were stacked.

Now, I know that probably some parent hadn't realized until today that they needed the cards tomorrow. Or maybe some people were counting their coins to make sure that they'd have enough to pick up the cards today. I know that some of my students have been laboring for a while, hand-making their cards. That's what happened at our house during those certain elementary years when my daughters wanted just the exact right cards to convey to all their friends how much they adored them on this day of love.

It isn't about "love" when you're nine. Oh, maybe there is a certain boy you might have a little crush on, and so you get or make an especially nice card for him. But mostly it is about the fun, the candy, the tradition. At nine, most of your passions are directed at your best friends---usually the same gender as you. Valentine's Day is just a chance to show them, officially, that they mean something to you. I love Valentine's Day as a teacher. It is really important to my students, so it is really important to me. We'll have fun tomorrow, during our subdued celebrations, with our mandated "healthy" treats, and everyone will enjoy opening their cards and squealing.

My 11 year-old granddaughter sent me this photo of the Valentines that she has been making for her friends. They contain a little word search and a dot-to-dot---all made by her, of course.

She inherited this attention to detail, and craftsmanship, from her mother who is shown here at a slightly younger age, making Valentines at the dining room table. Note her trusty assistant: Eskimo Pie, the pet rat.

Telling More Stories...One Seed at a Time

Here's another "watermelon seed" story I wrote to show my class how you should focus on just one small part of a vacation. So many times they tend to write down every single thing that they did if they went to Disneyland or somewhere. It ends up sounding like a list instead of a story. When I read this one to them, I ask if anyone heard anything about the S'mores we made at the campfire that night? Or did I tell about burying our grandchildren in the sand up to their chins? Do I even tell them that this was part of our four day camping trip and there were about 12 people with us?  No...because those things could all be part of other stories. The whole camping trip is too big to explain everything that happened, in just one little story. Good writers just tell a piece at a time. It should be a little movie in the reader's head.

It was like being on a cloud. I was floating on the green, cool ocean along the edge of Carpenteria State Beach. It’s one of my favorite places in the world. The oak covered mountains loomed into the sky off in the east. The dim outline of Santa Cruz Island was visible through the misty clouds hovering off-shore. I was suspended in between, drifting and bobbing like a piece of human seaweed. 
            I could hear the surf splashing as it landed on the sand. I could hear laughter and yelling from the people using body boards or just frolicking in the wave break. But all the noise was far away as my body dipped and rose with the moving ocean. 
             As I gazed around, a dark form appeared from above, and I was astounded to see a pelican dive, bill-first, straight into the water not ten feet from me. He was such a perfect arrow shape that his body hardly made a splash. He disappeared entirely into the water and then, almost immediately, bobbed back up—gulping down a fish. I could see it through the skin on his throat as he swallowed. 
             He floated there serenely, looking at me, blinking, not even caring if I shared his watery feed ground. I was simply one more creature in the vast Pacific Ocean.

One Little Moment

One thing I try to teach my students when they are learning to write a personal narrative is to just tell a little story. Don't write a long list of every single thing that happened. Just choose one moment or experience and describe it. Here is an example of this--a story I wrote one period while my students were also writing...

           How many years have I been driving cars? Let’s do the math: 57-16= 41 years. Plus, for many years before that, I drove tractors. My point here is that I have a lot of experience in pumping gas into vehicles with an internal combustion engine.

            But, I felt like I’d dropped into another universe on that Saturday afternoon in Swan Valley, Idaho. I’d pulled into the gas station and got my ATM card out. It was a glorious Indian Summer day. Aspen leaves glittered gold on the hillsides. There was a gentle breeze. I slid my card through the slot, pushed the buttons to select the desired octane, and then the beeping started. It was an exceptionally irritating beep, too. Loud, persistent, piercing the pleasant afternoon ambiance; and I couldn’t get it to stop! Nor could I get any gas to move into my car.

             I looked all over the face of the pump. The screen said, “Push to start pump” in white electronic letters, all the while that obnoxious beeping continued. I pushed every button I could find---nada—still beeping! So, I hit the “cancel card” button. I examined it all again. Carefully I re-did the entire sequence. “BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!” Still, no gas! I cancelled a second time.

            “Okay,” I thought. “There has to be an answer here.”  Ah…Finally I saw it. Up above all the pump handles and hoses, there was a yellow sticker saying, “Push Here to Start.” So, I slid my card, pushed my choices on the keypad, lifted the nozzle, chose my octane, and “Pushed Here to Start.”  It was a miracle! The numbers on the pump sprang to life and gas finally flowed into my car. 

The Learning Goes On

I meant to write something every day last week, then I'd get home, and  just drop onto the chair exhausted. However, there is no rest for the wicked...I spent all day Saturday at conference on Blended Learning. I'm obligated to attend two more of these techie conferences--one in February and one in March---in order to earn my professional development credit. Yes, even though I've completed two separate college degrees, the requirements never cease to add more notches to the belt in order to continue license renewal. I'm sure most professional certifications are like this. But, I learned some great things!

Ha, ha! One of them was about a system that is somewhat like Facebook for teachers and students to interface on the computer in school. It's called Edmodo, and, although I've had an account for a year, and I've gone to at least three other sessions to learn about it, finally yesterday it clicked! I sat there, in the "beginners" session, once again, and as I logged into my account, and listened to the moderator, I suddenly saw everything she was talking about! This time as I gazed at the screen, her words and directions made sense! I inserted some skill quizzes for my students to practice; I replied to a query from someone; I realized how I could easily use this in my classroom! YEAH! So, the main lesson I learned yesterday is that I need to revisit the introductory classes for new technologies at least four times, if I don't "get it" the first three times! I'm so excited to go back on Monday and get this going in my classes.

Another interesting event from yesterday was that I was the answer to someone else's prayer. Yes, she told me. In the parking lot, I saw another person wandering from door to door trying to figure out which one was open and where we were to check in. She joined up with me, and we finally were successful. I asked her which classes she intended to go to and she asked if she could just follow me to the first one. Sure...I had a plan. Well, it turned out that she was hired in September, and just moved here from Colorado. It was also a career change for her, in that she'd been an engineer for a telecommunications company for a couple of decades. She was recently divorced--hence the big move to another place. Anyway, she was felt overwhelmed by her new job, and came to this tech conference for ideas on managing her classes. She declared that I was the answer to her prayer that morning to find someone who knew what they were doing, and she could just pal around with them, to get her from spot to spot. Turns out that she teaches in a middle school just up the street from my school. Students that I taught go to that school (as well as a couple of others) and so we share the demographics and families. She announced that when she found out all these details, she knew I was sent to her to help her today. I thanked her very much, and we really did enjoy one another's company for the whole conference, and lunch.

So, my lessons for the week: prayer works, and listen to/read the directions enough times and finally they will mean something! 

Rock Ruminations

 
Ruined my Springtime on the farm
Oh no! It's such a hard job,

Clearing these glacier remains

Kicking through the dirt.
Swimming pool with friends? I'll never get there.

 Seriously? We go home for a visit, and 

I'm right back out there in the dirt. 

1976

Sifting through my toes
Always reminds me of California
Near the ocean.
Desert? No! Beach...

 Ocean Beach, San Diego,  Easter Night

1980

 

Family Time

We drove north for a visit over this weekend + Monday. Our oldest grandson was getting ordained to be a deacon, and that governed the timing for this visit. His other grandmother is visiting from Buenos Aires, Argentina, this month. It is her summer vacation...she brought some of that balmy weather with her, I think. We had a great day together at church, then at their home. It seems like his dad was just 12 years old...How can he already be this age??
 

Three generations

 The two grandmas, doting on the kid

A nice hug for a fine person

On Monday, we spent the morning having fun with the other grandchildren. We went bowling and then ate some lunch. Finally, we had to go back home, since I had to teach school on Tuesday. But, wow, we really enjoyed ourselves for three days!

Obscure Knowlege Experts

This week, I passed out to 20 students confirmation that they were finalists in our school's Geography Bee. They were delighted. A couple of them were astonished...But, hey---you don't have to be in Mensa to be interested in maps, globes and the earth. So, in two weeks, we'll hold the final contest. Their parents are invited to watch, and then the last one standing will be awarded the medal and certificate that I have waiting in my classroom.

I asked our PTO to fund our registration this year because it has been several years since we even held the contest. It is sponsored by the National Geographic Society (naturally...) and we have a plaque in our library with the names of previous years' winners. But the last one posted there was a boy I know is in high school now. I had his little brother two years ago. So, I decided to just jump in and run it myself because I love geography, trivia contests, and giving students a chance to excel without a grade attached. Plus, I know how fun it is to watch your child be a winner in an event like this.

In fact, I even know how a grandma feels on these occasions! I came home from school, on the day I passed out the confirmations, only to read on Facebook how our granddaughter (6th grade) had won the Geography Bee in her school in Utah! And her brother (3rd grade) even made it into the contest as the only one in his level against the 4th, 5th and 6th graders. It's exciting! But not surprising...we love maps in our family. We've been geography nuts for generations.

Their mother was on a trivia team in high school. Their school had the reputation of being a sort of under-achieving place. Probably 2/3 of our parents picked strawberries for a living. It wasn't in the hoity-toity part of town. But, there was a lot of spirit! And one year, our daughter's team beat the fancy private high school in a tie-breaker nail-biter final! She helped by being the child of Wyoming people.That final question was "Which is the oldest National Park?" Naturally, all those California kids were thinking Yosemite. However, we watched from the audience, as our daughter vigorously made her case in the team huddle for Yellowstone. After all, we'd been visiting the grandma's the previous summer when all the Yellowstone Centennial festivities were going one. She convinced them, and --they won!! It was a great moment to remind the other students that, just because you might not live in the coolest part of town, it doesn't mean you aren't SMART!

She went on to be on the college trivia team, and eventually she even appeared on Jeopardy! And, of course, I've got a few game shows in my resume. So, we love facts in our family. We can't help it...there are words out there! And they must be read! Somehow, many of them stayed firmly in our brains, waiting for just the right moment when someone might really need to know where the taxidermied horse Trigger is on display, or what type of whale has a long sharp protuberance on its nose. You just never know.

Motivation

We have a student in our grade who needs more motivation. By "we" I mean my two fellow 4th grade teachers. I am the writing teacher, one of them teaches math, and the other teaches reading. Between the reading teacher and I, we work in the science and social studies, too. But, we've got this one boy who, despite his reasonable ability, is not at all motivated to do well in academics.

His life is oriented to football. He's a big and tall fellow, for being only ten years old. He loves to watch football, and he plays on a team. He is pretty good at it, too, I imagine. He has stated to each of us, more than once, that he doesn't really care about school; and, because he is going to be a pro football player some day, he doesn't think school is really that important.

Now, I can't blame him for this attitude. I mean, when I was ten, I really don't think I was overly excited by trying to figure out the author's purpose for writing whatever it was I reading in class. But that is one of the standards that the reading teacher is obligated to teach. In fact, although I loved reading, I don't remember any lessons at all about it from elementary school. Um..I do remember struggling with division, however.

So, my co-worker, the reading teacher, had a great idea. She has connections in the sports world through her husband's work, so she reached out to find some NFL player who might be willing to write a letter to our student with the player's opinion of whether or not school was important for a person who aspires to become a pro footballer. She got the letter on Friday!

A player from Tampa Bay wrote an email to her, addressed our student in the greeting, and went on to explain why this player felt that school was, indeed, important if you aim for the NFL. He wrote about the discipline of doing hard things, and how it is the only way a person can get good enough to be a pro player. He talked about how important it is to learn to follow directions, tough it out when it seems to hard, and that school makes you a better person. I forget the rest, but it was a very nice letter that emphasized how important it was to this player that he had gone to school, and that it got him into college and gave him the opportunity to be a football player now.

So, my friend printed off the letter, (keeping the email private) and gave it to our guy. He was over the moon! Turns out that this player plays in the same position our student plays in his league team. But, was our kid ever impressed! I don't even know if he realizes how cool it was that his teacher cared enough to do this. Then, she asked him to sit down and type out a reply, so she could email it back to the player. He was finally motivated to write!

What a great teacher she is, and what a fine thing to do for this boy. I do like his personality. He is curious and funny, but really, really not excited about school work. So, I hope this little gesture from a kind man, who didn't need to do anything for us, will help our student turn it around in class. Positive motivation is always more effective. It's just about impossible to push a rope...

The Good News...

This afternoon, it was 73 degrees as I drove across town at 3:00 P.M. !! That's more like it, Las Vegas!


The bad news...
 I was driving across town because I'd been visiting the endodontist. Yes, that is the dentist who specializes in root canal treatments. Blah. I'm scheduled to have my latest root canal next Thursday. But, if it means I'll be able to chew on the right side again, then, bring it on! 

So, anyway, I don't think the pool will have ice on it anymore. I moved all my outdoor potted plants back out to the edge of the patio and gave them a nice soaking with the hose since the outdoor irrigation is turned off. The geraniums are still blooming. I'll need to pull up the dead basil and tomato plants from where they finally were killed by the frost in my garden bed. But, I still have two tomatoes to eat from the second crop greenies we picked and brought in last week on the night they were predicting the first frost. And I have a cup full of nicely dried basil leaves that I'm using in the yummy stews and soups that have been our dinners during our annual "winter" here in the Mojave. I love that it only lasts for two weeks. I'm pretty much over it now, so the balmy temperatures are good to see.
  Weather Sissy signing off for today.... 

Vacation is Over

My students were pleased to see me back today. I'd missed the last two days before Christmas break because I'd gotten very ill. It felt weird to be back at school because it seemed like such a long, long time since I'd been there. I had three absent students, and I wasn't surprised. There are often several students who don't return on the first day after our long winter vacation. Sometimes, it is because they've gone out of town and aren't back yet. And sometimes, it is just because no one at their house noticed that school started again. Seriously.

Today, as we were walking down the ramp from the playground, downstairs to the door which leads to our hallway, I noticed a little girl standing by her parents and crying her eyes out. When I approached them, as we got to the stairs, I suggested to her that she ought to just follow my class inside to go to her room. I thought they were waiting for us to pass by in order to walk up the ramp to the playground where all the classes meet at the beginning of the day after the bell. However, it wasn't being a little late that was causing her stress.

I said, "Don't worry, you're not late. You can come here with our class and go down to your room."  I explained that her class was probably already downstairs in their classroom. No response--just more crying. At that point, Dad said to me, "Oh, she is just wanting more vacation! She isn't upset about being late."  Ha, ha, ha!! That made me laugh.

I leaned down so I could see her face better, and I replied, "Oh, I know just how you feel! Most of us teachers wish we were still on vacation, too! I don't think anyone is excited to be here today."  She and dad followed us in the door, and I directed him down the hall to her third grade classroom. He had to hold her hand and pretty much insist that she keep walking. I hope she had a better day. It didn't start that well.

We had a pretty good day in fourth grade, but everyone was quite tired. And now, it's time to go to bed, because tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow we have to get up and do it all over again. We'll all feel better soon as we get back into our groove.

Happy New Year! The Pool is Frozen!

Actually, there is only a film of ice across the top of the pool. But, it makes for a great headline, huh?  There was such disappointment this New Year's Eve in Sin City. For several days there was eager anticipation that we might get snowed on for the celebration!! Yes, snow!! It certainly has been cold enough for snow.

I moved all of my patio plants in from the edges to right next to the house, so I could cover them with the beach towels. It was definitely the end of the garden. We've been picking the "second crop" tomatoes and using fresh basil since the heat dropped off and the plants revived in the end of October. But, a couple of days ago, the basil all turned black overnight because it dipped below 30 degrees. So, it's time to pull up all the dead plants in the garden bed and let it rest till the end of February, when I will plant the new tomatoes.

The weather people were feverishly panting over the prospect of the convergence of a very low jet stream bringing freezing air to the Mojave Desert and the moisture being blown inland from the Pacific Ocean. We were being alerted to the possibility (almost certainty...) that we'd have snow in the city!! But, rats, there were only a few flakes in the extreme southwestern parts. The wind kicked up and blew the snow over to Arizona where they got six inches in Kingman. But, our mountains that form the western edge of the valley got a fresh new painting, and all the tourists froze their fannies during the big celebration on the Strip last night. It was mighty chilly here. I hope the bright blue sky of this New Year's morning will compensate the ones who came here to get away from the frozen regions they call home.

 But, I know that this cold will be gone by next week--winter is fleeting here. It's predicted to be up to 67 again by Wednesday. That's good; that's why we live here and not in some northern latitude. I'm just sad for my students. I know they'd have LOVED a big old snowstorm, or even a light dusting. It would have been such a great topic of discussion when we get back together on Monday. Now, all we'll have to discuss is whether or not it was ME who disrupted their Playstations and XBoxes over the holidays. Bwah ha ha ha!! (cue the evil laughter...)

Here is what is coating the surface of our pool this fine New Year's Day.

Desert Day

On Friday, I didn't have to teach school because Nevada celebrated its annual Statehood Day. This was an extra special celebration since it has been 150 years that the Silver State joined the Union. Abraham Lincoln needed us to secure enough votes to pass the 13th Amendment to the Constitution that would outlaw slavery in the United States.

So, while the parade to commemorate the Nevada Sesquicentennial (new word of the year for fourth grade)  marched through downtown Las Vegas, we went out to the desert and visited the Colorado River. Last spring, during Teacher Appreciation Week, I received a two-for-one offer to go on a raft trip that started at the base of Hoover Dam and went down river several miles through Black Canyon. So, CoolGuy and I decided this would be an excellent way to celebrate the founding of Nevada, and to enjoy a beautiful, calm fall day in the Mojave. Boy, were we right!

We rode a little bus down a hair-raising twisting and turning road that went down the canyon wall to the river side. It was originally created in the 1930's to get the workers down to the water where they first started on the dam, and it hasn't seen much improvement since. But, it is awesome (in the original meaning of the word) to stand down there at the edge of the placid river and look up, and up, and up to top of the canyon walls. Then, you look to the left and there is the historic face of Hoover Dam looming up into the sky. There is a new highway by-pass bridge that crosses the canyon just south of the dam to eliminate the need for traffic over the historic structure, and, seeing it from that view was also a mouth-gaping experience. I have endless respect for the people who built both of those structures!

We had a fabulous time! During fall, the river is at its lowest, so this is not a fast-water, rapids-type of river cruise. In fact, a couple of times, we actually scraped the rocks on the bottom as our guide carefully maneuvered the craft through some delicate places. The water is so clear at that part of the river (because the silt is behind the dam) that we could see fish swimming, and the underwater plants swaying in the current. There were cormorants nesting along the canyon walls, and flying overhead, looking for dinner. We saw mallards and a pair of blue herons, and heard the warbling of wrens. But mostly we just gaped at the canyon walls and the astounding geology all around us.

The guide was well versed in explaining the interesting details about various rock formations and the little canyons that split through the edges of the massive rock ledges surrounding us. He pointed out several caves created by sulphur hot springs that came from inside the volcanic formations we passed through. It is really rather jarring to be there in this stark environment and then come upon a cave carved through the stone, with the ceiling and walls of the cave completely covered in maiden hair fern. The startling green surrounded by the red rock is so beautiful. Also, there are the barrel cacti dotting the walls that seem to sprout directly from the stoney surface. The desert is filled with life! But you have to be tough to live here.

We were not treated to any big horn sheep on this trip, and usually they see several, so we stopped off at the city park on the outskirts of Boulder City and admired the herd of 20-25 that hang out there on the grass around the tennis courts. In the evenings, they head back up into the mountains where they are protected by their ability to stand on the tiniest ledges imaginable and keep an eye out for predators. But during the day, hey--back to the shady park with the nice green grass that the people provide for us.

The river trip was fantastic--it included lunch on a sandy beach where we pulled in to take a little rest. Then, we boarded the pontoon boat for the rest of the ride down to a campground/picnic area on the Arizona side called Willow Beach. This is definitely a future Grandma Camp adventure! Our fellow passengers were from England, Sweden, Wisconsin, Las Vegas and Arizona. Just wear plenty of sunscreen, drink lots of water, wear your wet towel around  your neck and you'll have a great day, too.

 Hoover Dam, from the side of the river.

 The new by-pass bridge almost dwarfs the amazing dam structure. 

 

Here's CoolGuy standing on the Nevada bank of the Colorado River.

We walked down to the boats from the parking spot.

 It didn't take long to leave the dam behind.These passengers were from Sweden.

And, yes, they were wearing sunscreen. They told us how much they loved being in the sun.

I got completely absorbed after this, and forgot to take anymore photos. I was mostly using my binoculars to look at bird nests, and rock formations. The weather was very pleasant--it was around 75-80 degrees. We were completely comfortable, especially when we took advantage of the damp hand towels offered by the guide. We draped them around our necks and that cooled us down perfectly. The Colorado River water is about 55 degrees, so that's where we moistened the towels. You could sit on the edge of the pontoon and dangle a foot in the water, if you wanted, too. Next time you come to Las Vegas, you ought to consider doing this trip. I knew it would be pretty good, but it far exceeded my expectations for serenity and beauty and just really fine immersion in nature.

Autumn

Fall has come to the desert. We don't get colorful leaves, although some of the trees here are deciduous and, because of the decreasing hours of daylight, have dropped their leaves. We do get pumpkins and Halloween decorations everywhere. Our school's Fall Festival is coming up next Friday, wherein we teachers all supervise the carnival games and paint faces and sell hot dogs. But it's really pretty fun, and the older students come back with their younger siblings and so it's like a reunion.

The next indicator that fall has officially arrived is the temperature. It only gets up to 85 during the days now, and in the early morning, when I first leave for work, it is actually in the 60's. The pool season is officially finished. The water is just too chilly for even me. I've been known to jump into the ocean when it was really cold, but I'm probably too chicken to do that now. These days, we just use the hot tub. Every evening, we go out there and enjoy it under the starry sky. (No really, we can see quite a few stars since we're situated next to a large mountain and beyond it is the open desert). It's always nice to soak for a little while before heading into bed.

But, the real proof that autumn has arrived is this:

Some of my students are now wearing their coats to school. Yes, a coat, with a fur-lined hood. After all, it isn't 95 degrees at 8:00 A.M. any longer, so it must be coat weather, right?  I can understand a sweater, or a light jacket...but, seriously? My students crack me up. They're so weather-warped living here.

We will actually have a few days that will require a coat. A couple of times each winter since I've moved here, it was quite cold. A few times the temperature hovered in the low forties for several days. It has dipped below freezing every year during the winter. I'll go outside and there will be a layer (a mighty thin layer) of ice across the pool and spa. So, yes, I own a coat and I occasionally wear it. And, if I were a youngster walking to school for 15 or 20 minutes, I'd probably wear my coat more often. But, Sweetie-who-wore-it-this-week, I think you can hold off for a few more weeks.

Maybe she bought it over the weekend, and it was new, so she just couldn't resist. Me? I wore Capris again.

Date Night in Gonzo Land

I meant to write this on Sunday evening, but I've been really busy with school stuff. Teaching is hard enough, but now our district has added a whole new gigantic computerized grading program/attendance/parent link set up that, apparently, wasn't actually ready for roll-out, and every day is a new adventure.

However...on Saturday night, we did something fun. It all started when I attended a school supplies give-away day at one of the casinos here. Each year, just before school begins, they sponsor a big event in which you just show up and load up a huge bag with notebooks, pencils, erasers, paper and all kinds of excellent school supplies---free! There is a limit of one bag, but it can be a big bag. At the conclusion of this event, I also was given a ticket to come with a friend, for free, to see one of the attractions to preview as a possible field trip destination.

So, on Saturday, one day away from the expiration of my free ticket, CoolGuy and I went to see the dolphin habitat and white tigers at a big old Strip casino. We thought maybe we'd scout it out as a future Grandma Camp option. It was pretty cool. The dolphins are quite fun to watch, and they interact with their trainers every hour, so you can sit by their pools and watch them play with balls, wave their tails, leap out of the water and do other fine dolphin things. Then, we wandered through the tiger/lion garden. It doesn't matter what size they are---cats are cats. They really just reminded us of the Queen KittyKat who allows us to share her domain. The big ones laid on their branches and casually flipped their tails, yawning wide and letting you glimpse their amazing fangs. It was a lounging time of day, so they didn't do much, but you could see the remains of a watermelon that the tiger had apparently been batting around with his paws. There are two little white tiger cubs in this habitat, too, but we missed them because they were already put into the nursery for the night.

So, after we visited the ocean and then the wilds of Africa and India, we wandered across the street to Maine. We went to a favorite eatery called Lobster ME.  (Get it--ME as in Maine?) We ate some lobstah rolls and a little coleslaw and people-watched because this little corner of Maine is situated inside Italy. Or rather, FAKE Italy inside the Venetian hotel. Lots of different folks, from bridal parties to families to packs of young adults wandered around as we munched our yummy seafood.

Then, we had a little dessert decadence from Haagen-daz and made our way back to the free parking valet to get the truck and head for home. Except that as we were driving down the weirdo Strip, I noticed that the front parking lot of one of the casinos was filled with old hearses--car show! Yes, hearses...

Hey! It's October---it was the Haunted Hearse Car show! It was an unusual event. I've been to plenty of car shows in my time, but who knew there was a group of gearheads devoted to funeral vehicles. It was weird;  fun, but weird. We walked around for a few minutes and admired the many versions of ways you can take your last ride. There were lots of people dressed in zombie attire, or long capes and top hats, and a few in the sexy-witch-type thing. But, there were some mighty awesome old cars, too.

So, after that little detour, we headed for home finally. It's a pretty strange place where we live---lions, tigers, dolphins, haunted car shows, lobstah rolls and showgirls. Most of the time, I stay far, far away from the Shiny Streets, but every once in a while--it's kinda fun!

 Can you see the "driver"--it's a skeleton.

He at the wheel of really nice 1960's Cadillac.

Here's the back end.

It takes all kinds...

A Life to Celebrate

It was 105 years ago today that CoolGuy's father was born. He was the third child, and third son, born to his parents. Undoubtedly he was born in a home---whether it was his own or in his grandmother's home--I don't know, but that's where women had their babies in that era.  He was 16 years old when his youngest sibling, a sister, was born. In that era, the 1920's, in the Rocky Mountain valley where he spent his entire life, he'd have been finished with school and working full time. As a young man he helped with the family farm which included a large herd of sheep. He was a skilled sheep shearer and herder. Married at age 20, he and his lovely young bride spent their first six months of married life living in a sheep camp.

 Here's a cute photo of the honeymooners.

 

 Within five years, they had three fine young sons. 

When the youngest of these was eighteen, 

they added son #4--CoolGuy.

Their first house was a tent on some property they owned in town. He dug a basement, finished it, roofed it, and the family moved in. It was a complete apartment that served them well while the house was built above it. The sheep ranch had gone bust because of the Great Depression, so he worked where he could find a paycheck. He labored in a traveling shearing crew during the wool season. He drove a coal truck, a log truck, and a grain truck. In the fall, he guided out-of-state elk hunters in the surrounding mountains, helping them to find their dream trophy animal. It was a time when people did what they could to keep food on the table and clothes on their back. He was also an Army veteran, working at a base in the east as a mechanic. Another interesting job he did for a couple of years was working as an usher in the Wyoming legislature when one of his sons served as a state representative.

There was a large support system of family members. Between the two sides of the family, there were eighteen aunts and uncles. Nearly every Sunday dinner was eaten at a grandparent's home with a group of relatives. It's just what you did back then. 

The years passed, the three sons grew up. One got married, and produced a grandchild. The next year, that little granddaughter got a brand-new uncle!! I really wish I'd had a chance to talk to CoolGuy's mother and hear what she thought when they found out he was "on the way" at that point in their lives. CoolGuy remembers fondly his pleasant life as an "only" child, since his nearest older brother graduated from high school shortly after CoolGuy was born. 

It confused our children for several years that their "cousins" were all adults on their dad's side of the family. the cousins' children were our kids' contemporaries.

(Isn't he a cute little boy??)

 CoolGuy's father worked in the summers for his adult son's trail ride business at this point. Since his mom was employed full-time as a telephone operator, CoolGuy spent a lot of time at work with his dad. They fed cattle from a horse drawn sleigh in the winter. CoolGuy cleaned corrals while his dad worked to shoe the horses and mules in the Spring. One summer, his father drove a road grader up and down a fifty mile canyon, keeping the dirt road passable for the big trucks that hauled logs out to the lumber mill in town. CoolGuy got to "drive" behind the grader in the Dodge truck that held the fuel and tools to keep the big machine running.  (It involved mostly steering, as it chugged along in the lowest gear.) They spent their nights in a log cabin at a ranch in the middle of the forest. Dream job for any10 year old boy!

 This photo is from CoolGuy's first trail ride. The ride/camping trip lasted about two weeks. They were in the wilderness area in the southwest corner of Yellowstone Park. His dad wrangled horses and mules, and helped cook in big Dutch ovens over a campfire. I realize now what a huge amount of work this business entailed. But for an eight year old boy, it was pretty much heaven.

After 34 years of marriage, the two childhood sweethearts were separated by the death of CoolGuy's mother. He was only eleven years old. His father was bereft, of course, but the large family support system helped the two of them to continue on. A little over three years later, his father remarried and she is the Grandma pictured below.

CoolGuy's father and his new stepmother had twenty years together before his dad passed away at age 78. She was a great traveling companion, mother to his teenaged son, and, in the last few years, his loving and kind care taker. They came down to balmy SoCal visit us several times to escape the harsh winters. They'd sleep in a nearby motel, but spend most of their time with us. These visits lasted several weeks, and it was great to have relatives be a part of every day life. It was a little glimpse of how CoolGuy's dad had raised his sons.

He taught his sons that hard work is a noble profession. He taught them that family loyalty is important. He taught by example that people should be kind and helpful--it's always the right thing to do. He led a long life, and was eulogized by a large family who remembered him with love and gratitude.

He, too, was born with motor-oil in his veins, and passed that on to his son. Luckily.

The Waning

So it is now officially Autumn. We passed the autumnal equinox on Tuesday, and we are heading into the Dark Times. If you read this blog very often, you'll know that I whine about this event every year. You'd think I was an ancient Celt or a  follower of the old Nordic gods. No...it's just that I love summer.

 I've been enjoying this latest season of the sun. It was weirdly not scorching-hot here in the desert for most of August, but now that September is here, we've had the temperature get up to 100 degrees almost daily. However, since the sun is lower in the sky, it doesn't stay hot at night. But the pool warmed back up, and I've been enjoying splashing about at the end of the school day. I might be able to keep swimming into October this year. I'm definitely going to keep trying. One day it'll be too cold. In the meantime, I'll be out there.

I don't look forward to the dark times that approach. Yes, yes, we get to celebrate some fun traditions with Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. But you know that these holidays are situated in the fall because of ancient peoples and their attempts to ward off the dimming light and bring back the sun?  Christmas --- the remembrance of Christ's birth --- would be more accurately celebrated in the Spring. Thanksgiving is just a northern hemisphere party to rejoice over the bounty of the harvest. Winter is coming and it will be a long, long time before things start to grow again. In the fall, it seemed like there was such an abundance, that people could afford to splurge a little and have a feast. Halloween, again...another celebration of the spooky darkness.

Okay, I'm sounding too cynical. I actually LOVE Christmas and Thanksgiving. I'm also a fan of Halloween as a chance to dress up and act silly and eat candy. (horror movies, devil worship, zombies, etc. not-so-much) So, I'm not bad-mouthing the fun things we do in the fall. It's really only the fading daylight that I mourn. I'm pretty sure, however, that if I lived near the equator, where the daylight remains the same throughout the year, that it would seem too weird to me and I'd miss these seasonal changes.

So, enjoy the remaining days of Indian Summer, Fall, Autumn, Harvest---so many names! Enjoy the autumn leaves--if you've got them. Enjoy the pumpkin spice latte or cider or hot cocoa around your bonfire of burning leaves. I'll enjoy the slight decrease in sweating, the opportunity to wear a light sweater in the early part of the day, and my students' enthusiasm for their Halloween costumes. There's something to cheer all of us, as we note the coming of the Darkness of Winter. The end of Summer. The earth's orbit around the sun...I'm so glad I know about science, and that, this, too, shall pass.

Here's someone loving the celebrations of Fall!

It's Her Birthday!

It started out for me to be one of those no good, horrible, terrible days. I was grumping around, moaning about a day of meetings I had scheduled because of our regular monthly planning time. No students today...just pieces of paper and bureaucratic nonsense to deal with. Blah.

But! Then I remembered that it was HER BIRTHDAY!! At 4:00 A.M. (or there abouts) she arrived in our home! Literally...we had the midwives come and we delivered our third child in a very serene home birth. Now that so many people have watched the cool T.V. show, "Call the Midwife," we don't freak out folks so much when we tell them about our four, on-purpose, homebirths.

Our second daughter's entrance into the world was really lovely, too. It was just before dawn and SoCal was really starting to heat up. The weather was in the Santa Ana pattern, so by noon we were up in the 90's, which is ridiculous for the ocean-facing hillside where we lived. But, She was completely calm for all of it. In fact, a short time after she was born, I was a holding her on my lap as I reclined on a couch, and she looked at me intently, and then chattered some babbling baby conversation at me. It was so unexpected. It was behavior that is not typical of a child so young. She "talked" to her dad, too. Then, we didn't have her make eye contact nor "talk" to us again, until she was many weeks older, and it was developmentally appropriate. I always feel she was telling me something really important about heaven where she'd just been.

She's spent most of her life making friends, helping others, and being a total ray of sunshine for those around her. She's also spent quite a huge part of it in classes and all that hard work paid off last June as she was awarded the degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice. So, now the "doctor" can officially go out there and take care of everyone!! We love having her in the family.

  I think she was probably approaching two years old in this photo in San Diego.

 Her smile is just irresistible!

Helping to wash the car...it didn't get very clean.

 

Posing like a model on Dad's bike.

 

 And here, she is actually a model in a fashion show at a mall.

 

On a windy day in western Idaho, going for a roller skate sail.

 

Outside the church with Dad and sister.

  

On the pier watching the storm waves with sister.

 

With Mom and sister on the patio.

 

 First day of school!

Last day of junior high in California.

 Matching dresses from our Master's degrees.

 LAST DAY OF SCHOOL EVER!!

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Oregon Health and Science University

2014