Half Full

Believe it or not, we turned the a/c on this evening just to cool the place down. Even though it's only mid-April, it was in the 80s again today, a little muggy, and Sonic and Isabel were offering just that amount of doggy goodness smell that we thought a blast of cool, dry air might make the place a tad more pleasant.

That's what we hoped, anyway, but the gods of the HVAC must have seen it differently, and our heat pump did not comply with our command. Two hours later it was much warmer and much doggier inside than out.

The upside? It's going to be nearly freezing tomorrow night, with temperate temps for the rest of the week, AND we're off for spring break, so lining up a repair will be neither urgent nor inconvenient.

I'll take it.

MIA

Um... isn't there usually a season between winter and summer? 

Anyone?

My Own Private Cherry Blossoms

We met some out of town friends downtown today, and coincidentally, their visit coincided with the Cherry Blossom Festival.

In general, I am a person who avoids crowds; I think it was the 90 minute wait to get into the metro station after the July 4th fireworks (20 some years ago) that really sealed the deal, even more so than the packed subway trains we were waiting for. But today, our objective was to see our friends, and they happened to be in a verrrrry popular place.

I can honestly say that I've never seen it so crowded downtown-- there were five lanes of people streaming in both directions everywhere you went, so everywhere you went was packed. It was a beautiful day though, high 70s and blue skies. The cherry blossoms were nothing short of perfect, too-- trees full of pink blossoms with just a scattering of confetti blossoms swirling in the light breeze. And, as impossible as it seems, everyone seemed to be in a good mood.

Everyone also seemed to have a camera of some kind, all of us trying to document the beauty we were witnessing. We all had something else in common, too. None of us wanted any of those strangers in our pictures. 

Where is Everybody?

I glanced out my classroom window at around 4:15 this afternoon. The parking lot was deserted, save for my trusty station wagon parked in the back corner. Embracing the rare quiet in a building usually buzzing with the business of over eight hundred souls, I cleaned my desk and set out all I needed for our first early morning back at school, nine days from today. Then I packed my things, headed out into the incredible 80 degree afternoon, and turning my face to the sun, I welcomed spring break and emptied that parking lot.

Old School

We took a traditional approach to learning poetry vocabulary today when my students made personal flash cards. Sure, in a nod to the 21st century we used neon index cards, but the only cutting and pasting took place with scissors and glue. When everyone was done, I provided a handy sandwich bag for each to store the cards. This, many found confusing. "How do I close this?" was the question of the day, and I demonstrated how to tuck in the top and pull the folded part over many times to much amazement.

"I think we're seeing the future!" one student marveled.

Rare Bird

I got a new student the other day. She's been on our team all year, but only just transferred to my class at the beginning of the fourth quarter, so I know her, but not well. Today on our field trip, she beckoned me over to the bird feeder outside the window of the nature center. "Isn't that a female brown-headed cowbird?" she asked.

As a bit of an amateur birder myself, I happened to know that it was. "Her mate was here yesterday," I told her, "I bet he shows up soon."

He took his time, but while we waiting she correctly identified a white-breasted nuthatch, a tufted titmouse, a Carolina chickadee, a downy woodpecker, and a red breasted woodpecker. "My mom loves birds," she explained. Later, as the naturalist was giving his talk, she caught my eye and nodded to the window. It was the male cow bird at last.

When our group headed outside for the next part of the program we stood in the lacy shadows of towering leafless trees. High above us, birds darted from branch to branch and the air was full of chirps and whistles. One four note trill sounded above the rest, and her eyes got wide. "Isn't that a blue jay?" she asked. 

It sure was, and rare is the sixth grader who could tell you so.

Silly Me

I told my students this morning that over Spring Break we were going to put the poetry challenge on hold and go back to slice-of-life. They were a little disappointed, but before I could explain my reasoning that I wanted to be able to clarify some of the poetry forms and terms in class as we go, someone's hand shot up.

"I know why you're doing that!" he blurted out. "It's so you can keep in touch with us over break, and know what we're doing, right?" His classmates nodded in understanding.

It's so cute that they think that. It reminds me of when Josh was a little boy. We were getting ready to go on vacation and were talking about the pet sitter. "Maybe when you're older, you can stay at the house and take care of the cats and dog," I said to him. "We would pay you and everything. I bet you would be the best pet sitter ever!"

At first he thought it sounded like a great idea, easy money, but then his face fell and his brow furrowed. "But wait," he said, "won't I be on vacation with you?"