The Nose Knows

I know I've written before about my dog Lucy and her amazing sniffer, but this blog is called Walking the Dog for a reason!

Maybe it was getting up at 5:30 am after a 3-day weekend, or maybe it was the weevils I found in my black-eyed peas when I put them in some water to soak, but whatever the reason, I was behind in my morning routine today when I stepped out the door to take Lucy for a quick walk. We powered our way to the back hill where she usually does her business, and I was relieved when she started the little leash-dance that means it's time to get out the bag.

All of sudden, though, her nose flew in the air and began to urgently sniff some invisible odor wafting above. A quick pivot to her right and she was dragging me with all her might across the hill and toward the pool. We're a Dog Whisperer household, and such behavior is never permissible, so a quick yank on the leash brought her to a stop. Even as she sat, I could see her leaning in the direction she really, really, really, REALLY, wanted to go, and so I gave her the "OK" and prepared to follow, quickly, so she

was
not
pulling

Over the hill and up the steps we traipsed until finally we made it to the cedar fence that houses the pool utility shed. Preparing to round the corner, I wondered what we would find.
A cat?
A raccoon?
A fox?
A deer?

With a last mighty jerk on the leash, Lucy and I burst onto the unmown grassy strip that runs along the retaining wall behind the pool deck and saw...

Our neighbor Lauren and her dog, Lady, two of Lucy's dearest friends. "You found our secret pooping spot!" Lauren said, recovering nicely from the shock of our entrance. A couple of wagging tails and one very satisfied goldendoodle later, we headed home, still running late, but not really minding as much.

Hometown Tourists

It seemed like a long time since we had seen the sun when at last it appeared yesterday afternoon. Taking advantage of the break in the weather, we put the dog in the car and headed off to the other side of town and the National Arboretum. It had been many, many years since I had been there, and I was eager to check it out.

Early March is not a very popular time to explore the 446 acres on the eastern edge of Washington, DC, but we did not have the place to ourselves, which was fine. There was a certain jolly camaraderie with everyone we met, all of us bundled in layers against the wind and happy to be out in the fresh air. And despite the mostly empty beds and leafless trees there was still quite a bit to see.

The National Capitol Columns stood stark against the faded blue sky, and it won't be long until the flowering trees are in bloom. In the herb garden a new exhibit of hops pays tribute to the rise in popularity of craft beer, something I could definitely get behind!

A little further down was another outdoor exhibit on grass and lawns, which was fascinating even at this time of year. We spent a little while comparing the winter colors and textures of the several examples, and I sent a picture of the welcome banner to my brother-in-law, a man who knows his lawns!

With so much space to walk and so many things to smell, Lucy loved it too, and we could see why it is known as one of the dog-friendliest attractions in town. The sun disappeared behind some clouds and the day grew dark before we even had a chance to check out the azalea library, the bonsais, the fern trail, the grove of state trees, or the famous eagle nest, but we weren't disappointed: all the more reason to visit again soon.

Family Breakfast

I took advantage of the new conference call feature on FaceTime to catch up with my mom, brother, AND sister all at once this morning. It was really fun to share some Saturday morning routines with each other despite being hundreds of miles away. My niece showed us her cheer routines from the student-teacher basketball game the night before, my 13-year-old nephew chatted briefly about the banana skin in the new season of Fortnite before grabbing an ice cream sandwich for breakfast.

"I can't complain about him not eating a healthy breakfast," my sister shrugged. "I had cinnamon toast this morning."

"I had cinnamon toast this morning, too!" I said. "I don't even know the last time I had it, but I just felt like it this morning!"

"Me, too!" my sister replied.

"I forgot how yummy it is," I added.

"Same!" my sister agreed.

My mother looked a little disapproving, whether it was the ice cream, the cinnamon toast, or both, was hard to tell.

"You can still get in on this!" I told her. "You're an hour behind!"

No-Snow Day

When school is closed because of snow it seems wrong to venture far from your own warm house unless it's to shovel, sled, or walk the dog. But this morning our district surprised everyone by canceling school in anticipation of weather that never materialized. Sure, there was some icy snow to scrape, and the day was raw and gray, and a few slick spots warranted a bit of caution when walking or driving, but the 2-hour delay they originally scheduled probably would have taken care of those conditions.

Oh, I'm not complaining-- I spent the morning reading and replying to the first slice of life posts of my sixth graders, who were themselves stunned by this turn of events. When it came time to walk the dog, however, I saw no reason to restrict ourselves to the neighborhood, so we bundled her into the car and headed up to a county park that has been on my list of places to visit for a while.

Fort Bennett Palisades are located on a steep spit of land between some 1.5 million dollar townhomes and the Potomac River. A narrow trail starts near a Civil War era spring house and winds into a mature growth hardwood forest, past two stone driveway pillars, which are the only remains of Bay Eva, an actual castle built in 1950 and demolished less than 50 years later.

Today the path was muddy and the sound of the traffic on the GW Parkway was a bit jarring, but our dog, Lucy, loved it. Her nose was either on the ground or in the air, scenting all the wildlife that must have been just out of sight. Within sight, though, was the thing I had hoped to see. A bald eagles' nest balanced in the top crook of a tall sycamore, right between the parkway and the river, and on the branch beside it?

One of its occupants surveyed her dominion, looking for all the world like the national bird she is.

Day by Day

We introduced the 100 Day Writing Challenge yesterday to mixed reviews. Each year, starting on March 1, our sixth graders participate in 3 different month-long writing assignments. There is a minimum requirement, a reward level, and then the ultimate challenge: to write every single day until June 8. Some kids love it right away, like the 4 guys who made a pact to do it together and choose matching T-shirts for their prize, and other kids are pretty skeptical.

When that second group brings up hypothetical obstacles to writing and posting every day, I share with them the experiences of past students. One guy went to soccer camp over spring break, and finding no Wifi, called his mother every night to dictate his post. Another student had a death in her family in India, but through the miracle of the World Wide Web, she too posted every day she was away.

I also share my own experience. This post is the last of ten consecutive years of daily writing with never a miss, 3,652 days in a row. There have been some challenges to be sure. Early on I had to drive to town every day while on vacation in Maine because our rental house’s connection was so spotty. And even tonight I am composing this piece on my phone because of a cable internet service outage in our area. Somehow, I’ve always been lucky and determined enough to find a way to extend my streak.

Even so, we try to approach the experience with a growth mindset and a few safety nets to make the challenge more doable for our students. Don’t give up before you start, we say. Just try it one day at a time. This year we showed a quick video of a girl who did push-ups for a hundred days in a row to emphasize the idea that with practice comes strength. I don’t know about the kids, but I’m ready to start pushing up! In fact, I started thinking that although I always write alongside them in this challenge, maybe it would be more inspiring if I tried to do something else for the hundred days.

Put a pin in that!

Deep Bench

I may have mentioned that there is a student teacher working with me until April 5. We have reached the point in her internship where she does most of the teaching, a lot of the planning, and some of the grading. Fortunately, the soon-to-be teacher that I am mentoring is great-- smart, organized, funny, and able to manage some big (and sometimes wild!) classes of sixth graders.

I realized just how lucky I am when yesterday she was out for a dentist appointment and today I did the lesson myself to introduce the 100 Day Writing Challenge. After two full days of teaching? I'm exhausted!

Luckily, she takes charge again tomorrow, but what's going to happen on April 8? I better stay in shape!

Felix Awards

On the morning before the Oscars, Emily (segundo) suggested we all write skits and act them out for awards before the actual show. The response was tepid, especially in the over 50 crowd.

"Isn't that more like the Tonys?" someone asked.

"Let's make films then," she pivoted neatly.

And with that, some of us were in. Treat embraced the challenge right away, enlisting both his parents and Emily as cast members in his brooding black and white film. His filmmaking entertained us as we took a three mile walk around our little peninsula that afternoon. Watching him pull his actors aside and direct them in front of ruined log cabins, swamps, beaches, abandoned boats, and No Trespassing signs was hilarious. Victor's approach was more subtle: from time to time he would fall behind the group, walking slowly with his phone pointed at odd ditches and bare trees.

I think others of us had good intentions; I know I spent some time filming and dramatically reading the extremely detailed rental house guidelines, but when the award show came on, there were only 2 movies for the jury in our first annual film festival.

Oh. my. god! Did we laugh and ooh and ah!

Treat's film, Major, was a droll, tragicomic narrative of a French pirate and a devastated coastal community, poignantly punctuated by the missing title character. Victor's movie was entitled Hague after the tiny town we were in, and it was an exquisite kaleidoscope portrait of so many beautiful images that we had all walked right past the whole weekend.

When the end credits rolled, there was a moment of stunned silence, and then genuine applause. Personally, I was speechless. Made and edited in one day, the movies were rough, but they were diamonds.