A Morning Walk

 

Mornings are frosty these days, and I put on my down jacket and gloves to go for a walk. Along one of my routes, a naturalized garden shows off the seasons. Today cyclamen provided such a welcome relief from browns and greens. 

More plentiful than the cyclamen were the early crocuses, pale stems ending in faint lilac buds that remained tightly closed in the cold. 

One homeowner has this large collection of bird houses mounted on a wall facing the path. We've seen a number of nesting birds there, but usually not this early. I heard the chipping of a sparrow and looked carefully at the birdhouses before I found him. He's in the pink house on right edge of the photo. 

In the same garden creamy catkins hung like earrings from slender branches. 

Nearing home, I stopped to admire my neighbour's snowdrops. She has a lovely bed full of them. 

I'm beginning a new routine once again, back at school in the afternoons. The teacher hired to fill my position as a Spanish teacher is unable to continue this semester. The school looked for a qualified replacement, unsuccessfully. So I said that I could fill in for this second semester. I have two classes, in the afternoons, mostly students I've taught before, and am enjoying being with them again.

I worked hard to develop the Spanish program at my school (it's an independent school), and I don't want to see it fail. There are costs - time with my little grandchildren is curtailed, and I am not as free as I was. However, it's just five months and then I will definitely be done. Today was the third day of class, and I'm a wee bit tired. To be expected, I know. And I also know that I'll get used to it once again. 

Morning walks will be a treat to enjoy as I adapt to this new schedule. 

Five on Friday

Fawn lilies shine like stars in the green woods where we walk in the evening. To see the yellow stamens one must bend low for they tuck their heads down and never look up. 

The light stays longer and longer and is so very welcome. We are in a stretch of warm sunny weather that feels almost like summer. My garden is thriving; snap peas, carrots, and radishes are growing well. I just planted beets, onion sets, and spinach. Strawberry plants are beginning to blossom. 

I am busy with teaching online. It is much less satisfying than the classroom. I miss my students, even the challenging ones. While I have a dedicated sewing room with a desk and a table upstairs, I wanted to be downstairs where there is more light and I'm closer to the centre of things. So we brought in an old table that we use outside and I scrubbed it up. At school I use a desk top to create my handouts, but at home I use a Surface Pro. We found an old keyboard and mouse that I enjoy using much more than the small keyboard that came with the Surface; it's much easier to use for typing the accents in Spanish. I need just the right height for videos and use some of my larger books to prop things up. The whole set up has been moved several times as I look for just the right light for video conferences and creating teaching videos for my students. This seems to work, in a corner of the dining room. I use that rice bag a lot as I spend a lot of time sitting and my back doesn't like it at all. 

In the woods the bluebells open, vibrant blue against green. The ones in my garden are a little slower. 

I've had a hard time settling into reading very much these days. My thoughts are scattered and I am easily distracted. I find that old books are comforting this is a selection of what I'm dipping into. The Quiet Center is a collection of essays published in Victoria magazine during its first 20 years or so, and there are many that I enjoy. 

Here is an excerpt from Meditations of a Beekeeper by Faith Andrews Bedford:

"In years past, as the crocus pushed eagerly through the soft earth, my honeybees greeted the arrival of the year's first flowers with excitement, diving into the deep cups of the blooms and covering their furry bodies with bright yellow pollen. Their buzzing echoed happily inside the purple chambers, and the blossoms shook. Each April, when the Andromeda bush by the back door was covered with delicate rosy panicles, the sound of the bees' quiet hum would greet our comings and goings. And as I snipped the tender new growth of thyme and rosemary, I would always find a honeybee or two already busy at work gathering nectar from her side of the herb."

In the woods an old apple tree blooms. Someone has cleared away the brambles and undergrowth that choked the tree, and now it's showing signs of life. It will be interesting to see if any apples grow from these blooms. 

These days roll on one by one. They feel odd in many ways, yet the garden grows as it always does, birds come to the feeder, and fawn lilies shine in the green woods. These things ground me. "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven" said wise King Solomon. These days have their rhythm. The strangeness will end. 

Of Light and Shadow on a Friday Morning

Children and children-at-heart are impatiently watching the skies this dark morning. We are waiting for snow. A few lazy flakes drift to the ground as I write. Not enough for a snow-day from school! Ah well, perhaps we'll be able to play in the snow this weekend. I'm hoping so.

Last Saturday we went for lunch with some friends. Our view included a boat-builders' dock and the old boat above. It doesn't look like the best advertisement for the business, but certainly has plenty of character. The day was gloomy with clouds and that's certainly reflected in the photo. 
  

On another day this week, I drove out to Island View Beach for a walk. The late afternoon light was so clear with temperatures hovering around the freezing mark. (That's cold for us.) Mount Baker, in Washington State, glowed white and blue.

The light transformed rose hips into almost translucent orbs of colour. Soon they will all fall and be replaced by fresh wild blossoms. 

Storms and waves toss up huge piles of driftwood along the shorelines. Beach visitors are almost compelled to create something from them - shelters, sculptures, artful arrangements. I don't know if the placement of arching branch was an affair of nature, or deliberate.

Oh, the light, beautiful as it fades.

On another day, light streamed in the window to dance on the frame photo of Hailes Abbey, taken almost 3 years ago now. 

A number of readers posed a question about what I teach in Grade 8 Foods. We run a program called RAFT - Robotics, Art, Food, Tech Ed (aka Woodworking) - for our 13-year-old students. This semester, February through June, is divided into 4 blocks with the students rotating through each of the four options. There are 3 groups of students, so I will have one block free. Our goal is to give students the opportunity to explore a variety of applied arts. It's just a taste - I think I have them for 25 class days. 

My goal is to help them see how they can learn skills that will enable them to eat well and to be mindful of what they eat. We begin with breakfast - Pancakes with Berry Sauce, followed by Banana Muffins. So they've learned how to mix two types of doughs, and thicken a sauce with cornstarch, cook on the stove top and use the oven. 

Next is lunch, and yesterday they prepared the pizza dough (yeast) and tomato sauce. Today they will roll out the crust, add the sauce, grate the cheese and bake it. Alongside, we're serving carrot sticks and cucumber slices, so those will be prepared while the pizza bakes. 

It's a busy, busy class - there are 24 students in 6 kitchens. Students come with a very wide range of experience. Some never cook at home; others prepare entire meals. We intersperse the cooking days with discussions and lessons about theory and nutrition. 

I demonstrated how to make the pizza dough on Wednesday and stressed a number of times to NOT squish the dough but to use a push and fold and pull method. Some students don't listen well. I was called to two kitchens where the "kneader's" hands were coated with sticky dough because they had picked it up and squished it through their fingers. What a mess! We scraped the dough off and I showed them, once again, how to knead. 

Of course, the best part of the course is eating the food they've prepared, and I don't think anyone has ever produced something utterly inedible. Cooking is very forgiving. 

Linking to Friday Bliss, hosted by Riitta of Floral Passions. 

Happy weekend!  

It's All about the Hat

Sports leave me cold. I have no interest in watching them, playing them, nor do I really care who wins. Oh, I can drum up some national spirit if Team Canada is vying for the gold medal in hockey at the Olympics, but that's about it. 

As you may remember, the Euro Cup 2016 took place earlier this month. In France. In fact, the final matches were the week we were on the cruise boat. Team spirit ran high. When the final came down to France vs Portugal, most people had strong opinions one way or the other. Our boat docked in Paris that night, and the Eiffel Tower was visible from the top deck. Big screens played the game to the crowds at the Tower. We weren't certain if the smoke visible in the photo was from fireworks or tear gas - both of which played a part in the evening. Off-duty crew were able to watch the match from a small television on deck. 

I didn't really care about the outcome, although if someone asked me, I'd say I'd like France to win. What I really wanted was ...

...a hat. Like this one, seen on the captain of the ship. I thought it would be a great addition to my French classroom. There were lots of hats being worn that week, but I couldn't find any in the stores. Perhaps we were in the wrong stores. 

The night of the big game, I spoke to the captain and he told me that if France won, I could have the hat the very next day. 

You might know how that turned out. France lost to Portugal. In overtime. I said nothing to the captain the next day. He looked very, very glum. Devastated, I heard someone say. 

No hat for my French class. Dommage. 

As Tim and I trundled our bags away from the ship on the last day, a group of crew members chatted a little distance away. One of them came over - it was the captain.

"Do you still want the hat?" he asked. 

Mais oui! 

He asked me to wait and brought me his hat. He apparently recovered from his "devastation" for he's smiling here.

"Next time, perhaps France will win," I suggested, in my best French.

"I hope so," he replied.

As a bonus, there's a music box in the hat that plays the Marseillaise - the French national anthem. Won't this be a great story to tell my Grade 8s? 

PS. The other gentleman in the photo is our cruise director. He cared as much about who won the game as I did, but thought the hat incident great fun. 

Mellow Days

Another October rolls round. My birthday month, but not until the end. Days of cooling nights and still sunny days. Pumpkins and apples. Pears and warming soups. Thanksgiving.
 

Golden rushes that will soon burst those fat tails. Photo taken in Alberta - ours here have long flung their seeds to the four corners on the wind.

Last Friday 45 of us (40 students + 5 chaperons) boarded a big yellow school bus. Over the water we went to Vancouver, to see Bard on the Beach - a yearly venue for Shakespeare productions. The Comedy of Errors was playing, with a steampunk theme. Delightful! We all laughed at the antics and wit of the actors. I especially enjoyed the costumes and set changes.
 

Home again, over the water as the sun drifts lower toward the horizon. Misty islands. Sculptured clouds. 

Over the weekend I tried out a new recipe from another blogger. Penny of The Comforts of Home posted this a few weeks ago. Slow Cooker Chicken Chile. Delicious! This hearty dish will become a regular around here. The only changes I made was to use one can of beans in place of two. 

The slow cooker has become a dear friend as I've transitioned back to work. It's a wonderful thing to walk across the parking lot after classes and know that dinner is mostly prepared.

And so begins October. How's it looking around your place?

Finding New Rhythms

The first few days of classes are behind me. I can do this. Lesson planning, interacting with students, and marking are hesitant rhythms yet, with the awkwardness that reflects a lost ease. Slowly, it will return.

The slant of sunlight illuminating trees with hints of gold is a sure sign that autumn is finding her rhythm, too. Misty mornings heavy with dew burn into deep blue skies. Morning's light jackets are shed as the sun rises higher and stronger. The sun fades behind the hills and I reach for a sweater.

Sunflowers hold autumn's colours - almost navy blue centers circled by specks of tawny yellow and fringed with bright, shining petals. They make me smile, standing there on my mantel. 

Bumpy Days

Not everything is shared on a blog. The roots from this bright blossom go deep into the rock wall, hidden from passersby. I'm feeling a bit melancholy this evening.
 

Grape hyacinths poke their pretty heads out from under the rocks. How hard they have worked to grow in this inhospitable place.
 

I watched this boat for awhile on Saturday. The waves rocked it backwards and forwards, bumping it against the shore. Things have been a little bumpy in my world for the past few weeks and the outcome not a happy one. But like the gull who managed to stay on his perch while the boat rocked, I'm keeping my balance and perspective, knowing that the bumps will ease and there will be quiet days ahead.

Three more days until spring break. I will likely not be teaching full time after it's over, and that's okay. Full time work is exhausting as well as rewarding, and there are other things to occupy me. I've got great plans - some redecorating, definitely gardening, time with loved ones, sewing projects and lots of books to read. Three more days of school and a pile of marking until I get there!

Birds of a Feather

A 10-minute walk from our hotel took us to a river estuary. The tall green reeds and grasses there were a direct contrast to the desert-like conditions elsewhere in Los Cabos. 

My camera worked overtime taking photos of the birds we saw there. The grouchy looking fellow in the above photo eyed us with suspicion as we stopped along the path. "Should I flee or shall I stay?" he seemed to be thinking.

Here's the same kind of bird, a Great Egret, with his lovely long neck extended. 
 

And away he goes, lifting off with sudden grace, long spindly legs trailing behind, extending a lovely double arch of feathers.
 

This brown pelican looks like he's doing a salutation to the sun, but he is just landing on a scrappy island in the middle of the estuary.

The editing of photos is going slowly. I've been working full days since Tuesday and have agreed to work full time until the middle of March, filling in for a teacher who has some family issues to cope with. Lesson prep takes precedence over blogging, I regret to say. Still, I hope to keep posting as time allows. 

My last class of the day is Home Ec 8 - the students are sewing aprons. What a bustling hive of activity. For all of them, this is their first introduction to sewing. What fun it is to help them, and what a great job most of them are doing. Soon we'll move to the foods unit. This is a half-term class designed to give them just a taste of sewing and cooking.