If a tree falls....

If a tree falls, and you're standing right underneath it, will you hear a sound? As the survivor of an early morning tree attack, I can tell you the answer - yes.

This mighty maple was brought low by a small hanging pot of nasturtiums. I'd hung the pot out on one of the closer limbs. As I was filling the hummingbird feeder that dangled just a little further up the limb, I saw that the nasturtiums were dry. I filled the watering can and soaked the little pot and noticed that it sank lower and lower as the water weighed it down. Then I heard a tremendous CRAACK behind me, and thinking that just the limb was coming down, I stepped to the side -
See the red hummingbird feeder? This is the limb I was standing under, and the little bit of open area is where I luckily stood as the whole half of the tree came down. I came away with a bruised elbow, a couple of scrapes, and a small case of the shakes. The nasturtiums were not so lucky.

Although I do not recommend this as a regular start to a day, I will say that I was thereafter WIDE AWAKE.

Discoveries

Every morning the dog sniffs her way around the yard. She's built low to the ground and her nose is right there next to all the scents that the night has brought. I often wonder what it is that she's smelling. She will waddle right past a hole that looks interesting to me. Something must live there, I think. But she doesn't even give it a sniff. She stops to spend minutes intent on a spot of plain grass that looks no different from any of the grass around it. What is it that makes that spot so fascinating? I'll never know.
But sometimes I see what she smells. When the deer or bunny bounds away, I know she'll stop to sniff where they've been, perhaps with some regret for her short legs. And one day, her nose led her to something that didn't run away. She got to thoroughly explore her discovery, which stood patiently still to be snuffled all over, only withdrawing some tender body parts when the tickly whiskers came too close. It wasn't worried about the dog or the person who ran back into the house for the camera.
Maybe a little annoyed, wouldn't you say? but not worried, not at all.

The Desking Instinct

Every year when schools start, many of us feel the desking instinct stirring within us. We walk by displays of blank notebooks and unsharpened pencils and feel their potential drawing us in. "I could write something" we think, "Maybe I should take a class." We look longingly at post-it notes and highlighters, and feel an inexplicable craving for a brand new box of crayons.

This year my desking instinct was happily fulfilled by a wonderful goodie bag that was given to all the adjunct faculty.
I gloated over the treasures inside: staples! whiteout! a ruler! a red pen! a pencil box! a dictionary! and more and more - even the one thing no teacher can be without: a packet of Tylenol!
Thank you, thank you, Ivy Tech - this is one adjunct ready to set up her desk and teach!

How visiting Huron is like visiting Germany

It's true...although it might not seem that way at first glance....there are similarities between visiting northern Ohio and visiting Germany.

Lake Erie is not unlike the Bodensee.

There are all sorts of towers.
One can explore a history that is not so familiar.There are local wines to taste

And local produce to buy at roadside stands.

There are museums to show you how people lived in the past

Window boxes with bright flowers

and statues of cultural significance.

And, of course, the best part is visiting family!

Not for Nola (Sorry)

When my brother and I were kids, our hillside yard would occasionally break out in mushrooms. Joe and I would gleefully uncover one sort after another while our mother marveled at the diversity and profusion of the various growths. Hiking this past weekend in northern Ohio brought back memories of that time.This was our favorite: the pancake mushroom. Looks as if all it needs is some maple syrup. Most of the time we just called them by color: that green one

the yellow cap

the red velvet

the dainty white

the exuberant gold.

Little clusters of mushrooms like little families

some perfect, some slightly flawed

and all with a lot of character.

On vacation

There is a house, a sleeping house, where everyone is sleeping... except for one, who has already been down to the beach
twice.

Back to School

I am volunteering this year at a large elementary school, one with an international and transient population. Today I checked out text books. The lines were long, the time was short, and I was focused on the laser and the barcodes. Then a voice said "Mrs. Richey!" and I looked up - there were three familiar faces, all grinning from ear to ear, delighted that their librarian from last year had followed them to their new school.

All the world's a stage

The stage now is "The Copper Cup"

where the BCGS ensemble performs for a very small, select audience
the tender sounds of the guitars blending with the soft swoosh of the expresso machine.

In the heat of the day

When I open the door to go outside, a blast of hot air hits me as if I'd opened the oven door. Nothing is moving outside today. There's something called a "heat index". It seems to mean that it's really hotter than you think. And I thought it was pretty hot. Today the heat index is over 100 F.
The sidewalks and parks are empty as I drive to the store. An acrid smell of melting tar rises from the parking lot. I am drawn to the frozen fruit juice popsickles - nothing else appeals today. (They will melt in the overheated car on the way home.) The sun is a physical weight on my shoulders as I walk to the car. I have to find something to lay over the blistering car seat before I can sit down to drive home, and even then my thighs are roasting.
It's hot. But the dog still has to go out. I stay in the shade of the grape arbor and hope she'll be quick. She goes out on the concrete in the full sun - and I know from experience that it would burn my bare feet to follow her out there - and she calmly lies down to sunbathe.

With all that fur!

OPA!

Some people just have candles for their birthdays...

But Manda got to celebrate with flaming cheese and a wonderful Greek meal.

Local Food

It doesn't get more local than this - peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes that Granddad picked from his garden.

Lunching Librarians

A lovely summer day (o.k. so there was a little rain, who noticed?) - some cooking from the Barefoot Contessa in Paris - fresh croissants - sweet fruit - and a little wine (from Germany, of course)... the hours pass so quickly!
Mary, Patty, and Mary were still talking when I left, excusing myself to go help pack more boxes.

WonderGarden

One of the activities that I suspended this past school year was "Discovery Time" at Wonderlab, in which preschoolers explore a science theme with books, stories and some special activities. Now I've resumed this Wednesday morning activity. It was raining for my first two July Discovery Times, so we met inside in the lab. This week, Wednesday's weather was perfect - sunny but not too hot - and the Wondergarden made the perfect setting for our meeting.
I shared some simple facts about a crustacean common in Indiana, then equipped each budding scientist with a magnifying glass. "Who wants to hold one for a closer look?" I asked. Every little hand popped out. Mothers grimaced. I spilled the multi-legged creatures onto plump palms one by one. It took a while but finally all were supplied with a subject to oberve. Then I looked around. There in a circle behind me four children crouched, noses to the ground and rear ends in the air, eyes pressed to their magnifying glasses, while frantic pillbugs disappeared into the cracks between the stones.

Brunnen

It seemed as if there was always a fountain and the sound of water dripping or spurting or flowing...

Here, in peaceful Bebenhausen the church spire makes a simple trough fanciful.

And in Konstanz the bronze rabbit/fish entices William to feel as well as hear the water.

In Köln an ancient Roman head spits the water from the gap in its front teeth.

Some figures sit by the fountain...
and some in it.

And we almost walked by the figures sitting on this fountain - they were holding very still - before we recognized them!

Fortifications

"This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air
Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself
Unto our gentle senses." (Shakespeare wrote that)

The deep moat is empty now,
the drawbridge down
and we are guests come to admire the parapets
thankful that we need not climb up to them
and noting that there are still kings among us.

Eis

Today it's hot. The weather map is flaming red. I am thinking longingly of the Eis-Cafes we visited in Germany, and the cool treats we had in them.

With all the fruit it was surely healthy.
The eis came in all sorts of combinations, from Piña Colada to a hot himbeeren sundae.Sarah picked eis to match her outfit.The ambience may have helped, and the presentation...or maybe it was the real whipped cream...somehow an ice-cream cone from Bruster's, while still a lovely treat, just isn't the same.