Tucson--Day Three--Sunrise Walk

I was hoping to get up early enough to see the sunrise, and I was up at that time, but didn't see much from my window. Nonethe- less, I got up and went out for what turned out to be an hour-long stroll through the golf course. I saw many birds (at least 10 species that I could identify) more rabbits (found out they are desert cottontails, not jack rabbits) and lots of cactus.

Cool thing I found out about the Saguaros: they may live over 200 years and grow to heights over 75'. Growth rates vary, but in the Tucson Mountains, saguaros commonly begin to flower at the age of 55 (about 8' tall) and grow arms when they are between 50 and 100 years old. Arms function to increase reproductive potential because the flowers/fruits are borne on the ends of stems (main trunk and arms).; Their pleated stems allow them to expand and contract as they store and use up their water.

Birds I've seen so far: white-winged dove, road runner, northern mockingbird, black-chinned hummingbirds, house finch, black-tailed gnatcatcher, gilded flicker, Gambel's quail, curved-bill thraser, desert wren and probably others I've not identified yet.

Tonight, I'm not going anywhere. I'm glued to the TV and the Celtics game. I want them to win tonight, but regret that I'm not home to see/hear all the celebration. We had to go to a dinner tonight that had the misfortune of starting exactly when the game did. Midway through the second quarter, my whole table was gone, being too anxious not to be watching the game. If I were home, my condo building would be rocking. Yes, already =)

Photos are from my 5:30 a.m. walk through the golf course at JW Marriott Starr Pass Hotel and Spa in Tucson.

Tucson--Day Two: Moonlight, Jackrabbits and Cactus, Oh My!

It's a waxing gibbous moon tonight. That means it's 98% full, illuminated from the right. Not that I knew that before I looked it up. The main point it's near full and beautiful here in Tucson.

Just before sunset, we went for a walk around the hotel grounds. Cicadas were buzzing, an adorable jackrabbit came and lay down right in front of us, the moon rose, the stars came out...it was really lovely.

During lunch, I went around and took pictures of the interesting flowers and cactus. This place is a far cry from what I am used to in MA! It must be the case for others, too, because at break time during the meetings, many go out onto the terrace and just look out over the grounds, soaking up the warm (it's very hot) and gazing out at the mountains...

This is a conference for philanthropy and leadership. Today, was the newcomer's workshop which went from 8 to 5 and was rather intense. Tomorrow, I'll be at the Leadership Symposium all day and will find myself rubbing shoulders with college presidents and CEOs of hospitals. I will feel like a duck out of water, but will learn a lot, I'm sure. Which is, of course, the whole point of being here =)

Tucson--Day One

It took all day to get here, but we made it. My VP and I are here at a beautiful resort in Tucson for the next four days. We were supposed to arrive here at about 1 p.m., but we missed our connection in Dallas and then sat on the runway for nearly two hours while they fixed the engine before finally getting underway again. I passed the time reading and catching up on the sleep that was all to short, having to get up at 5 this morning.

Let me first say that I love flying. It's always so interesting to me. You meet interesting people, you see interesting things. It's all good, as far as I am concerned. My seat companion from Boston to Dallas was a young man from Portland, Maine who had just graduated from Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. He was on his way to his first job and was so excited about it. To this long-time teacher, it was refreshing to talk with someone so eager, so idealistic. He's going to Phoenix for some summer training and then will be a 6th grade social studies teacher in Kansas City, MO. He has found an apartment that is right on the old Oregon Trail! How cool is that for a history teacher?!

I sat with my VP on the last leg of the trip...way, way in the back. I finished a book and then watched the topography change drastically. It was cool seeing the Mississippi River, the Red River, the amazing perfect crop circles, the empty desert, the rugged mountains...

The taxi driver who took us to our hotel was from El Salvador. He had written a book of poetry and stories about his family that he showed us. He was talkative and interesting. When I asked him about the animals there, he said they had rabbits, deer, and lions! We thought he was kidding, but he said at a school on the other side of the mountain they found a lion on their doorstep one morning! Imagine that! Imagine, further, our surprise when, while walking across an outdoor bridge between hotel buildings, we saw a bobcat not too far below us! A hotel employee was nonplussed, saying "oh yes, we see him all the time." We also saw a large deer on the other side of the pool, and numerous birds perching on top of the cactus!

Such an interesting place! And...it's 105 degrees! But since it's a dry heat, it doesn't feel that hot and I didn't break a sweat for all the walking around outside we did. Very interesting...

Two other interesting things happened in the hotel. We met a woman who is attending the same conference we are...who was born in the same hospital I was! That's not as strange as meeting a man who was from the same town we teach in, although he lives in LA now. We stopped by a huge screen TV to watch some of the Celtics game and struck up a conversation with a man in a Celtics T-Shirt. He knew exactly where we were from! Such a small world!!!

Photos: The Starr Pass Marriot in Tucson; some kind of dove on a cactus; the view across the pool towards the golf course where we saw a huge deer; the bobcat wandering through the grounds; just before sunset, looking towards the Catalina Mountains.

A Sly Way with Rhythm

I carried my life, like a stone,
In a ragged pocket, but I
Had a true weaving song, a sly
Way with rhythm, a healing tone.
~Jay Wright

This is a wonderful poem that was on a poster I got for April's Poetry Month. I wanted to post it back in April but kept forgetting. Tonight, while sorting through the stacks of things that have piled up on my dining room table, I found it again, so here it is. I just love the imagery!

Photo: Teddy talking to me, singing his own weaving song =) I was trying to capture his cute mitted paws when he began a conversation. He's such a soft, cuddly kitty who delights in perching on the back of my chair and giving me head butts =) The picture makes him look kind of mean, but he's really the sweetest thing.

Travel Plans

I'm getting excited. Starting Sunday, I will be traveling for 4 of the next 5 weeks. First, I'll be going to Tucson, Arizona for a 4-day fund-raising and development conference. I don't know how much "fun" that will be, but it should be interesting and useful to me. Our vice principal will be going, too.

Our meetings are 8-5, with the evenings available to us for rest and/or socializing. I suspect I'll spend most of that time in my room working as I will be taking the month of July completely off from work for the first time in 14 years!!! I am so looking forward to that, you cannot imagine.

I will have a week back at school before I begin my next trip. On the 27th, I'll be going with my sister and her family down to New York City to meet up with the orchestra and choir we will be traveling with for the next three weeks. We have a concert in Carnegie Hall Sunday afternoon and then will be taking an overnight flight to Athens where we will begin a concert tour that will take the group to many of the places where the Apostle Paul visited on his missionary journeys.

The orchestra we are traveling with, the New England Youth Ensemble, is the orchestra I traveled with for three years back in the early 90s, which my sisters played with for many years in the 70s and 80s, of which my brother-in- law is an inaugural member, and in which my nieces and their cousins have been members for a few years now. The orchestra is celebrating more than 37 years of performing all over the world, and I am so excited to be traveling with it again.

I will not be playing this time, although my sister, brother-in-law, and niece will. I am just going along for the (inexpensive) ride. And what a great ride it will be! I'm not going on the entire tour. It actually lasts until the end of July, but I just didn't see how I could be gone from home all that time, so will be leaving them after Istanbul. I'll miss Romania, Bulgaria, Austria. Part of me is sad about that, but I'm just thrilled to be doing what I'm doing, so won't cry over the missed cities. My niece and a good friend will do the whole thing, so I'll revel in their pictures and stories when they come home.

Photos: More flowers in the gardens at school (except the daisies which are from my mother's garden); what is keeping me up late every other night recently. Go Celtics!

Take off your Shoes

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes --
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.
~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Photos: Peonies and Blue Flag from our gardens at school mixed with a bouquet one of our 6th graders brought to the office the last day of school. He gets it =)

It's a Macro Summer Day

It's been well over 90 degrees each day this week, which means it's been exhausting to do more than sit around. I realize it's hotter in other places, so I won't say I'm complaining, only stating a fact that made our graduation on Sunday somewhat miserable, but has otherwise been manageable.

Sunday's graduation was a joyful affair. For the first time in a few years, all our seniors graduated without last-minute heroics, so stress was minimal on the whole. It was a long affair, though, which was all the more challenging because of the heat. Once it was over, I went straight home and sat in front of my air conditioner with my feet up and a tall glass of pomegranate and blueberry juice on ice.

Meanwhile, the peonies and other flowers were quietly blossoming so that when I arrived at school this morning, I found the gardens bursting with beauty. I tried out the macro setting on my new camera. I'm embarrassed to say I didn't realize what fun this setting can be until today! But from now on...watch out!

Last Day

So. It's over and done. Another school year completed. It's been rainy most of the last half of the week, so some of the year-end activities didn't happen because they were outdoor events. The children adjusted just fine, though. They are, usually, much more flexible than adults =)

It was a long day, though. The evening program, a Consecration and Parents Appreciation for the seniors, started late and ended much later. But it was nice. The students invited one of their former teachers to come back. It was a nice reunion. Just late. Now, today, we have more programs. Today, it's the current teachers' turns to have the last word. I'm up early preparing my little talk, so must get to it.

Photos: Little Isabella checking out the rain soaked Iris as she leaves school. Other garden delights.

Enough!

I've had enough! Enough of long days that start at 5:45 a.m. and end at 11:45 p.m. Enough of year-end programs. Enough of potluck meals after year-end programs. Enough tests. Enough of begging students to get that last paper in. Enough phone calls from parents. Enough!

And yet not enough. The end of the year is always a bittersweet time for me. The last few days are so stressful that they can't end soon enough. And yet there is always the knowledge that it is the end of my time with some of the kids, and I never am happy about that. Or rarely.

Since Sunday afternoon, I have sat through, or been involved in, three graduation programs, a year-in-review slideshow, two awards assemblies, two faculty meetings, a personnel committee, a finance committee, three student final project presentations, and an honors project presentation. I have one more awards assembly and four more graduation programs to get through before this coming Sunday ends.

Sigh.

The best program was the first, last Sunday, when my nephew graduated from 8th grade. The whole family was there for it, which was the best part. David played his cello, just like his sister did for her 8th grade graduation 6 years ago. He played equally as well as she did (and she was outstanding). This time, she sat in the audience, very proud of her brother. We all were.

This morning, our chaplain gave his last student worship (he is moving to CA in a week). He reminisced about all the things they have done together in the four years he's been here. He closed by telling a story that ended with this interesting poem by Bob Perk:

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy all your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Goodbye."

I wish you enough of all the above and more. But most of all, I wish you God's peace and love.

Photos: Iris from my youngest sister's garden; my nephew playing cello at his graduation, 5 of 6 cousins.

Take Joy, Make Joy

I have a writer friend in Norway who inspires me every day with her unique perspectives on life and God. This morning she wrote in her blog about how Norwegians use the word “joy” as a verb. In her native tongue, “joy” means “to look forward to.” For her, to look forward to a new day fills her with joy. When she writes “Jeg gleder meg til hver ny dag,” it translates literally to “I am joying myself” each new day, but in English, we would say that she is looking forward to every new day

I think Britt-Arnild’s way of expressing anticipation as joy is pretty cool. As I read her meditation today I thought about the things we anticipate in life. For our students, right now, it is the end of the school year. OK, who am I kidding? The teachers are anticipating this joyfully as well =) Truth is, most of us look forward to summertime for many reasons. I enjoy the longer daylight hours, the warmer weather, the brilliant blue skies, the more relaxed rhythms and the (dare I say it) silence of a summer work day. In every sense of the word, I am longing for summer vacation.

And yet, as my friend says, “Every day is a gift from God.” It doesn’t need to be a perfect summer day for us to take joy in the hours we’re given. If we anticipate good things, are they not more likely to come our way? If we wake each morning intentionally looking forward to joy, it seems to me it is bound to be there. If our anticipation is a joyful one at the outset, the tone for the rest of our day is already determined.

So, what joy will you find in the days ahead of you? May you always say “Jeg gleder meg til hver ny dag.”

Photos: Flowers in the gardens at school contribute to the joying of the day. All taken with my new Olympus camera!

A Flurry of Birds

Yesterday morning, I woke up early and went outside to watch the birds. This is a rare opportunity for me, as I don't have a great backyard the way my parents do. I sat on the patio and reveled in the cacophony of bird song that surrounded me. I had my camera in hand, ready to capture as many birds as I could.

I had been watching an indigo bunting flit back and forth in the front yard the day before, but while I was sitting in the back yard, it suddenly appeared. I watched the male bluebird go in and out of the house feeding his mate. I was buzzed by a couple of hummingbirds, I saw both downy and hairy woodpeckers and countless others previously mentioned (yesterday).

What a great way to ease into the day! I'm not sure I'd ever get off to work if I could strart every day this way!

Playing Catch Up

I've been so busy the past week or so that I didn't have time to blog. Every night last week I had a meeting of some kind. Board meeting, Red Sox game (!), personnel meeting (we hired a new math teacher), Parent Appreciation dinner, Science Fair, etc. It was exhausting, although very productive, and often fun. The days were no less challenging. Anyone who teaches knows what the last couple weeks of school are like. Kids are restless, teachers are near the end of their rope. Add in a full moon (the "Flower" moon), and you have a recipe for disaster. Except it wasn't really a disaster. Just a huge test of patience.

The baby robins are thriving. They are covered with feathers now, so much that they blend right in with their nest and I can't get any good pictures of them as there is no contrast between them, the nest and the grid I have to shoot through. The goslings are at least twice the size they were the week before. They've joined up with two other geese families and are systematically working throught the yards in the neighborhood around the school. Every morning on my way to work, I find them in a different front yard, gobbling up whatever it is they are finding there. Always, at any given moment, two adults are standing guard along the sidewalk.

Tuesday night my sister and her family took me to the Red Sox game for my birthday. We were right behind home plate...a place I haven't sat for many years (back when seats were $10 instead of $50...). We had a great time watching the Sox win (although it wasn't as exciting as the night before when John Lester pitched a no hitter). I sat there looking around the park at all the different places I've been there. I think I've probably sat in every single section at least once, except for the newer seats on top of the Green Monster (left field) and in the luxury boxes above home plate (although I've been inside once, on a tour). I love Fenway Park! It holds a lot of good memories for me...

Now, I'm up in Maine at my parents' for a couple of days. They've lived here for 5 years, now, and have worked hard to make their yard a magnet for birds. This year, they have more birds than I've ever seen before: indigo buntings, bluebirds (They come for worms when my mom whistles!), Baltimore orioles, goldfinches, purple finches, robins, mourning doves, meadow larks, blue jays, ruby throated humming birds, several kinds of sparrows, tree swallows, and more...all letting us know through their various songs and continued presence how much they enjoy and appreciated this haven.

Photos: Baltimore Oriole outside my parents' sunroom; Canada goose and goslings feeding in the school neighborhood; Jonathan Papelbon strikes out the last batter to win the game; male bluebird eating mealworms after my mom has whistled for him.

Baby, Baby!

We now have three baby robins in the nest precariously perched on a support beam of our fire escape. One of our long-time teachers told me this is the first time in her years here that eggs have hatched from this spot, despite the numerous times robins have attempted it. We are very excited to have this up close and personal opportunity to watch these babies grow.

Mid-morning, I was giving a test in my classroom when I looked out the window and saw two Canadian geese and four goslings waddling down the driveway from the road! About thirty kids were outside playing at the time, and I was worried they'd take after the geese and chase them back into the street the way the 6th grade boys did the last time the turkeys made an appearance. Luckily, the kids were 3, 4, and 5 year olds and were quite obedient and just watched as the geese made their way across the parking lot and onto the playground and, finally, into the woods.

We think we are lucky to have so much nature around us, even though we are only about 7 miles out of Boston. We have wetlands and woods on three sides of us, so there are many birds and animals that come and go from time to time. It's a real treat for our students, who are mostly from the city.

Photos: Mother robin sitting on her nest this morning; the geese and goslings making their way to the woods; the driveway the geese came down (the bright spot behind the tree).

The Eggs Hatched!

I was so pleased this morning to hear from a couple of students that two of the three robin eggs had hatched over the weekend, or maybe even early today. I was concerned that they might not hatch because every time I checked last week, the mother was not on the nest. I was worried she wasn't spending enough time on it, or had even abandoned it.

Not to worry. Two tiny babies could be seen through the fire escape slats. The mother did a bit of house cleaning and shoved the shells out of the nest, one of them hitting a student on the head!

We have a sign on the door by the nest to leave the birds in peace, but there are a lot of curious students wanting to see the babies. Oh, and one curious blogger principal =)