Category Archives: Weekly Photo Challenges

W^2 – wonder

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W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, May 25, 2022

How in the world did the balloon get inside that flask? Wonder. Scullen Middle School, Naperville, IL May 24, 2022 10:45 AM

This week for my W^2 post, wonder.

I snapped this photo yesterday in class after four straight demos of the scientific principle,

As temperature increases, the volume of gas increases. As temperature decreases, the volume of gas decreases.

And while my students watched the demonstration, some understood, but some are still wondering what happened and how that balloon got inside the glass. Is it magic? No, it’s science.

It is Wednesday, the middle of the week and there are as I sit and type FIVE more days of school this year and then it is summer. I can’t wait, they can’t wait. But we are going to make those five days count.

I know it is going to be going to be a great day. I know it and I can feel it, so I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, making the most of every day and trying to compress learning just like air particles can be compressed.

What makes you wonder these days?

W^2 –moon, calm

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W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, May 18, 2022

sunset on the lake, waxing moon, calm. Lake Margrethe, Grayling, MI Saturday, May 14, 2022 8:59 PM EDT

This week for my W^2 post, the calm after the storm.

This past weekend I asked my wife I made a quick trip to the lake and back. Up late Friday afternoon and home late Sunday night.

We had chores to do, and I was looking for a bit of calm as the school year winds (and grinds) to a finish. As in my previous post, W^2 – beauty and the beast, weather intervened. The skies opened and a thunderstorm rolled across the lake bringing hail and almost an inch and half of rain in about thirty minutes.

Once the storm passes, the skies cleared and there was calm. Calm enough to sit at the end of the dock and admire the sunset or flip the other way and admire the moon rise.

It was an excellent weekend, and I got a taste of summer, early. We also got the calm we needed and craved.

It is Wednesday, the middle of the week and there are as I sit and type ten more days of school this year and then it is summer. Today and I going to try and convince my 6th graders that there is a lot of space in the atmosphere for air particles (aka atoms and molecules) to move and I hope it provides the calm they need to weather the final days of the year. I know it is going to be going to be a great day. I know it and I can feel it, so I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, making the most of every day and trying to compress learning just like air particles can be compressed.

What brings you a little calm these days?

W^2 – beauty and the beast

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W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, May 4, 2022

This week for my W^2 post, I have more more from mother nature – beauty and the beast.

Beauty, tulips in the mall, after the first storm (and tornado to the south) – Oakbrook, IL. Saturday, April 30, 2022 6:08 PM

This past weekend I asked my wife if she wanted to go shopping. It’s often the other way around. But I needed new glasses and frames. So off we went. I did get the frames and much more.

Spring weather in the Midwest can run the range of faux spring (as in my last W^2 post) to real spring and mild to violent. Saturday, we got the latter – two bouts of it in the span of a late April afternoon.  Our shopping was interrupted by two waves of severe weather including a tornado that set off severe weather alerts.

That was Saturday and today is Wednesday and it is going to be an amazing day!

It is spring, again and the birds are singing, the sun is shining after a couple of days of rain. And this morning, my kiddos are going to melt and vaporize menthol. I am excited. It is going to be a great day. I know it and I can feel it, so I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, making the most of every day and squeezing in a little learning when you least expect it.

How are doing this lovely May day?

Eerie storm clouds, the second wave passing our neighborhood to the south – Wheaton, IL Saturday, April 30, 2022 7:43 PM

 

W^2 – two for the price of one

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W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Herrick Lake Forest Preserve – Wheaton, IL. Sunday, January 16, 2022 1:18 PM
Herrick Lake Forest Preserve – Wheaton, IL. Sunday, January 16, 2022 1:48 PM

This week for my W^2 post, I am offering two for the price of one. Sunday afternoon Fern and I took a hike at a favorite hiking spot. It was sunny and bright, but all that changed. By the time fern and I had finished, clouds had rolled in, and it was a typical January day in the Midwest. A tale of a winter walk.

“People don’t notice whether it’s winter or summer when they’re happy.” Anton Chekhov

We had a fabulous hike, and it was good to move cautiously along the snowy and icy path.

Today is gonna be an awesome day, I know it and I can feel it, so I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, working on moving forward, always.

How is your January going?

W^2 – restorative

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W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, December 15, 2021

The lake has a layer of ice in the background, winter is near, Herrick Lake Forest Preserve Wheaton, IL December 11, 2021, 3:25 PM

Saturday afternoon Fern and I took a walk at our local forest preserve. It was the first time in while she and I stepped out together on a hike. I couldn’t find my gloves, it was very windy, and my fingers were cold holding the leash and my new hiking stick. Temperatures last Saturday were above freezing, but when we passed the south end of the lake, we could see a crust of ice coating the surface. I did learn one thing, don’t use a hiking stick with Fern on a leash.

It was a good walk to clear the head, move the legs, and breath some fresh air. Like so many things in life, I just to make time for them. Restorative.

There are six days, counting today, until school is out for winter. The solstice arrives in five. It’s going to be an amazing day and it’s already begun. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, working on ways to restore, refresh, and move. Peace.

Where did you go for your most recent walk? Please share.

W^2 – ornament

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W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, November 24, 2021

The cottage Christmas tree, a shiny ornament, the lake, and a reflective selfie. Grayling, MI November 23, 2021, 10:57 AM

It is Thanksgiving Break, and we broke away to the lake for a weekend and a couple of days. B decorated the Christmas tree Monday evening while I conducted parent conferences from the loft overlooking the tree. Tuesday morning, I captured the tree, and the day, in all its splendor and light before we broke camp and returned home to spend Thanksgiving at home wit h family.

It is Wednesday, November 24th and one month from today, it will be Christmas eve, may the Christmas season bring the brightness of light into your life. Let it shine. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, enjoying the brightness of a new day and letting my light shine.

In what ways will your line shine?

W^2 – path

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W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Fern, the woods, and the fall sun, Fullersburg Woods Forest Preserve Oakbrook, IL October 16, 2021, 2:06 PM

It was a beautiful fall afternoon with temperatures in the upper 50s (14-15C) and a clear blue sky. Fern and I were giving a new forest preserve a try. It was an excellent choice. Much of the path was along a creek with woods to the east. We came across a momma white-tailed deer and her three fawns crossing the path in front of us moving from the creek side into the woods. It was an excellent walk in the fall sun. We also ran into a Brittany puppy on our walk and it brought back memories of sharp teeth and house training. Make the Days Count, one day at a time, never knowing what will cross my path.

What has crossed your path lately?

Tommy – 11 weeks old, Fern – 2 and one half years old meet in the woods along a limestone path Fullersburg Woods Forest Preserve Oakbrook, IL October 16, 2021, 2:21 PM

 

W^2 – evening walk

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W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Fern and her shadow on our evening walk, Wheaton, IL October 12, 2021, 6:35 PM

The days are getting shorter, and the sun sets earlier each evening as a reminder that we are headed into winter. Then the process will reverse again as it always does. Until that time, fern and I will have to start earlier in the afternoon. We’ll continue to Make the Days Count, one day at a time, one step, or sniff, at time, starting earlier each day.

When do you make time walk?

W^2 – huge oak

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W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, September 29, 2021

the huge oak, Blackwell Forest Preserve, Warrenville, IL September 12, 2021, 9:24 AM

I often joke, “I put the late, in Clayton.” This week’s photograph is from three weeks ago when Fern and I took an ambitious morning hike at a new forest preserve to us. I’d been there plenty of times but never taken Fern for a hike. It was a steamy morning and we turned and headed home before finishing the planned distance. It was a good hike but both of us were spent. I had for too much to accomplish on the 15th and again on the 22nd, so on the 29th here is the huge oak, it’s a tree not a street. It looks like it’s been where it is for a while, and I anticipate it’ll be there long after me, even if I am on time. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, sometimes a delay and sometimes on time.

What is your timing, are you punctual or late?

W^2 – evening hike

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W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Herrick Lake Forest Preserve, Wheaton, IL September 7, 2021 6:21 PM

Tuesday afternoon strong storms passed through the area. My classroom weather station registered 2.27 cm of precipitation, a little less than an inch, but at home – none. Once the storm passed it was beautiful, so Fern and I went for an early evening hike. Herrick Lake is a favorite hiking spot of ours with some elevation change, forest, and prairie with a little bit of wetlands mixed in. The two of us made hay while the sun shined and it was a good hike. The sun set over the prairie as we rounded our halfway point. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, hiking to move and moving to live.

What do you enjoy about a hike or a walk?