W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Yellow was my mom’s favorite color, at least I think it was. She’s been gone seven years now and there are so many questions I have that will forever go unanswered. I am going to have to go on believing that yellow was her favorite color.
Sunday morning, I looked out the kitchen window and saw an American Goldfinch, or spinus tristis, at the seed feeder. It was bright yellow and I couldn’t miss it.
I also uploaded it to a new app I discovered while watching CBS Sunday Morning before spring break. It’s called iNaturalist. The app encourages amateur scientists across the globe to share photos of living things – plants, animals, insects, and birds. I am just beginning to explore with it.
I shared the app and video with my students before we left for spring break encouraging them to be curious and full of wonder completely oblivious to the scheduled launch of Artemis II the following week.
My mom encouraged me to be curious as a child, and often in our conversations through adulthood. She’d love that I was reminded of her through seeing a spinus tristis.
It’s Wednesday and I have a full plate today. So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days COUNT, one day at a time, seeing yellow is better than seeing ‘red.’
I finally turned the snow app off. Hopefully, we’ve seen the last of this year’s snow.
It’s officially spring, though we’re almost two weeks in or a month depending on which measure you use – astronomical or meteorological. Either way you look it is spring with Easter Sunday this weekend.
Monday morning’s sunrise. The sun is rising. Key Colony Beach, Florida Monday, March 30, 2026 9:07 AM EDT
I am certain It won’t snow where we are. It’s spring break and my wife and I are in the Florida Keys for a week. We are staying where we’ve spent every spring break since 2016, with the lone exception of 2020 when we were locked in at the lake.
Our rental offers a front row seat for sunrises. Every morning, I wake early so I don’t miss one. This morning, I set off to watch the sunrise from the eastern approach to the Bahia Honda Bridge. I miscalculated, the old bridge obscured the view of the sun breaking the horizon, but I waited patiently and was rewarded with the image below.
the sun has risen over the Bahia Honda Bridge West Summerland Key, April 1, 2026 7:36 AM EDT
Last night when we returned from dinner, we gazed at the moon which had risen over the Atlantic. Over dinner we talked about today’s scheduled moon launch when NASA will launch Artemis II for the first manned spaceflight to the moon since December 1972. And, of course we shared our childhood memories of launches and splash downs.
Tuesday, the moon is rising. Key Colony Beach, Florida Tuesday, March 31, 2026 8:30 AM EDT
another perspective of the moon over the Atlantic, Key Colony Beach, March 31, 2026 8:33 PM EDT
I wondered if people will be watching the launch like we were some fifty years ago.
It is Wednesday morning and April Fools. I’ve been fooled more than once, and I’ve done my share of foolin’ but not today. Today is going to be an amazing day, so I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, under the sun, the moon, and the stars.
How is the sun or the moon lighting your path today?
November has been a beast, October started it. Maybe it’s the leaves falling, or first quarter ending and second quarter starting. Either way, I feel as though I’ve been chasing my tail all month long.
Last weekend, I took a quick trip to the lake house – up Saturday afternoon and back Monday afternoon. It was a trip to replace the Nest thermostat which Google stopped supporting in late October. I figured (correctly) it would still work, but we wouldn’t have a way to check or change the temperature settings. O offered her Nest thermostat from her college house, and I took off when my Saturday shift at Loaves finished. I packed the car leftovers from the fridge for dinner when I arrived and both dogs.
It was a good thing I drove up. When I arrived, the thermostat was set to OFF and the inside and outside temperatures were the almost identical! 44F (11C) yikes. It was cold. I turned on the heat and within a couple of hours the cottage was a comfortable 65F (18C).
I am thankful I had the flexibility to take off for a quick trip to the lake.
I remember the weekend when I installed it in 2013. It is funny how the mind works. I re-read the post and like almost every post I reread, I found a typo or two. I also discovered I’ve become a better writer, and I realize that WordPress has developed incredible storytelling tools, even when I still must edit after I press publish.
I am thankful I continue to learn and grow, and I am thankful for WordPress. It was a good choice fifteen and half years ago and it is still today.
Sunday morning, I had a list of chores and a hope. I decided to tackle the thermostat switch, but I discovered that O’s thermostat wasn’t a good match and I needed a replacement. I checked Home Depot and discovered I could get one on Wednesday, so I checked where I bought the original Nest – Lowes and they had three in stock.
So, the dogs and I took off for the Lowes in Gaylord and a new thermostat. Hopefully this thermostat will last another dozen (or more) years.
Two hours, total. Up, back, and then a quick install and now we can monitor the climate in our lake house remotely.
On our way back to the lake, I saw the above sign; boy, do I love the wisdom. Gratitude and thankfulness, indeed it is a lifestyle, yet like many of the values and ideals in America it has a day set aside for it – Thanksgiving.
This year my school district switched the timing of parent conferences to October, instead of November and set aside the ENTIRE week of Thanksgiving as a break for teachers and administrators. This year we had nine days instead of six.
I am thankful for the three extra days; it makes a difference in where I am on the ninth morning.
After the installing thermostat I had another errand and few chores before cooking dinner and settling down for the night.
It was a beautiful day to be working outside; and my canine companions enjoyed the time to play, and I enjoyed the sunset and moonset. Monday morning, while practicing gratitude with Five Minute Journal app, I caught the most beautiful morning sunrise. I was at the right place at the right time for all three photos.
Sunday evenings’s sunset, 5:08 PM EST
Sunday evening’s moonset, 6:57 PM EST
Monday morning’s sunrise paints the early morning sky, 7:41 AM EST
I am thankful I was able to see the sky and enjoy the beauty of nature.
It is the ninth and last day of Thanksgiving break, and yesterday we received a good amount of snow, had it fallen during the school week it might have been a snow day, but it fell Saturday. The yard is beautiful and I am thankful I was able to get the yard mowed, as many leaves as I could gather, and finish almost all our Christmas lights up Friday.
There was one thing I couldn’t squeeze into Friday, and it was refilling the bird feeders. Saturday morning as the first snowflakes fell, I filled the feeders. A couple of hours later, I saw a bird I have never seen at the feeder. I snapped a photo and asked Merlin to identify it, and it came back – Dark-eyed Junco.
There were several Dark-eyed Juncos enjoying the opportunity to take part in a Thanksgiving feast of their own. The bird feeders continue to spark my curiosity and learning. There is always something at the feeders to see and wonder.
I am thankful for the family of bloggers who encourage my curiosity and challenge me.
It has been an amazing break, and I have done the things I needed to recharge and finish 2025 strong. When I started writing t was Saturday and I was by a warm hearth, and it was snowing. It is still snowing and the fireplace has gone cold, for the moment. Today is going to be an amazing day, it could be a million and six times better than yesterday. But I will ever know unless I jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days COUNT, one day at a time, practicing Thanksgiving as a lifestyle, not a day.
What’s on your gratitude list?
The video above was created in October during our visit over the Columbus Day\Indigenous People’s break
Monday on the way to work an 8th grade teacher texted me….
The sign outside the parking lot is going to make you laugh this morning!
and it did, the other side made me laugh, too.
the sign I pass on the way into the parking lot….
I made a point to slow down and look at the sign on the way into the parking lot and paused at the entrance to admire the other side, before I parked the car and went into the building to get ready for all day parent teacher conferences.
When we broke for lunch, I walked out for some sunshine and a breath of fresh and of course, to see the signs up close. They are amazing. IYKYK (if you know, you know) or if you have adolescents or know a couple, you know.
In the first few days of school, I learned there is a new craze or phrase middle school kiddos have learned over their summer break – it is the 6-7 thing. Every time I used the numbers, six and seven, in sequence 6-7the, kids would call out,
sixxxxx – sevennnnn and move both hands up and down in front of them.
The first time they did it I was….flummoxed… but they didn’t stop and now nine weeks later, I have resigned myself to join them and sort of poke fun back. I have surprise for them on this coming Friday for Halloween. heh heh heh.
It’s a middle school thing, bruh.
Last week, a friend forwarded me a photograph of a sign in front of middle school in Minnesota poking fun at the 6-7 phrase\craze used by our students. The photo is at the bottom of the post. On Friday of last week, I shared it with our principal who, shared it with the PTSA, who are in charge of the sign; and ‘presto chango,’ a BLANK SIGN becomes a message to the world or two messages. Ha!
This coming week, I will be taking my classes outside for a class picture and a little bit of fresh air as we try to figure out what we need in order to see the sign. It’s science and the beginning of our unit on light and how we see. It’s also a bit of fun all wrapped up together. There are times when learning is disguised as a trip out of doors.
Sometimes signs are there for us to let us know and sometimes they are there to encourage us to laugh. The sign for me is that I need to read more books, I’d settle for one in a week. Today is going to be an amazing day, in some ways it already is and it could be a million and six times better than yesterday, but the grandies’ first year birthday party might be difficult to top. Making the days COUNT, one day at a time, slowing down to read the signs.
Can you read sixxxxx or sevennnnn books in a week?
This week’s sign is from the ice cream shop I pass on the way to the lake and along the way home. Friday night it was well past closing time when I stopped to admire the message.
Summer season is the high season along the lake and there are few folks on the lane this weekend. Yesterday, I saw a few walkers and a neighbor couple, both of whom I watched grow up, are here with their newborn – their first. It’s hard to believe, but I am the first of three generations that come here now.
I didn’t make it to that ice cream shop this year, maybe I will next year. It all depends on if I get there in time or if the line isn’t too long and I can spare a stop along my way.
It’s Sunday and I’ll be looking for a new sign today but there are signs all around that fall is in full bloom, the weather has a chill in the air and the forecast promises sunshine later in the day. So, I’d better jump up, jump in and seize the day. Making the days Count, one day at a time, making time to take in the season.
W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, October 8, 2025
My drive to school usually takes about a half an hour, sometimes a little more depending on the weather or the traffic or both. I’ve been driving the same route for over 25 years and sometimes I take the road less traveled.
Herrick Lake Road service entrance for Herrick Lake Forest Preserve, Wheaton, IL October 2, 2025 7:14 AM
Last week, I took the road less traveled and passed by the forest preserve in full sunrise. It was a humid morning with ground fog which scattered the sun’s light. It was beautiful.
Herrick Lake Road service entrance for Herrick Lake Forest Preserve, Wheaton, IL October 2, 2025 7:14 AM
September was dry and warm, especially the second half of the month. This past Monday night it rained hard, and the earth soaked it up; then yesterday afternoon cool winds, clear skies, and high pressure moved into the area bringing cooler fall weather. It was great sleeping weather last night, but I don’t think I’ll get the same shot this morning. Only time will tell.
It is Wednesday and today is going to be a wonderful Wednesday. I am going to take the alternate route and see what the sunrise brings. Sometimes a diversion is the best way to tackle a Wednesday. Today could be a million and six times better than yesterday. I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, sometimes mixing it up on the way to school.
I didn’t find this week’s sign until I was there, I’d been there before, seen the sign, and turned right into the parking lot almost as if the car knew where to go.
My go to sign at the church lists October’s upcoming events and I didn’t find any signs until yesterday evening just before sunset, after I had loaded the car. And there it was, this week’s sign.
Our family has been visiting this farm for as long as I can remember…my first photo evidence is from 2011, that I could find, but that was about the time that Saturdays were filled with kid’s activities of sports and scouts and family and whatever else we could pack in. Now that they aren’t kids any more, we still visit.
The farm is an hour’s drive into the flat plains of northwestern Illinois farming country. Soybean and corn fields lined the road as we drove west. An occasional farmhouse and barn surrounded by trees greeted along our journey. It’s been dry, very dry, and we saw clouds of dust in the fields as farmers rushed to bring in this year’s harvest with their combines.
The farm we visit is a multi-generation farm and the original farmer has since passed on, but his family – his kids, and their kids, and their kids, kids continue the tradition. The daughters run the operation now, and they remember us, even though we haven’t brought our kids in a few years. They grow pumpkins, and the midwestern field crops as well as raise a few head of cattle, too. The farmhouse is decorated with pumpkins and gourds sorted by size and price and there is quite the variety.
the farmhouse and a large tree surrounded by all sorts of pumpkins
this wage has the eight dollar pumpkins
They also raise rabbits and goats’ a few years back we almost came home with a rabbit to go with our pumpkins.
We always arrive late in the afternoon and have picked our pumpkins, visited, explored, and loaded before the sun sets over the fields. We always stop for dinner at a local restaurant on our way home. It’s our tradition and it feels right. When dinner is finished, it is dark, and we drive home. It’s been a full day when we pull into the driveway and unloading the car will have to wait until the morning.
a ‘framed’ sunset – I couldn’t really see what I had until I had taken it….
unframed, the sun seems small
this tree ‘spoke’ to me and I had to take the shot
I woke later this morning, later than normal, but earlier than the rest of the house. I was rested, the country air is always refreshing, and I was ready for the day. I was a reading a few blogs and I came read Dr. Gerald Stein’s post – Our Questionable Progress, and I thought how appropriate it was as I was feeling overloaded starting the day. Sunday is always a busy day for me I never seem to get everything I need to get done. So today, I am going to breathe and get done, what I can and leave the remainder for Monday. No pressure.
It’s my youngest brother’s birthday – all three of us are sequential 61-62-63 until my birthday in November when I will be two to the sixth power. It’s also my 34th wedding anniversary and it seems like the other day when a ray of light beamed in through window above us and illuminated the two of us just as we took our vows.
Today is going to be an amazing day, I am sure of it. So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Today is going to be a great day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, being patient, focused, and purposeful.
I am a sucker for a sunset, especially when the sun sets over water.
last night’s sunset – Lake Margrethe Grayling, MI September 13, 2025 7:46 EDT
I am skipping this week’s sign of the week post because there are so many signs that fall is coming, then winter.
Last week I noticed acorns in the driveway and sidewalk from the towering oak tree across the street. I’ve noticed it is getting light outside later and dark earlier in the evening. Last night, I noticed that the location where the sun sets has shifted from the west end of the lake towards the hills and the next time, I visit the lake, the shift will be even greater. I’ve noticed fewer hummingbirds at the feeder than a couple of weeks ago. The signs are here.
Memorial Day weekend sunset – Lake Margrethe Grayling, MI May 24, 2025 8:54 EDT
It is Sunday and the cottage is quiet. Even the dogs are tired after yesterday’s work party. We’ve got a few more chores before I return home later this afternoon as I drive into today’s sunset.
I am going to relish in the last few moments of solitude before I jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Today is going to be a great day. Making the Days Count, watching the world come into and out of focus.
Saturday, I took the longest hike in a long time – just under three miles with two dogs in tow. Or rather being towed by one dog and staying out of the way of the other.
In the past couple of years, I’ve gone on shorter hikes but I haven’t been getting out for longer hikes for more than a while. It’s a new year for the Take a Hike Challenge from the forest preserve and I skipped ’23 and ‘24’s challenges but I am back this year.
outward bound Herrick Lake Forest Preserve, Wheaton, IL September 6, 2025 3:53 EDT
Saturday Fern, Nova, and I walked through Herrick Lake Forest Preserve. It’s a favorite of mine, it’s close and a good length with forest and prairie landscapes with just enough up and down to get the heart moving while the feet are following each other round moving me from start to finish.
on the way back to the trailhead. Herrick Lake Forest Preserve, Wheaton, IL September 6, 2025 4:22 EDT
When I got home, I had enough energy to refresh the bird feeders and a few other chores before calling it a day. Fern and Nova were completely spent, too.
It is Wednesday and today is going to be a wonderful Wednesday. It’s the middle of the week and school has a late start with a faculty gathering first thing at 7:30 AM. The bells will ring before I know it, so I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, one foot after another is way to tackle life.
Is there something you’ve recently re-started that you’ve been avoiding?
The week’s Sign of the Week is a throwback to last week.
I passed by Wiesbrook Elementary’s sign Thursday evening and found a gem and then went back in time to find some old photos.
Time flies…. when I was posting to Instagram, I added the song, Don’t Blink by Kenny Chesney,
Don’t blink, you just might miss Your babies growing like mine did Turning into moms and dads
Dads yes, have twin grandsons who are then months old tomorrow. Moms NO, unless you count the dogs, because she is a dog mom to two. But she’s grown and starting to test her wings.
This week flew past and when I blinked, it was Friday morning, the Saturday.
School’s back in session and I really made this last week count. It’s Saturday morning and I am off to Loaves and Fishes to serve others, but I’ll be home to make the afternoon count with the ’21 grad and dinner and maybe a walk with the dogs at one of my favorite forest preserves.
This could possibly be the best day ever
And the forecast says that tomorrow will likely be
A million and six times better So make every minute count
Jump up, jump in and seize the day
Making the Days Count, one day at a time, looking back to see where I’ve been, but keeping my feet firmly planted in the present.
