Tag Archives: making the days count

Summer Days: Week 3

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“One benefit of summer was that each day we had more light to read by.” ― Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle

The summer days are gliding past, it is hard to believe it is Day 22. I’ve enjoyed the first twenty-one days and made them count and the past seven days of summer have been filled with up, downs, ins, outs, and a lot of rain at home as well as by the lake shore.

O and I returned home late Sunday afternoon for a quick visit home to grab a couple of things we needed before returning this morning for the Independence Day weekend.

Monday morning, Fern and I awakened to a very moist garden and yard. It had rained most of the previous week and W (our lawn service) had not been able to mow the lawn. The mid-June flowers were blooming and there was a closeness that only can be felt in the summer. It’s the point where you can feel the moistness of the air. It rained and was cloudy, but Fern and I ventured out for a walk and we both came home exhausted and thirsty.

And as the song’s chorus reminds me,

This could possibility be the best day ever!
(This could possibility 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,
And let’s make sure that in every single possible way,
Today is gonna be a great day!

Making the Days Count, one day at a time, especially when it rains.

What was one of your ups (or downs) this past week?

Late June Sunday morning

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It’s Sunday morning and the sun is shining, for now, and it’s the last Sunday in June.

We’ve had rain the last couple of days and the lawn, and the garden are rebounding.

my Sunday morning companion

Yesterday morning I watched the fog lifting and walked outside to take a photo from the end of the dock – yesterday’s days of summer Instagram post and I discovered a couple of spider webs which had been spun overnight. It reminded me of the story of Charlotte in E.B. White’s classic story, Charlotte’s Web.

Saturday morning spider web, spun overnight
Sunday morning spider – spinning int he wind

Earlier this morning Fern and I stepped outside between showers, and I discovered an exceptionally large spider.

I’ve been watching the birds – especially the blue jays – as they visit the feeders. I’ll see a flash or shadow and look up to see a blue jay the deck either railing, the ledge, or the arm of one of the deck chairs before it hops to the seed feeder. Continue reading Late June Sunday morning →

Days of Summer – Week 2

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I am two weeks into Summer 2021 – 14 full days and I mean FULL.

“Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.” —Sam Keen

The past two days of summer have found me prone on the couch reading a book. Storms blasted through the Midwest late Sunday night into early Monday morning. We went from warm to cool, hence the change in activity reading on the couch and a couple of moments of looking at the underside of my eyelids. I have felt and lived Sam Keen’s quote. Monday morning the lake was breezy and cold.

It’s Wednesday and Day 15. It’s sunny but breezy making the mid-60s (upper teens C) air feel much cooler than it really is.

 

I’ve been watching my bird feeder off and on this morning – it was my Father’s Day gift – witnessing my first seed visitor, a blue jay and watching a hummingbird dip down for sip of nectar. That’s my photo for Day 15 – you can see it in the Instagram feed to the right, or wait until next week’s Summer Days post.

The past seven days have been amazing, and Day 15 through Day 68 could be a million six times better, but today is gonna be a great day. So, I’d better jump in, jump out, and seize the day. Making the days count, one day at a time, figuring ways to make each day count.

What has made your day or days count?

Days of Summer – Week 1

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I began writing here eleven summers ago. It was summer break after an exceptionally long and challenging year.

That first summer was 82 days long and every summer since has been a little different. There have been ups and downs and sometimes its been a little sideways. but it has been summer where….

“Summertime is always the best of what might be.” —Charles Bowden

Continue reading Days of Summer – Week 1 →

Three things for a mid-June Sunday morning

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It’s day five of my summer break. I am sitting in my ‘summer office’ enjoying the start of a Sunday morning. My summer officially began Tuesday around noon with my wife’s comment to me and all within earshot as I walked in through the garage door into our home,

“You’re home so soon?” she said.

And so began 68 days of summer break.

My student’s final day was Friday, June 4th and they left the building at one and I left a couple of hours later at three. I had grades to finalize and things to put away and I knew that the coming weekend (last weekend) would be busy preparing for our daughter’s high school graduation celebration on Saturday afternoon, so I stayed and worked.

The end of the school year is packed with memories of the school year and previous final days.  This year was my 22nd as an educator and I was listening a “Today is going to be a great day” by Bowling for Soup. In a normal year, I would have spent time with my students signing yearbooks, but we all know the fifteen months have not been normal, instead I repeatedly listened to the chorus of the song,

This could possibility be the best day ever!
(This could possibility 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,
And let’s make sure that in every single possible way,
Today is gonna be a great day!

I drifted back in time to the end of school year eleven and the beginning of Making the Days Count dot org. That was when I began blogging. The goal was to write daily, and I came close but missed a few days here and there. In reflection I should missed a few more!

Sunday morning, after the party.

This summer, I don’t plan to write daily, I don’t have the time, or I am not willing to set aside the time to write daily. I am not sure which describes my situation, but that’s where I am. I have blogger friends who blog daily and some who blog who once a week like clockwork.  I enjoy reading their posts and finding out what’s going on in their lives and when I can, I leave a comment. Continue reading Three things for a mid-June Sunday morning →

W^2 – fetch

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W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Beginning another summer break with a dog that loves to play fetch. First post of the summer blog season, season 12 of making the days count dot org, more to come.

Fern loves to play fetch. Wheaton, IL Tuesday June 8, 2021 6:19 PM
catch is the object of fetch. Wheaton, IL Tuesday June 8, 2021 6:19 PM
playing fetch is hard work and tiring, too. Wheaton, IL Tuesday June 8, 2021 6:19 PM

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 in, jump out, and seize the day and let’s make sure that in every possible way – today is gonna be a great day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time.

What made today a great day for you?

W^2 – bird of the year

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W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, May 5, 2021

Dryocopus pileatus aka pileated woodpecker #2 on the upright on a tree. Grayling, MI Saturday April 24, 2021 10:20 AM
Pileated woodpecker #1 on the ground foraging on a log. Grayling, MI Saturday April 24, 2021 10:20 AM
the field guide..

I have been looking for one these woodpeckers for over two years. Last fall I saw one, but by the time I had trained my camera it was gone. Two weeks ago, at the lake I spied one along the lane picking through a log on the ground and then saw another on a tree. I didn’t have my camera, but I was able to capture both with my phone camera. The following Sunday I recorded the video below as a pair of them worked the forest in search of food. it is the ABA Bird of the Year for 2021!

It made my weekend and I keep Making the Days Count, one day at a time.

What made your weekend?

remembering mom

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Every time I roast a chicken, I think of my mom. Every time single time.

and after…

Friday night, I cooked dinner. Roasted chicken with rosemary and thyme, green beans, and a salad. It was just me, and Fern.

We are at the lake for the weekend, and it was just the two of us. I cut open the package and pulled the chicken out of the plastic wrapping, placing it in the sink and removing the neck and the giblets from inside the bird. I rinsed the bird and carefully patted it dry. My mom taught me that a crispy skin is because it’s skin is dry and light coated with olive oil. I placed the neck and giblets in a small saucepan, covered them with water, and placed them on the stove. Exactly like my mom taught me. I turned the burner to low and allowed the pan to slowly cook the contents – this part of the bird was for Fern.

I patted the chicken’s skin dry a final time before I placed it in a cast iron skillet lightly coating it with olive oil and then sprinkling it with black pepper and dried thyme and rosemary on the back, the breast, and legs of the bird pressing spices onto the skin. Then I placed it in the oven at 425˚F and waited.

Within a few minutes the aroma of a roasting chicken filled the cottage.

While it cooked, I fed Fern sprinkling some of the broth from her part of the bird and its some meat gleaned from the neck. Mom taught me that a whole chicken could feed a family and a dog. Every time I cook a whole chicken, I feed the dogs, too.

It took almost an hour in the oven and while it roasted, I busied myself with other chores and then prepared the salad and the green beans. I pulled the roasted bird out of the oven, checked the temperature, and then let it rest a few moments before carving off a thigh and a drumstick and plating it with green beans and a generous portion of the salad.

before….
and after…
dinner.

While I ate, I thought of mom and all she taught me to do and to be. Continue reading remembering mom →

W^2 – spring

Photography, Science, teaching, Weather, Weekly Photo Challenges, Wordless Wednesday, , , ,

W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, April 14, 2021

late afternoon sun blocked by a tree trunk. my backyard, Wheaton, IL Monday, April 12, 2021 4:49 PM
bullfrog in the shadows. Morton Arboretum Lisle, IL Sunday, April 11, 2021 2:12 PM

I couldn’t decide, so I chose two photos for the week. Earth’s annual renewal is a thing of beauty. This continual cycle of rebirth helps me continue to Make the Days Count, one day at a time, stopping to look and be present.

What signs have you noticed that spring is here?

Three things for a rainy Saturday morning

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It’s been a long since I sat at my desk and wrote a blogpost on a Saturday morning. Saturday morning was once my ‘go to’ day to write. But things change and as I believe all have learned, and experienced, this past year is that if there is one constant in our lives it is change.

As I do from time to time, I looked back at the blog. Over the past year or so, most of my posts have been on Wednesday – those Wordless Wednesdays with a few words or more, so the posts aren’t truly wordless, but wordless at least for me. The second most frequent day I have posted has been Sunday.

I remembered every post and picture; I suppose that it’s your experience when you look back at your own blog.

Oddly, the last time I wrote a Saturday morning post it was a ‘three things’ post and it was raining. So for this week here are my ‘three things’ – hope, spring, and change. Continue reading Three things for a rainy Saturday morning →