W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday September 23, 2020
NOTE: The autumnal equinox occurred this morning, September 22 at 8:30 AM CDT.
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Tuesday morning’s sunrise – final sunrise of summer 2020, my school’s parking lot, Naperville, IL. Perspective is facing east September 22, 2020 – 7:10 AM CDT
It’s Sunday morning of Labor Day
weekend and it’s quiet by the lake. It’s the last weekend of summer, at least if
I define summer as having boats in the water.
image courtesy of read.gov
Definitions of summer are plentiful,
though I firmly believe summer is almost a state of mind in addition to being a
season. For O and I, school has been in session for two weeks. Both of us have eight
days of school under our belts.
The autumnal equinox will arrive in
a few weeks and all the earth will be equal for a moment then slowly fall will
advance in the northern hemisphere and summer in the south. It’s time, it
happens each year and again, year after year. There is time for everything
under the sun.
O and I drove up North yesterday
morning. B had come up earlier in the week bringing Ivy with her. Ivy was
overjoyed to see us, though you’d hardly recognize that now as she sleeps
curled up on the footstool. B was too, but Ivy was more enthusiastic with her welcome.
When summer ends, there is much to
do. Boats, dock, lifts, and lawn furniture to store, gardens and beds trimmed,
and the garage organized for the next season. Yesterday one of our neighbors
remarked it was Labor Day weekend and we were working, working hard to get the chores
accomplished. I reflected and replied – this is the weekend we pay the rent. We
work hard at the beginning and the end and reap the benefits of our work in the
middle. It’s different from Aesop’s fable the Ant and the Grasshopper, where the
ants toiled tirelessly all season long to be able to rest (and survive) when
summer ended. Along the lakeshore, we all work together and help each other
with the heavy work pitching in when needed. We know that fall is coming and
winter is not far behind.
There are few grasshoppers here
this weekend, most of us are ants. There is a time for everything under the sun.
It is Sunday evening. It rained most of Saturday, so my Saturday chores – mowing the lawn and caring for the yard were postponed until today.
Yesterday’s rain brought with it cooler weather, and it was welcome. It was nice to be able to sleep with the windows open overnight, sleeping with windows open at night is usually a Late-September early fall treat. Mowing the lawn was much more comfortable than the typical late August Midwestern summer afternoon. It’s rare for August, but very welcome.
I was sitting outside contemplating all that I had left to do when I caught the sun streaming through the trees at exactly the right moment.
catching the sun at the right moment, rare
Sunsets at home are enjoyable, but not nearly as spectacular as they are at the lake. So when I can catch the sun in a rare moment, I do.
Even Ivy recognizes the rare moment and has been stalking some critter under the deck. Ivy has been obsessed by some critter that has burrowed under the deck. It could be rabbits or worse, skunks. She’s been skunked twice.
Ivy begs for more ‘outside’ time…”Please, can I stay outside?”, the expression on her face seems to say
Sunday’s the quickest day of the week, especially Sunday’s during the school year, and it always comes before Monday, the first day of the school week. Tomorrow is the last day for me to prepare before my students start school Tuesday. I spent most of last week preparing my classroom for the coming year and I have a few final touches before it is ready and I spent part of yesterday working on school tasks.
Today has been a great day and tomorrow could be a million and six times better. So, I’d better put a wrap up today and get a good night’s rest before the first full week of school. I am counting on making it count. Making the Days Count, one rare moment at a time.
What rare moment did you catch today?
Today’s post is inspired by last week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Rare. For this week’s challenge, share a photo of something rare: a family heirloom. A cloudy day in a normally sunny desert. A sad frown on a cheerful kid’s face. Or anything else you think of as scarce and singular. I can’t wait to see what “rare” means to you!
Yesterday was our 32nd anniversary. Actually, it was 32 plus 1, but after eleven thousand six hundred eighty-eight days, what is another day? It all depends on how you count it. I mentioned it to B and I got a smile, I think.
B and I at the Morton Arboretum April 2016I’ve known my wife a few more days longer than 11,688 days, but yesterday was the anniversary of our first date. We went to the zoo and it was a blazing hot day as most days in Houston, Texas are in June, or late May, July, and August. The night before we had gone out with a group and had fun dancing, listening to music, and talking and sharing a beer or two, it’s what twenty somethings do. At the end of the night we exchanged phone numbers and the rest is history, of sorts. Continue reading Partners – a photo challenge→