Tag Archives: summer

W^2 – peanut

Baseball, Challenges, Family, sports, Weekly Photo Challenges, Wordless Wednesday, Writing, , , , , ,

W^2, W2, or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Today is Day 23 and yesterday, I took the train from Chicagoland all the way to St. Louis. It was my first real train ride in the United States. Trains in the US were once a BIG deal, but with the advent of the car, a national road system, and air travel trains declined in my lifetime. I don’t recall ever riding a train to go anywhere until my brothers and I visited my father in Europe after my parents divorced. My first rail trip was to Glasgow from London on British Rail. We have a commuter rail system in Chicagoland, but I don’t use it often. However, I did take commuter rail into Union Station yesterday morning.

For this week’s Wordless Wednesday, I have a new peanut image from Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.

Last night I added to my list of cities where Major League Baseball is played, twenty-three. Every game reminds me of how baseball is an integral part of our culture. I could say sport, but I don’t get this feeling with football, basketball, or other sports and I don’t know why. But last night I sat amongst St. Louis Cardinal fans whom I’d never met and had a great talking baseball and life.

Last night’s seats were the best seats I have ever had for a baseball game. I decided to splurge on these seats when I was planning my trip. To my right were two couples out for the ballgame and to my left was a group of friends, and in front of me were a father and son. None of us were regulars in these seats. The woman to my right was a mom whose thins were headed off to college this fall, JP to right was a graphic artist, and the young man in front of me reminded me who was winning the game – the Cardinals. It was a great night at the ballpark.

I have seven cities left on my list: Denver, Phoenix, Tampa Bay, Miami, Baltimore, Boston, and Toronto.

Today, I have a visit to the Gateway Arch, another baseball game tonight, and a train ride home tomorrow.

Today is going to be an amazing day, it could be a million and six times better than yesterday. So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the days Count, one day at a time, watching a baseball game, or enjoying the sights and sounds of a new city.

What will you explore today?

W^2 – so long summer

Photography, Science, teaching, Weather, Wordless Wednesday, , , ,

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

What memory of summer 2020 will makes you smile?

The ant and the grasshopper

adventure, Family, Writing, , ,

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.

Continue reading The ant and the grasshopper →

rare: a photo challenge

Learning, Life in General, Photography, Teaching and Learning, Weekly Photo Challenges, , , , ,

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
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
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!

Partners – a photo challenge

adventure, geography, growing up, Learning, Life in General, Reading, Weekly Photo Challenges, , , , , ,

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 2016
B and I at the Morton Arboretum April 2016
I’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 →