Category Archives: Photography

Picture Day, again

Thursday, September 10, 2015, @ 5:29 amgrowing up, Learning, Photography, Teaching and Learningchildren, education, eighth grade, great days, making the days count, teachingClay

This post originally appeared last year, 52 weeks ago. But , TODAY IS PICTURE DAY!

Forty years ago the picture below was taken, a lot has happened since then. I’ve grown up and I continue to learn and grow everyday.

I’ll be ready for the photographer and hopefully I’ll get a good photo this year. I wasn’t pleased with last year’s photo and have used a #1 Uno card to cover up my ID photo since last spring. Yesterday, the weather turned and it was cool enough to sleep with the windows last night. I could feel the cool air all night. It was a good sleeping night. It’s going to be a great day, even with a repeat on MtDC.

Picture Day ORIGINALLY POSTED – 9/11/2014….

Tomorrow is picture day. School picture day. I get my picture taken every year. I’ll be in line early and looking my best for this year’s school picture. Last year, I wore a pink shirt with a blue tie and the year before, a blue shirt and a pink tie; beyond the last two years I cannot remember which year is which. It will be my school ID photo for the next year; and it will be in the yearbook. So, when my students look back on middle school, there I’ll be along with the rest of my colleagues. Continue reading Picture Day, again →

Connected

Sunday, September 6, 2015, @ 6:45 amFamily, Learning, Photography, Weekly Photo Challenges, Writingchildren, education, eighth grade, Family, great days, hard work, making the days count, seventh grade, word parts, writingClay

It’ has been almost a month since I responded to a Word Press weekly photo challenge. I’ve been doing the photo challenges off and on since Mary from Wilderness of Words introduced me to them. Thank you, Mary.

https://me.sh/13zb3v16

The photo challenges have me connected with a different way of sharing how I make the days count, every day. This week’s challenge is connected. The verb “connect” is among the most versatile ones in contemporary usage. We turn to it to describe an emotional click with another person, but also to talk about the status of our (ever-proliferating) gadgets. The word has it’s origins in Latin

con + nectre

which in Latin translates ‘to bind with’ using the word formula

con means with and nectre means to bind,

word meaning = suffix meaning + root meaning + prefix meaning

Once upon a time, I taught English Language Arts and we studied word parts and word part meanings. Continue reading Connected →

Beneath the waves

Sunday, August 9, 2015, @ 6:56 amadventure, Challenges, Family, growing up, Learning, Photography, Weekly Photo Challenges, Writingchildren, Family, fishing, great days, hard work, making the days count, Summer Vacation, teachingClay

Yesterday morning O bounded down the stairs and asked,

“Daddy, do you want to go fishing?”

How could I refuse? “Yes, you get the boat ready.” I replied.

I finished my work and met her on the dock. I remembered the things she had forgotten – life jackets and a camera. We catch and release, but photo first – when we can.

still waters beneath my feet..... — still waters beneath my feet…..

We pushed off the dock and were on our adventure. Continue reading Beneath the waves →

Tuesday’s Tune: “Blue Skies”

Tuesday, August 4, 2015, @ 7:57 amFamily, growing up, Life in General, Music, Photography, teaching, Tuesday's Tune, Weather, WritingFamily, great days, hard work, history, making the days count, reading, songs, Summer Vacation, Tuesday's Tune, weather, writingClay

I am number that third guy who walks into a music store searching for a tune he’s heard, sometimes I’ll have the tune, or maybe a bit of the chorus. Sometimes I have it correct, most times though, I am all messed up. Eventually I get it right and find the song.

Monday morning - nothing but blue skies do I see — Monday morning – nothing but blue skies do I see

Blues skies made an appearance yesterday. It was great to see them after Sunday’s storms. Storms rolled across the lake in waves Sunday afternoon. The first wave came around noon and brought wind, thunder, lightning, and rain. The second wave came a couple of hours later. The third wave came around 5 PM.

B and I had decided that gardening would have to wait for another day and she took off with O and friends to let the kids see a movie and to shop – she needed paint for the downstairs powder room among a few other items. I finished my chores and decided to watch a baseball game upstairs when the last wave rolled through.

5:09 PM Sunday August 2^nd

I had my back to the lake Continue reading Tuesday’s Tune: “Blue Skies” →

Inspiration

Sunday, August 2, 2015, @ 9:07 amChallenges, Family, growing up, Photography, Reading, teaching, Weekly Photo Challenges, WritingFamily, great days, Lake Margrethe, making the days count, Photography, reading, Summer Vacation, teaching, weather, writingClay

Sunday morning at the cottage, Ivy is sleeping, and O is awake upstairs. It’s quiet and peaceful, it’s an inspiration.

Inspiration: a person, place, experience, etc., that makes someone want to do or create something http://t.co/jVmkqEVGFm via @MerriamWebster

— Clay Watkins (@makingdayscount) August 2, 2015

We’ve been Up North over a week and each day we’ve been chipping away at our chore list: getting a chore here and a chore there knocked off the list. We have a summer’s worth of ‘to dos’ to accomplish while we are here, there’s always something to do, even when I’d rather read a book or gaze out over the lake. But, we’ve also had time for a boat ride to watch the sunset. Inspiring.

sunset Lake Margrethe - Monday, July 26 — sunset Lake Margrethe – Monday, July 26

We were having dinner with friends the other night – they came here for ribs and beans and we were at their place for ham and potatoes last night – we were talking and they shared they had been looking at other cottages around the lake and decided that where we are, they are four houses down the shore, can’t be equaled. I agree. I get up in the morning and look out over the lake, enjoy a cup of coffee and think, dream, or I can sit on the deck and read a book, and the lake lies before me. Continue reading Inspiration →

Close Up

Saturday, July 25, 2015, @ 8:10 amChallenges, Family, growing up, Life in General, Photography, postaday, teaching, Weekly Photo Challengeschildren, education, Family, hard work, making the days count, Photography, reading, scouting, Summer Vacation, weatherClay

a coneflower and a bee - photo by O — a coneflower and a bee – photo by O

We are on the downside of summer break. We’re past the busy part of summer. We’ve been focused on the world up close and when I reflect on what we’ve done

I’ve finished two professional development classes. CHECK
O’s softball season is complete. CHECK
W is finished with summer football. CHECK
O is home from church camp. CHECK
W’s Eagle project is completed. CHECK
W is off to Philmont and hiking in the Sange de Christo Mountains of northeastern New Mexico. CHECK

The busy part of summer ended Wednesday afternoon when the train pulled out of the station; actually it ended when I finished loading the cars and pointed the car east, then north early Thursday afternoon. I could feel the muscles in my neck loosen and relax with each mile away from home.

Sure, we have work to do, there is always something to keep us busy, to keep us on our toes – we have two kids, a house, and a dog and that’s more than plenty.

B has plenty of gardening work and I have to begin thinking of the coming school year. Up close, the work is easy, it’s when I look at what I have to do from afar that it seems monumental and overwhelming. One step at a time. Continue reading Close Up →