Category Archives: Science

W^2 – shenanigans  

W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, March 24, 2021

a whimsical monument to school by one of my 6th graders. Naperville, IL March 9, 2021 12:49 PM

We started with a few students coming back to school. The change was immediate. The change happened because our building became a school again where children’s laughter filled the halls and the classrooms. School isn’t school without a little bit of shenanigans and tom foolery, now and then. Making the Days Count recognizing that a little tom foolery and shenanigans boost the soul from time to time.

When was your last shenanigan? What did you do?

W^2 – ice

W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, February 3, 2021 on Thursday. Ooops.

Ice covered topiary. Wheaton, IL February2, 2021 5:16 PM

We have had several inches of snow fall over the past week and we are expecting another few inches today. Fresh snow is pretty, but when it melts and refreezes it’s another kind of beauty. Making the Days COUNT, one day at a time, looking for beauty anywhere I can find it, beauty in the world makes my day count.

Where have you found beauty lately? Are you looking? Or does it just happen?

W^2 – sunset

W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday November 11, 2020

Herrick Lake Forest Preserve – Wheaton, IL November 8, 2020  4:15 PM

Making the Days Count even on a cloudy day there is sunshine. You just need to have faith that it’s there.

What keeps you moving on a cloudy fall day?

Sunday morning, November 8th

If you had told me that I would be sitting outside writing a blog post on the second Sunday morning in November, I am not sure if I would have believed you.

But I am. The sun has shifted in the sky from where it is in the summer. I can feel the sun on my temple, and I can see my shadow in the laptop screen in front of me. Like many summer mornings when I have written a blog post outdoors on the deck at home or by the lake, I am wearing a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt. The temperature is 67F or almost 20C , there is a gentle breeze, and the sun is shining. It is a beautiful morning.

Yesterday morning, the puppies and I, sat outside and I enjoyed my morning coffee instead of inside on the couch. They sat side by side staring into the backyard, seemingly on watch for the critters they long to catch. The two puppies are really dogs, but they behave like puppies do full of curiosity and eagerness to run, jump, and play. Ivy, the older one, will be 11 years old in a few months and Fern, the younger one, is a little more than a year and a half.

 

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looking for squirrels and I am watching the leaves fall – yesterday the deck was clear… #fallleaves #raking #fallchores

A post shared by Clay Watkins (@makingthedayscount) on

We are repeating yesterday morning’s unusual opportunity – sitting outside in early November. Continue reading Sunday morning, November 8th

W^2 – so long summer

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?

W^2 – wonder

W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday for September 2, 2020

The late evening night sky over Wheaton, Illinois – Friday August 28, 2020 – 9:27 PM left to right, Saturn, and Jupiter, and the moon beneath Jupiter
The late evening night sky over Wheaton, Illinois – Sunday August 30, 2020 – 8:34 PM, peaking through the trees, left to right, the moon, Saturn, and Jupiter

What do you wonder when you look to the heavens?

W^2 – moment

W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday August 26, 2020

Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris – Wheaton, Illinois on Tuesday August 24, 2020 8:45 AM

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Ferris Bueller from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris – Wheaton, Illinois on Tuesday August 24, 2020 8:45 AM

Making the days count, one day at a time, remembering to look around once in a while.

What wonder have you seen in a recent moment’s glance?