W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, October 8, 2025
My drive to school usually takes about a half an hour, sometimes a little more depending on the weather or the traffic or both. I’ve been driving the same route for over 25 years and sometimes I take the road less traveled.
Herrick Lake Road service entrance for Herrick Lake Forest Preserve, Wheaton, IL October 2, 2025 7:14 AM
Last week, I took the road less traveled and passed by the forest preserve in full sunrise. It was a humid morning with ground fog which scattered the sun’s light. It was beautiful.
Herrick Lake Road service entrance for Herrick Lake Forest Preserve, Wheaton, IL October 2, 2025 7:14 AM
September was dry and warm, especially the second half of the month. This past Monday night it rained hard, and the earth soaked it up; then yesterday afternoon cool winds, clear skies, and high pressure moved into the area bringing cooler fall weather. It was great sleeping weather last night, but I don’t think I’ll get the same shot this morning. Only time will tell.
It is Wednesday and today is going to be a wonderful Wednesday. I am going to take the alternate route and see what the sunrise brings. Sometimes a diversion is the best way to tackle a Wednesday. Today could be a million and six times better than yesterday. I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, sometimes mixing it up on the way to school.
I didn’t find this week’s sign until I was there, I’d been there before, seen the sign, and turned right into the parking lot almost as if the car knew where to go.
My go to sign at the church lists October’s upcoming events and I didn’t find any signs until yesterday evening just before sunset, after I had loaded the car. And there it was, this week’s sign.
Our family has been visiting this farm for as long as I can remember…my first photo evidence is from 2011, that I could find, but that was about the time that Saturdays were filled with kid’s activities of sports and scouts and family and whatever else we could pack in. Now that they aren’t kids any more, we still visit.
The farm is an hour’s drive into the flat plains of northwestern Illinois farming country. Soybean and corn fields lined the road as we drove west. An occasional farmhouse and barn surrounded by trees greeted along our journey. It’s been dry, very dry, and we saw clouds of dust in the fields as farmers rushed to bring in this year’s harvest with their combines.
The farm we visit is a multi-generation farm and the original farmer has since passed on, but his family – his kids, and their kids, and their kids, kids continue the tradition. The daughters run the operation now, and they remember us, even though we haven’t brought our kids in a few years. They grow pumpkins, and the midwestern field crops as well as raise a few head of cattle, too. The farmhouse is decorated with pumpkins and gourds sorted by size and price and there is quite the variety.
the farmhouse and a large tree surrounded by all sorts of pumpkins
this wage has the eight dollar pumpkins
They also raise rabbits and goats’ a few years back we almost came home with a rabbit to go with our pumpkins.
We always arrive late in the afternoon and have picked our pumpkins, visited, explored, and loaded before the sun sets over the fields. We always stop for dinner at a local restaurant on our way home. It’s our tradition and it feels right. When dinner is finished, it is dark, and we drive home. It’s been a full day when we pull into the driveway and unloading the car will have to wait until the morning.
a ‘framed’ sunset – I couldn’t really see what I had until I had taken it….
unframed, the sun seems small
this tree ‘spoke’ to me and I had to take the shot
I woke later this morning, later than normal, but earlier than the rest of the house. I was rested, the country air is always refreshing, and I was ready for the day. I was a reading a few blogs and I came read Dr. Gerald Stein’s post – Our Questionable Progress, and I thought how appropriate it was as I was feeling overloaded starting the day. Sunday is always a busy day for me I never seem to get everything I need to get done. So today, I am going to breathe and get done, what I can and leave the remainder for Monday. No pressure.
It’s my youngest brother’s birthday – all three of us are sequential 61-62-63 until my birthday in November when I will be two to the sixth power. It’s also my 34th wedding anniversary and it seems like the other day when a ray of light beamed in through window above us and illuminated the two of us just as we took our vows.
Today is going to be an amazing day, I am sure of it. So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Today is going to be a great day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, being patient, focused, and purposeful.
I am little behind on my Signs of the Week posts, but school is back in session and it seems I am busier than ever. Sometimes I worry too much about posting when I should be focused on being my best self.
I found these gems on a sign back to back in front of the First baptist Church along M55 in Prudenville, Michigan over the Labor Day weekend a few weeks back. I found a couple more that’ll have to wait for another week or so, depending on what I find in my travels this coming week.
This is the other side of the sign, it was on the sunny side, facing west.
I was reminded that detours can be good, even if they don’t seem to be at the time.
Yesterday, while volunteering at Loaves and Fishes on my normal Saturday morning shift I got to talking with a fellow volunteer whom I have worked with many times before – at east the past couple of years…..the conversation went like this…….
Me: “What do you do when you are not volunteering at Loaves?”
KS: “I work in IT.” What do you do?
Me: “I teach middle school science?
KS: “Really, where?
Me: “Scullen Middle School…”
KS: “Really, I have 6th grader at Scullen…..”
Yep, and she’s in my class, my tenth period class which is my last of the day and a great way to finish every day.
It’s a small world and sometimes our detours are really good things.
I am wrapping up my sixth year of volunteering at Loaves and Fishes. I started volunteering because I wanted to be a positive example for my son, who’d landed in a tight spot and needed some community service hours. He volunteered and served the hours he needed, but has since moved on to other things. Things he should be focused on – marriage, parenthood, building his career, and other things a late twenty-something should be paying attention to.
And me a sixty-somethings? I am doing what I should be doing with the detour, practicing for retirement and staying active in the community. I get as much if not more from my time helping others get what they need to thrive.
I have a few more years before I hang up the chalk for good, but I am always learning, always thinking, and always being curious. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, and trying to look at things differently, even detours.
Have you ever had a detour that turned into a blessing?
And by the way, if you missed my post about my visit to the Netherlands, check out Operation Market Garden…
Saturday, I took the longest hike in a long time – just under three miles with two dogs in tow. Or rather being towed by one dog and staying out of the way of the other.
In the past couple of years, I’ve gone on shorter hikes but I haven’t been getting out for longer hikes for more than a while. It’s a new year for the Take a Hike Challenge from the forest preserve and I skipped ’23 and ‘24’s challenges but I am back this year.
outward bound Herrick Lake Forest Preserve, Wheaton, IL September 6, 2025 3:53 EDT
Saturday Fern, Nova, and I walked through Herrick Lake Forest Preserve. It’s a favorite of mine, it’s close and a good length with forest and prairie landscapes with just enough up and down to get the heart moving while the feet are following each other round moving me from start to finish.
on the way back to the trailhead. Herrick Lake Forest Preserve, Wheaton, IL September 6, 2025 4:22 EDT
When I got home, I had enough energy to refresh the bird feeders and a few other chores before calling it a day. Fern and Nova were completely spent, too.
It is Wednesday and today is going to be a wonderful Wednesday. It’s the middle of the week and school has a late start with a faculty gathering first thing at 7:30 AM. The bells will ring before I know it, so I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, one foot after another is way to tackle life.
Is there something you’ve recently re-started that you’ve been avoiding?
the other side says welcome back, but this side is blank, like me…..
Sometimes it happens. Maybe I wasn’t looking in the right place, or I had so much on my plate I did not see one. The fact is I came up blank.
It’s been a busy week with school and home and the end of summer.
Last night, my daughter and I drove to the lake to put an end to summer for another year. Friday night drives always seem to take forever, but last night’s was only an hour longer than the norm.
Friday night traffic leaving Chicagoland is always a grind, especially on a three-day weekend. Once we crossed the Indiana state line and passed the 65 split, traffic lightened up and we were able to drive the speed limit into the night.
It was pitch black when we arrived and I was too tired to look up at the stars, but I am sure they were there.
This morning, I sipped my coffee and stared out at the fog as it lifted in the early morning light thinking about all we’ll accomplish before the sun dips below the horizon later this evening. And before we return home Monday afternoon.
the fog slowly lifts and yes, those are my toes
August is going to leave us with a whimper. It began hot as blazes with skies shrouded with western wildfire smoke and it finishes with clear skies and chilly fog filled mornings.
Today is going to be a great day. It will be busy with errands, to-dos, and time spent together like so many Labor Day weekends by the lake. So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time remembering to be purposeful. How is your August finishing?
The week’s Sign of the Week is a throwback to last week.
I passed by Wiesbrook Elementary’s sign Thursday evening and found a gem and then went back in time to find some old photos.
Time flies…. when I was posting to Instagram, I added the song, Don’t Blink by Kenny Chesney,
Don’t blink, you just might miss Your babies growing like mine did Turning into moms and dads
Dads yes, have twin grandsons who are then months old tomorrow. Moms NO, unless you count the dogs, because she is a dog mom to two. But she’s grown and starting to test her wings.
This week flew past and when I blinked, it was Friday morning, the Saturday.
School’s back in session and I really made this last week count. It’s Saturday morning and I am off to Loaves and Fishes to serve others, but I’ll be home to make the afternoon count with the ’21 grad and dinner and maybe a walk with the dogs at one of my favorite forest preserves.
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 up, jump in and seize the day
Making the Days Count, one day at a time, looking back to see where I’ve been, but keeping my feet firmly planted in the present.
W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Monday afternoon was hot, humid, and still.
Then the atmosphere exploded, and the temperature dropped 15 degrees (9C), the wind picked up, lightning and thunder flashed and crashed, and the rain fell.
And it didn’t stop.
I was volunteering at Loaves and Fishes, and we decided due to lightning to close early. I think our clients new it was better to go home and try another day.
The storms came in two waves and by the time it was over, we had gotten 3.5 inches of rain at my house and some places around the area got up to 7 inches. One of our neighboring schools had to close Tuesday because their a few of their schools had been flooded.
Tuesday morning was our first day of school with kids this year and even though the skies were cloudy, it was a bright sunny day inside.
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!
It’s Wednesday morning and we’re headed back for day 2 and building routines, remembering names, and spreading kindness. It’s going to be a great year, and the sun is going to shine today!
my first day photo for my 27th year as a teacher, Wheaton, IL August 19, 2025 6:57 AM CDT
Today is going to be AMAZING. I know it and I can feel it, so I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, making new friends, learning new names, and spreading kindness.
W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, August 13, 2025
The Great hall – Union Station, Chicago, IL Sunday, August 10, 2025 5:10 CDT
Summer break is finished. Every year when I get to this point, this day on the calendar, and I ask myself the question,
Did I do enough?
This year, I can answer yes.
Of course there are things I didn’t do, but I did a lot.
This past summer I passed through several train stations – Paddington, Swansea, St. Pancras, Gare du Nord, Amsterdam’s Schiphol, Central, and North, and this past Sunday – Chicago’s Union Station.
Sunday, I used public transit to attend a baseball game on the southside. It was a good game and getting to the city and back was easy and efficient.
After the game, I sat in the Great Hall of Union Station waiting for my train and mind wandered and I thought of another great hall, the main hall of the Musée d’ Orsay, which was once a train station. As I sat and took in the hall, I went back to look at the photos I took when I visited Paris. There were similarities.
Musée d’ Orsay main hall, Paris, France July 17, 9:50 GMT-1
Union Station, the Great Hall, Chicago, IL August 10, 2025 5:03 PM
Musée d’ Orsay the main hall Paris, France,July 17, 2025 9:55 GMT-1
While the Musée d’ Orsay is significantly larger the two stations were built in similar time periods at a time when train travel was the only way travel long distances.
Musée d’ Orsay, Paris, France July 17, 2025 10:00 GMT-1
Union Station, Chicago, IL 5:14 CDT
I wondered what these stations might have looked like in their heydays.
Musée d’ Orsay, Paris, France July 17, 2025 10:07 GMT-1
Musée d’ Orsay, Paris, France July 17, 2025 10:07 GMT-1
I am partial to the black and white, which do you prefer?
It’s the last day of summer break and I am going to finish strong and be ready when the alarm rings early tomorrow morning. Today is going to be like the last sixty-nine days have been – AMAZING. I know it and I can feel it, so I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, especially when a last day leads to a first day.
This past weekend I completed one of my bucket list items – I made to Boston and Fenway Park to watch a baseball game and my thirtieth MLB franchise. I have been looking forward to this game since last season. It was a great weekend, and I watched all three games between the Hoston Astros and the Boston Red Sox before flying home Sunday night. It was a full weekend.
Boston Logan peaks at me through the clouds
Fenway Park is the oldest ballpark in the major leagues and has been used by the Boston Red Sox since 1912. The Chicago Cubs home Wrigley Field is the second oldest having been in use since 1914.
Every ballpark is different. Each ballpark has its own traditions and routines, but in the end it’s that brings us all together. All the fans I interacted with over the weekend were friendly and fun to talk with during the game. They knew the game and enjoyed baseball and were passionate about their team.
Singing “Sweet Caroline” is one of the traditions at Fenway. It is sung in the eighth inning, and it is sung with gusto. I remember learning to play “Sweet Caroline” in seventh grade band. I was so excited to play something fun and upbeat, and my trombone part included playing the tune, rather than in the playing in the background which many of the scores we played had for the trombone.
Where it began I can’t begin to knowin’ But then I know it’s growin’ strong
I didn’t last long in band and quit when high school started. Like many of my peers, I was drifting and wouldn’t really find myself or my place until my junior year.
Sweet Caroline Good times never seemed so good I’ve been inclined To believe they never would
I took an early flight to Boston and landed before noon. I had hoped to use public transit to get to the hotel but was confused and chose a ride share to get to my hotel. It wasn’t until I left Sunday that I realized my mistake! Next time I’ll get it right.
Boston is one of the oldest cities in America, but its history pales in comparison to the cities I had visited in Europe – London, Paris, and Amsterdam. I spent Friday afternoon walking the historical areas in downtown Boston before the game Friday. It was a lovely afternoon, perfect for walking and exploring.
the Boston massacre Memorial on the Boston Common
‘The Embrace’ a memorial the Martin Luther King, Jr and his wife Coretta Scott King
The 54th Massachusetts Memorial – an all black regiment with fought in the Civil War, led by Bostonite Robert Gould Shaw
Benjamin Frankin was born in Boston
the Old City Hall
the memorial to visitors of the Irish Famine 1948-49
the old South Meeting House where the ‘Good Trouble’ began the original ‘resist’ movement
the site of the Boston Massacre, memorialized
I had great seats for Friday’s game – 7 rows behind home plate and on the aisle! There was a family behind me; the grandpa and I talked baseball throughout the game. Sadly, the Astros lost the game in extras 2-1, but it was the best game of the weekend.
the view from the ‘Green Monster’ the 37 foot high left field wall
pre-game view from my seat
the classic peanut photo….
And before I knew it, Friday melted into Saturday morning. Saturday’s game was a 4:10 start and I wanted to arrive early enough to walk the ballpark and take it all in, so I decided to go visit the Boston Museum of Fine Arts which has a special exhibit I wanted to see.
Yes, you guessed it Van Gogh. The exhibit highlighted the artist’s work in the south of France in the last few years of his life. He painted a postal worker and his family while living in the yellow house. I enjoyed the exhibit very much.
yep, it’s me
the postal worker – Joseph Moulin
the famous bedroom
another Van Gogh selfie..
and another selfie with a selfie
Joseph Moulin’s wife, Augustine
another Van Gogh selfie.. they are all very different
Joseph Roulin, the postman
Augustine and her newborn daughter, Marcelle
Saturday’s original plan was to go to the game directly from the museum, but I needed to return to the hotel before the game, and it worked out as I befriended a couple at the tram stop near the hotel. We ended up having a beer before the game.
I tried to connect with my favorite player, but was too late and batting practice was over when I arrived, but I did run into the Friday’s evening’s usher who recognized me and he exclaimed,
“You’re back!”
to which I replied, “You’re back, too!
And we laughed. The grandpa from Friday night had mentioned that he and the usher had gone to high school together and I mentioned it to the usher, and he said,
“Yes, but he went to Harvard.”
I asked where he went, and he replied,
“Williams.”
I smiled and I replied,
“Which is better?”
and he replied,
“Williams!”
And both we laughed.
Then I was off to Saturday afternoon’s seat. I decided to sit in the right field bleachers for Saturday’s game. I found my seat and talked with the usher, Ed, about Fenway and baseball. It is always fun to engage with folks at the ballpark.
Saturday’s game was fun, but like Friday my team ended up on the short side of the score 7-3.
Fenway is on the national Register of Historic Places and there are plaques and markers throughout the park
pre-game photo from my seat
scouting Sunday’s seat on Saturday
a great sign and good advice, and I love the colors of the wall it makes the sign standout, much like to colors in an art museum…
The game ended around 7 PM and I decided it was a nice evening for a walk back to the hotel.
Sunday’s game was an 11:35 AM start and I needed to cleanup, pack up, and checkout of the hotel before going to the game.
I was able to write a few postcards before checking out and taking the tram to the game.
I chose to sit along the first base side in the right field stands for Sunday’s game. I had scouted the seat Saturday and decided where I was going to sit the day before. There were two seats available – seats 12 and 13. I am funny about the number 13, so I chose seat 12. I also, thought (secretly hoped) no one would purchase seat 13. I was wrong, but the person who bought the ticket never showed up; nor did my team and they lost a third game in a row, 7-1.
another sign, filled with great advice
Sunday’s game view
another peanut photo for the collection
seen on the way out – we all have different name. An excellent 70th birthday gift for a baseball fan…
Sweet Caroline Good times never seemed so good I’ve been inclined To believe they never would, oh, no, no
That’s baseball. The season is 162 games long, which is a long time. The season begins in late March and finishes at the end of September followed by a month of playoffs ending in the World Series and a serason’s champion. It’s a long haul, much like my bucket list journey. It started with my first game in the 1970s and I added a second stadium in 1986, then a third in ’87, a fourth in ’88, and many more finishing in Boston. It has been fun; and I’ve enjoyed the travel, the people I’ve met, and the games I’ve seen.
a view of Boston Harbor on the way home…
Today is going to be a great day and 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, looking back and savoring the experiences, but with an eye on the present.
Do you have a bucket list? If so, what is it?
“Sweet Caroline”
Was in the spring
And spring became the summer
Who’d have believed you’d come along
Hands, touchin’ hands
Reachin’ out, touchin’ me, touchin’ you
Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
I’ve been inclined
To believe they never would
But now I…
…look at the night
And it don’t seem so lonely
We fill it up with only two
And when I hurt
Hurtin’ runs off my shoulders
How can I hurt when holdin’ you?
Warm, touchin’ warm
Reachin’ out, touchin’ me, touchin’ you
Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
I’ve been inclined
To believe they never would
Oh, no, no
Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
Sweet Caroline
I believed they never could
Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
Written by Neil Diamond
a great sign and good advice, and I love the colors of the wall it makes the sign standout, much like to colors in an art museum…
I pass this place on my way to and from the lake house. When it is open, there is often a line to get in, sometimes the line stretches down the block and tests your resolve about whether the ‘exercise’ is worth the wait. But it’s summer and ice cream is refreshing and tasty.
It was National Ice Cream on Sunday, July 20th. We celebrated early with an ice cream treat in Paris at Berthillon on Ile St-Louis. It was delicious and there was a line to get a treat, but it was worth it as we waited patiently in the shade with other ice cream lovers on a warm Parisian Friday afternoon.
it’s the best exercise… Tasty Treat, Lake City, Michigan, July 25, 2025
It’s Friday and today is going to be an amazing day. This morning I am off to Boston to complete my bucket list at Fenway Park, three days and three baseball games, then home to finish summer and getting ready for school to restart in a couple of weeks. Where does summer break go? Making the Days Count, one day at a time, enjoying an ice cream cone while it’s summer.
