Twenty-five thousand adult flamingo couples are summering in the salt marshes of southern France, the largest number since naturalists began counting them forty-five years ago. Over 60,000 flamingoes total—12,000 babies so far. They are harmless to man and beast, eating only krill, tiny saltwater organisms they filter through their beaks in a system not so [...]
The Reading Under the Gun (or RUG" was a timed writing assignment. I gave students a limited period of time, a short text, some provoking questions, and required them to write until I said stop. The assignment was worth five points. Even if you answered the questions wrong or went off topic, so long as [...]
My husband and I have a lot in common, things you can't see, and a couple you can. We once lived a half mile apart, and we graduated from the same large suburban public high school, though we did not meet until before my senior year. Our DNA is largely Northern European. Gary has more [...]
The Cape. I created this "TEST" with the new Editor for WordPress. I find the "Classic" version I have been using and which suited me perfectly has lost function. I am reminded of Microsoft Word 1, that earliest version I used of that software program in 1989. (Someone will volunteer the 1.4 or whatever it [...]
We need teachers. We need teachers who are not merely well-educated and kind and hard-working. We need teachers who are smarter than most of their students. My original post "WHY YOU DON’T WANT TO BECOME A TEACHER" went up on my previous blog while I was actively teaching in a public high school. I reposted [...]
Bread is on the first rise downstairs and I meant to come upstairs and work on the new quilt. That was what I meant to do. I bake most days, and I do that because I enjoy baking. I took up cooking and baking while I was a teenager partially in contrast to my mother. [...]
Forty years ago, I was climbing a seastack (don't do this) and when I pulled myself level with the top I was eye to eye with a black bird with that brilliant enamel colored eye, staring right back at me. That was my first close view of a black oystercatcher. I have seen a few [...]
A friend asked me what local schools in my area are doing this fall. So this will be a rant. Don't read more if you don't care to know what I think. I do not know what is happening with our grandchildren’s Montessori school. I do not see how their parents can afford the tuition [...]
Yesterday morning we walked north nearly to Arcadia Beach. This morning we walked from the north to Cape Falcon. Both days were foggy in the morning—yesterday the fog lifted after we got home. This morning the fog closed in by the time we were having toasted homemade bread for our breakfast. We had to go [...]
Two days before his death, John Lewis submitted an Opinion piece to The New York Times that he hoped would be published on the day of his funeral. “Though I am gone, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe.” While my time here [...]
