Mailbox Monday: A Milker

However, I think Betsy's expression is, "Are you kidding me?"

What Beauties!

This beautiful pair live in the field across from our garden. Last night they were up near the gate at the road and I snapped their pictures.

They are large, powerful horses. I think they may be Belgians. The first evening they were over there and we were working in the garden, they got a little frisky and were running around in the field. Their hoof beats sounded like distant thunder.

In this pose, they look like the Pushme-pullyou in the Dr. Doolittle stories.

Monday Mailbox: Headless Horsemen

The horsemen are not only headless, but also body-less and armless ---only their legs and feet are still on.
And the horses have lost their heads too!

Seeing Double

This Bronze Frog (Rana clamitans clamitans) seems to have found a way to look like it is keeping large company.

"Hey, buddy! There are snakes around. How about you watch that way and I watch this way?"

Look at the lovely eye! You may have to click on the picture to see the gold at the bottom and the purple at the top.

School's Out

Friday was the last day of school here for the kids. We teachers have another four paid days of work. 

I was going to say that the end of the year is bittersweet, but that is not actually the case. It is more sweet-sweet. It is a very rewarding thing to teach a child (who comes knowing not one letter or sound and not one number) to read first grade books, write, spell, a variety of math skills, science and social studies facts and to get along in a classroom setting. This particular child is an amazingly resilient child who continues to overcome many difficulties that are beyond her control. I think our predictable routines were a blessing to her. She certainly flourished and I could not be more proud of her.

I act as Mama to 18 or more children each year. They slip and call me that sometimes;  I smile as they laugh when they realize what they have said. In the course of a day,  I mold their behavior, tie a dozen shoes, help with difficult zippers and snaps, bandage their scrapes, take their temperature, help with their nosebleeds and wet (and worse!) pants, remind them to flush and wash, open their impossible lunch packages, encourage them to try new foods and drink more water, and cheer for them when they accomplish new skills. Throughout the day I am teaching them to become more independent and confident, while they are picking up the required academics.

All of the students made lots of progress this year and all are ready for first grade. It is fun to look back at their work from different months to see how far they have come. Sometimes, I can see when it "clicked" for them. Hopefully, it has started to make sense by January. The late bloomers can be worrisome. I work  hard with them. On the other end are the ones that come already reading second grade books. Keeping them progressing can be almost as challenging. 

Our school serves children from PreK through fifth grade. On Thursday, I requested that the graduating fifth graders who had been in my kindergarten class come to my room for a quick picture. Fourteen kids--some as tall as I am---complied. That picture is a treasure for me.

I occasionally have kids from long ago come back to see me. Just last year I wrote about one who came in out of the blue and said he was in the community college now. He towered over me. Sadly, his picture was in the newspaper this week in the Crimestoppers section: there is a warrant for his arrest. It breaks my heart. 

I get to know each child well and we care pretty deeply for each other. So that is the hard part. On Friday, at the end of the school day, I called each kindergartner up, told them I love them, we exchanged sweet hugs and I sent them on their way with one large lump in my throat.

It was a good year.

The Coat of Many Colors

I drive country roads to school and back, and several days may go by when I don't go "to town." Each day, I drive past the "goat pen." I always have to look to see what is in the field. This spring, I have been treated to peacocks. One morning,  I counted six adults. I have also seen young ones whose heads barely peeped over the grass.

One afternoon this week, I saw a male peacock out by the road. By the time, I could turn the car around, it had hopped up on the fence and then inside.

A picture of that would have been a nice shot as it draped those long, long tail feathers down over the fence.  But it did not cooperate for me.

However, as I listened to another peacock in the field (that I never saw), I noticed a hen slipping around in the plants fairly near me.

Her less flashy coloring does help her hide when she is nesting.

Uninvited Visitors

A yellow fly had  come in the screen porch with B in the afternoon and immediately disappeared.  As dark fell, he left the porch light on to try to attract it.

And so it was that I was not in the dark on the screen porch as I usually am at night. I had just sat down  in the swing when a movement near my foot caught my eye. I called for Bob to come out with a flashlight. I already knew that what I was looking at was a red rat snake but what I was not sure of was which side of the screen it was on in the dim light.  When he arrived with better light, it was clear that the snake was on the inside.

B watched it while I went for a net and the snake was put over the fence --just for my comfort. I know that is not rational but I thought it would at least have more options to leave  and not return to the inside. After all, there isn't much for it to eat in there anyway. However, the barred owls we were hearing ---that would find it tasty--- are not in there either.

Not 24 hours before, I was laying on my back on the concrete looking at the stars. Now the very thought just brings on a Medusa vision.

We still haven't found the yellow fly.