Hepatica

June 6, 2015 {157/365} Hepatica

"The truth depends on a walk around a lake, a composing as the body tires, a stop to see hepatica, a stop to watch a definition growing certain and a wait within that certainty, a rest in the swags of pine-trees bordering the lake. Perhaps there are times of inherent excellence" - Wallace Stevens, Notes Towards a Supreme Fiction

Twenty-one

June 5, 2015 {156/365} Twenty-one

Today marks the end of my 21st year in the Pewaukee School District. I've taught two subjects, French and English, in two buildings, Asa Clark Middle School and Pewaukee High School. I've coached and mentored colleagues as they use educational technology to engage students while maximizing their own educator effectiveness. I've published 25 yearbooks, taken six trips to Europe with students and countless fields trips to art museums, plays, universities, and restaurants. I've worn a lot of hats and accomplished a lot in twenty-one years. This year I took time to really reflect on what I've done by creating an EE Portfolio. The process helped me to recognize my accomplishments (even if they aren't always acknowledged by others), to bring closure to another year, and to celebrate for a just moment before beginning again on Monday. 

Peonies

June 4, 2015 {155/365}

"A picture is a poem without words." - Horace

Words are insufficient to describe the spectrum of ruffled petals and the intoxicating fragrance that beckoned me to stop the car and take a closer look. They say a picture is worth a thousand words yet even several images don't do justice to these beauties. 

Sustainability

June 3, 2015 {154/365} Gingko Tree

Many consider the mighty oak to be the strongest of trees. Yet the delicate ginkgo dates back to the era of the dinosaurs. But while the dinosaur has been extinct for 65 million years, the ginkgo has remained unchanged. In fact after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the ginkgo was the first tree to reappear. What a fitting symbol of maintaining integrity while persevering in the face of adversity. 

Busy Bee

June 2, 2015 {153/354} Busy Bee

“The careful insect 'midst his works I view, now from the flowers exhaust the fragrant dew, with golden treasures load his little thighs, and steer his distant journey through the skies. - John Gay, Rural Sports (canto I, l. 82)