Monthly Archives: April 2024

miracle mile.

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built in 1960
less than 3 years after i was born
this magical miracle mile movie drive-in and i grew up together
i never got over how wonderful going to see anything was
pajamas with feet, blankets, popcorn, sticky lemonade
jockeying for space with my sibs in the station wagon
never made it through a second feature
carried sound asleep into my bed
stories still playing out in my dreams.
“isn’t if funny how day by day, nothing changes, but when we look back, everything is different.”
c.s. lewis

 

 

amazons.

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Archaeologists have discovered evidence that some Greek myths might be more than just stories. Per The Observer, researchers excavated graves in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, and found “battle-scarred female archers” buried with weapons, including arrowheads, a dagger, and a mace.

This information, combined with previous findings, suggests that the women may have been Amazons who lived 4,000 years ago. The Amazons were a group of skilled female warriors and hunters who often came head-to-head with the Greeks, according to epic poems like the Iliad and Argonautica.

But as historian Bettany Hughes told The Observer, they were likely real people who lived beyond literature. “It shows that there’s truth behind the myths and legends of ancient Greece,” she said of the archaeological findings. She explores the discovery further in a new documentary series, Bettany Hughes’ Treasures of the World, which recently premiered on the U.K.’s Channel 4.

“Strength is not measured by physical prowess,

but by the indomitable spirit of a warrior woman.”

– suzanne collins, (author of the hunger games)

Source credits: image: dea/g.dagliorti/de agostini,  text -the observer

small cheer.

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a pop-up restaurant appeared in the cozy corner of our classroom
everyone was welcome and helped in the restaurant after their meal
so many delicious foods
made with care
no one left hungry 
people came and went and shared plates and talked and laughed
it was a feast for the senses.
“small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast.”
-william shakespeare

can rocks break?

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the kinder have been very interested in learning about rocks lately

they collected them

sorted them

brought in favorites

made a rock museum

painted with them

shared what they knew

still had questions.

one question was-

can rocks break?

now we all know.

“the violets in the mountains have broken the rocks.”

-tennessee williams

secret doors.

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dinner of swedish samplings

shopping for fun things for the classroom

with my co-teachers

wandering through

the twisted path of ikea aisles

a friendly employee

leads us to

yet another secret door

a shortcut through the labyrinth.

 

“there are many secret doors around us, in plain sight.

we just don’t take the time to find and open them.”

-rebecca ross, author

 

 

sh

like a holiday.

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Paul Klee, Forest Architecture, 1925, pen and watercolour on paper mounted on card

swiss painter, draftsman, and printmaker 1879-1940

 

“art should be like a holiday;

something to give a man the opportunity to see things differently, 

and to change his point of view.”

-paul klee

good things happen.

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 yet another

delightful encounter

with a stranger

at trader joe’s

when checking out

my cashier

put the chocolate i was buying

into my hand

 ‘i know this isn’t going far.’

 spot on.

working there a long time

knows what chocolate means to some people

  rarely looks them in the eye

 the chocolate gave him a reason to do so

i told him to

have a good day

he told me to

have a good life.

‘good things happen when you meet strangers’

-yo-yo ma

with feathers.

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i’ve had a feathered visitor

a robin

courting me for the last two days

 wonder what he wants to tell me?

will he return today?

hope that i’m home if he calls.

* robin symbolism means different things in different cultures and the message robin brings has different meanings at different times. A robin brings hope, renewal, and rebirth. Robin symbolizes new beginnings, new projects, and a sign of good things to come. – bring it.

“hope” is the thing with feathers –
that perches in the soul –
and sings the tune without the words –
and never stops – at all –
-emily dickinson

 

‘all good ideas arrive by chance.’ – max ernst

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kayak vending machine

easy peasy

now if this isn’t a brilliant idea, i don’t know what is-

 
 Independence Oaks County Park now has a brand new kayak vending machine.
The cost to rent a kayak from the machine is $25 for the first 2 hours,
then $10 an hour after that. We’ll see you on the water!
“i want to make a vending machine that sells vending machines. it’d have to be real big.”
-mitch hedberg
Clarkston, Michigan, USA
To see more fun things to do at Independence Oaks or our other parks, visit OaklandCountyParks.com.

kinder-garden.

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jane

today the kinder saw the space where they will create their garden.

 

“why try to explain miracles to your children when you can have them plant a garden?”

-*janet kilburn phillips

*Janet is a gardener who found that she had to employ a growth mindset when she moved to the United States from England. She had previously been creating English cottage gardens but encountered challenges when she tried to grow them in a drastically different climate and in heavy clay soil. After experimenting with her gardens she created a CD called English Cottage Gardening — American Style. She adapted and persevered and found a new way to succeed at something that she loved.