august is the sunday of summer.
-author unknown
Aug30
Tag Archives: summer
Jul23
pollinating.
summer bursts open in the field
—
“earth is a flower and it’s pollinating.”
-neil young
Jul19
shoes.
shoes left behind
no need for these when you find the river.
—
“let your shoes take you to where your happiness grows.”
-anthony t. hincks
Jul6
paddle.
roads filled with cars
topped with kayaks, canoes, rafts
seeking water
going upstream
on a streak of hot summer days
looking like soldiers off to do battle
armed with water toys and sunscreen.
—
“as one goes through life,
one learns that if you don’t paddle your own canoe,
you don’t move.”
-katherine hepburn
Jul1
july light.
“that beautiful season the summer!
filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light;
and the landscape
lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.”
– henry wadsworth longfellow
—
image credit: the firefly dance, pinterest
Jun20
just living is not enough.
on the cusp of summer
walking by the river
three hours
before the season’s return.
—
‘just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”
-hans christian andersen
—
hunron river, ann arbor, michigan, usa – summer 2020
Jun13
bear.
while visiting my niece’s school
in the beautiful woods of northern michigan
i realized that it wouldn’t be
a real end of their school year goodbye
without a bear to see them off.
—
“but of course, it isn’t really good-bye, because the forest will always be there…
and anybody who is friendly with bears can find it.”
-a.a. milne
—
pathfinder school, traverse city, michigan, usa
Jun6
glow.
closing out the day on glen lake
—
“in extraordinary times, the ordinary takes on a glow and wonder all its own.”
-mike a. lancaster
—
glen lake, empire, michigan, usa
summer 2020
May29
today is…
(not my actual class, but what they might look like
if they weren’t preschool students
if it was back in the day
and
if they were leaving an actual school building)
HAPPY LAST DAY TO ONE AND ALL, LOVE YOUR TEACHER – WE MADE IT, AND I SALUTE YOU!
—
“today is the first and last day of forever.”
-stephenie meyer
—
image credit: ann arbor district library archives
Nov8
my summer of the beatles, chains, and lots of gum.
way back in the day (1964)
I was six and 3/4, not yet seven
my sister and best friend and i
spent much of our entire summer
‘working’ for free for our friend’s teenage sister
who had plans to go to see the beatles
at olympia arena
when they landed in detroit.
we were recruited by her
to spend our time creating
‘the world’s longest gum wrapper chain’
that she planned to present with her fan club
to the beatles at the concert.
she funded our gum and provided us each with a cigar box
and we sat in the yard for hours upon hours
just talking and laughing
and listening to music on her transistor radio
and creating the chain
until we’d get called home.
we never questioned the project
as were we caught up
in the whirlwind of her excitement
when the time came
she went to the show and presented the chain
later regaling us with the stories and craziness of the concert
and suddenly it was over
our summer of working for free had ended
and I looked forward to my own concerts ahead
wondering who I could recruit to make my paper chains.
—
what you’ll need:
- Gum Wrappers: You’ll need a ton of these. We made our dress using paper wrappers, but you can use foil too. The process is the same!
- Patience: You’ll also need a lot of this.
1. Fold It in Half
Take a single wrapper and fold it longways, or hot-dog style. Do this three times. Try to fold the jagged edge inside because it can get in the way when making the chains.
2. Fold It Through the Middle
Fold the wrapper in half the other way, right through the middle. It should make a “V” shape. Next, fold the sides into the middle, making a little “v.” This little guy will be one link on your chain.
3.. Repeat
Before you proceed, you’ll have to repeat these steps to make another chain link. Once you have two, you’re ready to connect them!
4. Connect the Pieces
Just take the two ends of one and push it through the two holes in the other. This is why you’ll want your gum wrappers to be folded neatly—if the jagged ends stick out, it can get difficult to see what you’re doing or where to push the wrappers through and connect them. Keep it neat!
5. Keep Going
Keep on going forever and ever this same way. Eventually, you’ll have a long and fairly sturdy chain!
credits: ‘The Beatles’ Patrick Julian – Beyond Olympia Stadium, Pinterest, felt magnet
The Beatles
“It was like hearing the future.”
–Tom Hanks
“They blew the walls down for everybody else.”
–Barack Obama
“We’ve never seen anything like this before, ever. Never. Not even for kings and queens.”
–Unnamed airport official