Look at all those books!

My school library is a long classroom with two doors to the hall. The main door is the one that is usually used by students. Coming in that door one sees immediately my desk, the library tables, the circulation desk just to the left of the door, and as you come further in you see a space for a class of youngsters to sit on the carpet, and the picture books and easy readers surrounding this area.

Beyond a low shelf in the center are the stacks--the meat and bones of the upper elementary and middle school library--though the catalog (still a card catalog--I will admit it) and encyclopedias are directly opposite the main door.

I had the back door open yesterday--the one that goes directly into the stacks-- as the kindergartners came by on their way to lunch. The two most remarkable comments from these wiggly five year olds were:

"Wow! Look at all those books!" and "I didn't know we had two libraries!"

Contrast

Above is the Great Dane of mushrooms, taken in late August on the trail down to Berkeley Park from Frozen Lake. There were hundreds of these and each was a full foot across.
The one below is the Chihuahua of mushrooms, taken yesterday on the trail to Grove of thePatriarchs.

The Near View

The long view of Friday changed to the near view on Saturday as clouds kept the mountain playing peek-a-boo. With Highway 123 now open, we could return home by way of the Grove of the Patriarchs where these pictures were taken.
More mushrooms!!! The 'shrooms out now are mostly tiny, and there are thousands of them.

Photo Hunter--Theme: Classic

We found this classic Cadillac parked in front of the Skagway City Museum this summer in Skagway, Alaska. The museum itself, treasurehouse of classic mementoes from Skagway's past, is reflected in the fender.

The Long View

We went hiking today on our way to the coast. We took Chinook Pass--which will be closed for the season before too long--and hiked the Naches Peak Loop. Advice to the adventurous: snowshoes are advised on the eastern side of the loop--the part in the National Forest.

Today was a day of mostly long views and few close-ups. As amazing as the long views are in the summer, I tend to find lots of close-ups then as well.

These are two waterfalls--icicle falls--on the east side of the peak. Some of these icicles are bout four or five feet long. Some of them fell while we were standing there. That makes you want to move on quickly!

Here is Mt. Rainier seen across Tipsoo Lake. Tipsoo Lake lies at the top of Chinook Pass.
Some other shots of the mountain. That is another little lake we passed near the park boundary --I don't know if it has a name.

PhotoHunt Theme: Pink

These very pink balloons cheered us on along the shore during the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk last month. The Olympic Mountains are in the background. I will soon register to walk again next year.

PhotoHunters Theme: Practical

So why do two cows going down the road fit into the theme of practical? You have to hear the tale of a

A Spring Break Adventure

to understand.

One day during Spring Break this April, I was at home doing not much of anything when two young neighbors knocked at my door.

"Our ball went into your yard. May we go into your yard to get it?"

"Of course. Use the gate over there."

"But he went in over here."

HE?

Well, the fact of the matter was that it was not a "ball" but a "bull" (with a slight accent on the boys' part) which I then discovered wandering in my back yard.

"Oh, OK..."

The boys kept an eye on the bull, making sure he stayed in the yard and did not wander further. Other neighbors watched over the fence. There had not been that much excitement in my backyard since my eldest son accidentally set fire to the field with a Fourth of July firework while we were off purchasing a weedeater to knock down the dry grass so that we wouldn't set fire to the field with our fireworks on the Fourth of July. That particular son has children almost as old as these neighbor boys now.

I rather wondered what the plan was, and they did not explain it very well. Perhaps there was more of a language barrier than the pronunciation of ball and bull.

Pretty soon their Dad shows up with a cow on a rope.

Huh? I have a bull in my backyard and you bring me a cow?

Aaaaah, but that is where the theme of practical comes in. Rather than struggle to force a half a ton of stubborn bull who does not want to go anywhere but where he wants to to go home when that is not where he wants to go, introduce a lady cow to the mix. When the bull is interested, lead the gentle cow down the road toward home.

Now that is practical!

Blog Action Day for the Environment

I learned from Sister Susan Rose that today is Blog Action Day. The idea is that everyone, in their own way, blog to raise awareness about the environment.

Since I seem to do more photoblogging than writing, here is my contribution to environmental awareness. From Alaska to Arizona, these are sights I want to continue to share with my grandchildren.

From the top:

Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau

Tracy Arm, Alaska

Yakima River, Washington

Prince Rupert, B. C.

Wenatchee Valley, Washington

Grand Canyon, Arizona

Zion National Park , Utah

Kotsuck Creek, Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington

Kayaking near Ketchikan, Alaska

Near Juneau, Alaska

Mt. Rainier, Washington

Lake Powell, Arizona

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah (3)

'Nuff said!

Authors Are Fascinating

Probably the best part of the Washington Library Media Association Conference was getting to hear these three children's authors speak. Every author I have ever been able to listen to or visit with has a story to tell. Well, obviously they do or they would not be authors!
T. A. Barron is an avid hiker and started out writing nature books. (His children are all named after mountains. and they have visited each of their mountains--including the one in Antarctica. See, I told you they have a story!) His Lost Years of Merlin series is very intriguing and popular among our middle schoolers. I am intrigued to learn about his other series, as well.
Patrick Carman's Land of Elyon series also really moves in the library. He gave a presentation about how he builds the worlds of his fantasy novels from a sketch to a model before he inhabits them with his characters. (He's showing us how big his first model of Atherton was.) His places really are another character in his books, so it obviously works!
Do you see that little animal on the cover of Judy Schachner's book? That is Skippyjon Jones, a Siamese cat who thinks he is a chihuahua. Judy led us through her colorful home, introduced us to her pets--including Skippyjon, a real Siamese whose ears did seem to be that big. Sadly, Skippyjon died just two weeks ago, so talking about him was difficult for Judy today. Judy also told us about the Viking ship her daughters pooled their piggy bank money to buy. Did I mention that authors are fascinating and have interesting stories to tell?
The Skippyjon Jones books also sail off the shelves.

Photo Hunters--Theme: Smelly

A
ROSE
by
any
other
name
would
SMELL
as
sweet.