The World Is Ablaze

...and yesterday I couldn't just sit inside and waste it.

If I could choose a season to bottle up, it would be fall. The pungent spice of wild apples, the smell of loamy earth and mushrooms and moss, the sound of drying leaves skittering against each other, the feel of sunshine and wind, the trees all aflame. It's the kind of beauty that hurts.

Unfortunately, I couldn't entirely leave work behind, so armed with a backpack, some water, and a textbook, I headed out to soak in some glory. [I was gone for four hours, and to tell the complete truth I hiked about 85% of the time, daydreamed about 10%, and read about 5%. Can you blame me?]

It was a regular adventure, complete with oddities and treasures and enough color to make my eyes wish they didn't have to blink.

Apprehended! I caught him brown-handed.

I spied this little fellow hurrying across the road. He tried to tell me news about the coming winter as he rushed by, but, alas, I don't speak Woolly Bear.

Moss-bridge.

Wild apples.

(a.k.a. Debbie's mid-afternoon snack)

It's difficult when one feels like a turtle with one's house on one's back.

This is one of those cemeteries where you like to stay awhile. He was just a little bit younger than I. Perhaps that is why the willow weeps.

Treasure. You should have seen me...I looked like a squirrel, scrabbling. I had all sorts of odd lumps and bulges all over me from sticking things in pockets.

Fungi. Each time I spotted a new one I was ridiculously delighted.

I've named this one Fungulily.

It has a secret, too. This one lets you see its insides. See that hole?

It hides a fire-opal within.

Puffballs will forever remind me of my childhood. 

Here are a few landscape shots. They don't even come close to doing it justice--multiply the colors by ten, and you'll be getting there.

Silent sentinel.

The best part of the walk was the colors. The sunbeams were lighting everything up with a perfect translucence.

It was one of those days where it seems like heaven has sprung out of cracks in the clouds and loosed itself on earth.

I was sad to leave, but I took some color home with me.

My Haunt

I figured it might be nice to show you where I spend my days. 

Welcome to my classroom.

(I wish you could see the whole thing at once, as it doesn't look as nice chopped up into so many different photographs...). 

The fancy-schmancy room label made by one of the boys who is now over at the middle school. Golly, I miss him. I couldn't get rid of this. I'll probably have it as long as I teach:

   

Exhibit A: 

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:

Exhibit D:

Exhibit E:

A note on Exhibit E. The Wall of Fame is something I've had up since my first year, but I'm especially pleased with some of the things on it right now. Take a gander at a few of them close-up.

She's reading!!! Really, this is pretty exciting.

His name was even announced over the loudspeaker. A couple of students from each grade are chosen each week. It says why he was awarded it on the back. The reason? Being a true friend to one of the students from the self-contained Life Skills classroom when they pushed into regular math class. The particular student J. was kind to has a pretty debilitating disability that significantly affects his physical appearance. My favorite part was that J. connected it to a novel he read in class with me last year; one of the characters in the book had a stigmatizing disability but was portrayed in a rich way, a complex way, a really good way. We had many discussions revolving around that character, and he connected getting this award to what he learned from reading that book. Books do things to people, I'm telling you.

I love this boy to his bones. His very bones. For the first time in the year and almost-a-half I've known him, he did homework. You have no idea what this means. It was so much bigger than the homework. I grin every time I see it.

So there you have it. A bare-bones glimpse into the daily life of Debbie. I wish you could meet all of my children. They're so much nicer than the room I teach them in.

Mailbox (Or, Why Nieces Are Awesome)

Mailboxes are one of my favorite things.

Just a couple of days ago, mine held a missive from a girl named Annika Arden.

She also included some of her art for me to add to the already abundant collection on my fridge and my walls.

"Kitten, Kitten, Kitten, Cat"

"Funny Monsters"

Obviously, you should have a niece as soon as possible. I highly recommend it.