Owl Web Cam Link

     I have just placed a link on my blog for an web cam on an owl's nest.


      This owl' nest has been occupied for quite a number of years. There was a web cam on this nest last year. The pair of owls were successful in raising their brood. The web cam placement was not good but this year they have a better camera and the placing is much better.


     The owls aren't nesting yet. Owls have been seen visiting the nest.


      So if you are curious and have the time check into the owl's nest and see how they are doing.

I Remember Helpful Students

      As a teacher I was fortunate enough to have some students who always wanted to be helpful. They always wanted to do something. These kids were a treat because they had such a positive attitude and they were of great help.


      A class room teacher always has an amazing number of things to get done during a day. It was always nice to have the kid who wanted to do little jobs. Take something to the office(attendance forms), get something from the office, get the video, get the duplicated stuff, haul some books around: These kids saved a teacher many steps. It was interesting that there were two types of helpful kids. One kind of helpful kid was just plane helpful. The other kind of helpful kid was a little devious and wanted to get out of work or go for a stroll. These kids realized that they were helpful. They knew this message could go home and that would be a big plus for them.


     Then some kids were very helpful and they didn't intend to be helpful and didn't know they were being helpful. Sometimes there were shenanigans going on that I couldn't catch. If I watched carefully, there was always some kid who knew where the nonsense was taking place and was watching and enjoying the action. If you could catch that kids eye and follow it you could find out exactly where the monkey business was going on. Usually the culprit was caught completely off guard and wondered how he had been caught.


     One time I had someone in class who was either lighting matches or scratching caps for cap guns. Both were smelly and other kids would complain. They didn't know who was the culprit either. I really wanted to put a stop to this activity as it was dangerous. I had one sharp eyed observer who always knew where the action was. He was and extremely nice and well behaved boy. I watched him carefully. He was so interested in the goings on that he concentrated intently and I could see exactly who the bad guy was. I pounced on the culprit and that was the end of lighting matches until the next time.


     So students were helpful in several ways and I appreciated all of them.  

The Real Spring Snow Storm

      The other day when I posted on "Snow: Embrace it or Fight it" I might have known that I might spook the snow gods. Today we are getting heavy spring snow. It's just below freezing and the snow is coming down hour after hour. We've had about 20 cm (8 in.) of snow so far and are likely to get 20 cm more before it's done. I've had the pleasure of shoveling twice today and I'll go out again about 9:00 PM.


    So today I'm not sure if I'm embracing , fighting or just keeping my head above the snow. It is a quiet gentle time.   Roads are terrible and there have been some serious accidents.

I wish there wasn't so much snow.

Big hat for my lamp 

Lots more room for snow on the spruce tree.

A Juniper cover up.

One bird feeder closed for business

March 4th: National Grammar Day

     Now I'm sure that every one of you is just thrilled to know that Mar. 4 is National Grammar Day. I had never heard of it until yesterday. National Grammar Day was established in 2008 so it only took me four years to find out about it.


     Many bloggers from time to time make comments about their writing ability and specifically with relation to grammar. People know that there  is a grammar which is made up of rules for correct writing. People will say a remember taking grammar in school but I can't remember any of it. I remember taking a grammar quiz in teachers' college and it showed I didn't know the difference between a noun and a verb. I got sentenced to remedial grammar and couldn't get out until I passed the test. 


     Sadly, I think there are potentially many excellent bloggers out there who do not blog because they are concerned about the grammar thing.


     I applaud all bloggers I follow for their willingness to write! That is the key goal ...to write. Some bloggers write as they talk and their posts have an interesting flavor. For these blogs if they changed their style I probably wouldn't follow them. Other bloggers are more aware of some rules but also like to use an informal style which will be more appealing to the reader. A few blogs are written quite accurately when it comes to grammar.


      I have two grammar police on my blog. It's been a long time since they've done anything with my writing. It was always surprising how much editing they did. So I thank Jock Mckenzie for supplying me with help. Jock has written a novel Dealing with Dymans. MK is my daughter and she's a real stickler. I can learn a lot form her. She is also an excellent writer. My third adviser is Brian T. Kline and he is an excellent writer. He has very tightly controlled and logical writing. One of his jobs was to turn engineering language to regular language so sales people could describe their products. But with all this help I still like to write in an informal style. 


   Basic grammar is very simple. It's right or wrong stuff. For people to get grammar it has to be applied. You have to apply grammar to your own writing as you write or look at it after you've written. Grammar is easy to teach but it's difficult to teach well. Sadly today grammar is rarely taught. I still wish I had a basic grammar text in the house. Wait a minute , couldn't I find all the grammar explained on the net? 


    So to all my followers "Happy Grammar Day" or whatever appropriate thing you're supposed to say. 

Some Issues With: In Like a Lion ,Out like a Lamb

     On March 1, I can always remember people saying, "In like a lion, Out like a lamb." The adage is much older than my time. In fact, the earliest it can be traced back is to the 1200's. Nobody knows it's origin. It's one of those adages that has just come along with the language. 


     I wasn't very old when I became skeptical about the truth of the statement. I began to wonder about it's accuracy and if records had been kept. In my little head it seemed like one of those statements that are in the language but  do not have a lot of validity. There are many other statements to do with the weather. Red skies at night... Red skies in the morning...A moon phase where the moon is turned up enough to hold water...frost is more likely with a full moon. Now some of these have been proven to have some scientific validity . In others their source can be traced and the source offers some sense.


     Now what really bothers me about the March statement is : what defines a "lion " day and what defines a"lamb" day. Today at sunrise it was clear and calm. By 10:00 AM there was a brisk wind and some snow. By 5 :00 PM the wind had died down and the skies had cleared. I'm sure that there would be many arguments as to which kind of day this would be. Is it an average of the day? Is it the noon conditions? 


   Now another thing. To my dismay I have found that some people fervently believe in this adage. They are serious. The Farmer's Almanac  records and reports the event. And who's going to disagree with farmers and their almanac? Don't mess with them. They will have a melt down if you suggest it's hokey. I know I live with one of these. 


    Now I may be a bit of a spoil sport about March 1. I may be a trouble maker. But I am big enough to hope that everybody had a good Mar. 1 and that what ever the weather was, it turns out to be a good March and spring month.

February 29: A Day of Opportunity

     February the 29th has always been a rather interesting day since it only comes once every four years. I am well aware of why the extra day is needed. I also find the birthday thing for people born on the 29th rather interesting. 


     I'm sure that if we Googled Feb.29 th we would find all kinds of interesting trivia about the date. 


     I heard one interesting piece of trivia on a radio station this morning. So here goes. Feb.29 th is a day for women to propose marriage to a potential spouse. That's right women may ask someone to marry them on Feb.29. 


    Now I'm sure some people will run out right now and make a marriage proposal. Just think how this might work for someone who has a very hesitant male beau?  The question can finally be popped and who knows the great day of marriage may arrive. 


    Since I've spread this valuable piece of information, let me know how it works for you. Has this just made your life complete?

The Boy Who Carried His Own Arm.

    The other day I took my wife to an orthotic and prosthesis place to get her insoles adjusted. We had to wait quite awhile for the the glue to dry. There were all kinds of devices  in the shop. There were many leg and knee braces. There was the odd leg or foot that was used as a template to make various devices. While I was looking at these devices I thought of a student that I had.

    I was working after class with a few kids. All of a sudden somebody said, "Mr. Kline, there's and arm on the floor." Sure enough an arm was under one of the desks. We all went down to the desk to inspect the arm. I thought it was likely something from the drama dept. We picked up the arm to examine it. At that time Daryl came in the room with a sheepish grin on his face and said, "I forgot that." while pointing to the arm. Daryl left right away. I had a feeling as if I had been someplace I wasn't supposed to be for looking at a kid's arm. 


     This happened about the third week in Sept. I had not noticed that a student was missing an arm or using a prosthesis. So much for my keen observations.


     For the next three years you would see Daryl coming down the hallway with his binder and his arm. sometimes Daryl left his arm in the locker. Most of the time he just carried it. I could understand why Daryl carried his arm. It was extremely heavy. For an 11 or 12 year old it was just too uncomfortable. Daryl was born missing the part if his right arm below the elbow. There was a 3 or 4 inch stub past the elbow. The stub would move on the elbow like a regular lower arm. Daryl did not show any discomfort with his missing arm. In fact, he was a very pleasant student and was well liked by his classmates. 


    After middle school I did not see Daryl again. I did meet some of his distant relatives and they told me that Daryl was married and had two children. It was nice to hear that Daryl had for all intents and purposes lived a normal life.


     I wish that digital cameras were around in those days as I would have had more pictures from my school days. I probably would have had a picture of Daryl.