other

other, photography

When you walk out on the sea ice, a walking stick is crucial. The tip is used for testing for good ice to step on. What’s good ice and what’s bad ice is pretty simle–good ice is thick enough to walk on. You walk with the stick horizontal–if you fall, the stick provides something to hold onto, to pull yourself out with, and (very important!) it keeps you from falling all the way in. Falling all the way in, aside of the obvious unpleasantness of submersion in very, very very cold water, is a dangerous thing because of the current. I’ve heard of several folks’ lives being saved by their stick.

Ed took me out with him for a little ice fishing, let me borrow one of his walking sticks.

So what’d I spend my afternoon doing? Working on a walking stick :-)

DSCF1640

other

Well, sunset or sunrise? This time of year they are nearly the same thing…the sun peeks up for a few hours then goes back down. We’ll call this one a sunset, because flying away into the sunset (in a helicopter!) is epic.

Safe travels, merry Christmas and a happy New Years to Catherine, Jori, Moses and Willis!

DSCF1623

other, stories

A voice said, Look me in the stars
And tell me truly, men of earth,
If all the soul-and-body-scars
Were not too much to pay for birth.

Robert Frost

other

I’ve tried five times to write something for, or about, or from a tragedy that happened here last weekend, and nothing works, nothing fits.

Maybe a quote. Yeah, a quote. I thought about all the deep, searing and good quotes. Hemingway, Faulkner, McCarthy, Steinbeck. nope. nothing fit.

and that’ll do, for now.

other

And sometimes after days of getting by one day at a time half broken and dog tired a beautiful moment happens in the blink of the eye so quick that it’s long gone before I realize I almost cried and one of those moments is enough to get by on for a while. Like this one moment that came along today.

other

And sometimes after a day that breaks me the next day is just a bit better, enough to get by on for one more day.

other

In a teaching world that revolves entirely around standards it shouldn’t be so surprising to me how powerfully a ‘not met’ mark, or rather a number of them, works into my head and heart.

tryin hard here to remember ardentheartedness.

the northern lights are out right now.

funny, other

*see the post below before you read this one

Provisional Teaching Certificate: 200+ hours of study, work, homework up to date, and two more years of study

Moving to the bush: $1000 of food at Costco + $300 shipping

Teaching science: many, many hours of lesson planning

Coil of magnesium ribbon: $27 + $15 s&h

Combustion pre-lab and lab lesson planning: 6 hours

Setting off the school fire alarm with my middle schoolers despite doing our lab right next to an open window: priceless

other

It looks something like this:

-explain oxidation / combustion

-explain what’s needed for combustion

-light a nail (fail)

-light a candle
+what’s happening?
+cover, remove oxygen–>stop combustion by removing an essential part

-why can’t you light metal?

-light a magnesium strip w/clip (let it burn out)

-re-explain what is combustion? why does magnesium combust?

-kids hypothesize: can magnesium burn w/o oxygen?

-explain why you need to polish the magnesium

-light magnesium, cover

-kids write conclusion

epilogue: light a bunch of magnesium and drop it in hot water (IMPORTANT: near open window)

other

What delicious snack did I just partake in?
a can of ravioli and a can of pineapple

Dinner last night:
ramen, canned beans, fried span, canned oysters, and canned peaches.
(that one was a little bit abnormal–sent my gut for a bit of a ride)

Breakfast when I have the day of lesson plans 100% ready (less common):
oatmeal with dried blueberries and coffee

Breakfast when I don’t (more common):
1 tin of vienna sausages and 1/2 a can of peach halves

Average dinner:
beans, scrambled eggs (from powder), and a biscuit