"Time is an ocean. 500 years ago is like 5 minutes ago. It's right there." This is loosely quoted from an interview with Laguna Pueblo writer Leslie Marmon Silko.
For several months now I have noticed that The New Yorker, which used to be published weekly, has been arriving every other day.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
The racoon so far
The first night I planted the cabbage and kale, he pulled up one cabbage seedling and laid it neatly on its side next to the planting hole. That seems to have satisfied his curiosity. My theory is that his ancestral memory kicks in whenever something is planted. He remembers when the earliest farmers put a fish in each planting hole to provide nutrients for the seedling. Having found no fish in that one hole, he will not look for fish again until I begin to put out the organic fertilizer in a week or so.
On other nights since that first one, he has dipped a paw into the ground here and there, near the seedlings but not enough to disturb them. Since I supply him with fresh water at ground level throughout the year, perhaps the racoon and I will be able to work something out. I did have to put my foot down about the bird feeders in the spring, and things have calmed down considerably since then.
On other nights since that first one, he has dipped a paw into the ground here and there, near the seedlings but not enough to disturb them. Since I supply him with fresh water at ground level throughout the year, perhaps the racoon and I will be able to work something out. I did have to put my foot down about the bird feeders in the spring, and things have calmed down considerably since then.
Friday, November 4, 2011
change of season, change of guard
It's time to plant cabbage and kale. The seedlings are in hand and so is the Black Cow. Tomorrow is a good day for planting, and into the ground they will go, in the spot where just three weeks ago swallowtail caterpillars were chewing the bark off the fennel and pursuing the parsley down to the ground. Six blue knight kale, six savoy cabbage, six charmant cabbage. If I'm lucky, the possum and the raccoon will be on a field trip and my seedlings may remain in the ground until they are big enough to hold on for themselves.
Since my colleague Judy challenged me several years ago to come up with a new metaphor for school, I have thought of my classroom as a garden. For several years my classroom garden and my vegetable garden have been getting all the attention, while the rest of the yard is on survival maintenance.
Here at the end of the season, the orange hibiscus I planted have had an unexpected revival--thriving on neglect--and are sending up blooms that catch the warm end of the spectrum from the late afternoon light.
In my classroom, the juniors are embracing Hamlet as warmly as if he were their best friend hitting a rough patch. Think elegantly, act clumsily. If only we all handled a tight spot that well. The seniors are entering the Congo River with trepidation. Next week, after planting the balanced contrast and metonymy, I will be watering and monitoring for insight. And so it grows.
Since my colleague Judy challenged me several years ago to come up with a new metaphor for school, I have thought of my classroom as a garden. For several years my classroom garden and my vegetable garden have been getting all the attention, while the rest of the yard is on survival maintenance.
Here at the end of the season, the orange hibiscus I planted have had an unexpected revival--thriving on neglect--and are sending up blooms that catch the warm end of the spectrum from the late afternoon light.
In my classroom, the juniors are embracing Hamlet as warmly as if he were their best friend hitting a rough patch. Think elegantly, act clumsily. If only we all handled a tight spot that well. The seniors are entering the Congo River with trepidation. Next week, after planting the balanced contrast and metonymy, I will be watering and monitoring for insight. And so it grows.
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