I was reminded of this post today when one the boys in one of my classes farted. This caused a major class disruption with the other boys holding their noses and moving away from him. Once again I had to remind them that everyone does this, and that it is a natural reaction of our bodies when we digest food. It happened soon after lunch.
Here is my old post about this subject. Check it out here!
The day after the car racing… school will begin for many students in the outlying suburbs. Unlike the race which will last part of a day, the school year will last for approximately 180 to 190 days.
(The post above was originally posted August 21, 2022.)
Enjoy the weekend before school begins in 2026!
As I have been shown past posts over the past couple of weeks, I have seen some that I like and I have seen some that I ask myself “what was that about?” I just deleted a past post titled There is a Silver Lining from long ago. It fell into the ridiculous category with no saving grace other than its title.
The picture you see here was recently added to an old post from 2015/11/11 titled Cowrie, Cowry, Kauri. The old post had a picture of the cowrie shell that was not one of my pictures. It was very bland, so I upgraded with a picture from the WordPress image generator. Here is the post: https://movingforwardslowly.com/2015/11/11/cowrie-cowry-kauri/
I still have the shell that I found long ago. I placed it in an old jewelry box. There are cowrie shells shown in the new picture. The cow you see in the background is a powerful symbol in Hinduism. It represents Gau Mata (The Divine Mother).
Someone the other day asked me how long I have been blogging. I told her I think it was 2015 in the late summer. The blog was started as my way to mentally work through a tough time in my life. The other day when I was cleaning a file cabinet I found a bag with printed out copies of some of my earlier posts. I have to search my posts to remember whether I saved it here or whether I deleted it. I have deleted many of my earlier posts. My earlier posts had no pictures. I found a paper copy of a post from December 22, 2016 which I think is pretty funny. It was a stretch of my imagination that went outside the boundaries of reality. I decided to let my picture generator here create a picture for this post. I think it goes well with the light-hearted theme. Rather than link the post I will post a picture of it. It is easier for me this way.
These pictures posted above are old pictures from my garden when I grew Swamp Milkweed. They are a host plant for the Monarch Butterfly.
At my school there are several common milkweed plants by the school entrances closest to the staff parking lot. The common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) looks different than Swamp Milkweed (Aslepias incarnata). Both are host plants for the Monarch butterfly. Today as I was leaving school for the day I was surprised to see a Monarch butterfly on one of these common milkweed plants. It seemed odd to me especially since just the other day I posted about Monarch Pass. I cannot remember seeing Monarch butterflies in Virginia this early in the season. In my home garden I don’t normally begin to see them until the middle of summer. I pulled out my cell phone to take a picture but I could not get one before it flew away.
Today I wondered if Monarch butterflies are seen around Monarch Pass, Colorado. I also wondered how high the monarchs can fly. I read that they can be seen around the Monarch Pass area from early May through October, though this is not how this location got its name. As to how high they can fly, I read they “typically migrate at altitudes of 800 to 1,200 feet.” They are capable of soaring much highter. I don’t know how accurate this is.
I finally got out of my house today. I ventured out within a 3 mile radius (or less.) While I was out I spotted 2 teenage girls that were both wearing pink oversized sweatshirt hoodies with these words on the back. I told them that I liked their hoodies, and I asked where they got them. They told me online at a website called dandyworldwide.com.
I found the website, and I found the “Words of Affirmation” hoodie. I would have preferred a crewneck with these words, but still I liked the words so much that I bought one in a navy color. I work in a school, and I love the messages that this will spread to everyone that sees it.
I don’t get anything out of advertising products other that a good feeling about spreading the word on a product that I like.
As I was thinking about going back to work, and about the students coming back to school this year (2025), I wondered about the history of the school bus. It is interesting to see the yellow color has survived multiple upgrades of the American school bus. In American history 7th graders will learn about Henry Ford and his model-T car. Go to the museum link I have provided in the caption under the picture of the Blue Bird No.1., and you will be able to read more about the oldest surviving school bus in America.
Fortunately for students today the buses are much safer and more comfortable than back in 1927. I hope everyone has a good beginning to this school year 2025.
I know I have a picture of my daughter getting on a school bus for the first time, however, I could not find the picture at this time, though I did find a picture of her on her first bike with training wheels. I also found a picture of Ivan the giraffe from our visit to the San Diego Safari Park. I have added the picture to my post about date palm trees, and I found a picture of my daughter and my mother at the Anne of Green Gable house on Prince Edward Island, and I have added this picture to my last Sunday Reflection post.
The weather today is hot and sticky, even early this morning when I went out to run a few errands. I have not been going outside as much as I would like, however, I have been taking care of myself getting preventive medical exams and other healthcare appointments.
Today I want to spotlight the United States National Arboretum. Since I have been going through my old picture files, I found a folder of some pictures taken at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum which is located on the arboretum grounds. It was mid- February of 2009, and we took a car trip into D.C. to visit the National Arboretum. Winter is not as busy as other times of the year, so parking was easily available and the admission is always free.
https://www.usna.usda.gov
I have shown only a few of my pictures that I took on this trip. I revisited the U.S. National Arboretum website to see what was going on there currently in 2025. I discovered the interactive map (ABE) which is very cool. It gives you a bird's eye view of all the arboretum grounds and where it is located within the district. It has a plant finder feature which is very useful if you love to discover new plants or explore variations of known plants.
One thing I could not find on their site was a little history of how it all got started. I found this website: https://livingnewdeal.org/sites/national-arboretum-washington-dc/
If you have a child in school they will learn about U.S. history. One unit of study will be the New Deal which was a program to help the U.S. recover from the stock market crash (1929) and the depression that followed. The link above gives more information about this. I have taken a screenshot about how the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) helped to lay down the groundwork of the U.S. National Arboretum.
Thinking about the school year ahead, you might want to plan a visit to the U.S. National Arboretum during the winter break when your children are under foot, and you want to enrich their learning at no substantial cost to the family budget.
I remember the long lines waiting to get into Cameron, hours spent waiting, all to get good center court stadium seats. We chanted songs and cheers.
This madness continued throughout the basketball season.
I won lottery tickets to go to the Final Four one year.*
The good old days!
Over the years since then I have not always followed the team. Some years when my life has allowed me the time, I watch the games.
This past Friday I watched Duke dominate the other team. They won!
They play again today.
The other day when I was looking at pictures, I saw a Duke fan wearing a Blue Devil mask with the words "U Can't Touch This" written on it.
This MC Hammer song came out the year my daughter was born just a couple of weeks before her birthday. This song always puts me in a good mood, especially when I watch MC Hammer do his dance!
Go Duke!
* Update--I decided to look up the year I attended the Final Four. It was 1978 and the final four was held in Charlotte, North Carolina. My roommate Allison, was from Charlotte. Duke made it through to the Championship game, however, we lost to Kentucky that year. The score was 94-88.
Correction to the update: It was the first round of March Madness that I attended in Charlotte, N.C. in 1978 and not the final four. Duke did go on to the Championship game that same year.
I was reminded today of the Middle School I attended in 1972-1973.
The most interesting things I remember about these years were the sludge test we had to do in science class,and my confrontation with a male student in band class. He was a trumpet player, and I played the timpani (aka a kettle drum). He kept trying to put his hand up my skirt on several occasions. I told our band teacher, and he told me I had the right to defend myself.(In other words, he was not going to stop the boy.) So, one day when the boy was harassing me again, I tried to slap him, and he jumped down a step and grabbed my hand. I had no other recourse than to kick him, and because he had jumped down a step, my kick landed squarely between his legs. He immediately let go of my hand. He spent the whole class on the floor in the instrument room. He never bothered me again. Neither one of us was ever reported nor punished for this conflict. He did not appear to suffer any permanent damage from my kick.
In case you were wondering what a sludge test is, here is a good description:
"A 'sludge test' for students is a hands-on science activity where students are presented with a mysterious mixture (the "sludge") containing various unknown substances, and they must use scientific techniques like filtration, distillation, and observation to identify the individual components within the mixture, essentially acting like mini-forensic scientists to "solve" the sludge puzzle; often used as an assessment to test their understanding of different chemical properties and separation methods.
Times have changed dramatically since my middle school years. Sexual harassment is taken much more seriously than back in 1972-73. Also, a sludge test would not be attempted today since open burners were used, and there were a few other dangerous components of this assessment.
My old middle school was named J.G. Whittier. The school was closed back in the 80's.
Tonight I decided to look up the poet J.G. Whittier. I found a poem of his which I really like, and think is motivational for anyone facing difficult times. See below a copy of this poem.
movingforwardslowly 