last day, garden and the brachiosaurus

it's a new day! ok, actually it's the end of a new day, hence really it's an old day...although if we're getting technical about it, it is a new day somewhere and it will be coming to your area soon enough! (whew! that was a lot of thinking to justify the original premise~ something I was really good at in highscool, which annoyed my teachers)

we came in today for final touches as teachers and staff tidied up, packed up, and eventually went to eat-up!

i was able to accomplish some important tasks, but i still have a list of things to complete over the next two and 1/2 weeks!

i forgot to get pictures, but i was able to create a diy olla water drip- fingers crossed that it will work. we currently have a soaker hose type irrigation system, set up on a timer. this is really nice, because no one has to go out and water. most of the new garden installations are going in with these pot-systems, as they are supposed to conserve water, and end up being more cost-effective. the down-side is that it becomes a responsibility...which is actually an up-side in disguise! teaching the classes that plants need water, and i'm going to measure each of the containers and how much they hold, using a stick gauge to indicate metric volume. this will be a good learning tool for our students as well...actually, i think this might be a great project for our students! ALSO, we can use the water from our rain-tank to fill the ollas! good times! (i'll take pics of the pots on monday and post them-by then, the silicon will have dried completely, and we can plant the pots!)

i went back to campus after lunch to work just a little more in the garden, because i had asked the district yard-maintenance crew to not cut the randomly growing vine and tomato plant out by the compost bin.  i also asked them to weed-eat the grass on the mound of dirt that had been delivered to us, which has slowly become a temporary hill- and if we don't get it moved next week, it might become permanent! so...i had to weed the bed that needs the additional dirt, so that we could fill 'er up!

this was a task! even with the correct tool-brutal monster weeds...texas-sized weeds

 so i went over to check, and they did a great job of leaving my mystery vine!

i am not certain if it's actually melon or if it's spaghetti squash...either way, it's a treat!!

and the tomatoes! this one wasn't one that i actually planted this year...it magically appeared-but it's bearing fruit!!

where's waldo tomatoes!!

OH, THERE they are! they look like roma tomatoes, but the crazy thing is-last year there were no roma tomatoes in any of our beds...

so back on up. we worked the first part of the day, and then we had a staff luncheon at saltgrass-they always do us right! we had a great group of staff show up-there were a few who were unable to make it. steak and shrimp all the way! good conversation-in larger groups, i'm a listener, unless i'm spoken to (which works really well for me). 

we received a fun gift of appreciation-candy (we are a school that eats) and a starbucks card (we do drink coffee, as well!) everything about my meal was perfect! (i'm pretty easy to please). i believe that i have mentioned that our principal has been promoted to a position that is most fitting: she is now an executive director, which allows her to do what she does so well-mentor principals! so today was our official goodbye. we worked hard this week to get a memory book together for her, which included a small note of memory or well-wishes as she moves into her new position. people leave, memories remain.

in all of the transition, one thing that i did not do well today was recognize those who are leaving. we have a few who are retiring and a few who are moving to new schools. dee, natalie, sandra, penny, sheila, robin, cecelia, cathern, marilyn, mrs. markham-thank you for your commitment and dedication to kids! for your early morning tutoring, after school tutoring, willingness to try new things, mentoring new teachers and being an integral part of team CABELL! you will be missed and as i said before, people leave, memories remain. thank you!

 we had a great little retirement party for those of our teachers who were retiring; unfortunately i had to leave early for a chiropractor appointment, but it was beautiful, and i'm glad we got the opportunity to honor them. i didn't think it would be that hard to stand up and say my piece, but when i actually made eye-contact with these ladies, i got choked up! penny-my mentor and 2nd grade teammate, sheila-my morning (and all-day) inspiration, and robin-my science-buddy and 4th grade confidant, all dear friends-family. i didn't really expect the thank you cards and i was certainly surprised by the sweet gift from robin-so appropriate-but even more touching were the words in the card-words carry a lot of weight.

love it! it's on my bulletin board!

 and to top it off, not only was there an adorable plaque, but camo gloves, to boot!

how fun is that?!

a couple of weeks ago, i didn't get a chance to share, but i was able to organize our shed in the garden-and it looks amazing! you can actually access things! go me! the whole purpose was to make it easier for teachers who are volunteering this summer to be able to grab what they need easily and put it back in an organized manner! (all of those teachers who have signed up to volunteer in the garden- a little weeding, watering, and lots of produce!! ...all ONE of them). currently wendy is the only one who has signed up, but i have had others say they plan to come...i'll be here all week folks! so yes. hopefully we can prevent the garden from becoming a jungle, and looking like spain after the tomato fights. (i can't handle all that produce dying on the vine!)

threw my shoulder out patting myself on the back for this one.

 and lastly, while driving the other day, i noticed 2 things. first of all, as i was driving north on midway, stopped at the 635 and midway, i noticed that there are 2 brachiosaurus guarding 635! (in case there are those of you wondering, please note the difference between the brachiosarus and the apatosaurus here. ). and in case you were wondering, i just spell-checked brachiosaurus, and it gave me brontosaurus, which is actually NOT a dinosaur- in case you are chasing about dinosaurs at your next get together...fred Flintstone probably slid down the neck of an apatosaurus...just to be clear.

no worries, they are herbivores!

noticing #2: i looked down at my mantlepiece dashboardpiece, and noticed that my pig apparently had a procedure done without my knowing it.

do you see that? on his throat?!

he said it was a voluntary procedure-why, pig? why? WHO voluntarily gets a tracheotomy? silly pig. maybe it'll be in the sequel to IF YOU GIVE A PIG A PARTY. but still. why?

let's call it a night...and a short weekend-
julie