The second site was sent to me when I described the following:

We had our first snow storm the other night. A friend and I were driving to book club. I looked up and saw what someone later described as a murder of crows. Three trees and one roof top filled with crows roosting for the night…a most astonishing sight. I’m going back there to see if they are still there…I have to take a picture whether it works or not!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP9RnDp_tms

And I was reminded once more of Africa. We were returning to our rooms after supper. We sensed a presence and looked up. The trees were filled with little birds…sleeping. They slept so soundly that occasionally one would fall off the branch and flutter.

How long can one get mileage out of having gone to Africa? I went to Africa…seven years ago…as I speak of it, it does seem like yesterday. It would be a bit trite if it didn’t…how often can one make mileage on the fact that one has been to Africa? Even if one was only a tourist.
So two utube sites caught my attention this week and reminded me of Africa - the first about the visit of mountain gorillas to a camp site.
http://www.wimp.com/mountaingorilla/

And that reminded me of one day in Africa. We were in a compound reminiscent of a 1950’s motel with cobbles stones. Our patio windows looked out on fields. I suspect that somewhere there were fences or something. Lions don’t read signs. As I looked out my window I saw a family of baboons making their way across the field. (The more I think about it, the more I wonder how they kept the lions out and let the baboons in! There was no warning sign such as the one at the top of the page.) They came up to the compound and disappeared around the corner. Suddenly there was a scramble and they reappeared, drink cans and snacks in hand! Later one of the travelers admitted that he had opened his window and lay down for a nap. He had woken to see two baboons taking off with his soft drink and snacks. I recorded the outcome.

OK - I confess - no I haven't been to the Galapagos Islands...but my friend has and she just returned and these are the only pictures on my blog that are not mine but I couldn't resist. Besides, I've got to do better this year that 40 out of 365 possible blogs...

And I have to share...I can't just keep them to myself!

I just found this picture...and since I cannot blog on my visit to my geriatric gynecologist, I am using the picture to keep a place.

I really like the picture!

Some years are for growing Amaryllis...some are not. This is an Amaryllis year!
One of the most important lessons given in teacher training was that of gaining the janitor's respect. The janitor would be the first to know if one was losing it...or if one never had it!

I'm clearing out files. Not only is it an Amaryllis year, it is a year for file cleaning. I found the following: A certain private school in Washington was recently faced with a unique problem. A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints.
Every night the maintenance man would remove them and the next day the girls would put them back. Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night. To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required. He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it.Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.

And that is why teacher training focused on the importance of the janitors!

I have no idea what the rules of copyright for a blog...but I'm just finding stuff and putting it up so that I don't lose it. I found this somewhere...an exercise in writing six word stories:

-Seeing the world before it’s gone.
-Superwoman has got nothing on me…
-Tried to hate.
Love won out.
-Followed dream. Found cure. Nobody interested

I just discovered something that I forgot I had!

The Rights of the Reader
Daniel Pennac
The right not to read
The right to skip pages

The right to not finish
The right to reread
The right to read anything
The right to escapism
The right to read anywhere
The right to read out loud
The right not to defend your tastes