Abbie 5, Roscoe 3

Most of the time I love our dog. I think he's cute, handsome, extremely playful, loving and mostly loyal.

I also love my vegetable garden. I got inspired while teaching plant biology this year and reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Plant biology became much more interesting when I had the possibility of growing my own food (since acquiring a yard!).

I am a novice. Cyrus helped build the garden and I sowed most of the seeds in the greenhouse at school. (A few basil plants died and I replaced them with starts from the farmer's market.) I have enjoyed the process of watching the plants grow and begin to produce food. Although with our cool summer I am not too confident about the harvest I will get. But zucchini are easy, said to be great for a novice gardener. My friend Kelly grew a zucchini bigger than her baby last summer. I can do this.

I have been successful. My two zucchini plants are huge (pictures to come soon). And last week I picked my first two zucchini, grilled and ate them that very same day. Delicious rewards. The other day I picked two more zucchini, brought them into the kitchen and left them on the counter. Within 2 minutes I heard a "thud" and ran to the kitchen. One zucchini on the floor, one zucchini missing!

Roscoe had the missing zucchini in the front yard and was tearing it to pieces, as if it were a bone. I was shocked and amused so I let him have it. (He doesn't eat it, just tears it into pieces).

Apparently he had a good time. A few moments ago I was in the garden, harvesting zucchini for dinner. While I was reaching for a squash in the back, he grabbed a zucchini from my dish and ran across the yard - taunting me. Already ruined, I ran inside to grab the camera and capture the moment. I race outside to see the first zucchini on the step and Roscoe standing over my dish in the garden contemplating another bite. I do my best "I'm not mad, come over to me, I have something better" voice and call him to me. It works. I give him the first zucchini and snap these pictures.

Notice the top he took off already, on the left.

Unfortunately, I was too late. When I returned to my garden I discovered a nail mark in another zucchini! I managed to salvage two for myself. At this rate maybe I won't have to worry about not being able to eat all the zucchini. I just hope he doesn't learn how to eat them off the plant.

South

So...the whole point of labeling the last post "North" was that three days after we returned from Beyond, we flew "South" to Costa Rica with Stephanie and Reid. I am sure the contrast has been lost in my delay, but here are a few images from our trip.

First stop, Volcano Arenal in La Fortuna.

Cyrus ate arroz con pollo a lot on the trip. He claims this one (his first and most interesting) was the best.

Catarata de la Fortuna

Next, we spent 2 days in the mountains exploring the cloud forest. We took a guided walking tour too see the forest from below and then we took a zip line tour to see the forest from above.






I have plenty more pictures from the forest if you want to see them...I was fascinated by the diversity of life - plants and animals...as a Biology geek I was in heaven.

Steph

Hanging bridges

Cyrus has no fear


Abbie was a bit more cautious

Greasy from the pulleys and the rain, but worth it.

Don Juan's coffee plantation. We toured and tasted coffee grown in the mountains of Costa Rica. We even met Don Juan, although we were too star-struck to say much.

flower from a coffee plant

storing dried beans

Reid and Abbie separating coffee beans from the husk

Next we headed to the Pacific coast and Ian and April Foster joined us for a night.

Unfortunately, this was the only turtle we saw.



But my iguana friend hung out by the pool one afternoon.


We spent five days exploring different beaches...

Harassing the crabs....

Making sand angels...

and boogey-boarding! (this was the best part)

To travel between beaches in the rainy season you have to cross a few rivers...here we are checking it out before.

And Reid bravely driving through....good memories.

Thanks for a great trip Steph and Reid!

North

As soon as we finished teaching we drove to Beyond to lead Guide Training, affectionately known as "10-Day". We climbed Sun Peak and completed a lot of training along the way. This is a view of the peak from Sun City (camp night 1).

Contact Lakes campsite

Looking for a crevasse to use for training

Success! We had a great day for crevasse rescue training and a beautiful crevasse to jump in.

Lunch break

Inside the crevasse

Sunny days...views of Mt. Albert, the Bon Bon glacier and Smithman's Ridge

Summits of JJ and Sun Peak

Crossing the summit ridge

We LOVED being in the mountains. It was the best way to transition after another school year. The Beyond staff is full of wonderfully talented and compassionate people. I am excited for the work they are doing this summer.

Misleading

After I finished the last post I took Roscoe for a walk. As I walked around the neighborhood at dusk and processed my day the words I had posted floated around in my head. I boasted of our dog and the adventures we've had -the easy experiences of the last two months. I don't want to give the impression that is all that our lives have been. Granted, this is a public forum so my words may not be disclosing, but I want to be honest.

Yesterday, two students stole my classroom key off my keychain at school. The keys were sitting on my desk the last few minutes of the day as I helped a student understand her grade. In that time, a student slipped 2 of my 3 keys off the ring, leaving a few odd shaped keys and the laynard. I didn't notice the two keys were gone until 20 minutes later when I left for the staff meeting.

I felt scared. I feld embarrassed that I had let this happen. I felt betrayed and disrespected. Who would steal from me?

This morning the students were found, consequences assigned, keys returned, apologies spoken. This may seem a simple story, but to me it is more than that. The students were two of my best; smart, nice, respectful, funny. They claim they planned to play a prank and rearrange my room. They made a poor choice.

Today I was reminded of how much I care about students. With only 7 days left of school I had entered survival mode. I was doing all I could to teach each day, prepare for the next day, the end of the year, and already beginning next year's responsibilities. My energy and motivation levels are low. But it's not over. I am still an adult in a young adult world. It was devastating to watch these young people make a poor choice. It was painful to be hurt by their choice. And yet, I am excited to seem them for a few more days until the year ends. I am grateful for the opportunity to be in their lives.

For Heather

Yes, the last two months have been full of playing with Roscoe. A while ago Heather confessed she checked our blog daily for new pictures of Roscoe and I have failed to supply them.
Heather, this post is for you.

Of course we have done other things - rock climbing, snow camping, built and planted a vegetable garden, worked, bought a BBQ, spent time with friends....but all that for another day.

Roscoe loves anything that rolls, but a new favorite is the soccer ball.

It barely fits in his mouth and usually his teeth get caught in it and he can't drop it.

Isn't he the cutest?

I just melt when he crosses his paws.

The leftovers of a squeaker ball from Steph.

It lasted 3 minutes.

But was well worth the entertainment for us and for him.

Playing fetch at the park

We have also been busy taking training classes with Roscoe. We are learning and so is he. I am happy to report that he knows his name, sit, down, come, drop, wait, and this week we're learning leave it and shake.

We love having a dog.