Boy-see fun

First lesson learned. People from Boise Idaho pronounce the name of their city Boy-see not Boy-zee as I have grown up pronouncing it. Hence, the title. 

I drove into town on the weekend of June 21-23, 2014. I found a nice, affordable Hampton Inn in the heart of downtown which served as a great launching point to see the city. Guess where my first stop was? I will give you a hint (well, it will be a hint if you know Boy-see).

Along the way to my first destination, I walked past the public library. Or LIBRARY!

I then walked almost the entire length of the Julia Davis Park.

The park had this collection of frontier-era homes. 

And people paddle boating. Which made me think out loud - "Why didn't the Paddle Boats at Dan Nicholas park come with an awning?" Genius.

There were also people rafting down the Idaho River. This river runs through the heart of town and runs along the line between Julia Davis park and Boise State University's campus.

I watched these geniuses decide to feed all of the Canada Geese which sounds like a good idea - except geese are mean. By the time I got my camera ready, they were standing on this picnic table screaming at geese!

I finally made it to my desintation: Chic-fil-A. Yup, that is my first intentional destination once arriving in Boise. My family was not even a little surprised when they read that! If there had been a Bojangles, I would have walked there instead. But, I do love some Atlanta-based Chic-fil-A and there is not one in the state of Oregon. It was delicious. And then I walked back via the rose garden in Julia Davis Park.

If I worked in this area, I would leave my office to eat Chic-fil-A in this garden just about everyday when the roses were in bloom. Beautiful. I love plants. 

(I actually started my Sunday morning with coffee and a trek to the Idaho Botanical garden, but I am saving that for a separate blog post. If you love grainy iPhone photos of plants, you will be on the edge of your seat for that one!) So, we will start with lunch: at the Boise Fry Company because, well, Idaho and potatoes.

It was pretty yummy. You choose the kind of potato and the cut (in this case Yukon Gold Curly) and the burger is the side-dish. The way life should be.

I then walked back to the LIBRARY! because they were having their annual book sale. Believe it or not, I didn't find anything here. Do not fear - I brought 3 books with me from Corvallis and bought 4 other books while on this whole trip. And I've finished 3 already.

After the book sale, I walked to the Idaho State Capital and looked around a little. It was Sunday afternoon so I was one of the only people in the building.

Boy-see, I will be back. And I promise to stop calling you Boy-zee.

Wordless Wednesday June 25, 2014

Bozeman, MT public library

Jamaica was Amazing-Mon

This is Claire. To be fair, she isn't normally in a tree, but she is normally a ton of fun. Let's start at the beginning.

We met while both working on PhD's at the University of Missouri. We were both members of that higher education seeking club of academics - a small, slightly nerdy club. My area of study was Agricultural Education and hers was Human Development and Family Studies - specifically early childhood, but we worked in the same building and ended up in the same statistics courses. What started as a friendship over homework became a connection over the TV Sitcom "The Office" with Steve Carell. Claire and her friends gathered to watch this show (I had never seen before) and I needed friends, so I came to eat and watch as well. I was a fast fan of the show and forever grateful that Claire's natural gift is making people feel special, included and appreciated.

When she called and said she was getting married, there was no question I was going. I am good at choosing friends because it was a destination wedding in Jamaica! I took off May 14 for a long wedding weekend.

The views were amazing. I am not a sun-worshiper. I think I could be but my dermatologist would disown me, right after she chopped me to bits looking for atypical cells. I am not built for the sun. And, I don't know why I have never gone somewhere with shady beaches before, but this place is made for me. Amazingness. This was the view looking forward.

And this shady philodendron-covered cliffside was right behind me. Oh yea, and they kept the all-inclusive Pina coladas coming. Did I say it was amazing? It was.

There were something like 19 pools to hang out in and around - and yes, that is a swim-up bar. Thanks for noticing. This was the main pool up on the mountainside half of the resort. It is a shuttle ride away from the ocean, but I think it was my favorite of the pools

Of course, there was always the option to swim in the crystal clear Caribbean. Did that, too!

I was lucky enough to be able to share with one of Claire's bridesmaids (a Texas friend), Lisa. She is a pediatric nurse and all-around fun gal. Almost everyone else (besides Claire's younger brother) were coupled up so it was nice to have a couple single friends in the mix to hang out. Lisa, Marshall and I could usually be found together. 

  

The accommodations were great, but put my OCD to the test. (It is not normally like this - They had moved the bed to bring us a rollaway.)

This was the view from our balcony. Not a bad way to start the day. Well, that and some Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. Ah-mazing.

And then it was wedding time. The clouds rolled in but it didn't matter - the bride was radiant walked down the aisle by her mom and dad.

And surrounded by her brothers, sister-in-law and new hubby.

The wedding party was the funnest bunch of people you ever met. This is by far my favorite photo from any wedding I have attended ever. 

The clouds came, but the rain never really fell. May sunshine follow you both the all the days of your marriage. Congratulations Jane and Justin... Or Claire and Justin... Or Claire and Shep... Or Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd... Or Mr. and Dr. Shepherd....Or Mr. Shepherd and Dr. Cook? The details can work themselves out. 

And Jamaica, you will see me again sometime - hopefully soon.

Road trip east

I was headed east to Ontario, OR, for the Oregon Ag Teachers' conference. To break up the 8 hour drive, I stopped a number of time and took photos. Enjoy!

Damage from the B&B Complex fire that burned 93,000 acres - in August and September of 2003. Yup - that is 11 year old fire damage.

A view of a cloud shrouded Mt. Bachelor. The temperature was 32 degrees through the pass and it was spitting rain and snow - on June 16.

Once you get to the east side of Bend, it is a lot of sagebrush and rock....for miles and miles.

At a rest stop along the western edge of the Treasure Valley.

Sunday evening in the garden

Memorial Day 2014

Wordless Wednesday - 5/7/14

As a colleague said "This must be what the weather in heaven is like."

The need for more time....

I am a big fan of David Allen's "Getting Things Done" system. The book is a great read about organization and productivity. This quote struck right to the heart. I needed the reminder.

Lately, I have been feeling as if I need more time. I always feel that way spring term. I tried to describe the quarter system, and specifically the spring quarter, to someone the other day and I said: It is like an all out sprint at the end of a marathon.

Here's how the quarter system works. Fall term classes started September 30. We took two weeks at Christmas before winter term began January 6. From there we have taught with only the MLK holiday. Technically, we also get a week for spring break in late March, but that is filled with State FFA Convention, finalizing grades for winter term and resetting the syllabus and content management system for a new term with a new course and new students. This new term started April 1 and we haven't stopped since. It is week 5 now and we still have 5 more weeks, plus finals. Graduation is June 14th.

David Allen gently reminds me that it is not about the number of hours in the day - but it is about how I use the hours I have.

Touring Oregon Ag programs

Only in Oregon would you need to pack for a field trip with sunglasses and sunscreen as well as a rain jacket and waterproof shoes.  There were definitely points where I was using all four - at the same time.

We loaded up some members of the Oregon State Ag Ed Club and hit the road to visit three different high school agriculture programs across three different FFA Districts, all to the North.

Here is the group at our first stop - Yamhill-Carlton High School in Yamhill, OR. This group ranges from freshmen to senior. Check out all that black and orange. Go Beavs!

This is YCHS's agriculture teacher giving an introduction to the group.

They are the first high school in the country to put in a production vineyard. They partnered with local industry to plant pinot noir grapes. You can see the grapevines in the distance.

Our second stop was North Clackamas. This is a two-teacher career center Ag program in the middle of the Portland suburbs that serves three area high schools.

They showed us some of their production greenhouses - which are shooting for a Mother's Day plant sale. 

They were showing us around the sheep barn before they fed us lunch - Kobe beef burgers they raised!

Lastly, we stopped at St. Paul High School - a school of about 160 students. They had a barn as well along with some production acreage managed by the students.