Lesson 862: Rodeo

Hello, Readers.

It's time to Cowboy up!

The school year is underway.

The first leaves are beginning to change.

I've been looking up the meanings and origins

of cowboy words this week.

I've recently become interested in westerns--

movies,

books,

and the like.

The phrase cowboy up is intended to be motivational.

encouraging a person to embark on a difficult task.

This is nice because Eloise loves 

motivational speech

and

difficult tasks.

Like growing flowers.

That's a difficult task for this former Black Thumb.

Now I consider mine to be a grayish green.

I stopped making excuses about my gardening failures

and completed the Master Gardening class

through the Penn State Extension.

Now I can grow flowers a bit better

because I learned from the experts.

Even with all my newfound knowledge,

I'm still not as good as them:

They know how to make things grow!

So, I'm a first year gardener

and a 31 year teaching veteran!

Me and school--

we go way back!

I've had 48 First Days!

This time of year is one of my favorites

because it is County Fair time.

There is nothing more storybook for me

than going to a fair

on a warm, breezy,

late summer evening.

We went out to neighboring Wattsburg 

for the Fair this week.

Little did we know--

there WAS a rodeo!

We've never been to one before!

Look!

The rodeo was really fun,

and we will definitely go to another one sometime.

I then gravitated to my personal Fair favorites:

Prize Pickles

Displays and Dahlias

I love a good coloring contest!

And always the animals--

farm animals are my very favorite!

Cows

Goats

I cried like a two year old

because I wanted this miniature donkey named Steve

so badly!

Mary and Family stole all of the attention in the barn.

And most of all,

I loved this horse

and I'm stealing her name for a future pet!

 

Now it's time to end my story for this week

and slide into dreamland,

where I will have a great big barn

for my donkey named Steve,

my piglets who will never become bacon

and a pet named Story.

Homework for this weekend:
What pet should I get that fits the name Story?

Eloise

Lesson 861: Long on Hype!

It's the end of August, Readers!

You know what that means?

Eloise is Long on Hype

for two of her favorite things:

the fall harvest

and the Harbor Creek School District.

I went back this week,

and the students start Tuesday.

It's time to get our positive pants on.

Ellen made this Teacher Chair

for her friend Alexa

who got her first teaching job!

Eloise is Long on Hype for 

anyone joining the ranks of education.

Seems like just yesterday 

I met Alexa when she was in fourth grade,

and now Miss Soles will be teaching fourth grade!

In the blink of an eye,

they say....

Very true.

Slam, Truck, 

and the rest of the Bang Bang Gang

were super hyped for their Senior Night,

where the came off the field with a win 

in the home opener!

Must have been the spaghetti 

we served them at the team dinner 

on Wednesday.

The crowd was hyped for tonight's game!

We had lots of special fans

to help us kick off the season.

 But there is nobody

who can match Grandma 

in football hype!

Grandma,

I think Sam has your smile,

as well as your love for football.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Eloise

Lesson 860: Caretaker

 Hello, Readers.

Thank you for caring to take the time

to read this blog!

Lessons From the Lamp Post turns 14 this month!

14 years of Friday nights

and pics of seasonal skies.

The world around us has an August feel to it.

The teens are on the band 

and football fields 

getting ready for the season.

Harbor Creek has a clever greeting for the students and teachers

when they return.

Preparing for a big game,

a school year,

or just your every day life

takes thought,

preparation,

and great care.

One of our local parks has a new Caretaker!

Mr. Lamp Post signed on

as Whitford Park Supervisor!

Caretaking for that lovely park

along Six Mile Creek is the perfect

retirement job for him.

Weeding,

weed wacking,

painting,

picking up trash,

knocking down cobwebs,

preparing pavilions for gatherings

These are all specialties of Mr. Lamp Post.

He loves

to take care of things,

especially outdoors.

He is the Caretaker

and I am the Kinkeeper,

and when our strengths are combined,

we make a dynamic duo.

I've written a past post about kinkeeping,

which is my role in our home.

Search the archives

and you should find it.

I love this representation:

Kinkeeper is a well defined term 

that relates to family

yet different than a caretaker or caregiver.

Kinkeeping is the unspoken responsibility

(typically) of women.

If you have TikTok,

check out this video.

CLICK HERE for Kinkeeping explanation

There are several definitions

out there,

but I particularly like this one:

I especially dig the part about magic-making!

The Kinkeeper and the Caretaker 

combined efforts this afternoon

and spent the day at the cabin in Marienville.

We all need to be stewards for this earth

and care for it as Mr. Lamp Post does for Whitford Park,

and Mrs. Lamp Post makes magic.

So here we are,

the Caretaker and the Kinkeeper.

You can decide which one is the jackass.

The definition should be clear

if you do your assigned reading.

CLICK HERE for interesting animal info

Enjoy your weekend,  Readers.

Take care of yourself,

take care of the Earth,

and take care of each other.

Eloise