Friday, February 20, 2015

Friday's Fave Five, 2/20/15

Link to Friday's Fave Five host blog

 1. We survived the ice storm this week with minimal problems.  Power was out from 1 a.m. to 7 a.m. Tuesday night, but that was all.  When I heard it go out at 1 a.m., I thought "Well, that's that for two or three days."  So it was a pleasant surprise to hear it come back on so quickly and so early.  Apparently that was the case, and time frame, for many people in our area.

2. No school Monday for President's Day, then no school Tuesday and Wednesday for an ice storm, then a delayed opening on Thursday because of the severe cold - makes for a nice week of school.

3. Andrew made it safely back to his city in China about 24 hours ago.  He stayed with a family we know in Beijing for almost a week, because there were no flights due to the Chinese New Year.  It's always a relief to know that he is back OK.

4. Very good open house last week.  We do "double school."  The first year the students weren't excited about it, until we did it once and they liked it.  We have a day of school, then actually come back that night for three more classes!  Anyone from the community, or parents, can come sit in on classes and observe what goes on.  And the trade-off?  No school the next day!

5. We saw this goose last Saturday in a cove on the lake.  At first we thought it was just a generic farm goose among the Canadas; then we thought it was a snow goose; but, after studying it, realized it was a Ross's goose - a rare bird for our area.  I've been back several times but have not seen it again.  After posting it on a couple of lists, I've received emails from several other birders, more avid than I am, who thought it was a good find and some who want to try to find it themselves.  My gut feeling is that it is a one-time viewing and has gone on to other places.  But it's always a treat to find a rare bird.


7 comments:

Gattina said...

I saw on TV how the ice storm was in your area ! Terrible ! I will be happy when winter is over !

Susan said...

I've never head of double school before, but I know I would have liked it in order to get the next day off. Plus how cool that the public can also attend the evening classes.

How awesome to be able to see such a rare goose. And how fortunate you were to get a photo.

What a lovely surprise to not have your heat out for days. I hope this coming week is warmer and filled with more "rare" surprises.

Faith said...

Glad you made it through the week ok with all the ice! We have bitter cold here...temps haven't gotten above 13 degrees all week! Your open house "double school" sounds like fun! We've been off here in eastern NYS all week due to Winter Recess. Our spring break is in April. We are praying the snow will be gone by then :)

Barbara H. said...

1-7 is an ideal time for the power to go off (if there is such a thing) since most people are asleep then anyway. Glad it came back on so quickly. The possibility of the power going off is something I always dread.


Glad Andrew made it back ok!

I don't know if I'd like double school - is it just on Open House days? That would be worth it to have the next day off, as an occasional thing, but I don't think I'd like it regularly.

Ann said...

Barbara - we only do it once a year, on Open House night. So it doesn't get to be a hard thing at all.

Susanne said...

So glad that power was restored so quickly. Ice storms are not fun!

The open house night sounds like an interesting thing. Makes for a long day though getting the next day off would definitely be a nice bonus!

That's a fun sighting you had. Glad you had your camera with you to capture a shot of that bird.

Willow said...

That's a great idea to do the double school! And all those days off--although you had the snow and ice, the days off would be wonderful!