Fun Classes in School Here at Home

I keep telling Wyatt Clay that home school can be fun, but he has to get the tough stuff done, too.   Lots of math these days. Strangely, I was pretty spot on with what I thought he couldn't line up in public school math, but was surprised by stuff he found easy, and especially by what he didn't know. After all of the years of driving on the rest of the world's schedule, having no time for being here at the house with the animals, and almost living in the car, we are enjoying our time here together and setting our priorities that aren't centered around standardized testing or what not.

One of the things that drives me nuts about public school is the lack of physical activity. I hadn't really thought I would push it much during football season, but when a child grows in the spurts that Wyatt does, coordination and fluidity of movement really suffer.  So he wanted extra training in the morning. I had already been building an obstacle course, this just pushed me along, and we will keep adding elements.

The tire is five feet across.  He thought it looked so easy when he helped me roll it from where it used to be a sandbox. Then he tried to flip it.  He quickly admitted that it is bigger than the ones he is used to at football, and we worked on how to work up. For now, he is flipping it up and push-rolling it down the field, then pushing a wheeled cart back with his hands flat, eventually with weight on it.

Shadow Paws rolled in the mud at the turnaround after Wyatt turned on a hose for her.  She is very happy to follow him and race him on sprints, and chase lizards when she has time.

Thursday, she was trying to help me decide whether I could work on painting the farm stand sign, or whether we thought weather would come in.

In the end, we decided the weather was far enough away to do one coat, then decide later if we could add more. Turned out to be a good choice. I used up a can of paint and knew what to buy on the way home from work Friday.

We are still getting into the swing of things, but the kids are trying new recipes regularly. With Bailey away, I found a neat recipe that involved red pepper gazpacho and pepperoni cheese toasts.  Of course, he was more interested in the pepperoni cheese toasts.  Essentially, it is a grilled cheese with pepperoni.  Wyatt did a great job learning to make them. Now if he threw as much energy into his writing assignments!

He even toasted extra pepperoni for garnish and a nice presentation!

And when his Dad got home from work, he made another one. He seems pretty proud of his accomplishments!  And he was fueled up and ready for football practice!

Just another day around here, right? 

A Midsummer Night's Team

Yesterday, I set out to do the evening walk around with the kids before doing the watering. I had a camera in y pocket, since the monsoon season leads to the most amazing sunsets and skies.  As we went to the big pen, we stopped to look at the Brahma pen, where I am doing some preventive treatments. I floated a couple thoughts by the kids, and then kept walking to the big pen.

As Wyatt and I discussed the dirt I had added to fill in the dirt bath holes while the kids were away at camp, we tag teamed to pull the eggs from under Poofy the blue Cochin. I stood up and noticed and egg int he rafters off to the side. and pointed it out to Wyatt. As I looked further across, I found this hen, sitting on a clutch of eggs in the loft where we are storing straw for next winter. Wyatt tracked my line of sight immediately.

Neither Wyatt nor I had any real clue whether she had been there the day before, so we chose to leave the eggs with her for now. We counted and marked them, and let the broody be broody.

Since we cannot use the eggs fro the Brahma pen for another week, we decided to let her keep hers as well. I wanted to clean the pen, but it was still really muddy from the rain, and since I pulled the eggs long enough to mark them, I decided that was enough messing with the temperamental broody for the day. Her pen can be cleaned in the morning.  So instead I got a little more of the roof reinforcement done.

I did get a little video of her regathering her eggs, though.

In the end, I managed to order the new thermometers for the bator, so hopefully I can get that back in balance tonight to start hatching out the fall babies, Especially since the Javas are almost ready to move out of the baby area!  Always more to do than time to do it, right? Well, out of these eggs, I have no idea how many will hatch, but if I do get the incubator balanced, it will be nice to see how many of the eggs with the hen hatch, versus some in the bator later in the week.  In the meantime, this little team of silly broody hens can take on the rest of summer as mamas to be... or prospective ones, anyway!

Compensating, who, me?

Do you sometimes feel as though recovering from injuries was much simpler when we were younger?  Maybe we spent more time on it back then.  After all, time was more plentiful before children, and all of the other responsibilities of life added up.  Or maybe instead of recovering, we were merely compensating.

I know I might sound crazy, but follow me on this.  I was speaking with a student after Pilates class yesterday.  She was talking about how some cues had her rethinking whether she could realign following an injury  She had been through therapy, and was doing very well in Pilates, but was beginning to think she would never be able to completely flatten and properly align through the pelvis due to the injury on one side. Somehow, during class, one or two of the cues found her a little closer, and beginning to engage the muscles to realign.  She was thinking by the end of class, that maybe patience and perseverance would win out.

She got me thinking.  I often catch myself feeling like some of these chronic issues are just here to stay, and being an older member of the fitness and wellness profession, that some of this was just meant to be.  Some of them are.

But also, when I spent those years working in knee research, folks came in for their first radiographs reporting that one side or the other was far more painful, when it was actually the opposite side which was shown in the x-rays to be more advanced in arthritis.

So maybe, just maybe, when I was training hard and working through the injuries years ago, they didn't just create chronic issues because I was working through them.  Maybe all of that compensating for the injures is catching up to me, too, and if I slow down, and use the power of the knowledge and experience all of this has given me, I can heal as well as I did back then.  Or almost, anyway.

Sure, this doesn't apply in all cases.  But the concern for the long term effects from compensating for the strong or week or tight side,is real.  And could be one key to unlock the door to more consistent training.

Just a thought.

Friday Sunset on Tumamoc

My students in my Boot Camp class kept saying that we needed to do Tumamoc Hill as a group.  So will less driving this past week on my agenda (the kids on Fall break) I agreed that all of my students could meet at the base of Tumamoc for an extra opportunity to make up attendance points.

So after working in the fitness center yesterday morning, I ran home and picked up the kids to go with us.  We met at the base at 5:30, with some running up ahead and others walking at their own pace.  As we walked  the evening colors began to paint the sky.

This is the research station a little more than half way up/  Beautiful old buildings, including a greenhouse I will I could use!

Looking West toward the Tohono O'odham Reservation from a switchback.

Saguaros in the sunset light.

This was from the top, looking South East across Tucson.

And then looking West into the setting sun.

There were two in our group who were a little behind me.  We walked back down to see the finish at the top with them.  The group was such a great team encouraging the others!This sunset lit cloud was too beautiful not to photograph with the fingers reaching skyward.

On the way back down, I took this photo looking West over the lights of a little housing development West of Pima College.  It came out pretty cool, despite the elongated lights.

I am glad the students help me to it.  It was fun!  Hope you try it, it is such a beautiful time on the hill!

Knocked on my rear by what?

This might not be the sort of thing folks who do what  do would document and share with the world.  But when was the last time I did things like everyone else?
This morning I went in to sub a Step and Strength class, then a Pilates class.  I thought it made for a good day to break in a new pair of sneakers before the college began its semester and I began teaching there again next week.
About fifteen minutes into class, rolling through the second combination, I thought a few options would get the group going a little more.  A showed a jumping jack as a power option at the end of a move, and promptly turned my ankle and landed on my rear.  Very unceremoniously, I might say.
As the students asked if I was okay, I put them in a turn step holding pattern and tried to decide.
Out the window went the combination, and in went anything I could cue evenly while trying to figure out whether I would be ale to stand up.  After a couple minutes, I was up and trying to get range of motion back, an finishing off the goofy little combination of simple moves.  I made it back on the step, and finished that class and the next.
Not sure which suffered more- my pride or my choreography.
Good thing I have tomorrow off.
Note to self- when extra tired in the morning, don't try new sneakers.
I have a lot on the list for this afternoon, guess I will e working in some ice and range of motion to go with it. I still can't believe it was a jumping jack that got me.  I mean, where is the cool story in that?