Books and Bluebonnets and Barn Swallows...

The first term of The Magic Wand Book Club will be coming to a close in mid-May.  I have written out certificates for the students who participated in the Book Club, plus I have Exceptional Reader medals for the best of them. The medals look like Olympic medals, complete with red/white/blue ribbons. The kids will be excited about those, as well as the book-prizes that go along with the medals.

I picked the best two students from each of the grades... 4th, 5th, and 6th, to receive the medals and books.  The top 6th grade prize is a hardcover set of Harry Potter, and I cannot wait to see the expression of the student who has won that.

I have spoken to the principal about next term's book club... I will be eliminating the 4th grade students next term... they are just not focused enough for the book club, and the span between the 4th and 5th and 6th grades is just too great to have good discussions about most of the books. The 5th and 6th grade girls were reading Anne Frank's Diary a few weeks ago... I couldn't give that Diary to the 4th grade girls, so right there was a problem.

This first year for the Book Club was a learning experience, as my husband would call it. I worked out the kinks along the way, and the club was very successful... 46 students signed up, and 36 of them were there every week, only missing the after-school meetings if family issues came up, or if they had to have math or science tutoring.  Next term will be better... and I've assured the principal and the students that I will continue to bring books to the school for as long as I can carry them through the door.

The bluebonnets were spectacular this year... a carpet of blue is behind the barn in the two fields there, and the field in front of the house is covered with bluebonnets and red paint-brushes, with tufts of bright yellow Texas stars here and there. My husband and I walked the entire property this past weekend... I took pictures and just marveled at the sweet aroma of those wildflowers. It was like walking through a cloud of delicious perfume that was soothing, not overwhelming. And then I found out that there is a blue rattlesnake that blends itself right into the bluebonnets... you can hardly see it. Until you step on it, I guess. Fortunately, we didn't see such a snake... and I've already told my husband that from now on, I will view the bluebonnets from the porch, thank you very much.

And the barn swallows.... they have returned and have begun building their nests around the porch. We will let a few of the birds pick out their favorite spots, but we just cannot have too many nests on top of the porch columns this year. The porch has been painted, the columns are clean and bright white, and besides all of that... the nests of eggs and baby birds attract snakes. And we had enough snakes on the porch last summer to last me a lifetime.

Honestly, for as long as we live here, I just cannot get used to the wildlife and creepy crawly slithering things that come up on this property on any given day or night. My cousin F up on Long Island tells me that I need a glass bubble around the entire house and property, and she is so right.