| 
8 February~2008
My storytelling went well yesterday for the three classes of third graders. It was about a Mexican Gray Wolf, that I adapted from a story by Penny Porter. I gave a 10 minute introduction on the natural history of Gray Wolves before I began the story.I have found the hardest stories to tell are ones that I have some emotional involvement in. I had to practice this one many times before I could get through the part at the end without hesitating too much.
To listen to the story, click here. To hear the full session, including the 10 minute introduction, click here.
It snowed on Tuesday and I took the bus, which is 100 percent better than sliding around on the roads with all the crazy drivers, worrying that my pickup will be wrecked. I took the picture above out the window as the bus was passing Bear Creek Greenbelt.
I wonder if my daughter Alyssa remembers that the summer when she was six years old her and I rode our bicycles down the bike path along Bear Creek all the way to the Platte. We made a day of it and It was a big adventure for her. I recall she had on shorts and a sun visor, and rode a little blue Schwinn bicycle. Mom was occupied that summer with baby Amy, and so me and Alyssa buddied around more.
I didnt ride bicycles for many years until Amy reintroduced me to it in the Winter and Spring of 2003, after her Mom took her car away. Its funny how the tough days of that period have faded away, and what I remember is the good times me and Amy had shooting baskets at the Rec Center after she worked out and I swam, and our long bicycle rides to Cherry Creek Mall and back.
I am preparing for a late winter backpack trip, up in a secluded valley where me and Ben and Maggie can get absorbed in the our collective solitude, the silence, and the friendship we share. Mornings will be cold, but I will make a fire to take the edge off. You can be sure I will choose a campsite that will get the first rays of daylight sun.
How far up I go depends on the depth of snow. I don't mind hiking through snow but I like to set my tent on a dry spot. I know of some steep south-facing slopes with huge granite slabs that catch the sun. At the base of some of the slabs are level areas, perfect for setting a tent. If we are lucky us three will make it up there.
Tranquil pleasures last the longest; we are not fitted to bear the burden of great joys. ~Christian Nestell Bovee
We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have. ~Frederick Keonig
Happiness? That's nothing more than health and a poor memory. ~Albert Schweitzer
A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery while on a detour. ~Author Unknown
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. ~Dalai Lama
Man must search for what is right, and let happiness come on its own. ~Johann Pestalozzi
He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has. ~Henry Ward Beecher