Life is just rushing right by. My classes are finished until August. My new freshmen are contacting me now about the classes they will enroll in tomorrow. Valerie is done with 10th grade (with AMAZING GRADES), Asher starts kindergarten in the fall.
How did this happen?
In the mean time, I am really trying to be deliberate about the summer. I love the summer. Especially summer nights. I hope to get lots of photos on these gorgeous, warm nights this summer.
I just got back from HHMI (how I love thee). This time, I took two students. It was an amazingly BUSY time, I did not have time to do ANYTHING but conference stuff. That is fine, as this was a wonderful conference, but MAN, that was intense.
I have come home invigorated and inspired. It is amazing how energizing Janelia Farm is for me. It puts my professional life into perspective. It sends me to a place where I can set goals as an educator, scientist, and thinker. I love it. May I not loose sight of my goals over this summer.
Boy, do I miss my family when I am gone though. I got teary talking to Asher last night. I hate leaving my family home.
Today, I drove back from HHMI and I stopped to get gas. On the way back to my car, I noticed something on the ground. I realized a baby bird- brand-new, had somehow fallen onto the parking lot beside my car. I got the student who was with me, and we tried to figure out what to do. It was then that I realized the bird had fallen with a large nest, from above and that while he was alive and unscathed, many siblings were not so lucky. He was also brand new. I picked him up and he lay flat on my palm and opened his mouth widely. I felt like crying. I knew there really was nothing I (or anyone) could do for this baby bird, so my student and I found a spot in the shade of a tree, hidden in the grass for him to go peacefully. That was hard. It was so overwhelming. I felt so helpless. Had I not been looking at the ground, I would have never seen him. He was perhaps 2 inches long, naked, blind. I noticed his feather buds had not even broken through. Even still, I just feel awful about it. We did tell an employee, and I showed him where we had placed the baby bird- out of the way so he wouldn't be stepped on, under that tree. Such a helpless feeling. It makes me feel so lucky to have children who are safe. I wish sad things that seem senseless did not happen. Even to helpless baby birds. It is too sad.
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