classic.

the giving tree.
shel silverstein.

Once there was a tree...and she loved a little boy. And every day the boy would come and he would gather her leaves and make them into crowns and play king of the forest. He would climb up her trunk and swing from her branches and eat apples. And they would play hide-and-go-seek. And when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade. And the boy loved the tree ... very much.

And the tree was happy.

But time went by. And the boy grew older. And the tree was often alone. Then one day the boy came to the tree and the tree said, "Come, Boy, come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat apples and play in my shade and be happy." "I am too big to climb and play," said the boy. "I want to buy things and have fun. I want some money. Can you give me some money?" "I'm sorry," said the tree, "but I have no money. I have only leaves and apples. Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in the city. Then you will have money and you will be happy." And so the boy climbed up the tree and gathered her apples and carried them away.

And the tree was happy.

But the boy stayed away for a long time ...and the tree was sad. And then one day the boy came back and the tree shook with joy and she said, "Come, Boy, climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and be happy." "I am too busy to climb trees," said the boy. "I want a house to keep me warm," he said. "I want a wife and I want children, and so I need a house. Can you give me a house?" “I have no house," said the tree. "The forest is my house, but you may cut off my branches and build a house. Then you will be happy." And so the boy cut off her branches and carried them away to build his house.

And the tree was happy.

But the boy stayed away for a long time. And when he came back, the tree was so happy she could hardly speak. "Come, Boy," she whispered, "come and play." "I am too old and sad to play," said the boy. "I want a boat that will take me far away from here. Can you give me a boat?" "Cut down my trunk and make a boat." said the tree. "Then you can sail away ... and be happy."

And so the boy cut down her trunk and made a boat and sailed away. And the tree was happy ... but not really.

And after a long time the boy came back again. "I am sorry, Boy," said the tree, "but I have nothing left to give you, my apples are gone." "My teeth are too weak for apples", said the boy. "My branches are gone", said the tree. "You cannot swing on them -" "I am too old to swing on branches," said the boy. "My trunk is gone," said the tree. "You cannot climb -" "I am too tired to climb," said the boy. "I am sorry," sighed the tree. I wish that I could give you something...but I have nothing left. I am just an old stump. I am sorry...." "I don't need very much now," said the boy, "Just a quiet place to sit and rest. I am very tired." "Well," said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could, "Well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting. Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest."

And the boy did.

And the tree was happy.

a case of the mondays

woke up this morning. no wind billowing through the ponderosa pines and no small acacias gently greeting my deck. the air was quite brisk, overcast, rain clouds, and a little fog. still overcast right now actually, and it's colddd!

a new batch of campers today. 5th graders. i was on parking lot duty so cindy (my roommate, who is sitting across the coffee shop table from me) and i were the first to greet the kids. welcoming them is always fun cuz' they tend to latch onto the first naturalist they see. plus if you make an impression it should last all week. once we all piled in the forum, greeting the kids by answering their questions (8 of them) is always fun. questions like, favorite color, favorite ice cream, siblings? favorite food, favorite sport, favorite thing to do at mt hermon, those kinds of things.

i told them my favorite food was a pbj and told them that at some point during the week to come tell me how they make theirs, because everyone makes theirs differently. creamy or crunchy, wheat or white, one knife, two knives, or a knife and a spoon, the list goes on. and i also proceeded to tell them how i put chips in mine and asked for a show of hands of who else did that. i got a good response.

during class, which i am co-leading now we went on a search for living and non living things. i found a golf ball (non living) and also a banana slug (living) :) . but we didn't show them the slug quite yet. we're saving that for later in the week. can't use up everything the first day!

tomorrow i teach my first class all by myself. this weekend kelly, jade and bean came up and i took them on a small hike. tomorrow i'll be taking my kids to the same place. i can't wait! here's what we will see:

artists palette mushroom



giant ant hills (dont worry that's not my leg):



poison oak:


and a glimpse of what it will look like to look up at redwood cathedral:



priceless.

as for today. i'm done. and will do some reading a writing. i'm at a coffee shop where they turn the coffee into art...


(actual picture taken yesterday by sarah on her phone, nice job bean!)

might head to another coffee shop in capitola called mr toots to listen to some live music, or if i'm lucky, play some of my own!
ahh. i could get used to this....
the kids love me already - this has the potential to be a great week!
as for a case of the mondays? not yet. and to be honest, probably never.

i love my job.