August
   2005   

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August 1, Monday, 2005

"Eden is that old-fashioned House
We dwell in every day
Without suspecting our abode
Until we drive away."
-   Emily Dickinson

Worked around the house in the morning, then drove with Dave to Sacramento.  

The paint on our backyard garden fence is wearing away. Everything wears away!

Valley Spirit Photo Gallery

A tiny frog
climbed the screen -
watering at sunset.

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August 2,  Tuesday,  2005

"The secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all
the details of daily life, and in elevating them to art."
-  William Morris

Our EAST-EETT3 workgroup attended the EETT Grant Workshop, Day 1, in Sacramento. I learned quite a bit from the speakers and from others attending the workshop. The EAST Initiative did a presentation in the morning.  All CUESD work on the EAST-EETT3 Grant Project for Maywood School.   

Attended the Enhancing Education Through Technology Round 3 Grant Workshop in Sacramento. The implementation team from the Corning Union Elementary School District included the Maywood Middle School Principal, Bobbi Abold, the Science Teacher, Janice Farmer, the Technology Services Support Advisor, Dave Messmer, and the Technology and Media Services Supervisor, Mike Garofalo - the author of this blog. We met Bruce Jones and other staff members from the EAST Initiative, who will collaborate with us on this grant project. We got help and advice from Nancy Silva from CTAP Region 2. With the EAST-EETT3 grant we will be able to develop a state of the art Technology Lab to Room 9 at Maywood Middle School, and implementing the EAST Initiative teaching strategies and tactics in the classroom for 7th and 8th grade science students. We all spent many hours in meetings and studying documentation.

August 3,  Wednesday,  2005

"Reason exhausted, concerns forgotten--
how could this be adequately expressed?
Wherever I go, the icy moonlight's there,
falling just as it does on the valley ahead.
The fruit is ripe, trees heavy with monkeys,
mountains so endless I seem to have lost the way.
When I lift my head, some light still remains--
I see that I'm west of the place I call home."
-   Fa-yen (885-958),  Roaring Stream

Our EAST-EETT3 workgroup attended the EETT Grant Workshop, Day 2, in Sacramento.  Dave and I drove home together in the evening.  

I had chosen to work with the weblog software WordPress on my new BlueHost.Com server, www.egreenway.com, and host the newly designed blog - The Valley Spirit Journal. After I updated last night, I went back to make an entry for Wednesday. Suddenly, without any reason, I could no longer get into the WordPress blog with the username and password I had used easily before for nine days. What a disappointment!!! I still have not figured out how to get back into the WordPress blog administrator's functions. The blog still reads well online; but cannot be updated or changed.  30 hours of work destroyed by a Cyber Monster of unknown origin.  

I will proceed as follows: 1) Write the daily journal in Front Page 2000, and post to my old public folder for the Valley Spirit Journal.  2) Continue to try to figure out how to get back into WordPress.  3)  Go to Dreamweaver MX 2004 in January, 2006, and learn more about MX and writing code in CSS.  

August 4,  Thursday,  2005

"There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted."
-   Henri Matisse

Worked for CUESD from 9 am - 4 pm.  Management group meeting in the morning, and project management in the afternoon.  Drove to Sacramento in the evening to pick up my brother, Phil, dine, and then return to Red Bluff.  We talked and talked from 7:30 to 1:30 am.  We think alike on many political, moral, religious and philosophical matters.    

I never cease to be amazed by the power of e-mail in an business, professional and office setting:  The rapidity of communication.  The duplicate of the email for your file.  The ability to send the same message to all involved with a project with one post.  The layers of TO:, CC:, and BC: for subtle communications.  Reading mail at different computer locations. Sending attachments and photos.   

Currently reading:  

 The Weblog Handbook: Practical Advice on Creating and Maintaining Your Blog.  Be Rebecca Blood.  Cambridge, MA, Perseus Publishing, 2002.  Index, 196 pages. ISBN: 073820756X.  Good advice about writing, audience, purpose, and the social world of blogs.  

Webmaster's Notes by Mike Garofalo

August 5,  Friday,  2005

“Man was not made to rust out in idleness. A degree of exercise is as necessary for the preservation of health, both of body and mind, as his daily food. And what exercise is more fitting, or more appropriate of one who is in the decline of life, than that of superintending a well-ordered garden? What more enlivens the sinking mind? What is more conducive to a long life?
- Joseph Breck
Green Way Wisdom - Working

Phil and I packed up the van with camping equipment, enjoyed one of Karen's Mexican breakfasts, toured our property, and then headed up to Castle Crags State Parks near Dunsmuir.  This park is about 90 miles north of our home.  We camped at Castle Crags which is close to the Sacramento River, Castle Creek, and Soda Creek.  

Eight Section Brocade (Baduanjin) Qigong

One kind Taijiquan teacher, Hielke Hylkema, sent me some useful information on the Eight Section Brocade Qigong:

“I saw you included the list of movements in Chinese in your webpage on Baduanjin. Very good! It might be interesting to add that this is a Chinese (didactic) poem, made for easy remembering the eight movements and their effect. This poem has the classical Chinese format with 8 lines of 7 characters each and rhyme in line 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8.

Translation:
Both hands carry heaven to regulate the triple burner.
Draw the bow left and right as if to shoot a vulture.
Regulate spleen and stomach by lifting one hand.
Remedy the 5 symptoms and 7 disorders by looking backward.
Turn the head and swing the tail to eliminate heart-fire.
Two hands grab the feet to strengthen kidneys and waist.
Clench fists and look angry to increase qi and strength.
Jolt the back 7 times and hundred illnesses will disappear.

I enjoy visiting your Cloud Hands website from time to time.”

Thank you very much Hielke Hylkema.

Valley Spirit   
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August 6,  Saturday,  2005

“He who is born with a silver spoon in his mouth is generally considered a fortunate person, but his good fortune is small compared to that of the happy mortal who enters this world with a passion for flowers in his soul. ”
- Celia Thaxter
Green Way Wisdom - Flowers

Phil and I hiked to the top of Grey Butte.  This minor peak is on the southwest slope of Mt. Shasta, California.  It is about 8,000 feet high.  The trail begins at Panther Meadows and is only 1.75 miles from the meadow to the top of the butte.  A very easy hike with grand views of all the mountains in the area.  In the photograph below, Mt. Shasta, over 14,000 feet high, is directly behind me.  

Valley Spirit Photo Gallery

After our hiking adventure, we swam in Lake Siskiyou.  The water was cool and very refreshing.  The beach swimming area was filled with children having a great time in the water on this hot and sunny summer day.     

While driving home, near Anderson, my worn out 1994 Dodge Van had major engine failure, and we had to leave it at the Hooker Creek off ramp.  The was the untimely end of the van after eight years of driving the van.  This otherwise reliable van gave me 205,000 miles of service.    

We all enjoyed a nice dinner at Lassen Steak House in Vina.

We were both quite tired after a day of hiking and lots of sunshine.  

August 7,  Sunday,  2005

"Longevity consists of
maintaining one's health,
slowing down the aging process,
living without illness and pain,
and dying peacefully without
bothering other people."
-   Huai Chin Nan

Worked on my website early in the morning, then took a long walk.  We all chatted in the morning, and then Philip and I drove to the Sacramento Airport. Later in the evening, I had my van towed to my home from Hooker Creek Road.  Now, of course, how do I sell an old van that doesn't run?  Problems, problems ....

Spent some time this evening reformatting my Valley Spirit Daily Journal.  It now looks a bit more like a contemporary blog format.  All in HTML and not in CSS.  I plan to learn CSS style sheets and formatting in 2006 using Dreamweaver MX 2004.  I really like the RSS feed aspects of WordPress or Moveable Type.  Of course, like any webmaster, I hated working so hard and then loosing all the work because of a glitch in the login software for WordPress.  With what I'm doing now, I will never lose any work done.   

"Mike--what a wonderful resource you have created!  I am looking for quotes to incorporate into a book I am writing and your website is just what I need.  Thank you!"
-   Linda Teeple 

August 8, Monday,  2005

Walking and Taiji in the morning.  Unloaded my van.  Attended the Tehama County Commission on Aging in the afternoon.  Worked in the evening on opening up the revised Green Way Blog in WordPress.  I also opening up the Green Way Research CMS using Post Nuke software running on Blue Host.  

“Old men ought to be explorers
Here and there does not matter
We must be still and still moving
Into another intensity
For a further union, a deeper communion”
- T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets - East Coker # 200, 1943
Green Way Wisdom - Aging

Spending some time exploring the concepts of Content Management Systems (CMS), and comparing different CMS software products. Blue Host offers, through Fantastico, an installation package for the Tiki-Wiki content management system. The whole idea for a collaborative “Green Way Wisdom” collection of poems, quotes, quips, sayings, facts, information, lore, etc., intrigues me; but, I don’t know what software package would be best for this project. Of course, just providing a better e-mail or comments section to the existing popular Spirit of Gardening webpages would be another approach. I need to learn more about these options.

Iowa State Entomology Index of Internet Resources An outstanding collection of information about insects developed via a Wiki CMS.

Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia An online encyclopedia, created by the world community, dynamic, and well organized.

“Enlightenment is just another word for feeling comfortable with being a completely ordinary person.”
- Veronique Vienne
Green Way Wisdom - Spirituality

“Mr. Garofalo, the garden warfare section of your website is hilarious. I can definitely understand the basis for many of the thoughts exhibited. I have found myself that chicken wire may keep out the chickens, but the chipmunks come right on in. I’m just glad PETA doesn’t have a camera in my yard. Thanks for giving me a smile in place of my dirty nails and sore knuckles.”
- Andy

“Hi Michael! I have been surfing and browsing your vast wonderful excellent page for a couple of hours. I was amazed not only by its content, its clarity, its mesmerization, but also amazed at myself who am not a gardener!! I chuckled a few times, especially when I read …. “what do you get when you divide a pumpkin’s circumference by its diameter” .. I too, used to teach Math, Biology, and Chemistry many moons ago!!” I shall be back often. thank you very much”
- Tom, Reference and Research Sites in Tom’s Nook

Worked on various projects around the house all day.  Taught yoga in the evening at TFFC.  Learned more about WordPress and PostNuke software.  

“Give to us clear vision that we may know where to stand and what to stand for.”
- Peter Marshall

Walking and Taiji play at dawn.  Watering and weeding in the early morning.  Work on CUESD projects at home, and send to reviewers via e-mail.  Weightlifting, spin cycling with Tonya, and Yogalates with Lauren at TFFC.  Web research.  

Open Source Scripts

Kudos and Feedback:

“My Mom wrote to you today about a quote she found on your site, and she also told me about your site. I liked it, and I think you have done a fine job.”
- Jim, Artisan Tranquil Living Links

“Michael P. Garofalo has compiled “The History of Gardening: A Timeline From Ancient Times to the Twentieth Century” on his website: The Spirit of Gardening. He notes that evidence from archeological sites suggests that man had knowledge of plants and plant gathering in 35,000 BCE (before the common era) but did not cultivate them.
Around 10,000 BCE there is evidence of plant domestication, but Garofalo says that “the first society in which people were primarily dependent on domesticated crops and livestock does not appear until about 6,000 years ago.” According to The New Oxford Book of Food Plants, certain cereals and pulses (legumes) were domesticated in very ancient times. In about 8,000 BC in the Fertile Crescent of the Near and Middle East (present-day Syria, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, Israel), wheat, barley, lentil, pea, bitter vetch, chick-pea, and possibly faba bean, were brought into cultivation by the Neolithic people.”
- Laura Jean Witcomb, History of Garden Tools

How beautiful is the rain!
After the dust and the heat,
In the broad and fiery street,
In the narrow lane,
How beautiful is the rain!
-  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Rain in Summer
Green Way Wisdom - Water

Oh, how I wish it would rain.  Rain for a couple of days.  It has not rained for two months.  It will not likely rain for two months.  In our California summers, it only rains from a spigot in the summer.  We clever humans find a way to cope and to prosper.  Yet, it would be so very nice to stand in the rain and smile.  

Kudos and Feedback:

"I enjoy your website greatly, and use at least one of your researched excerpts for our monthly calendar.  I noticed that there seems to be a lack of August offerings.  So,
I wrote a little poem in honor of August.  I thought you might find it useful at your webpage.  

August's Crown
By Michaelle L. Thieme

Whilst August yet wears her golden crown,
    Ripening fields lush-bright with promise;
Summer waxes long, then wanes, quietly passing
    Her fading green glory on to riotous Autumn."

"What a pleasant repose-
a day's weeding, an evening's reading
... all about the garden.

Thanks for this lovely site.  I will bookmark it and enjoy it - especially on long winter evenings when I plan next year's gardening chores.

-  Charley Collins"

Karen took this photograph of our compost pile:

Valley Spirit Photo Gallery

I walked and did Taiji practice at dawn.  Worked for CUESD from 9-1 pm.  Looked for and sent email to three WordPress designers and made inquiries about hiring a person for some blog and website design projects.  Posted a list of my requirements online.  I think it would be more efficient to hire a skilled WordPress designer and implementer.  Reading yoga manuals for upcoming class.  Weightlifting and taught Yoga class at TFFC in the evening.  Another day of 100+ degree temperatures in Red Bluff.   

Walking and Taijiquan at dawn. Shop in Chico.  Drive to Sacramento to attend the YogaFit Strength workshop in the evening, 5-9 pm.     

Content Management Bible.  By Bob Boiko.  2nd Edition.  Indianapolis, Indiana, Wiley Pub. Inc., 2005.  Index, 1122 pages.  ISBN: 0764573713.  MGC.   

WordPress Manual

Months   
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January  
February  
March  
Spring   
April   
May   
June   
Summer   
July   
August   
September  
Autumn      
October   
November     
December  
Index  
  

Attended the YogaFit Seniors Teacher Training Workshop in Sacramento.  Stuart Rice was our Master Trainer.  He is the Education Director for YogaFit.  A knowledgeable, skilled, and very clever fellow.  Class from 10:30 am to 8 pm.   

Don't roll the head around, like a cheerleader spinning her pony tail.  

A lovely day in the upper 90's in Sacramento.  Actually a bit cool in the morning - a little taste of Autumn.  

"What wondrous life is this I lead!
Ripe apples drop about my head;
The luscious clusters of the vine
Upon my mouth do crush their wine;
The nectarine and curious peach
Into my hands themselves do reach;
Stumbling on melons, as I pass,
Ensnared with flowers, I fall on grass."
-  Andrew Marvell, Thoughts in a Garden
Green Way Wisdom - August

Our August garden features ripe plums, almonds, apples.  The vegetable garden is overflowing with ripe tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, and melons.  Indeed, our mid-summer bounty is wondrous beyond estimation.  Time to fall and roll in the green grass.  What would we be without all of these fruits of the earth?  Hungry, starving, dying ... 

The Green Way blog is up and running now.  I've worked out a few bugs while learning to use WordPress.  

I have decided to hire a WordPress/CSS/PHP/XHTML designer and WordPress implementer to help me set up a unique WordPress blog.  She is Callista Wolf of Lilac Pixels.  

Walking and Taiji at dawn.  Cleanup after trip to Sacramento.  Get ready for trip to Hood River.  Reading homework assignments in yoga.  Weightlifting at TFFC in the afternoon.  

New Reading:

Web Software

PostNuke Content Management.  By Kevin Hatch. Indianapolis, Indiana, Sams, 2004.  Index, 555 pages.  ISBN: 0672326868. 
MGC.  

The Wiki Way: Quick Collaboration on the Web.  By Bo Leaf and Ward Cunningham.  Boston, Addison-Wesley, 2001.  Index, 435 pages.  ISBN: 021071499X.  MGC.  

PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites.  Second Edition.  By Larry Ullman.  Berkeley, California, Peach Tree Press, 2005.  A Visual QuickPro Guide.  Index, 692 pages.  Supporting website. MGC.  
ISBN: 03213367577.    

PHP-Nuke Garage.  By Don Jones.  Upper Lake River, New Jersey, Pearson Education, 2005.  Index, 382 pages.  ISBN: 0131855166.   

Refer to my Webnotes.

Green Wizard

Solitary Witch: The Ultimate Book of Shadows for the New Generation.  By Silver Ravenwolf.  St. Paul, Minnesota, 2005.
Notes, bibliography, appendices, 590 pages.  MGC.
ISBN: 0738703192.  

This book is a compendium of information for the solitary Wiccan practitioner.  It compares favorably with the following two books: 

Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard.  By Oberon Zell-Ravenheart.  Ranklin Lakes, NJ, New Page Books, 2004.  Index, 370 pages.  ISBN: 1564147118.  A detailed and practical instructional manual on the way to become a wizard.  Intended for a young reader but useful to anyone.  MGC.  An excellent reference tool.  

The Magician's Companion.   A Practical and Encyclopedic Guide to Magical and Religious Symbolism.  By Bill Witcomb.  St. Paul, Minnesota, Llewellyn Pubs., 1993.   Appendices, resources, 577 pages.  MGC.  ISBN:  0875428681.  

Refer to my Green Wizard homepage.

Someday I'll be a weather-beaten skull
Resting on a grass pillow,
Serenaded by a stray bird or two.
Kings and commoners end up the same,
No more enduring than last night's dream.
-   Ryokan, 1758-1831
Green Way Wisdom - Dying

Walking and Taiji at dawn.  Get ready for Level IV YogaFit training.  Watering and housecleaning while Karen starts her first day of work for the 05/06 year for the Tehama County Department of Education.  Get truck ready to travel.  Pack truck with sofas and get ready to travel.

Drove from Red Bluff to Portland.  Visited with Sean, Mick and April.  

"In Life’s name and for Life’s sake, I say that I will use the Art for nothing but the service of that Life. I will guard growth and ease pain. I will fight to preserve what grows and lives well in its own way; and I will change no object or creature unless its growth and life, or that of the system of which it is part, are threatened. To these ends, in the practice of my Art, I will put aside fear for courage, and death for life, when it is right to do so — till the Universe’s end."
- Diane Duane, So You Want to Be a Wizard
Green Way Wisdom - The Green Wizard

“Harm No One, and Do What Thou Wilt,” is a Wiccan Rule, and part of a Wizard’s Code of Conduct. These kinds of ‘precepts’ or ‘commandments’ are at the core of the personal and social ethics in all religions. The Five Precepts of Buddhism are also well work reviewing. One can easily develop a good secular list of rules of conduct - most public elementary school teachers have them posted on a wall in their classrooms - that states and highlights the kinds of behavior we all respect and encourage: being kind and gentle, not lying, not being harmful in our speech, not stealing, respecting others, courage, working hard, teamwork, sharing, showing respect to and obeying good leaders, trying your best, listening, following instructions, being fair, treating persons equally, etc.
The Ten Commandments of Moses are not a very strong or useful code of conduct, in my opinion. Two of the ten deal with adult sexual misconduct; while hatred, racism, slavery, openmindedness, intolerance, drug addiction, freedom, excellence, hard work, creativity, equality, etc. , get no mention. In fairness, we should keep in mind they were the social rules for a small wandering desert tribe, and thus hardly compare favorably with the sophistication of the ethical and social theories, discussions, and precepts found in the major civilizations of India, Greece and China of 500 BCE. When you compare, for example, the universality and power of a Confucian ethical principle like “Don’t do to others what you don’t want others doing to you,” with “don’t covet your neighbor’s wife,” the superiority of the former is evident to any reasonable person.

Drove from Portland to Hood River.  Took three long walks: Hood River County Park, Lost Lake, and along the Columbia River shoreline.  

Attended Day 1 of the YogaFit Level 4 Teacher Training Program from 8 am to 6 pm.

It only hurts when I'm not laughing.
-   Jackie Chan

For information on learning about herbs and herbalism visit Olde Allen Farm.  

Gathering Earth and Sky Qigong Exercise

Attended Day 2 of the YogaFit Level 4 Teacher Training Program from 8 am to 6 pm.

Attended Day 3 of the YogaFit Level 4 Teacher Training Program from 8 am to 6 pm.

Walnuts

Tree Lore

Ox Herding Parable

Attended Day 4 of the YogaFit Level 4 Teacher Training Program from 8 am to 6 pm.
Received my Level 4 certificate from Beth Shaw, founder of YogaFit.  

Drove to Portland and stayed with Alicia and Sean Flinn.  

Taoism on the Net: Blogs

A Touch of Ancients, Buddhas, Immortals, and Zhouyi   By Allan Lian.  

Tao Te Ching

Dahzlur  

The valley spirit dies not, aye the same;
The female mystery thus do we name.
Its gate, from which at first they issued forth,
Is called the root from which grew heaven and earth.
Long and unbroken does its power remain,
Used gently, and without the touch of pain.
-  Tao Te Ching

Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch.

"a wise man's policy (accordingly)
shall be to lead by emptying minds
filling cores and weakening ambitions
purpose a sturdy frame & always so
keeps them desire less and uninformed

tell of the valley spirit
the everlasting sky and ancient earth
why so? for their existence is not for themselves
rightfully so, they can and will live on"
-  Kidrasta   

"The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life."

- Robert Louis Stevenson

Drove from Portland to Red Bluff, 460 miles.  Unpacked and rested.  

“The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life.”
- Robert Louis Stevenson
Green Way Wisdom - Simplicity

Last week, I was in Hood River, Oregon. It is a lovely town situated along the south bank of the Columbia River. The Hood River flows north from Mt. Hood and down to the Columbia River. It flows through more rugged canyons into the broad upper Hood River Valley where there are many beautiful pear orchards. The pears were ripening and boxes had been set out in the orchards in preparation for the harvest.
Sixty yogis met at the Hood River Inn and took YogaFit Level 4 teacher training for four days - 8 am to 6 pm each day. We challenged ourselves and learned about Sanskrit, advanced postures, Pantanjali’s Sutras, the health benefits of yoga, teaching techniques, chanting, and mantras. It was a great experience for me.

Worked from 7:30 to 5 at CUESD.  Taught Yoga at TFFC.  Watered.  Little energy for Internet work or writing.  

Worked from 7:30 to 4 at CUESD.  Weightlifting, spin cycling class, and Yogalates class at TFFC.  

Worked from 7:30 to 5 at CUESD.  Taught Yoga at TFFC.  Watered.  

Added entries to the Green Way Weblog, caught up on email, worked on selecting a new theme and graphics with Callista Wolf.  

Drove to Sacramento with Debby and Jordan.  They were headed to Reno.

Flew to Ontario airport to meet Norma Forgnone.  We took care of business related to purchasing her Chyrsler Town and County minivan.  We enjoyed lunch.  Then I drove from Los Angeles to the Bakersfield area - 150 miles.     

Drove home from Bakersfield to Red Bluff - 400 miles.  Relaxed, read, watered, worked on creating CDs for Pilates and Spin class.  Moon watching.  

In the morning, while driving on Interstate 5, south of the Coalinga cattle yards,
I suddenly came about a bad accident that had just happened.  An older large Chevrolet Suburban had flipped over a couple of times and rested on its top.  Many people were inside the Suburban.  One woman lay dead on the ground nearby - her head crushed on the pavement.  Children, women and men inside the vehicle were screaming.  Four cars and a truck stopped to help.  We removed the injured people from the van, provided first aide to two of the moderately injured people, removed the uninjured children and adults to safety, covered the dead woman, and diverted traffic until the authorities arrived.  This was a very emotionally disturbing experience for me.  

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."
-  Marcel Proust
Green Way Wisdom - Cheerfulness

"The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287.  Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the Last 5,000 years, but it may be as long as 60,000 years before it happens again."

"The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August it will rise in the east at 10p.m."

Carolyn Sheldon, her daughter Lee, her two children, and a another woman arrived at 11 pm last night.  They were on their way from Grants Pass to Los Angeles.  They stayed the day.  

Worked on the trifold brochure for the Tehama County Commission on Aging, a new yoga flyer, and weblog/journal work.  

Worked from 7:30 to 4 at CUESD.  Interviewed candidates for the Olive View Library Clerk position.  Worked on budget for Reading First Project.  Weightlifting, spin cycling class, and Yogalates class at TFFC.  I taught the Yogalates class for Lauren.  

“Summer is the time when one sheds one’s tensions with one’s clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all’s right with the world.”
- Ada Louise Huxtable
Green Way Wisdom - Summertime

Willows
all aglow -
sunset.

Valley Spirit Photo Gallery

Worked from 7:30 to 4 at CUESD.  Weightlifting and taught Yoga at TFFC. I taught the Synergy Style of Gudrin Volpat tonight.  We had 12 students in the class.  A satisfying experience. 

Like millions of other Americans, Karen and I spent hours watching television reports of the hurricane disaster in the Gulf coast states.  Hurricane Katrina really destroyed New Orleans.  The flooding is horrendous.  The damaged areas ran from Mobile to New Orleans.  

Karen and I were in Biloxi, Mississippi, in August of 1969 when hurricane Camille hit Biloxi and Gulfport.  The damages and loss of life back then were bad.  However, this hurricane appears to be 100 times more destructive.  Hurricane Katrina's destruction is the worst natural disaster ever to occur in the United States.  

Please send donations to the Red Cross or other charities to help.  

I did not see our President once on TV tonight talking about how the Federal Government was going to help.  Probably still on vacation and hiding out again in Texas.  

“Birds fly in formation;
Tree leaves sway from side to side;
Clouds gather in small huddles,
discussing the weather;
Grass shoots shoot up once more,
their roots replenished;
A Phoenix nearby hums his Ode;
Tranquility is in place,
after the long bitter wait;
Alive, now, is the world.”
- J. I. Stuart, August
Green Way Wisdom - August

I continue to make entries to the Green Way Weblog on a regular basis.  The blog has a narrower focus that this Valley Spirit Journal.  This Journal is more of a notepad for my web travels, reading, daily activities, reflections, notes, ideas, etc..
The themes here are more wide ranging and reflect my daily interests.  

Worked from 7:30 to 4 at CUESD.  Weightlifting, spin cycling class led by Tonya, and Yogalates class led by Lauren at TFFC.  
I kind of dragged myself through the spin and yogalates workouts.  No strong energy today.  

Following the Hurricane Katrina story on television.  New Orleans will take years to recover from the disaster.