The clematis beside my house

I did some math recently.  There are 365 days in a year, minus my 182 day teaching contract, leaves me with an awesome 183 days of non working.  Okay…I know, I’ve included weekends, but regardless, teachers have a sweet gig!

I particularly feel this way on the summer equinox.  This is a photo of tiger lilies in a roadside ditch that I captured exactly one year ago.

Tiger lillies in a roadside ditch, Delaware County, Ohio. June 21, 2012

June 21, 2013 dawned clear and crisp in Galena, Ohio.  I’m looking forward to a beautiful blue/green day filled with MY agenda.  It really is neat to be a grown-ass man on summer vacation.

For me, summer has never been just about professional growth; it’s primarily about personal growth.  In summer, I read, explore, experience, investigate and push boundaries.  My wife calls my little detours jaunts.  She calls them jaunts, because often, they’re short-lived.  But many of my excursions have added tremendously to my life and made me a vastly more interesting person, particularly to my students.

So what are you doing today?

My backyard is the oak leaf hydrangeafest