Today was a fun day. We went over to Firestone Metro Park, where we were able to hike the entire park in about an hour, which included another round of feeding the birds. I had two land on my hand today, and we saw a huge number of cardinals. The cardinals would not land in anyone’s hand, but they were very happy to pick up seed from the ground (as long as we stood a few feet off). The shorter hike allowed us time to break out the sleds and hit Firestone’s excellent sledding hill. Since it has been over a week since it snowed, the snow on the hill was packed and very fast. The middle of the hill features mini-moguls, which were responsible for dumping many people, including me and my boss Jim when we took our first tandem ride. The edges of the hill were much smoother, and Jim and I had a more successful ride down the smooth section, although the dismount was a bit rough. After two rides down the hill, I took two students back to feed the birds while everyone else kept sliding. With just three of us there, we commanded a lot of attention from the chickadees and even a few small woodpeckers, and we all had a large number of birds land in our hands and take seeds. It seemed as if it was a fun day for everyone, and no one got (very) hurt on the sliding hill.

Mer used today to teach about Italian art and architecture and food, and she also had the students compare Italian and American versions of Nutella (a chocolate-hazelnut spread) plastered on Italian bread. In general, the students could tell which was which (the American version is sweeter, not too surprisingly, but the chocolate and hazelnut flavors are stronger in the Italian version). She also taught a little about Italian soccer, which went over well with the class.

Today was day two of our J-term classes, and they went well. Mer reviewed the Italian vocabulary the students learned yesterday, as well as added some new words. She also highlighted Italian cinema, looking at clips from Cinema Paradiso, the Italian trailer for A Fistful of Dollars (released in Italy before coming to the U.S.), and more. She also looked at Italian fashion designers like Armani.

In my hiking class, we headed over to Brecksville Reservation, where we were meeting up with a naturalist named Pam. We were supposed to walk the four-mile Deer Lick Trail, but when we got there, Pam strongly recommended against it, citing icy trail conditions (they had had several hikers fall on the ice the day before). Instead, we started around the nature center, where she helped us feed the birds, which were mostly small chickadees. If you held still and were quiet, the birds would come and take seeds right out of your hand. Most of the students had at least one bird land on them, and several students had many, with one having eleven birds land on his hand. The kids seemed to enjoy the experience.

We then hiked the flatter trails around the nature center, and walked over to the gorge on the eastern side of the park. It was very pretty with the snow and ice, and Pam explained about various tracks in the snow and some of the plants around. We finished the first hike back at the bus, which we took to the far side of the park, where we picked up a small section of the Deer Lick Trail, which was still a pretty tough hike in the snow, and we walked down to the Deer Lick Cave, a small hollowed-out cave in a rocky portion of the park. We then headed back the way we came, and got back to the bus. It was a pretty good hike, even if it was not the original plan, and the kids seemed to enjoy the mellower pace after the longer hike yesterday on the Towpath. We now get the weekend to rest up for the five straight days of hiking next week.

J-term is a time of mini-classes that are fun and unusual, and CVCA started offering J-term three years ago. This year, J-term is for seven days, and it started today. Both Mer and I are teaching J-term classes this time around. Mer is teaching A Taste of Italy: Italian Language and Culture, a class that introduces students to a smattering of Italian language, and exposes them to Italian culture, film, history, food, and so on. Mer is pretty excited about it, and says her first day went well. Today she covered geography and major sites of Italy, and her students picked Italian names and played a little bocce (for a reward of the candy called “Baci” – “bocce for Baci”).

Along with my boss, Jim, and a co-worker, Vicki, I am leading Hiking NE Ohio, a class where we hike somewhere different in the area each day. We actually have twenty-six students in the class, although one student was out sick today. It surprised me that that many people wanted to hike outside in January.

We had decent weather today, with temperatures in the lower twenties, with some intermittent sun. It was supposed to be windy, but we were in the Valley, and the wind was not an issue. We hiked the Towpath Trail today, starting at Boston Store and going about three miles south, past Peninsula, to the Deep Lock Quarry Trail. Deep Lock Quarry is an old quarry used to make the canal, and it was a pretty place to end the hike. We saw four of the canal locks along the way, and we had plenty of time to explore the quarry, which included climbing around on some of the rocky areas (carefully, since they were snow-covered). We hiked about four miles total, which is pretty good considering the snow cover we had (about six inches of snow, although the snow was well packed on the Towpath from other hikers). I was pleased with how the hike went – everyone was dressed warmly, and I did not hear any complaints.  The students seemed to especially like the quarry, and everyone came back safe, if maybe a little tired. Here is hoping the next six hikes go as well.

Monday – Brunch at Ihop in Portland
– B and B in Cantigua, NY
– Supper at Manetti’s
– Read
Tuesday – home around 3:00, kitties well