Friday, December 3, 2010

asbestos, mold, and lampson's

this day was, er, unusual. just before nine we got the word: evacuate the building. the carpenter had uncovered what might be asbestos. since there had been work done on stabilizing asbestos in a basement room that had flooded last spring (thereby releasing the floor and unsealing the asbestos by loosening the floor. we left he building and climbed on our bus, while fellow staff and i made calls to school districts (come and get your kids) and families (your kids are coming home early). two hours and a bit later i was on my way home. most of our kids were delighted to go home early. two flipped out. emotionally disturbed kids can surprise you, the main group tried to support the struggling kids. 

it wasn't asbestos. it was mold. i'd been smelling mold in my classroom for days, and had told our custodian. apparently mold isn't a problem until someone, an asbestos expert, no less,  decides blowing it throughout the school could be problematic. 
so home i went, ate lunch and took wendy to lampson's.
i've been coming to this trailhead for 30 years. 
that's the grass river at the top of the falls.
the water was high, though not as high as it will be when the ice goes out in spring. the color of the splashes is from tannin, the water's color is brownish.
wendy knows this place well. 
 she found a birch log
 "tideline" and shelter
this shelter was miraculously constructed against the cliff wall at the base of the falls.
 looking through a new opening, a hemlock's root system exposed by high winds.
 found: rock book. boulder book.
 a root door?
a peaceful walk, i saw a hairy woodpecker, heard a raven, and heard the grass crowding it's way to the st. lawrence. from the blue line to the dark river.
and i have an unexpected long weekend. the word is that the building won't be ready for humans until late sunday night, or monday. 

13 comments:

  1. yay for time off! boo for scary things happening inside and no one paying attention to the person who can tell something's up. YAY esp for wendy's day out!! LOVE the pics. the snow...whew.

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  2. what a wonderful afternoon and such exciting finds and pics, esp the water sprite shelter. good that someone official knows the difference between mould and asbestos...k.

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  3. oops, my rock book is sideways!
    mould sounds even worse than mold.

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  4. oooo I love love love your snowy pics .....

    I saw snow once..... I was 11 years old..... I was startled to find that snow was both cold and wet (I had visions that it was sugary and fluffy, like candy-floss - I think you can imagine my disappointment).....

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  5. ronnie, it's time to be educated, come to the north country!

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  6. Especially love the picture of Wendy, how much fun she seems to be having!

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  7. she always makes me laugh. she epitomizes "serious play".

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  8. Snow transforms the landscape Velma - and enables hidden beauties to be revealed. We are covered in rain which has its own magic and mist; but the snow...it's hard to reconcile with life in Queensland!

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  9. so ronnie and fiona should come (here) for a snow holiday! but wait a few weeks, then we'll have enough to ski.

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  10. beautiful colors you captured.
    you'll be living in spain long distance.
    there's a long weekend since yesterday and people will go back to work TADAAAA!! on thursday !

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  11. yikes! lucky! but, isn't it kinda warm there?

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  12. fresh air here, clears the thought of mold away just like that.

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  13. it was so necessary to go to the woods after all that!

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