Over the course of the last year, I’ve done a great deal of soul-searching. I have come to the following conclusion. Life is all about perspective. It is filled with different ways to look at things. And choosing to look at things one way, as opposed to another influences your happiness. It’s a matter of…
August means allergy season in our house. Sneezing, eye-rubbing, and allergic salutes can be seen performed by any one of three family members. My entire life has been plagued by seasonal allergies. It is easy to recognize the signs in two of my sons (one has luckily escaped this fate). By this time of year,…
Tagging Season Tagging season is here! My tags arrived from Monarch Watch last week. I had to wait a few days until a few of the chrysali were ready to burst forth with new monarchs. But, the day came on August 25th. Three monarchs were released and tagged that day….The first of the 2018 tagging…
Twice in the last week, I visited the school garden which I have been in charge of caring for since last October. I’ve been deadheading and weeding, alone and with a friend, to make the gardens presentable for the school open house, which is this evening. When I planted with students this past May, I told…
I was telling a friend this weekend, as we stared at a tub of old doll clothes, my grandmother made all the Barbie Doll clothes my sister and I had in the late 60’s and early 70’s. There were gorgeous velvet formal dresses to skimpy bathing suits and modest cover-ups. All we needed to purchase…
Climate change is upon us! Of that, I have no doubt. From the wildfires in California to Hurricane Lane barreling down on Hawaii to the recently flooded streets of Madison, Wisconsin and parched fields produced in a Texas drought, humans everywhere are feeling the change. Although my examples are confined to the U.S., areas all…
Last night I had trouble sleeping. What’s new, right?! I have written about my problem with insomnia before. When I went to bed, I read as I usually do. I felt sleepiness and relaxation coming over me, slowly overtaking my limbs, creeping up to my eyelids, making them heavy enough to fall. I shut out…
Periodically this summer I have been posting on my progress with raising monarch butterflies this season. Part I: Silent Sunday: Raising Monarchs Mid June Photo only Post Part II: Mid July Part III: Early August It is the 15th year I’ve raised monarchs and, as an Environmental Educator, I am active in other aspects of…
As with other educators, I am spending time getting ready for a new school year. Yes, even non-formal educators, such as myself, do this. This morning I revised my garden club membership – permission slip letter for this coming school year. I am hoping for an increased enrollment as this is my second year at…