It’s the end of November and I met my reading goal for this year already! I committed to reading twenty books and have finished them all. With a month left, I will surely read one or two more, telling me I need to increase my goal for 2021. Throughout the course of this year, I’ve…
Yesterday, I wrote twice. I started a blog because I was angry. Angry at what specifically, I cannot really say because I don’t really know. However, by the time I was finishing the blog, my anger had waned and I did not know exactly how to end the piece. I was also ashamed for feeling…
What happens when leaders don’t listen? Unfortunately, I know. Frustration results. Restlessness results. Even anger can result. Resentment can fester. Emotions can run high. Communications falter as concerns seem to fall on deaf ears. Essentially, you put your organization at risk for loosing good people, people who cared enough to speak up, people who were…
Lately, my posts have been pretty light. I’ve been thinking about why that is. Most likely it’s because I need to organize these posts before I write them. I need to find the facts to support my case. I need to be firm in my opinions and back them up. And, I just have not…
Last Friday, I did something today I hadn’t planned to do. After receiving an email, I ordered instructional materials for lessons on some conservation topics! Why I did this, I have no idea! I do not have anything planned in the near, or even far, future. Regardless, I felt compelled to order the materials! After…
As previously written, I committed myself to reading at least 20 books this year. It was a lofty goal, but one I thought important to motivate me to read more. I love reading but sometimes life gets in the way or I end up being too tired at night to read more than a few…
When I started Evergreen Garden Club in the fall of 2004, its main purpose was to provide student enrichment through hands-on activities using an outdoor environment such as the school grounds. The first group, now adults in their mid-twenties, researched local butterfly species and host plants to enable a well thought out conversion of an…
Today, the school year kicks off in our local communities here in the Coulee Region of Wisconsin. Most, not all, are entering this year on a virtual platform as opposed to in-person, classroom learning. While the majority of students were exposed to an online learning environment last spring, it was brief if you consider how…
My poem this week is inspired by all the children returning to school. It is a time of year that I am fond of because of the sense of newness and anticipation for the year ahead. While this year will be a year like no other, I think the sense of anticipation can still be…
It’s mid-August! This means that it is time to start tagging monarch butterflies! The monarch’s life cycle is amazing! Monarchs undergo what is referred to as a complete metamorphosis, or change in form. This is accomplished through four stages. Stage 1 Stage 1 is an egg. It is a tiny, pale yellow oval, usually found…