Over the course of the last year, I have lamented the lack of travel. I like to travel. Sometimes our trips are to exotic locations like Kauai or Bermuda or Banff, and sometimes they are to a less dramatic location but still one we desired to see. My husband and I have talked about when…
I’ve been meaning to clean out my files. However, it’s one of those jobs that keep getting put off. I have 16 years of curriculum, lessons, and grad school materials sitting in my filing cabinets. I have four cabinets in my home office and two more in the basement. Two of the four in my…
Lovely Loon In the middle of the night in early April, I heard you arrive. The darkness shrouded an ability to see So I did not look for you, my prize. But, I heard your cry. You announced your arrival boldly, without being shamed. Even the lateness of the hour could not be blamed for…
What a difference one week makes! Today, we are finally getting some rain. It’s been a very dry spring so far in West Central Wisconsin. Fire risks are high so there’s been a ban on any burning. And, even with that ban, there have been several wild-fires within 100 miles of us, some right in…
This is an odd title. What do I mean – forgetting what you did not know ? I’ve been working on a video presentation for first graders on phenology – or more specifically, the seasonal changes associated with spring. I very much enjoyed working on this project. However, at some point I felt I was…
Last night, as we finished dinner, my husband looked up from his place at the table and said, ” Wow, look at all those deer back there!” By the time I looked out into our yard and the coulee beyond, I was just able see a pack of deer run between some trees and stop,…
Two years ago, when I worked for a local land trust, I had to organize education and outreach events. One such event, was Spring Foraging. Okay, it sounded fun but I had never foraged! Luckily, our local university had a mycology club and the student president was more than agreeable to lead the foraging hike…
I stood there, in the near blackness of the cave, in three inches of water. The sump pump was next to my boots with the electric cord visible through the murky water. I had only been in the cave once before and had not yet become of fan of them. The standing water was caused…
It was getting later and later. My watch told me it was now approaching five thirty! Club dismisses at 4:45 p.m.. It was early February and now dark outside. The school parking lot was empty and the outside lights were shining on the snow piles, reflecting with a glare. All but one of my garden…
Today I started working on a project for a local elementary school. Due to the pandemic, environmental day festivities – usually held on or around Earth day in April – are being planned as virtual festivities. My choice, as a presenter, was to do a live “Zoom” presentation on April 1st or to make a…