Last night, something magical happened in our yard! For many years, I raised monarch butterflies. This year, I have yet to see any eggs or larva on our milkweed plants. We have three patches of milkweed in our yard, each a different kind native to our area of the country. For almost two decades, I’ve…
The world of art and non-profit organizations, while separate but sometimes overlapping, share a common conundrum. They both face the expectation of receiving goods and/or services for “free.” I am not a stranger to providing goods or services for free. As you might be aware, I led a garden club once a month for a…
Today is supposed to be 93 degrees. It is going to be hot by anyone’s standard. I was outside by 8 a.m. to water my newly planted flowers and foliage. I knew I had to do it early or risk their demise in the heat of the day. Lots of work goes into planting our…
One of my favorite Garden Club lessons was on Carnivorous Plants. Usually, I covered this group of plants in a unit on plant adaptations for that is exactly what these plants have done – adapted to survive! The most famous Carnivorous Plant is the Venus Fly Trap. It is a snap trap. But, did you…
What do we do about the world today? We sure are in a mess. Since March, the COVID-19 Pandemic has disrupted our communities and systems. Education ceased to be what we knew before. Community groups and gatherings no longer were possible. Things like toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and elastic became hard to find. Friends stopped…
Late yesterday, I posed several questions about a plant that is special to me. Today, the answers will be provided! The first question was: Do you know the common name for this plant? The answer is this plant Wild Blue Lupine. The scientific name is Lupinus perennis. This photo shows an example of a mature…
Cave Tours Last year at this time I was starting to organize two days of summer tours at the Kickapoo Caverns in Crawford County, Wisconsin. I had no knowledge of caves, let alone those that serve as a hibernaculum for bats. But, I was very interested in learning. My job was to organize the registrants…
Priorities Recently, my writing has taken more of a priority for me and I have been working on it outside of writing my blog. If you read my blog regularly, you might notice that my posts are later in the day. You also might notice my words might not have the conviction or intensity you…
Last week, Journey North, an organization that monitors migrational species and phenological changes posted that several citizen scientists had reported Monarch Butterflies in Wisconsin! Already?! Really?! My milkweed is not even up! This is the very reason I am suspicious of these reports. None of the observers made the report with a photo, but some…
Why would a student or family CHOOSE to learn or take classes digitally? The answer is easy – because there are benefits for students that exist on this learning platform! In the late winter of 2011, our family made the researched and conscious decision to allow our oldest son to finish high school online through…