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…
September 11, 2001 You were in my arms, my baby boy, being rocked to sleep as a five day old needs: warm, sleepy, and safe in your loving human cradle. Daddy at work, a brother at school, and another young brother still asleep in a cozy crib, a routine morning for us in the heartland….
This summer was like any other summer with respect to my plans to raise more monarch butterflies. It’s a hobby that has kept me occupied for the last seventeen summers. Starting in 2002, raising monarchs has been part of each breeding season. In addition to creating habitat in our yards (2) and school yards (numerous),…
How do you feel when you walk through the woods? Do you feel anxious and scared or do you feel relaxed and inspired? The woods have long been a favorite place for me. In childhood, my sister and I built forts in the woods and fields behind our house. We joined our local neighborhood friends…
Yesterday, I did something I’ve not done in quite a while. I had a morning coffee date with a friend, socially distanced, of course. When I left the house to meet her and got into my car, I wasn’t sure I had locked the door. Since I was the only one home at the time,…
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…
Yesterday, falling short of my daily writing goal, I failed to publish my blog. I worked on it, of course, but it failed to come together as I wanted, in part due to time spent looking for my own photos to share on the post. This morning I was able to finish it. I wrote…
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…