Today, my son and I walked the trails at the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge on Brice Prairie. It is a designated site of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. It’s pollinator week and I’m participating in Miles for Monarchs, through Monarch Joint Venture, trying to get in 25 miles of walking…
observations
Free? Why, no, it’s not.
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…
Poetry Friday: Pandemic Haiku
Today is Poetry Friday. Upon arising, I was not sure I was going to write poetry today. I just “wasn’t in the mood.” Instead, I headed out to the garden to weed with my almost one-year-old Yellow Labrador puppy in tow. She gets bored with such mundane tasks as pulling weeds and soon created some…
Reposting on Transparency
Today, tonight actually, I am going to repost a leadership topic on which I have written before; it is that of transparency. Strangely enough, this post was written in February of 2019, less than a month into starting a new job. It is a topic that has interested me for years and is very apropos…
Spring Planting: School Gardens
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…
Silent Sunday: What’s Blooming in My Yard?
What do we do now?
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…
Silent Sunday: Planting At The Lake
All photos in this post are copyrighted by Carol Labuzzetta, 2020. No permission to reproduce. Thank you.
The Plant Game, Part II: Answers to 5/28
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…
A Plant Game: Do You Know?
Do you know the common name for this plant? Where does it grow? Does it have any significance for conservation? Why or why not? When might you find it blooming? What insect relies on this plant to sustain its entire life cycle? Stop back Monday, June 1st, for the answers!










