Someone I just met asked me what my most recent degree was, knowing I used to be a nurse. I answered that I had obtained a second master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin at Steven’s Point in Natural Resources with a focus in Environmental Education and Interpretation (EE/EI). I responded that I was essentially…
It seems that no matter how old one is when August arrives, there is still the sense of squeezing something in before autumn is upon us. Our boys are grown and gone. We are retired and still this weekend I felt like we were trying hard to squeeze in one last something….before the cooler weather…
Yesterday, I learned from a fellow blogger and Wisconsin educator, Tammy at Tammy’s Reading Life blog that today is Pocket Poem Day! According to Tammy’s blog, the Pocket Poem was started in New York and meant to spread cheer. A poem, written or copied (with acknowledgment, of course), is shared and passed to those one…
One of the most satisfying, yet challenging, writing lessons I did with my former writer’s circle group was pourquoi tales. These are stories that tell how or why something came to exist. As you might imagine they are difficult to write but fun to read. Even though my students were above benchmark third graders, writing…
When you write nearly every day for four years, naturally you develop a style. Over my 1,334 posts since February of 2017, I’ve shared many opinions, moments, and memories. My topics vary from education to dieting, from travel and book reviews, to lamenting the broken systems of our society today, such as healthcare, education, and…
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…
One of my goals for this year is to ramp up my blog readership to at least fifty visitors a day. This month, February – a short month, that goal will be hard to reach. I was on target until a few days ago when I noted a failure to reach the previously attainable number….
This morning I got a hair cut. Luckily, my stylist owns her salon and she only takes one appointment at a time. Aside from a few months at the start of the pandemic, she’s been open for business. I am thankful for both of our sakes. She needs to have income from her business and…