If you read my blog yesterday, you know I’ve been teaching during the last two days. Today, was more of the same – connecting students in grades 4-8 to our local lands through writing Haiku. The theme was wetlands but many wrote about Autumn, tree color, and other such observations that were encouraged in my…
seasons
Haiku Heaven
Wetland Celebration Today I was part of a group of Environmental Educators celebrating our Wetlands. We hosted fourth, fifth, and sixth graders from 9 – 2pm in thirty-minute stations. I had the pleasure of seeing 177 students, plus all their teachers today for lessons on Nature Poetry. Since our stations were only 30 minutes each,…
Maple Syrup – Will it Become a Thing of the Past?
The Sweet Stuff and Climate Change Do you realize that maple syrup production is being affected by climate change? It is! On a hike late this summer, I met a gentleman who had been tapping his maple trees for sap and making maple syrup for several years. Last year was different, he said. He had…
Silent Sunday: Pretty Spooky Iowa Arboretum
We need the village. We do.
Monday evening I was at parent-teacher conferences. My youngest son is a senior in high school and is currently involved in a large solo art project in a nearby community. He is painting a mural on an outdoor wall at a business. It is large – nearly 40 feet long. But, it is October in…
The Sun ….What’s That?
Yesterday we were treated to something we haven’t seen in a while! The SUN! The last few weeks were drab and gray, accompanied my many droplets of rain. It really was very discouraging. I know from past experience that this type of damp, gray, cool, wet, and sunless weather is not good for my soul….
The Road Ends
Sometimes you get to explore the road not taken. Initially, you are excited you decided to travel a more unusual path and the opportunity is embraced. But, as you travel you find that the path you were on previously might have been the right road all along. There were fewer potholes and cracks to pull you…
Plants and Pollinators
Over the last few weeks, during soccer games, trips to the office, walking in prairie grasses, as making the rounds in our yard I’ve noticed the number of pollinators I have visiting my plants. Last week, on my Autumn Joy Sedum, I noticed painted lady butterflies feeding on the blossoms. It was movement and stark…










