There was always an indication of the end of summer when I was growing up, and it was our town’s Fireman’s Carnival. All the towns in our area had them, and we went as a family to several. There was always a parade with marching bands and firetrucks from the host town, as well as…
Sharing my favorite plants as an avid gardener, week by week July 30th: Liatris or Blazing Star or Gayfeather One of my favorite plants is Liatris, or Meadow Blazing Star, also known as gayfeather. This plant is colorful and a magnet for pollinators, such as monarch butterflies. I’ve grown several varieties in my home gardens over…
One way that scientists gather information about different species is to engage the public. Monitoring life cycles, sightings, phenological events, and migrations are all ways to find out more about what a particular species is doing and how it’s adapting to our changing world. One such example is the BioBlitz that is underway now for…
Knowing only politics makes us ignorant. My husband was the one who saw the news brief on his phone yesterday morning. He told me that a wildfire had destroyed the lodge at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and that part of the park was closed. Searching my phone and social media, I couldn’t…
Happy Poetry Friday! This week’s round-up is hosted by children’s author and poet Buffy Silverman on her eponymous blog. Thanks for hosting Buffy! My husband and I spend May 28th – June 3 in three of our National Parks. We first went to Yosemite for four days, followed by Sequoia and Kings Canyon for two with…
If you’ve followed my blog for any time, you’ll know that I’ve been an active monarch conservationist for the last 25 years. Over that time, I’ve taught hundreds of community members and thousands of school-aged children about the Monarch Butterfly, their life cycle, habitat, and migration. For me, trends in monarch conservation have come and…
Today is Earth Day. I pulled out some of my environmental lessons and am working to put them together so I can post them to Teachers Pay Teachers. One idea I had in 2020 was to make a self-study activity card pack on the monarch butterfly for classroom use. Lately, it’s been on my mind…
I started this morning reviewing some blog articles I wrote in 2012, 2013, and 2014 for a website I made for my elementary after-school garden club students and parents. Reading my own words brought back many fond memories of the years I led this group I founded in 2004. It ended in 2017, but then…
Today’s prompt word is shrill. It is on the list from the Verse of Ages Poetry Prompts for April 2025 for today’s date. Shrill. It’s not an attractive word. It connotes a noise like a scream made in fear or perhaps excitement, like when one is on a roller coaster. It can be used as…