Recently, I started a new graduate course for my Master’s degree in Environmental Education and Interpretation. Week one is done. Today, starts week two. There is a paper due each week. The course is Environmental History. Last week we focused on early America and how wilderness was perceived and used by those already living here…
We have always viewed the education of our sons to be a team effort – between us and their teachers. But, what if a member of the team fails to show up? Today is the first parent teacher conference day for fall term at our high school. It is a time I have always enjoyed….
Usually, I do not write anything on my silent sunday posts. But, this spring we lost both of our cats within a few months of each other. It was hard to see them get old, fail, and die. Lewis and Clark were blood brothers from a farm in Westby. We got them as kittens and…
One of my other hobbies is photography. A regular reader of my blog would be able to guess that I really like to take pictures. Nature photography is my favorite form of photography and includes photos of flowers, seeds, trees, birds, butterflies, and sunrises. Landscape photography is what I consider to be a subset of…
This post is inspired by: Cee’s Photo Challenge for October 7th, 2017. Orange Tulips Iowa State University Campus has been publically noted for its beauty many times. This tulip patch in the spring of 2015 shows some of that beauty. The school colors are red and yellow but you know what happens when you mix…
As a self-taught and self-proclaimed Monarch Butterfly Conservationist who has been active in assisting the habitat needs for this species for the last 14 years, I can share an optimistic report for this season. My third year of tagging went well. I was able to fill the data reporting sheet obtained from Monarch Watch that…
Inspired by the Weekly WordPress Photo Challenge: Pedestrian
This morning I spent an hour working on a post I have had sitting my drafts folder for a couple of weeks. It is a post on untold stories. Already quite lengthy, I was trying to tweak it a bit. Some parts were not as clear as I wanted them, so I was working on…
Working together on our haiku unit in the spring is one of my favorite writer’s circle activities. By the time students are in third grade, they are at least familiar with, if not adept, at counting the number of syllables present in words. Accuracy in counting syllabic parts of words is an essential part of…
I do not watch a lot of television. I do not find a lot of shows that hold my interest long enough to prevent me from the alternative of getting things done. I am not here to argue that of course you can get things done AND watch T.V., but that does not work for…