I love to write. There is no question about that! I’ve written a daily reflective blog since February of 2017, at The Apples in My Orchard. There are over 1800 posts on that site that I’ve written over the last five years! …

We hiked a segment of the Timm’s Hill Trail yesterday. It was mid-day, and still very comfortable out. Donning jeans and t-shirts with an adequate dose of bug spray, on our hats and clothes, we set off just after 2 pm. Our yellow lab, Molly, was with us too. …

Getting kids outside and engaged in the environment is a sure way to encourage environmental stewardship. Author David Sobel is known to have said, “Give children a chance to love the earth before we ask them to save it.” ― David Sobel After working with young children, aged 7–11, for 13 years in an afterschool garden club I founded, I couldn’t agree more. Many children do…

I am a Jill of all trades some might say. My hobbies are many and have been for a long time. …

When I taught an after-school garden club for elementary students, I tried to find topics that would use the science of awe to engage the students. Shortly into my thirteen-year tenure leading the club, I found a carnivorous plant at a local nursery. What a perfect topic, I thought to…

Today, my husband and I had a three-hour drive stretching out in front of us. He is the driver. Since I can read, type on my computer, and look at my phone during our travels, I don’t drive as much. As he puts it, since he cannot do all those…

Dictionary.com defines the word Horiatiki as a traditional Greek salad consisting of tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives, and feta cheese. And, so it is! …

I’ve had the good fortune to visit some very beautiful beaches during my adult life. They range from Florida to California, to the Hawaiian Islands of Maui and Kauai, and Bermuda. My favorite aspect of visiting a beach is being able to relax. The rhymic lapping of the waves, directed…

For the last two years, I’ve participated in an online forum called Poetry Friday. Mostly, it is poetry written for kids by a variety of poets. Some poets are published, some are not, some poets are teachers, and some are not. There’s a lot of variety. I’ve enjoyed getting to…