Have you ever noticed "Y" shaped tree branches laying about your yard or on your travels about town? I don't find them every day or even every week, but when I do come across a "Y" stick I like to pause for a minute and ask myself a "why" question. Sometimes the question will relate to something happening in the moment, such "why is the ice on the lake making popping sounds right now?" Other times, a more esoteric or personal question will emerge. My most recent "Y" stick en

​​December's full moon graced the sky last night. It is often referred to as the Cold Moon, Long Night's moon or the Moon before Yule. All very appropriate names as this is the month when the cold fastens its grip upon the earth and the nights are at their longest and darkest. This past week also saw the unveiling of TIME Magazine's Person of the Year, sixteen year old Swedish citizen, Greta Thunberg. Over the past year Greta has thrown a cold, laser-like light on climate ch

​In earlier blogs, I have written of my efforts at germinating hickory and pawpaw trees (April 5, 2019) and of my admiration of Wangari Maathai's transformative work with planting trees in Africa (April 26, 2019). As I continue on the journey with my little tree seedlings, I am humbled by the work of my new heroes, the people of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. On July 29th 2019, Ethiopians showed their commitment to working towards becoming a green society by pla

This past week was filled with extremes that included plant and people wilting days with heat indexes over 100 degrees, which was then followed by an impressive storm that produced more than 3 inches of rain in less than 12 hours. While waiting for the deluge outside to subside, I decided to make a cup of tea and sit in our sunroom where the noise created by the rain hitting on my "little glass bubble" was incredibly loud, yet soothing. In addition to my tea, I brought along

"If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon" R.E.M. July's full moon is sometimes referred to as the Buck Moon, because this is the time of year when deer antlers are at their fullest. But, it is also known as the Thunder Moon due of the high frequency of thunderstorms in the month of July. This past Tuesday's full Thunder Moon proved to be particularly significant as it was also the last lunar eclipse of the year and it occurred on the exact date of the 50th

This week marked the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the Invasion of Normandy. The lessons are many from that seminal event and the ongoing war against tyranny, but the one that struck me the most was that of the surviving "Rosie the Riveters". As important as it is to remember our veterans and those who lost their lives, I feel that it is equally important to honor and remember those who stepped into new roles to keep our country running and able to support those who were off

I10 & Quantum Mechanics When I made the decision early in the new year to “up my game” with regard to finding solutions and bringing awareness to many of the environmental issues that we are currently facing, it was a bit overwhelming. Where to begin? Well, luckily I have at my disposal a problem-solving framework that I developed as part of my doctoral studies. The framework is known as I10 and I have utilized it regularly ever since its inception for all kinds of problem-so