Dawn is breaking over a quiet pond. An early December wind sweeps through rustling Big Bluestem, Bottlebrush Grass, and seedhead ghosts of late-season blooms. A muskrat slowly retreats to a half-built lodge as the morning grows brighter. It is unseasonably cold. All is quiet, until a feint...
The smells of Thanksgiving dinner highlight a holiday centered around family, friends, and giving thanks. Heartwarming and tempting, the aromas of freshly baked dishes would not be the same without the addition of herbs like thyme, sage, rosemary, and parsley.
This holiday season, consider herbs...
Children dream of being great things.
With imagination and energy, children envision their futures in many professions – some humble, some in the light of fame. As adults, our jobs do not always align with our youth ambitions, but if your childhood dream involved being a scientist, Citizen Science...
Stepping outside on a cool fall day, I can recall the childhood joy of fall leaves and singing, “leaves are falling, leaves are falling...” as we watched the autumn scene unfold before us. The colorful fall leaves once hanging from the trees are now a patchwork of various shades and shapes...
Imagine owning and running the business of your dreams, and not being in control of one of the most stressful aspects of a business: the cost of production. For many, this situation is not a fantasy, it is a reality.
According to recent USDA data, farm sector production expenses for farmers...
Fall is the season of change. With shades of red, yellow, orange, bronze, brown, and purple scattered through the landscape, Central Illinois becomes a beautifully painted scene.
Deciduous trees, those that lose their leaves every fall, create a stunning fall display as they prepare...
The gardens of Livingston, McLean and Woodford Counties grew with great pride this summer because they were deemed Giving Gardens.
In 2021, amid poor economic conditions and stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic, University of Illinois Extension serving Livingston, McLean, and Woodford Counties began...
Imagine your last visit to a beloved family home, arriving as a freshly baked pumpkin pie was pulled from the oven. If you take a moment, I bet you can almost smell it.
Many people have this olfactory memory of the most well-known winter squash: the pie pumpkin. Others are also familiar...
Keep your thumb green this winter by caring for beloved garden plants indoors. The chill of winter may seem far off, but the threat of frost is nearly here. On average, the first frost in Central Illinois is mid-October, but it can occur sooner. Act now - move your favorite garden plants indoors...
Growing up on the border of Illinois and Wisconsin I spent my weekends, and sometimes weeknights, in bogs, old-growth forests, and hilly landscapes formed by glacial deposits. Few kids have the opportunity to develop an interest and purpose from up close interactions with these rich ecosystems....
