•January 4, 2023•
By Jim Baumann
NP Guest Writer

This week is a time for reflection and rejuvenation and of shame and penance for whatever high-jinks you got up to on New Year’s Eve..
I won’t add to the pressure in your heads. But when you’re good and ready, consider dropping me a line with a personal resolution regarding what you’d like to work on this year to improve your communication skills.
Like publicly setting a weight-loss goal, it’s sure to cause a shame spiral by February. Come on, it’ll be fun.
I’ll get the conversation started. Read More

•December 28, 2022•
By Jerry L. Ginther

In a word, they consume. They consume the product of their summer long labors. Honey is the product and is the fuel for heat, nutrition, and the colony’s survival during the cold winter months.
The colony’s preparations for the long winter months begins long before the last nectar producing blooms fade and disappear. House cleaning is in order, and one of those procedures is the removal of all male (drone) bees from the hive. The days of plenty are ending and the drones are denied rights to food and housing. As this process intensifies, the sisters that once fed them will literally deny them entrance to the hive. From that point only the worker bees (female) and the queen will occupy the hive. Read More

•December 28, 2022•
By Jim Baumann
NP Guest Writer

Happy New Year, if that’s your gig.
My gift to you this week is some help in facilitating conversation with the young people in your life. If you’re like most of us and recently celebrated some combination of the birth of Jesus, capitalism gone wild, and the love of family and friends, odds are pretty good you found yourself in proximity to someone ranging in age from 12 to 30.
This can be scary territory. In what language do you speak with them? More importantly, in what language do they speak?
I’ve had a few opportunities during the holidays to converse with people a fraction of my age. And given that a reporter is always a reporter and it’s always better to know than not know, I ask young people a lot of questions.
My wife and I had Thanksgiving dinner with the Atwells of Barrington this year. What set this column in motion was something 14-year-old Bridget repeated throughout the evening: “Slay!” Read More

•December 21, 2022•
By Cheri Burcham
Family Life Educator

Holiday baking brings family and friends together and creates lasting memories as friends share recipes, stories, and meaningful time together. Amid the flurry of flour-covered countertops and mountains of messy mixing bowls, keep food safety in mind. Extension Educator Susan Glassman has written this helpful article that will come in handy – and not just during the holidays!
Susan says: “Baking and food safety go hand-in-hand. Make sure that your holiday baked goods bring you nothing but deliciousness by taking precautionary measures to prevent foodborne illness.” Raw dough and batters contain raw eggs and flour, two ingredients that can lead to food poisoning if eaten raw. Raw eggs can carry Salmonella bacteria. The harmful bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli) can contaminate flour – from its original grain form in the field through the processed stage sold to consumers. Both bacteria can cause mild to severe symptoms of food poisoning. Read More