•September 13, 2023•

By Cheri Burcham, 

Family Life Educator

Ideas for youth to explore and connect with nature

This year, I have been working with other family life educators and horticulture educators to explore and create programs and materials that support the fact that spending time in nature is beneficial to our health and well-being. So, I wanted to share this article written by Extension Educator Brittnay Haag about this topic – especially for youth! Brittnay says: spending time in nature can improve our mood, make us feel more relaxed, help us be more active, and even connect us with our community. For children, time playing in nature is needed for healthy development. Don’t let the benefits of time outdoors end with summer. As youth return to school, help your family unwind and connect with nature, using one of these activities. Read More

25 Years Ago This Week

A 25 year family tradition came to a close when the late Charles Elder’s three sons and other friends gathered Sept. 4 to bale the family’s 12 acres of hay. Elder started his hay baling business for his three sons, Kevin, Steve and Tom in the spring of 1973. The three brothers, using an old gas baler, ran the business until the summer of 1977 when they went their separate ways. Their father upgraded to more modern equipment and continued the business for 21 more years with his sons helping out occasionally. However, Elder had many other helpers during those years and baled hay for many customers in Moultrie and surrounding counties.  Read More

•September 6, 2023•

Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association (IFCA), alongside several agricultural partners, announced on Tuesday, August 29 the preliminary findings from the first-ever Illinois Ag Retail Survey, setting a new baseline to track nutrient management practice adoption and quantify nutrient loss reduction achieved at retail locations and on farms across the state.

The 2022 IL Ag Retail Survey was designed to collect accurate, science-driven data to track nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) fertilizer use and application methods throughout the state as part of industry efforts to meet state Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS) goals. Read More

•September 6, 2023•

Lake Land College’s Adult Education program offers free GED and ESL classes with the support of funding from the ICCB Adult Education and Family Literacy grant. These classes help students age 17 or older continue their education and develop valuable employment skills. Lake Land instructors and advisors help students in these courses achieve their academic goals and prepare for successful employment by assisting with résumés and providing access to community resources. Read More

•September 6, 2023•

By Jim Baumann

NP Guest Writer

It’s fun — and sometimes surprising — to learn the literal meanings of everyday phrases you use.

At least it is for Bill Murray and me.

Bill, of Palatine, is a very funny guy who spent 40 years on the other side of the camera in the world of television and who writes mini-books for family and friends with such titles as “News of the Whirled,” “New and Improved,” which is his take on advertising for unlikely products, and “Bolognia — An Official Archive,” his exploration of the nation of Bolognia, which naturally is a bunch of baloney.

“Susan Estrich’s Aug. 25 column on Rudy Giuliani’s fall from grace contained the phrase “ ... he never dreamed he would be hoisted on his own petard,’” he wrote in an email to me. “My recollection is that a petard was a small bomb mounted on a wooden pole or stick that a warrior placed against an enemy’s castle door or gate in the 17th century. Apparently the intent was to light the fuse, run up to the fortification, lay the petard against the target and run away before the explosion. If the fuse burned too quickly, or if he tripped along the way, the engineer could be blown into the air, ‘hoisted by’ not ‘hoisted on’ his own petard.”

I couldn’t recall whether Shakespeare coined the phrase “hoist with his own petard” in “Hamlet” or “Coriolanus,” but upon further investigation I found it in Act 3 of “Hamlet”: Read More