My orders for onion sets and seed potatoes will arrive next week and will be planted once the soil dries a bit; my favorite summer crops that will be directly seeded in the garden are still in their seed packets waiting for consistently warm weather before they find purchase in the soil. I c…

What does it mean to be sober? Not drunk? Not high? Well, of course. That, my friends, is just the beginning. Living sober is much more than not drinking.

Anxious teens are vulnerable to experiencing panic attacks, which can be a frightening experience for both the child and the parent/caregiver. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, panic attacks are characterized by a sudden wave of fear or discomfort or a sense of losing con…

I was just thinking about spring, but then I realized I should just live in the moment and be thankful that I do not have to battle so many weeds time of the year! Spring and cool season weeds will be here soon enough. In fact, it seems like some of them never even disappeared from last fall…

Cut flowers are undoubtedly the most popular manifestation of showing your love for someone on Valentine’s Day but potted flowering plants can do the trick, too. Perhaps the potted bloom has the potential to remind your lover that the sentiment lasts all year…but what does it mean if you can…

Where does the blame lie in those of us trying to recover from addiction? How many people did we blame for our affliction? How many parents have asked themselves if they are at fault? How is it that peers can drink and drug with abandon and never suffer consequences? How is it that others di…

We have forgone the Irish Spring soap, human hair and coyote urine for more reliable barriers when it comes to protecting trees from deer damage. Tomato cages, tobacco stakes, wire, spiral plastic trunk wrap, and, yes, an occasional arrangement of lawn chairs have created distance between ru…

Surviving the Holidays in my world is the literal meaning. In the “normal” world it could mean dealing with the stress of it all. Family in town for multiple days, endless hours in the kitchen, not to mention the expense! It can be exhausting but in the end, it can be extremely fulfilling.

Most of us are not fluent in Latin so distinguishing between an Aesculus parviflora and an Aesculus pavia may take some extra effort. Throw hybrids and cultivars into the mix and our plant choices may increase with our confusion.

Throughout my childhood and into adulthood I suffered from seasonal allergies and even though I had had five years of allergy shots, I still suffered from allergies.

The ability of insects to survive winter- when so many of them thrive in summer- has always fascinated me. While we would most certainly root for the bees and butterflies my enthusiasm wanes for fleas and ticks.

I love to travel. My parents instilled a love of travel in me from a young age. My mother was a history teacher, and we would spend some vacations visiting historic sites (not my favorite as a middle school student). Other times we would visit Disney World or take a cruise. I know many child…

I have learned to be discerning when it comes to catalog shopping. I steer clear of outrageous or cheap deals. I prefer the specialty catalog where expertise reigns providing us with both a good product and the information to grow it well. I shop locally as much as I can but for some crops, …

Well, you just don’t drink or use drugs, right? Simple enough. Even if you feel the need to take that pain pill or a swig of whiskey before work, you just don’t. In the all too simplistic words of Nancy Reagan, “Just say no.” Give yourself a pep talk when getting up in the morning, “I won’t …

Have you noticed a sticky substance on the floor beneath your ficus or philodendron? Are there little scabs on the underside of the leaves of your orchid?

We all have bad habits. Some people chew their fingernails; others mow their grass too short in the summer. You can guess which one bugs me the most. The odd thing about many of the worst bad habits in the garden is that they have become so commonplace. The worst offenses are repeated everyw…

It is time to start decorating for the holidays, which for many includes the poinsettia. The poinsettia has been a fixture in American homes as a holiday decoration for as long as most of us can remember. I think it is fair to say that it is considered the ‘official’ Christmas flower.

I often wonder what life after death looks like. As a child, I was promised a crown full of jewels representing my good works here on earth. Or the reunification of loved ones gone before us. Cancer-free, pain-free, frolicking in Heaven among the fields of gold. That by surviving here on Ear…

With so much uncertainty the past few years, many young people have not been in the habit of sticking to a normal daily routine. Research proves that routines support early childhood emotional development. Familiar patterns and activities can provide comfort to children during uncertain times.

Leaf raking is an autumn chore that only children enjoy because they get to undo it in one fowl swoop! We rake and pile; and they jump. I propose a new approach that just may make us all happy: adults can still rake a little, children can still play, and trees will benefit from some mulch an…

Leaf raking is an autumn chore that only children enjoy because they get to undo it in one fowl swoop! We rake and pile; and they jump. I propose a new approach that just may make us all happy: adults can still rake a little, children can still play, and trees will benefit from some mulch an…

Often in life, we try to problem-solve everything. We want to be in control of what we do and what happens to us. We often think we have control of something when we don’t, which can be overwhelming and lead to feelings of frustration. When faced with a problem, it is important to recognize …

There are two categories of garlic to consider: Allium sativum, or softneck garlic and Allium ophioscordon, or hardneck garlic. Softneck garlic is the easiest and most widely cultivated because the bulbs are large, and the cloves and skin are tight which prevent moisture loss and allows for …

Fall is around the corner and our temperatures are starting to trend downward. I welcome the cool days and chilly nights. Frost is inevitable, of course, it happens every year so let’s get organized for the return of our tropical plants to the not-so-great indoors.

While watching the Colts play on Sunday, a friend and I were discussing the obscene amount of money we are paying those very young men to wow us each weekend, ruminating about the inability of the average family to attend an NFL game without selling your firstborn! The discussion turned to t…

I’m not frightened by spiders; this doesn’t mean that I want them crawling on me. I enjoy seeing them in the garden this time of the year. They seem to be everywhere: between the chair and the umbrella, in the frame of the garage door, across the window frame in the office, and across the pa…

As you are reading this, I am approaching my final days as a Community News Reporter with the Spencer County Journal-Democrat. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities, lessons and skills that I have gained over the last nearly two years with Paxton Media Group.

Who among us is guilty of not noticing something until it is too late? Yes, suddenly there is nothing left of your blue spruce or arborvitae. Bagworms have been munching on the needles for weeks and we wonder how it all happened. Well, they are at work right now so go outside and take invent…

The headlines keep coming in — rents have increased in Indiana, but wages haven’t kept up, even compared with our Midwest peers. And despite their promises, Indiana’s policymakers will never simply build their way out of Indiana’s affordable housing crisis, nor can they attract enough new jo…

I was raised Catholic. My early childhood teachings from the Catholic faith laid out, in no uncertain terms, the final resting place of your soul. This entirely depended on the idea that you had been a good little Catholic all your life. There was Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory. As a child, the …

Indiana is wrestling with a housing problem. Mayors across the state grapple with ways to get new homes built in their communities. Last year, the Indiana Legislature convened a task force that listened to several groups outline their perspectives. One result is that in this session of the G…

In the past couple weeks I’ve presented my 2023 economic forecast to groups here in Indiana and Ohio. My short-term economic forecast through 2023 and into 2024 is similar to that of the Federal Reserve. I’m predicting the U.S. dodges a recession in 2023 and faces instead what is often calle…

Cut flowers are undoubtedly the most popular manifestation of showing your love for someone on Valentine’s Day but potted flowering plants can do the trick, too. Perhaps the potted bloom has the potential to remind your lover that the sentiment lasts all year … but what does it mean if you c…

For those of us of a “certain age”, the words to this song by Pink Floyd describe in detail the effects we are promised when injected with drugs. The lyrics chronicle an out-of-body experience. Removal of all physical and emotional pain, if only temporarily. Drugs enhance our ability to shed…

I once had a student say to me, “I thought death only happens to people when they get old.” What a world that would be, where everyone got to live long, happy lives.

The United States appears to be in the middle of a major political realignment. Really, this topic is in the domain of historians and political scientists, so I’ll largely confine myself to writing about what this means for economic policy. To be honest, it is difficult to make a thoughtful …

My peppers are actually looking pretty good this year. I was careful not to set them out too early during this year’s cool spring (peppers do not like cool temperatures and will be stunted, just like tomatoes, if they are exposed to such) but I am usually patient and I usually end up with st…

I have been greeted on recent mornings by a greening world and the staccato rapping of woodpeckers in the trees below us. Mushrooms and trout lilies, blooming redbuds and early butterflies can’t be far behind, for spring is a time for those magnificently chatty birds, which we often hear lon…

Late last year, Indiana’s Senate pro tempore and speaker of the House wrote an open letter to leaders of the healthcare industry, urging them to craft a plan to reduce costs. This was a particularly smart, pragmatic and principled approach by Senator Bray and Representative Huston to seek co…