Browsing: Lifestyle

Carla Hayden was sworn in as the 14th librarian of Congress on Sept. 14, 2016. Hayden is the first woman and the first African American to lead the national library. She was nominated to the position by President Barack Obama on Feb. 24, 2016, and her nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 13. (Shawn Miller/Library of Congress)

In the coming gardening year, resolve to pay attention to the weather and your plants when deciding when to undertake gardening tasks, rather than following old calendar dates that don’t account for the changing climate. (Beth Botts/Morton Arboretum)

Her son, “Cliff,” is like a son to me, and I love him very much. The problem is that my wife’s family, who all live locally, seem to think of Cliff as something other than being immediate family. Cliff is a real estate agent. He is part-owner of a company, and a real estate broker.

Deer browsing is common in many areas, including Highland Park. Hanging soap or hair in branches will not work as a deterrent for deer browsing. Use physical barriers such as wire or plastic netting to protect plants from deer. Yews and arborvitae are deer favorites and will likely be browsed in areas where deer are active. Repellents can be applied when temperatures are above 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Rain will wash off the repellents over time, so one application in the fall may not provide protection for the entire winter.

In Mexico, their families await the norteños with excitement, their favorite dish, banda music and hugs. There’s posadas for Christmas, and fiestas patronales — celebrations of a town’s saints. There are also quinceañeras, weddings, confirmations and with all the celebrations, many bailes — or dances. The quiet small towns are suddenly filled with laughter and music.

Then we just wandered around chatting with people, prayed for a few people, offered people what we had. Since then, that has been our Christmas. The warmth, fellowship, camaraderie with fellow citizens … wouldn’t trade it for any gift in the world.

Deer will eat the buds, leaves, flowers, twigs, and even the bark of plants. Deer pull and tear at plant tissue as they browse for food, leaving a ragged edge rather than a clean cut. Rabbit damage can be identified by clean-cut, 45-degree-angled clipping of young stems in winter. Perennials can be browsed to the ground during the growing season. Gnaw marks from rabbits can be found irregularly placed on the trunks of smooth-barked trees and shrubs a few inches about the ground or snow line. Rabbits can only reach as high as they can stand, plus the depth of snow. Rabbit droppings are pea-sized individual pellets.

This term is helpful if you don’t know the gender, don’t want to designate gender, or are referring to a group of people in the “nibling” category. Compared to other detailed and inclusive descriptors, “nibling” is also an efficient space-saver, which is always welcome in a column with constraints, such as this one.

As McFolling transitioned from a 27-year banking career and stepped into her role as president, she recalled one piece of advice: “My cousin, Michael Parker, the chairman, he told me, ‘Robin, once you get in there, you’re gonna have your own vision. And what you don’t know, there will be people there that can mentor you in those areas.’ And he was 100% right.”

Pine species that are widely planted around homes, such as Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), Austrian pine (Pinus nigra), and Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora), are vulnerable to several nasty diseases and insects. “Plants that are in less than optimal conditions, such as pines in poor soil, are always less able to tolerate pests, diseases and other stresses,” Yiesla said.