Recent Posts
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From Thanksgiving to the first week of January, people tend to gain more weight than at any other time of the year. Holiday celebrations, social get-togethers, and an abundance of sweets and desserts cause a pile-up of calories. At the same time, holiday stress and the longer dark period of winter days make us hungrier…
Posted in: FACS -
Oh, how wonderful the cool weather is! The brisk mornings roll into perfect afternoons, fire pits are crackling and marshmallows, chocolate bars, and graham crackers are flying off the shelf. Unfortunately, with the onset of this blissful sweater weather, there comes the threat of frost damage to our landscape. During the fall months, perennial plants…
Posted in: ANR -
The tradition of bringing greenery into the home during winter has a history that spans many centuries and several cultures. For most of them, evergreen branches symbolized renewal of life and anticipation of fresh fruits and vegetables in spring. So how did the tradition of bringing a whole tree indoors get started? Who knows? Maybe…
Posted in: ANR -
As fall progresses to winter, our landscapes can begin to look bleak. Annual pansies and violas might add a pop of color, but there are also perennial plants and shrubs that flower in the winter. In addition to brightening our winter landscapes, these can cheer our hearts and nourish songbirds and pollinators. As added bonuses,…
Posted in: ANR -
Thanksgiving has great trimmings. Family, favorite foods, fall weather, football, and a fridge full of leftovers. What more do you need? Answer: a plan for safe food preparation and handling. Every year, one in six Americans comes down with a case of foodborne illness, or food poisoning. Most experience a day or two of diarrhea…
Posted in: FACS -
In the elementary school version of Thanksgiving, the English settlers of Plymouth colony feasted with Native Americans and gave thanks for their first successful harvest. As always with history, there’s more to the story. William Bradford, who served as Governor of the settlement for over 30 years, recounted much of that history in his journal,…
Posted in: Uncategorized -
Long before our landscapes became landscapes, they were habitat. In natural environments, hundreds of species share unrestricted acres in which to move, nest, and hunt. They occupy niches in horizontal and vertical space, above and below the soil line, on land and in water. When humans settle an area, we alter the environment to better…
Posted in: Uncategorized -
A recent study by University of Georgia (UGA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)researchers found significant increases in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the U.S. from 2012 to 2022, a continuation of trends noted from 1988 to 2012 and 1999 to 2016 in previous research. The highest rates of diabetes increases…
Posted in: FACS -
Halloween is still a week away, but the stores are already stocked with Christmas items and many of us are thinking about gift purchases. So are merchants and credit card companies, who are anticipating $979.5 to $989 billion in holiday-related decoration and gift purchases in November and December, according to the National Retail Federation. This…
Posted in: FACS -
Based on preliminary damage assessments conducted by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, the Georgia Forestry Commission, and the University of Georgia, Hurricane Helene left behind an estimated $6.46 billion in damage to Georgia’s agriculture and forestry industries, more than three times the damage from Hurricane Michael in 2018. Georgia’s largest industry, agriculture contributes over $83…
Posted in: ANR