Breaking News

How To Help The Wildlife

Baby birds on the ground, turtles in the road, and fawns seemingly abandoned by their mothers. It is that time of year when all sorts of wildlife seem in desperate need of our help. But do they really need us? Most of the time, the answer is easy: no. Seeing a helpless animal, especially ...

Question: I recently got a phone call from someone who said they were from Medicare to talk about my insurance. How can I protect myself from Scammers? Answer: In response to that particular question, that individual was definitely not from Medicare. Staff from Medicare (Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services- CMS) will not call you ever, unless you have called CMS and they are calling back to address your situation. In that case, you will be expecting the call. In response to your question, how can you protect yourself from Scammers, I want to talk about an upcoming event that will ...

Forced Perspectives In The Outdoors

The grasses, ferns, and flowers have really hit their stride and they are continuing to grow taller as we head into summer. As I was out with a group of sixth-graders on a field trip to Audubon, one of the students commented offhand that the plants around us were like a miniature forest under ...

Road Ecology

There’s over 4 million miles of road in the United States. We are tied to our vehicles like they are a part of our family. We even name our vehicles. Roads and vehicles are logistically essential for our technologically advanced fast-paced lives. When I was growing up, getting your license ...

Do I Need Welcome To Medicare Medical Exam?

Question: I got information about a “Welcome to Medicare” medical exam. Do I have to do that? Answer: Medicare provides for the “Welcome to Medicare” preventive visit with your primary physician when you first enroll in Medicare. This physical is offered to you in the first year (12 months) of your Medicare Part B enrollment. The idea behind this program is that some individuals have not gone to a physician or the same physician with any regularity. Medicare knows that if you find out about medical problems early on, they are easier to treat. This physician visit may find some ...

Picnic Season In Hickory Heights

Picnics took on various purposes through the years. Sometimes we had picnics when the men were working. That meant that either my sister-in-law and her family traveled or we did. In those days we ran two farms together. When the men worked at the lower farm, the picnic was there. When they worked on the upper farm that is where we had our picnics. Of course, whoever happened to be working with them that day had a picnic with us. The neighbor’s children were often helpers. Boy could those kids eat. They were good to feed because they ate everything and never complained. They sat by ...