We spend almost half our time communicating by listening. The most successful people listen more than they speak.
That’s according to legendary industrialist Andrew Carnegie, who passed the lesson on to Napoleon Hill for his 1937 book “Think and Grow Rich.” He meant that people who excel use conversations to learn from others rather than inflate their own egos.
Speaker and author Julian Treasure gave a popular TED Talk in 2011 about the ways in which we are more distracted and worse at listening than ever before.
Studies have found that about 40% of one’s time spent communicating is spent listening, and by a wide margin more time is spent listening to others than reading, writing, or speaking.
Treasure recommends practicing focused listening as much as any other communication skills. He offers five simple exercises to become a better listener.
Immerse yourself in silence.
Treasure says the brain develops filters for sound so that it doesn’t become overwhelmed by stimuli. For example, if you’re at a noisy party, you’ll still likely be able to recognize someone shouting your name.
In order to “re-calibrate” your ears, Treasure recommends a period of meditation in complete silence, even if it’s only a few minutes each day. You may as well use the opportunity to quiet the cacophony of thoughts in your head, too.
Break soundscapes down.
Treasure recommends taking a moment to think of your mind like an audio mixer, breaking down every sound you hear in a setting in the same way a producer would isolate different instruments and vocals when working on a song. You can try selecting different channels of sound in a café, the office, or even in a song itself.
The exercise will allow you to enhance your selective listening.
Enjoy the mundane.
Focus your mind on sounds you would normally ignore, like your washing machine or a car driving by. This can help you break a habit of drowning out sounds around you when you become distracted.
Adjust your listening positions.
Treasure says this exercise is by far the most effective.
In the same way you imagined your mind as a sound mixer, practice jumping among each of the sound channels around you. If you’re listening to a song, try listening only to the drums before listening only to the bass line, for example.
Similarly, practice jumping among different perspectives. Try listening to a speech from a critical perspective, rapidly processing the validity of statements and their meaning, and then try listening from an empathetic perspective, focusing more on the emotion of the words and how the speaker is delivering them.
Practice engagement with another person.
And finally, learn how to be a better conversationalist.
Treasure says to remember the acronym “RASA.”
“Receive” by making eye contact with and focusing on the other person;
“Appreciate” by giving indications of acknowledgment through cues like head nods or short vocal replies;
“Summarize” by getting the other person to clarify the point of anything that doesn’t register; and “Ask” by giving follow-up questions to whatever you just learned.
Halloween is celebrated on October the 31st every year. It originated from a pagan holiday and the Christian holiday of All Saints’ Day. The name Halloween is a shortened version of All Hallows’ Eve. Today, it is more of a fun day for children and has largely lost its religious roots. Halloween is probably most famous in the U.S.A. Irish immigrants took it to America in the mid-1600s and it slowly spread across the country. Halloween is not celebrated in many countries around the world although many people know about it. Some Christians are not so happy that people celebrate Halloween. They believe the holiday is un-Christian because of its origin as a pagan “festival of the dead.”
Halloween has many easily identifiable symbols. The colors orange and black are widely used. In particular, orange pumpkins and fires and black witches, cats and costumes are common features of this day. One of the biggest Halloween activities is trick-or-treating. This is when children knock on doors and ask for a small gift. If they don’t get anything, they’ll play a trick on the person who opens the door. Food also plays a big part of Halloween. Toffee apples are very popular and so is anything made from pumpkin. Halloween is also a popular topic for Hollywood. Many horror movies have been made about it. Because of this, Halloween is now known in many countries that never actually celebrate it.
Rather than starting at the beginning of September, Hispanic Heritage Month takes place over 30 days starting on the 15th – a nod to the anniversaries of national independence for a number of Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua all recognize September 15 as the date of their independence, while Mexico’s independence is celebrated September 16 and Chile celebrates its independence September 18.
Hispanic Heritage Month traces its history to 1968, when the observance was just weeklong. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a bill designating the week of September 15 as “National Hispanic Heritage Week.”
In the inaugural proclamation, he wrote of the “great contribution to our national heritage made by our people of Hispanic descent – not only in the fields of culture, business, and science, but also through their valor in battle.”
“That was a period for sure, when Chicanos in the Southwest, Mexican Americans, Latinos across the country were demanding greater inclusion and representation politically, culturally, socially, economically – everything,” said Geraldo Cadava, professor of history and Latina and Latino Studies at Northwestern University and author of “The Hispanic Republican.”
20 years later that Hispanic Heritage Week was lengthened to an entire month under President Ronald Reagan.
The contributions of Hispanics and Latinos to the United States are long and storied. The first known colony in America was not Jamestown, but the Spanish colony of St. Augustine in Florida.
“Hispanics or Latinos … have fought in every war since the American Revolution. They are business owners and veterans and teachers and public servants. Latinos are Americans, and they form part of this American fabric.”
A growing population
But Hispanic Heritage Month is a chance for the country to acknowledge not only the rich history of its diverse Hispanic communities, but who they are today, said Felix Sanchez, chairman of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts.
“Hispanic Heritage Month gives us an opportunity to update the American people as to who Latinos are today,” he said, “to provide a contemporary context for all of our communities that are very different, that are part of the Latino ecosystem.”
Part of that contemporary context is the fact that Hispanics and Latinos make up an increasing portion of the overall US population.
The 2020 US Census showed that Hispanics and Latinos make up a fast-growing, multiracial group: In 2020, 62.1 million people identified as Hispanic or Latino – 18% of the US population.
Between 2010 and 2020, just over half of the total US population growth – 51.1% – was due to growth among Hispanics or Latinos, per the Census Bureau.
This growth is just another reason why Hispanic Heritage Month is important. If you’re 18% or so of the population, then you should also have representation, and should celebrate and understand these communities that make up a large portion of the country’s population.
Observing Hispanic Heritage Month
There are lots of ways to acknowledge Hispanic Heritage Month, whether it’s engaging with books, films, documentaries – suggestions from Cadava include PBS’ documentary series on Latino America or the podcast “Latino USA” – or live programming related to Hispanics and Latinos and their history in the United States.
“If that means in your local community, going to a Mexican Independence parade, of which there are many across the country, you should do that,” he said.
Alternatively, museums like the Smithsonian have events and online learning resources for families to use as guided learning on Latinos and their communities, including profiles of Latino patriots in military history. People can also visit local museums that have Latino content and collections.
Or you can just speak with people in your neighborhood. Talk to a friend, talk to a classmate, talk to a neighbor, talk to your grocer, or your local restaurant where you get your favorite tacos.
People like to share about their culture and their communities. … Learn about who they are and why they are in the neighborhoods they’re in and discover that we probably share more in common than we think.
“Hispanic Heritage Month is an opportunity for both the Latino community to reinforce its accomplishments but also to extend beyond the Latino community, to remind all Americans that we are American.”
This article from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture has identified 12 invasive plant pests and diseases that all gardeners should be aware of. Early detection is key to protecting your plants. This article lists how to identify each of the 12 pests.
If you’re like most people, you probably toss those old pill bottles into the trash—but that’s a mistake. For one thing, there’s some sensitive personal information printed on the labels, so you should at minimum remove those before you toss the bottle. And it’s estimated that 90% of the roughly 200 billion plastic pill bottles manufactured every year wind up in landfills, contributing to the massive plastic pollution problem we have in the world. Here’s what you should do instead of throwing those old pill bottles into the trash.
Toss them in the recycling
As with all plastics, if you can recycle it, that’s a much better choice than just tossing it into the trash. But you’ll need to check if you can recycle your old pill bottles before you dump them in with your other plastics.
Most pill bottles are made out of polypropylene, which is designated as Plastic #5 in recycling terms. While polypropylene can be recycled effectively, it’s not universally accepted by recycling programs because it can be more challenging to recycle. Check to see if your local recycling program accepts Plastic #5 before you dump your old pill bottles into the plastics bin on garbage night. If your local recycling program accepts polypropylene, remove the labels before you drag your bottles to the curb.
Clever ways to reuse them
Instead of throwing your old pill bottles away or recycling them, consider repurposing them instead:
Storage. Polypropylene is a sturdy material, and those bottles are actually ideal for storing small, easily lost things like pills, seeds, screws, nuts and bolts, or buttons. You can attach the cap to the bottom of a shelf and screw the bottle into place, creating a perfect way to have loose bits at your fingertips, or make a “catcher” out of an old pill bottle to make it easy to corral loose screws as you work.
Travel. Old pill bottles are also perfectly sized for travel-related storage for earbuds, shampoos, Q-tips, or anything else you bring with you when you head for the airport.
Organize. Old pill bottles can also clean up and organize your junk drawer, collecting all the stuff you toss in there—batteries, paperclips, unidentified keys, etc. Instead of a drawer of growing chaos, you’ll have clearly labeled organization.
Crafts. If you’re a crafty sort, there are a ton of fun projects that can turn your old pill bottles into useful items—a hide-a-key, musical instrument, decorations, rainbow crayons, or adorable little vases.
Donate them—yes, really
If you can’t recycle your pill bottles and you’re not the crafty type, you have one terrific option left: Donate them. A surprising number of organizations are always looking for donated pill bottles:
Animal shelters are almost always happy to take donated pill bottles, because they use a lot of them.
Humanitarian Aid organizations need pill bottles, too. Matthew 25 Ministries will accept donations of clean, label-removed pill bottles, for example.
Homeless shelters sometimes accept donations of pill bottles, though you’ll probably have to contact them directly to see if they have a need for them.
By recycling, repurposing, or donating your old pill bottles, you’ll not only avoid adding to the plastic pollution in the world, but you’ll be also doing something good—while making your home neater and cleaner in the process. Just be mindful of your privacy and get rid of those labels before you do anything.
Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum), coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea), and bee balm (Monarda didyma) Image by Debbie Roos
With a little planning and careful plant selection, you can create an attractive native plant landscape that works in harmony with the environment to provide a haven for native wildlife. Including native plants in your landscape can help offset habitat losses from development and the spread of invasive plants. You don’t have to replant your entire yard all at once. Begin by replacing a non-native invasive plant with a native one or replacing a section of turf with a bed of native plants.
Getting Started Follow the steps below to design an attractive, native plant landscape that is beneficial to both you and wildlife.
Step One — Map Existing Site and Vegetation — Create a base plan and identify the plants you already have. Are they native? Do they provide food or shelter for wildlife? Should you keep them or replace them?
Step Two — Identify Environmental Factors — Create a site analysis identifying what you have to offer plants. Map sun, wind, sight, sound, and drainage patterns.
Steps Three and Four — Identify Human and Wildlife Activities and Uses. All wildlife needs food, water, and cover, and specific types of wildlife have additional needs, including plant diversity, careful arrangement of plant types, and the addition of feeders, nest boxes, and water features.
Step Five — Design a Native Plant Landscape – Create a design with canopy, shrub, and ground-level habitat in mind. Develop a plant list.
Step Six — Installing and Maintaining a Wildlife-Friendly Landscape:
Installing the Landscape
You’ve done it! You’ve developed a planting plan, and now you’re ready to start transforming your property into a native plant haven for wildlife. You can do this gradually, in small steps, over time. You don’t have to replant your entire yard all at once. You can start by replacing one non-native tree with a native one. You can choose to start in one area of your plan: a sunny butterfly garden, a rain garden, a thicket of cover plants for songbirds, or a section of turf converted into a bed of perennial wildflowers.
Whether you start large or small, proper site preparation, plant purchase, careful installation, and long-term maintenance will all greatly influence the success of your efforts.
Before you start planting with wild abandon, take a moment to make sure you’re not putting any of these plants near your bee balm.
Tall Plants
Avoid planting tall plants near your bee balm, like sunflowers, as they can shade out your bee balm and deprive it of the essential sunlight it needs to thrive.
Taller plants can also compete for valuable nutrients in the soil, making it difficult for your bee balm to grow healthily.
Shade-Loving Plants
Bee balm prefers full sun, so avoid planting shade-loving plants nearby, as their contrasting light requirements might create issues.
Examples of these plants to avoid include:
astilbes
hostas
ferns
Shade-loving plants might suffer from too much sun exposure when they are planted close to bee balm, which can result in stress or damage to the plants.
Aggressive Spreaders
Plants with an aggressive spreading habit should be kept away from your bee balm.
Examples of these plants to avoid include:
lemon balm
mint
certain varieties of invasive grasses
Bee balm itself can spread quite rapidly, so pairing it with other prolific spreaders can result in overcrowded and chaotic planting conditions.
Give your bee balm the space it needs to grow without being outcompeted by assertive neighbors.
Allelopathic Plants
Allelopathic plants release chemicals into the soil that can inhibit the growth of neighboring plants. Keep such plants away from your bee balm to ensure its proper growth and health.
Examples of these plants to avoid include:
sunflowers
sorghum
black walnut
Waterlogged Soil Plants
Bee balm prefers well-draining soil, so avoid planting it alongside plants that require consistently moist or waterlogged soil conditions.
Examples of these plants to avoid include:
marsh marigolds
irises
ligularias
These differing soil requirements may lead to challenges in properly attending to the needs of each plant if they are placed in the same garden bed.
Plants Susceptible to Similar Pests and Diseases
To maintain a healthy and balanced garden ecosystem, avoid planting bee balm near plants that are susceptible to similar pests and diseases, like zinnias.
Keeping a diversity of plants with different disease and pest challenges can help reduce the risk of widespread issues in your garden.
Cultivating Bee Balm
Bee balm originates from North America and is known for its medicinal properties, vibrant foliage, and its ability to attract bees and butterflies.
To grow bee balm successfully, you should be aware of the specific needs and care it requires.
You should plant bee balm in well-drained soil either in the spring or fall.
While this awesome plant prefers full sun, it can tolerate partial shade, especially when grown in hotter climates.
Aim to give the plant at least 6 hours of sunlight daily.
Bee balm thrives in a soil pH range of 6.0 to 7.0, so don’t forget to test and adjust your soil accordingly.
Space your bee balm plants about 18 to 24 inches apart to ensure proper air circulation, helping to prevent common problems like mildew.
When it comes to watering, bee balm prefers consistently moist soil but can also tolerate brief periods of drought.
Overwatering you bee balm plants can lead to root rot, so make sure to strike a balance.
Including compost in your soil mix or incorporating it as a top dressing can help retain moisture while also providing essential nutrients.
During the growing season, it’s crucial to deadhead your bee balm, which means removing faded or spent blooms.
Deadheading encourages healthier growth and more prolific flowering.
Bee balm is hardy to USDA zones 4-9, making it a versatile addition to gardens across a wide range of climates.
One of the main issues you might face when growing bee balm is powdery mildew.
To prevent this problem, it’s essential to maintain good air circulation and avoid overcrowding.
Additionally, choose cultivars that are resistant to mildew, such as Marshall’s Delight or Jacob Cline.
Finally, bee balm can become quite aggressive in the garden as it has a tendency to spread.
To control its growth, you may need to divide the plant every 2-3 years.
Before establishing a new fruit garden, it is important to carefully assess all the factors that will ultimately affect fruit quality and garden sustainability.
Optimal site preparation and planting involve thinking in terms of managing tree roots for increased orchard performance. Physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil must all be considered. Soil structure is a major concern on a new site. A replant site requires two to three years of crop rotations to replenish organic matter and avoid tree mortality or stunted growth.
Site Assessment
Cold-air drainage and soil quality have significant effects on the profitability of an orchard. An ideal site is on the upper side of a gradual (4 to 8 percent) slope, on rolling or elevated land. Low-lying areas, where cold air can accumulate during a calm, clear night, are prone to spring frost damage. Hilltops or ridges may expose trees to excessive winds or to arctic air masses.
Soil
A preferred orchard soil is a deep (at least 3 ft), well-drained, and aerated loam. Detailed soil appraisals should be conducted several years in advance of planting. A grower begins by locating a soil map and by digging test holes to examine the soil profile. Soil maps provide useful information on soil texture, parent material, native fertility, erosion levels, and water-holding capacity. Test holes reveal impervious layers and water-related problems. If checked several times during a rainy period, test holes will yield valuable information on the soil water table.
Topsoil and subsoil samples are also collected at this time for analysis of pH, nutrient imbalances, and organic matter content. Additional site considerations include access to water for irrigation and spraying, the presence of weeds that serve as reservoirs for plant viruses, and the potential for hail or other weather-related disasters.
Orchard Design and Tree Quality
Give considerable thought to orchard design and tree quality. Important considerations are canopy light interception and distribution to flowers and fruit. Branched trees on dwarfing rootstocks will produce early crops.
Trees grown in north-south-oriented rows have better light conditions than those grown in east-west rows. Decreasing the distance between rows and increasing tree height also increases light interception. With most tree forms, optimum tree height is half the row spacing plus 3 feet. Maximizing production per acre by planting trees in high densities requires careful assessment of the vigor potential of a site. It is helpful to evaluate tree size in a previous orchard or in an adjacent block. Other factors that affect decisions on tree arrangement include topography, equipment size, and worker access.
To obtain the scion/rootstock combinations best suited to an orchard plan, order trees 2 to 3 years ahead of planting. Ordering virus-tested trees with healthy root systems ensures a good start for a sustainable production system. Well-feathered trees are desirable for early cropping, intensive systems. Windbreak trees, if needed, and pollinizer trees also should be ordered early. Studies indicate that the best trees for windbreaks are alders (Alnus), willows (Salix), or other deciduous species that leaf out early in the spring and hold leaves past harvest time. Fruit tree bloom periods vary from one region to another, and it is wise to get local advice on pollinizers.
Orchard Preparation
The one chance a grower has to optimize the soil environment is prior to planting. Before disturbing the surface vegetation, spot treatments can be made to control perennial and other problem weeds. On replant sites, a cover-cropping system can be established and maintained for several years to suppress weeds, nematodes, and soil-borne fungi and to increase soil organic matter. Soil drainage problems should be corrected with subsurface drainage systems or surface modifications such as ridging.
Stone fruit and certain dwarf apple rootstocks are especially sensitive to waterlogging and associated diseases caused by Phytophthora species. The fertility status of the soil is ameliorated to the depth of the root zone, since lime and phosphorus are not very mobile, and potassium moves slowly.
After the soil is thoroughly prepared, an orchard groundcover is established. Turf grasses often are the most desirable groundcovers, especially species that suppress voles, broadleaf weeds, and soil-borne diseases. Grasses also conserve nutrients, increase organic matter, protect groundwater quality, and improve water infiltration.
To prevent erosion, the groundcover should be established shortly after the site is cultivated and leveled. Grass seed can be sown in the row middles, leaving 4 ft-wide bare strips where the trees are planted, or seed can be sown over the entire field. In the latter system, the sod is established at least one season before planting, and the tree strip is killed prior to planting, leaving a mulch that enhances early tree growth.
Tree Planting
Several studies show that the time of planting greatly affects initial tree growth. Early planted trees have increased shoot numbers and length, and fewer trees become spur-bound or stunted. Orchards should be planted as early in the spring as the ground can be worked or in late fall in regions where sudden drops in temperature are unlikely. Trees may be planted by a variety of methods provided close root-soil contact is secured, and the trees are not planted too deeply. To prevent scion rooting, the bud union of dwarf trees should be 3 inches above the soil line. Higher bud union placement is generally avoided due to the potential for burr knots or winter injury on some rootstocks. Soon after planting, the trees should be watered and, if needed, a support system established.
The goal of advance planning and site preparation is to ensure early and regular crops of high-value fruit for the 15 to 30-year life of an orchard. Preplant use of sustainable management practices guarantees that a site will support the current orchard and generations to come.
Perennial fruit garden
“A perennial fruit garden is a great project with years of benefits,” says Bruce Black, University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator. “Proper planning and set up can give you decades’ worth of fresh produce.”
Begin by looking at the landscape and deciding if and how much space is available for new additions. Tree fruit, such as apples, peaches, and cherries, need more space than small fruits, such as kiwis, strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries. Those with limited space can consider container fruits.
Next, consider the site. Fruit plantings prefer a full-sun, fertile location. Planting in an elevated or sloped site helps with water drainage and air circulation. A windbreak helps tree fruits in the winter and keeping out of low-laying areas helps to avoid frost pockets.
“Make sure you pick a convenient location close to a water source,” Black says. “If it is out of sight, gardeners may not prioritize its maintenance, or prefer not to walk to a distant site in the heat of the summer.”
Doing a soil test provides a baseline of nutrients and pH. Amendments can be made, as needed, for fruit crop varieties.
Avoid areas that may have had Verticillium wilt, a soilborne fungus that can affect more than 300 plant species. Verticillium wilt reduces fruit yields and, causes wilting, stunting, and killing of plants. Plants may be infected for a while before symptoms are visible. Try not to plant in areas where tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, melons, okra, beets, or roses have been planted within the last three to five years.
The final step in planning a fruit garden, is selecting plants. Cultivars should be adapted for appropriate USDA Zone. Look at local garden centers, nurseries, and national fruit stock retailers for cultivars and necessary cross-pollinator cultivars.
Learning any language takes practice – lots of practice! Often, it’s difficult to know what you should practice. Should you watch a video? Perhaps, it would be a good idea to do a few quizzes. Of course, you should try to speak English with your friends. All of these are great ideas, but it’s also important to build a routine. A routine will help you make studying English a habit. That’s the best way to improve your English!
Make Learning a Habit
It’s important to be exposed to many different areas every day. However, you shouldn’t try to study too many different subjects. These suggestions take a short listening and reading as the basis for daily practice. You are trying to learn many new things, so don’t try to learn too much in any one area too quickly!
Listen – 10 Minutes
There are a number of beginning level listening selections that you can use on this site. Books written for children are also a great idea. Here are some suggestions for free children’s books that you can listen to on your computer:
Read – 10 Minutes
Choose a subject you like to read about and read for fun. You can find beginning level reading here on the site. These sites also offer ‘easy’ English reading selections.
Simple English News Easy English Times
Improve your Vocabulary – 5 Minutes
Take five minutes to write down all the new words you find in your listening and reading exercises. Keep a notebook, and write in the translation in your native language.
Grammar – 5 – 10 Minutes
Think about what you are studying in English class (if you are taking it). Or, if you are studying by yourself, take out your grammar book and find one grammar point to review. You can also use the beginner grammar resources at this site. Take a quick look at the grammar and then think about the listening and your reading. Did you hear or read these forms? How were they used?
Speaking – 5 Minutes
It is very important to move your mouth and speak! Even if you only speak to yourself. Take five minutes and speak out loud (not silently). Try to quickly summarize what you listened to and what you read. Can you do it? Of course, it’s better if you can do this with a friend. Find a friend and study together a few times a week. You can practice together.
That’s it! Approximately thirty minutes a day, every day – or at least four times a week! If you continue to do this, you will be surprised at how quickly your English improves!
Of course, there are much more ways to improve your English. However, make a habit of doing these simple exercises at least four times a week. When you have questions come to this site and use the beginning English resources or use your grammar book. Watch a video online, try to use English in every way you can – even if the language is too difficult.
