August 2021

The Old Farmer's Almanac remains a fantastic resource after centuries of use, and today it's online so you can even get emails featuring tips each week. Who could have predicted that one day the Old Farmer's Almanac would host webinars to help farmers learn more about their craft back in the 1800s? It's pretty amazing that it's stood the test of time this long and it reminds us how no matter what, we'll always need farming and food.

August 12 is World Elephant Day, a time to not only celebrate these powerful creatures and learn about them, but take action to help protect them and their habitat. The U.N. report sounding the code red alarm on how dangerous climate change is definitely relates to helping elephants survive, as it does to any other beings on the planet--including ourselves.

As an 80s kid, my favorite books of the time will always be the Sweet Pickles series--which were actually published in the late 1970s. Each book featured a different animal for every letter of the alphabet, and each animal learned some sort of lesson in the books. My favorite was Me Too, Iguana, who wanted to have everything everyone else had and had to realize that she was unique just as she was. It's good lesson for anyone!

Cryptid creatures have never been forgotten. Every generation has plenty of cryptid creature fans, and Bigfoot and Nessie and their cousins will never go out of style. That said, it seems as if they've had a strong sense of renewal lately, and my teen is all here for it.

While the United States has a plethora of vaccines and we need more people to get them, poor countries who want them have a shortage that we could definitely help with. Big Pharma monopolies are at the heart of the crisis, some of which are even raising their prices to render vaccines cost-prohibitive to nations that desperately need vaccines.

Cats in windows are some of the cutest, and sometimes funniest, things to see in a neighborhood. There is a hilarious TikTok video where the owner places a sign that reads, "Not Dead," next to their sleeping cat because the cat is at such an awkward angle in the window! 

When Congress was breaking and leaving millions of people about to lose their homes as the eviction ban was set to expire, Cori Bush of St. Louis, Missouri's first Black Congresswoman, took her chair to the Capitol and refused to leave until an extension was made. Her actions, as usual, saved lives, and continued to prove that she's changing things from the inside out.

Now that August is here all hot and heavy, let's make some fun end-of-summer crafts! There are so many fun crafts to do at home, whether you want to make a cute window display or you have kids who feel like getting artsy. This list in particular has so many fun ideas.

Bachelorette parties vary person to person, but most involve at least some kind of game. Some bachelorette parties feature low-planning games, like sharing funny or favorite memories of the bride-to-be. But there are lots of fun board games made especially for bachelorette parties, too.