
Trego School Annual Fishing Field Trip
As the first chills of autumn hang in the air, and the salmon run, the older students of Trego School spend the day fishing with their teachers and support staff. While this year’s trip was marked by somewhat fewer salmon and smaller fish, students returned grinning and eager to show off their catch. Photos by… Continue reading Trego School Annual Fishing Field Trip
Firewood Rankings by Species
The change from burning forests to burning wood is coming fast – and while we use a lot of firewood, we rarely look at just how much heat each species produces, or at how much a cord weighs. This chart, from the California Energy Commission, ranks production by species, and shows the weight of a… Continue reading Firewood Rankings by Species
America’s First Plagues
I wound up studying epidemics when I was given the task of teaching Indians of North America. The data was limited, but pretty much irrefutable – European diseases, brought by ship to the islands and eastern coast of North America did far more than decimate the native population of the Americas. By the end of… Continue reading America’s First Plagues

Shiny flies
Earlier this week we visited Trego School, to see the results of the salmon snagging fieldtrip. After the fish were had been cleaned and packed away for children to take home, I saw many bluebottle and greenbottle flies, as well as a few paper wasps, flying about outside of the school, sucking up fish juices.… Continue reading Shiny flies

HEPA Filters and Wildfire Smoke
As I stepped into Trego School on a warm smoky afternoon, I developed a sudden admiration for HEPA filters. About a month ago, I wrote about the school’s new HEPA filters, purchased as part of their Health and Safety plan. As it turns out, HEPA filters are excellent for wildfire smoke. HEPA filters are good… Continue reading HEPA Filters and Wildfire Smoke
Weird Words: Jargon
Most professions seem to have their own specialized language that the uninitiated have difficulty understanding. The word for this, because of course there is one, is jargon. the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity or group” Merriam Webster definition for Jargon The hair stylist talks about “clarifying” shampoo. To me, “clarifying” is… Continue reading Weird Words: Jargon
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