The winter holidays seem to bring out our nostalgia for the warmth of home, family, and friends. Whether the celebration is in the light of one small candle during a war, the seven lamps of Hanukkah, or the glory of a candlelit Christmas tree, we all yearn for peace and connections to loved ones past and present. This year has made it more difficult for everyone, but we still strive with those feelings in our socially distanced lives.

In examining a package to be discarded, have you ever felt confused about whether or not it can be recycled? Current recycling protocols place the responsibility for making such decisions on consumers. But merely affixing the chasing arrows symbol or printing the words “please recycle” on a package offers little guidance on how to do so. In some cases, claims of recyclability can be downright inaccurate.

“It’s a perfect day for tree searching, Pino,” I said as I grabbed his halter.

There are two types of materials that the general public terms “cardboard.” The first is corrugated cardboard. Corrugated cardboard is a strong, versatile packaging material that is made from two strips of flat cardboard on the top and bottom, and a wavy “corrugated,” or fluted, strip running through the center. It is most commonly found in boxes used for packaging and shipping items and is universally accepted for recovery and recycling.

There’s a little grove of conifers on the West Branch Preserve in Jefferson that some years ago grew vertically for 2 or 3 feet. Then these trees got bent over by something before growing up toward the sky again.