Hello All, Happy Halloween Eve! Ghosts and goblins will be here tomorrow night. Exactly one year ago on October 30, 2019, the very first PhylPhacts was published! It is hard for me to believe that it has been an entire year! In some ways it feels like it was just yesterday when I was sure I would break the internet – and in other ways, it has been a long 2020! I am actually still convinced that I am going to make some incredibly stupid mistake to break the internet…..and I do say a prayer (or two) every time I hit the publish button. Thank you! Thank you for subscribing.…

Hello All, This pandemic has been and continues to be a time of great challenge and uncertainty – not just here, around the world. Food insecurity is more prevalent than ever before. Housing concerns are growing. Unemployment has impacted so many. The weather has been a challenge. The tone of the political campaigns has been a challenge – unless you live in Utah! Have you seen the incredible political ad for the governor’s race in Utah? The gubernatorial candidates Spencer Cox (Republican) and Chris Peterson (Democrat) appear together in the ad! (To be fair, I listed them in alphabetical order by their last names.) Their joint message – a call for…

Hello All, Well, I was going to give you a break from heavy subjects this week, but it is not to be. October is a month with special significance to me. It is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I am a breast cancer survivor. A breast cancer victor! Three weeks from today is my birthday……and 25 years ago, on my 39th birthday, I learned I had breast cancer. (It definitely made turning 40 not a big deal!) I learned my “informal” diagnosis from the radiologist at the hospital where I worked at the time. He came out to see me immediately after reviewing my screening mammogram – which was unheard of…

Hello All, I actually woke up at a decent time the other morning. George decided it was acceptable to wake me up closer to 6:00 a.m. vs. his usual timeframe of 4:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m.! My furry alarm clock gets right up to whichever ear best catches his interest and meows rather loudly…..and repeatedly. My cue to start the day by feeding him and his brothers! But I was still tired. So I checked my temperature – yep, normal. I could still taste my very hot English breakfast tea. I could still smell. I didn’t feel any worse than any other day with my aging body. So I figured physically I was good to…

Hello All, 2020 continues to be overwhelming. Fires continue to ravage the West coast. It is the second most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, behind 2005. It is only the second hurricane season to run out of names (I am still struggling to pronounce Isaias) and feature the Greek alphabet, once again behind 2005. I think we are on target for this season to become number one! It is also the first time I have ever heard of a “zombie storm”. Paulette went from hurricane status to tropical storm to just a storm…..but when she reinvigorated to tropical storm status again, she became a zombie storm. Who knew? Everyone is hurrying to get this…