By: Jim Virkler; ©2012 For 50 years I was privileged to observe a master agronomist firsthand. My father was a regional agent for a hybrid seed company in the 1940s…

By: Jim Virkler; ©2012 As we study the cycles of nature—the water cycle and numerous other cycles and processes in nature, we sometimes experience some uncertainties about the goodness of…

By: Jim Virkler; ©2012 When one wishes to convey the idea that something vital has been lost, he sometimes uses the imagery of “removing the oxygen.” We may ask, “What…

By: Jim Virkler; ©2012 One of my temptations as a science classroom teacher was to devote unequal time to curricular topics for which I had a special fondness. The district…

By: Jim Virkler; ©2012 When the restaurant waitress inquires if we would care to have something to drink, I sometimes reply, “I’ll just have plain water.” My reply belies the…

By: Jim Virkler; ©2012 Charles Dickens is credited with initially offering the proverb “Tis love that makes the world go round.” In a poetic sense this may be true. A…

By: Jim Virkler; ©2012 By one count there are over 700 references to water in the Bible. The first mention, Genesis 1:2, describes the water-covered early earth, swathed in darkness,…

By: Jim Virkler; ©2012 Those who understand weather events to the point of being able to explain them are far more likely to enjoy those events. This statement also applies…

By: Jim Virkler; ©2012 Some of the most familiar and plentiful things in our experience are also some of the most underappreciated. Water falls into that category. The surface of…