The City Mouse in the Country

    Over the past few days the temperature has been on a roller coaster ride as we hit peak highs and small dips that remind us that this is Western Pennsylvania and winter may not be over till April.  However the days are getting warmer and spring - once a faraway dream - seems to be sneaking in.        I was even able to open the windows a few days ago and the last of the snow; dating back to mid December, has finally melted away.        The other night I watch as a family of deer grazed outside my front window nibbling on the first green sprigs of grass, our youngest cat looking on in fascination.  Spring is coming.  The days are getting longer and I think about planting some flowers and seedlings obtained through the Mercer Country Conservation website .      I'm thinking that the native wild flowers and grasses will make a nice addition to the home.       I plan on letting part of the yard go wild again this year, letting it be overrun with native plants, I'm even conside

            When I attended Slippery Rock University, which as luck would have it is south of where I currently live, I had a professor who taught Philosophy named Robert A. Macoskey.   He influenced me in a lot of ways; not the least of which was giving me a lifelong love of Philosophy, which I often credit as allowing me to succeed in nearly everything I’ve done in my life; because once you learn to think clearly and logically, you can do anything.                He was very interested in Sustainable Architecture and permaculture, or “ Perma nent Agriculture” which would influence me even today although not in the ways I expected.     Perma cutlture defined is “The development of agricultural ecosystems intended to be sustainable and self sufficient.”    Or to put it another way, “live with nature” or “sustainability.”              Today the Robert A Macoskey Center stands in his memory.    This center sits on 83 acres and is dedicated to teaching and promoting sustainable liv