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Thanksgiving food on a table.

The holiday season is a time for social gatherings and sharing meals together! If you’re like me, you enjoy hosting events at your home. I host an annual Thanksgiving dinner for my friends, and it’s always one of the highlights of my year! 


An air plant terrarium is a hollow, vented glass container with decorative sand and pebbles, twigs or driftwood, moss, and a dusty green tillandsia plant, also called an air plant.

How to Make an Air Plant Terrarium

April 6, 2018

Air plants are popular, easy-to-care-for decorations. They are ideally suited for dorm rooms, apartments, and offices where watering plants may be more challenging, but are a lovely addition to any space. They also make great gifts, because you can buy materials in bulk. (Photo by Kevin Hudson)

Four separate cucurbit crops grown in a field.

Citizen Scientists Wanted: Cucurbit Downy Mildew

April 3, 2018

MSU scientists are on the lookout for a cucurbit crop bandit. And they need your help!

Cucurbit downy mildew is a sneaky thief with the ability to quickly and significantly reduce yields or wipe out entire crops of susceptible cucurbits, including cucumbers, melons, pumpkins and squash. (File photo by Rebecca A. Melanson)

An illustration depicts a large yellow chick with a graph showing the number of Salmonella outbreaks since 2000 and includes text instructions to wash hands after handling backyard poultry.

Safety Tips for Handling Poultry

March 30, 2018

Baby chickens are so cute and cuddly that few people can resist holding them. Unfortunately, as public interest in raising backyard birds has grown so has the number of Salmonella outbreaks in the U.S. (Photo by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

More than 20 newly hatched chickens covered in yellow down bask under warming lamps in a large black tub.

Go Green: How to Get Started with Backyard Chickens

March 27, 2018

Some people can’t resist the latest spring fashions. Others plant flowers in profusion.
Then there are those, like me, who are highly susceptible to the cheerful chirping of newly hatched chicks. (Photo by Kat Lawrence)

Browned ground beef, chopped onions, celery, and garlic in a non-stick skillet ready to spoon into individual freezer bags.

Go Green: Save Money with Magic Meat Mixes

March 23, 2018

I love to cook, but I’m always interested in learning about shortcuts.
That’s why I was really excited to watch this episode of “The Food Factor” – because MSU Extension Agent Natasha Haynes talks about saving time and money! (Photo by Brian Utley and Jonathan Parrish)

A piece of hardware cloth encircles a small, layered pile of organic waste.

Go Green: How to Start a Compost Pile

March 20, 2018

Compost is a great soil conditioner. It helps the soil hold water and improves clay and sandy soils. Starting your own pile is easy and can help keep organic waste out of landfills. (Photo by Gary Bachman)

A medical doctor holds a vile of medication and talks to a young man in the Rural Medical and Science Scholars program.

Explore Healthcare and Science Careers with Extension Program

March 16, 2018

Do you know a high school student interested in working in the medical field or a related science career one day?
The Rural Medical and Science Scholars program could be for them.
(Photo by Kevin Hudson)

A green smoothie fills a tall clear drinking glass and has a red and white striped straw in it.

Go Green: How to Make a Green Smoothie

March 13, 2018

Confession: I have made some disgusting smoothies.
Whenever I’ve attempted to simply throw together a few ingredients, I have ended up with something that looked and tasted awful. (Photo by Kevin Hudson)

Side by side photos showing the right and wrong ways to mulch around a tree trunk. (Photos by Kevin Hudson and Gary Bachman)

Go Green - Mulch

March 8, 2018

What do doughnuts and volcanoes have in common?

Mulch.

Properly applied, mulch can:

Photo of a gray and white Craftsman style house illustrates a list of seven tips for making homes healthier.

Go Green: Make Your Own Household Cleaners

March 5, 2018

Taking care of your home will make it a healthier environment for your loved ones. (Illustration designed by Beth Barron)

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About Extension for Real Life

Extension for Real Life is a product of the MSU Extension Service’s Office of Agricultural Communications.

That’s a long way of saying we are professional communicators who get to talk about food, families, 4-H, flowers, and farming for a living.

Blog content is created by a core team of communicators, including Susan Collins-Smith, Ellen Graves, Natasha Haynes, Qula Madkin, Michaela Parker, and Jonathan Parrish. But we get by with a lot of help from our friends in Ag Comm and Extension!

You can reach us at 662-325-2262 or extreallife@msstate.edu